Cast Off, Uniform On

Caroline had her doctor's appointment this week.  We went into the appointment expecting her to get her pins out and then get a new cast for a few more weeks.  They took her old cast off and sent us for an x-ray.  After the x-ray, and back in the exam room, the doctor came in and announced her bones had totally healed.  Even he was surprised by the quickness of the healing.  He showed me the new x-rays and all the new bone growth as well as the lack of breaks.  We were shocked!  Caroline was very unhappy about it.  She really had her heart set on a light blue cast.  Plus, she really wanted the security that the cast afforded her.  So, an angry, upset Caroline sat on the exam table while the doctor pulled the pins out.  Every question he or the tech asked her after that was met by silence and glaring eyes.  They did wrap her elbow area to keep the pin holes clean, but it was only wrapped til the evening at which time she got a real bath.  (She wasn't happy about that either.)

As we walked to the car after the doctor's appointment, Caroline was so cautious and insecure about moving her arm.  I understood her timidity, but she was really freaking out about it.  She was having a very tough time with the whole thing.  I think it was mental exhaustion because that afternoon she took a two hour nap.

While she was sleeping, the boys got to work making her a celebratory cast-off cake.  They both helped with the cast portion, and Josiah takes credit for the "fingers."  (To the right is a smiley face with a heart below it.)

I don't know if growing new bone causes one to be hungry, but ever since Caroline broke her arm, she has been waking up the majority of nights.  Usually right in the middle of the night: 2:00/3:00 a.m.  She's always hungry.  One night this week, she had woken up at 1:00 a.m., ate, and then couldn't go back to sleep.  We read, we played, and finally we watched one of my TV shows, Call the Midwife.  Clearly about mothers giving birth, Caroline watched with a lot of interest.  Since that fateful night, she has asked an incredible number of questions about childbirth and all that it entails.  (Why was she screaming?  Does it hurt that much?  Why do you put your legs up?  Can a man look at your privates?!!? {male doctor} What is that string? {umbilical cord}  What does that do?  Why is the baby grey?  Why did the baby cry?) Nearly every conversation is finished with her conclusion, "I don't want to go through all that pain.  I'm going to adopt my kids."  Good for you.  There are many kids that need to be adopted.  Next time we are up in the middle of the night, we'll have to watch Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.  As the week has gone on, we've really been working on her range of motion.  She cannot yet touch her shoulder, nor fully straighten her arm.  We've seen a lot of improvement throughout the week, but she still has a ways to go.  She's been cooperative with that which has been helpful.

He LOVES his uniform.

Henry had a baseball practice this weekend and at the end they handed out their uniforms.  He is loving baseball.  They have their first game this week (actually they have three games this week!).  Their coach told them to just do their best because they're playing a "borderline select" team while Henry's team is made up of a lot of new players.  They have actually had so little field practice, that the game should be an interesting one to watch.  The fields have been too wet for a couple of practices, so they weren't allowed on them.  Hopefully Henry will take these games as a learning experience and not get too discouraged.  He's the type of kid that likes to perform well and can get very discouraged if he doesn't live up to his own expectations.

Today we celebrated Todd's birthday.  He requested tacos for dinner and pumpkin bread as his "cake."  The boys both helped with the cooking of the tacos.  Henry cut up the tomato, measured the taco seasonings, and stirred in into the meat.  Josiah shredded a ton of cheese.  At dinner, Henry refused to eat any cheese, because "Josiah licked the plate with the cheese."  Caroline wanted a grown-up job as well, but there were no more jobs requiring knives, which is what she really wanted.  All three did help put candles on Todd's cake.  They wanted to put as many candles as his age, but since we didn't want a loaf covered in melted wax, we opted for a much smaller number.

Josiah got to take advantage of Todd's birthday coupon from Smashburger and downed a free milkshake.

Josiah drew a very cool picture of Captain America.  He did it all from looking at a picture on the cover of one of Todd's old comics.

This coming week we get to go see the Houston Ballet (for free!) as well as cheer Henry on for his three (!!) baseball games.  We'll need to invest in lots of sunscreen and bug spray to make it through this season.