The Big Break

 We survived until 15 months into our 4th child before we had to deal with our first broken bone.  One day, Kaitlyn fell down the stairs.  This was not the first time she had tumbled down the stairs, and she didn't cry any more than she had previously.  But, over the next few days, I began to notice that she was a little fussier than normal (especially when Addy tried to grab her) and that she wasn't using her right arm very much.  So, after 2 and a half days, I finally took her to the doctor to have it checked out.  The doctor did one test and said he was pretty sure we were in trouble.  The x-ray showed that she had broken both bones in her forearm, but thankfully they had buckled and stayed in place.
We started out with a splint and sling.  It only took me leaving the doctor's office and trying to strap her into her car seat before I realized this was not going to be a pleasant experience.  It's tough to buckle around a sling!

 While she was not happy about being constrained, it did not stop her.  It only slowed her down a little.
She still managed to ride her bike,

 Play in the sandbox,

  And smile cutely.

 After a week, we had to take her back in and get a hard cast put on.  The kids took a vote and decided that pink would be the best color.  She thought she was getting rid of all of her limitations and was not happy when she realized she wasn't!  At least this worked with her car seat!

 Eventually, she learned to manage to do everything she had previously.  It wasn't always easy for her, but if she couldn't grab it with her fingers, she would use her cast as a table or brace.

She also learned it was a great weapon for warding off annoying siblings and their friends or for fighting off anyone who got too close to her food and toys!  (Not that anyone would believe that by looking at this cute face!)

After 5 weeks, the cast had faded from hot pink to dull pink.  It had been written on, thrown up on, and eaten on.  It also had chocolate, dirt, and chalk smeared on it.  I have no idea what had gotten inside of it, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.

After they cut the cast off, Kaitlyn was not quite sure what to think.  She kept rubbing her arm and looking at it trying to figure out what had happened.

 I was expecting her arm to be much smaller and more atrophied, but they only real difference I could tell was that it was a funky color because it was covered in dry skin (and who knows what else) and it was very wrinkled from the wrap it had on it.  Later that night, Kaitlyn went to take her milk cup from me using the crook of her arm like she had been doing for the past month.  I said, "Kaitlyn, you don't have to hold it like that anymore."  She looked at me and then looked down at her arm.  Then, she reached up and grabbed her milk with her hand and she was off!

Here's hoping that's the last broken bone we have to deal with!

Trick or Treat!!

This year, all of the kids picked their own costumes.  So once again, I didn't get my "theme" that I so love at Halloween.  Oh well, maybe when they get a lot older they will let me have a say again!

It took Cole a while to decide, but when he finally picked, he had exact ideas about being Harry Potter.  I had to make sure to check with him before I got everything to make sure he and I were on the same page.

  I think he looks pretty magical!  Even if I do say so myself.

Emily knew right from the start what she wanted to be.  I have no idea where she came up with her idea, but it fit her perfectly.  She looked exactly like I picture Alice in Wonderland.

 

Thanks to her long bangs, you can't even see her stitches!

 Addy also knew early on what she wanted to be for Halloween.  The only problem was, she didn't inform the Flying Grandma that she was making her costume until 2 days before Grandma was supposed to leave.  Thankfully Grandma problem solved and Addy was the happiest Tangled you have ever seen!  (Not that you can tell from this picture!)

 Don't mind the pink shoes.  They were princess shoes and sparkly, so Addy insisted they matched!

 The long hair was a great touch, although it didn't last long while trick-or-treating.  She learned long hair, while beautiful, is not very practical!

 Kaitlyn ended up a victim of my sulking about a lack of theme.  I was all for making her an animal, but I couldn't come up with an animal that related to all 3 of the other kids' costumes.  So then, I debated if I wanted to do something cute or something related to her cast.  The cast won out and thus the beat up child was born.  The costume was a great hit around our neighborhood, although Kaitlyn wasn't all that excited about it!

The front says, "This Happened When..."  and the back says, "My Daddy Babysat."

I had a bunch of other ideas of sayings, but I was limited by space and letters, so this was the best I could get on there!
Then, Chad wanted to get in on the action.  I was a little reluctant at first because I didn't really want to offend anyone.  But, it was my best chance at a theme, so we went with it!!

Kaitlyn was a little unsure of what was going on for the first few houses, thankfully her siblings were there to help her out!

She eventually figured out that every house was putting candy in her bucket.  She liked the candy, but kept getting mad that they were putting it in her bucket.  She wanted it in her hands.  So, she kept putting her bucket down and pulling her candy out and trying to carry it.  This was made a little more difficult by the cast on her right arm!

 

 Finally, she realized the value of the bucket as a storage place for her candy, but she refused to let anyone take the bucket! 

She would get candy in it and then race back to me (well, race as best as she could in her get up!) to have me help her see that she got another piece in her Elmo! 

 All in all, it was a pretty successful Halloween!  The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time.