Catching Up

Since I haven't posted since mid-November, this will be a giant "catch-up" entry! Before the onslaught of pictures, here's a quick update:

Most of you have probably heard that we are expecting baby #3 in June! We are excited, of course, and will hopefully get to find out whether we'll have a third son or girl #1 by late January. The pregnancy has been great so far! When Nicholas found out, his response was very sweet. He hugged my tummy and started talking to the baby. Soon afterward, he was full of questions, including, "How will the baby get out?", "If you open your mouth, Mom, will it get out that way?", etc.

Below are some photos from the past month, including our trip to the Christmas tree farm, visiting Santa at the YMCA, and Christmas:




Our Christmas tree farm "debacle"... There wasn't much of a selection this year, so we chose the best-looking tree we could find. After getting it home, we discovered that it looked like a Charlie Brown tree in our living room. Chris went to Lowe's and got another one. At least the boys had fun and we got some cute pictures!

The boys got to see Santa at a special breakfast the Y provided.

Daniel was not thrilled to sit in his lap, but didn't mind giving Santa a high-five.

We got a foot of snow on Dec. 18-19, and it didn't melt for a week!



Christmas Day

Nicholas was excited about his Bumblebee Transformer.

The boys thought it would be fun to jump on my back simultaneously.

Our awesome neighbors, Cherri and Corinne, joined us for Christmas dinner.

Cast-Off Day!

In the doctor's waiting room- not much longer now!

Yuck! The nurse threw the cast (front half) right into the trash. We had no desire to keep it.

Cast coming off!

Daniel with Dr. Atkins, right after his cast was removed

(About a week ago, Daniel started to stand with his cast on, and even cruised around the train table!)

As you can see, the cast is outta here! Daniel's x-rays looked great, and reminded us once again, that God truly is our great physician. How miraculous that the largest bone in his body could be fully healed in "just" five and a half weeks! (Seemed much longer to us, but in reality, is pretty amazing.)

Daniel cried when they used the saw to remove the cast, mostly because it was so loud, but was a great patient. He didn't even cringe when we put his pants on, although the doc warned us that he might be very sensitive for a day or two.

Right now, I am enjoying all the little things I've been missing the past several weeks- holding my sweet boy close to me and feeling how light he is, watching him delight in a warm bath, putting on his cute jeans, and even being able to change his diaper normally.

We will go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks so that she can check his progress, but in the meantime, will enjoy watching him relearn to use those stiff leg muscles!

Halloween!

We had a Star Wars themed Halloween this year, with Nicholas as Darth Vader and Daniel as Yoda. We had gotten the costumes before D's accident, so it was fortunate that Yoda's robes fit pretty well over his cast! Of course, Daniel did not want to leave his ears on, but once we started trick-or-treating, he got distracted and didn't notice me surreptitiously slipping them on.

Daniel was determined to get those ears off!

In other developments, Nicholas is definitely at the questioning stage. I am willing to bet that if we counted, he must ask several hundred questions a day. Many of them are rhetorical, and he is never satisfied with the explanations we attempt to give him. So, my very intelligent husband has started saying, "What do you think?" whenever he asks one of these impossible questions. Surprisingly, it often works! Of course, we realize that this is a normal part of growing and learning, and are thankful that he is curious, even if it's maddening at times!

Cast Update

We took Daniel in for another set of x-rays this a.m. After looking at them, the doctor asked me if there was any way that something could have gotten into his cast. At first I said no, but when I saw the x-ray, I noticed a familiar shape about halfway down his broken leg. We had played with dry beans earlier in the week (an activity that the boys enjoyed so much I was patting myself on the back for my creativity!), and sure enough, one of the darn things had made its way down there. Doc had to "window" the cast, which means that a hole had to be cut into it to get the bean out. She then replaced the cut-out and taped over it.

In better news, the cast is coming off on Tuesday Nov. 17! Just 2.5 weeks from now. Needless to say, we can't wait!!!

Posted are pics of the boys from this week playing with beans, at Busch Gardens, and eating caramel apples we made.

The First Week

We have made it through Daniel's first week in the cast. I can't say that it's been easy, but we are thankful that he is healing, and will hopefully be as good as new in a few more weeks.
The surgeon says that he most likely will NOT need physical therapy after his cast is removed. His x-rays yesterday revealed that the bone looks good, and the healing process is moving in the right direction.
Our biggest issue right now is discomfort during the night, which is keeping him awake for hours at times. He really would like to turn over and move, but his inability to do so is waking him up. Also, he is frustrated and discouraged at times. Please pray for patience for Daniel and the rest of us as we cope with these changes over the next several weeks.
Above are some photos of him (and Nicholas) taken this week. (Also see below for two other new posts from today!)

Pumpkins and the Homeschool Room

We converted our dining room to a school room about a month ago. It is working really well so far! I love having a place to keep all of our school and art supplies, and the boys like their new table and chairs (not to mention the chalkboard). Nicholas is reading small primer-type books (think Dick and Jane), and it's awesome to hear him read!

A few days ago, we were able to go to the pumpkin patch. We pulled Daniel in the wagon, which worked well, and even got to go on a hayride! Fun!

Apple Picking

The day before Daniel's accident was absolutely gorgeous, so I decided to take the boys to Carter Mountain in Charlottesville for apple picking. I'm SO glad that we were able to get out and do this before he broke his leg. Looking back at these photos almost brings tears to my eyes. I don't think I'll ever take it for granted again that my kids can run, jump, and play!