A Little Fun Outside

Well, after being sick all week and being stuck at home yet again, we all needed some fresh air today, so I took the girls outside to play with their Play-Doh. Avery made me some spaghetti and fruit for lunch with her Play-Doh kitchen set.

Hayden made a dolphin and some other animals with the cutout shapes. And, of course she couldn't put down her toy horse while she was making the other animals.

It was so nice to be outside today. The weather was beatiful and the girls (especially Hayden) enjoyed being out of the house. I tried to get Hayden to sing a song for me, but she was done playing so she went inside. You will be able to see how she gets around in this video. Even though she can't walk yet, she has found ways to get around and is doing really well. She is making progress each day and is getting more and more brave with each new thing she can do.

Our Week

Well, this week hasn't been quite what I was hoping for. Brandon went out of town on Monday night to do some training in Flagstaff, so we decided to go out to dinner before he left. We haven't been anywhere as a family since Christmas, so we were all looking forward to going. Right before we got in the car to leave though, Hayden threw up on Brandon's lap, thus our plans changed for the night. I went to a drive-thru for dinner and Brandon left after we ate. About an hour after he left, I started feeling the sore throat/congestion stuff coming and from then it has spread to all of us. Brandon got home from Flagstaff last night and we were eating dinner together and all five of us were coughing at the table - it was pretty funny.

On the bright side, Hayden has been much more mobile over the last few days. She is not standing or walking on her own yet, but she is finding ways to get around the house and can even crawl up and down the stairs by herself. She can take a few steps if I hold her up and can stand up while holding onto the couch. I have been trying to let her figure out how to get something by herself so she is not so dependent on me or someone else to help her. She scoots on her bum a lot and sometimes crawls, but eventually she will figure out a way to get from one room to the next and when she does, she looks at me with this proud smile and is so happy that she did it by herself. It's a little hard to watch her struggling sometimes, but I know I have to let her do it so she can build up the strength in her legs again and the confidence in herself. Her right leg is really weak and shaky when she puts pressure on it, so she will most likely limp on it for a while after she does start walking, but it will get better over time. I am hoping she will be able to take some steps on her own by next week. It's so funny to see her crawling on the floor next to Kiley, who is also crawling all over the place now. Despite being sick, Hayden is so much happier now and is really enjoying her new freedom.

I have to admit that I was selfishly hoping to be able to get out of the house this week. It has been 2 months since I have taken the girls anywhere (other than preschool for Avery) and I was hoping we would be able to go to the park or the store or somewhere. But, if we had to get sick, I am glad it was at least without Hayden's cast :) Avery's b-day is on Tuesday and we have preschool at our house next week, so I will post some pictures soon, and hopefully we will all be feeling better by then.

Goodbye Purple Cast!!!

Friday was the big day - Hayden finally got her cast off!! I took this picture of her on Thursday, her last day in this huge purple thing. She spent most of her time on this bean bag chair with her blanket and toys watching movies. She was pretty content there most of the time, but she is much happier now that she can actually move and sit up on her own!

I was a little nervous about the saw they were going to use to cut her cast off, but it was just a little handheld thing that the doctor used. Hayden was scared of it of course, but Brandon and I were there to hold her hands and it only took about five minutes to get it off. The nurses asked us if we wanted to keep it and I said, "No way." The pictures and memories we have will suffice. I would have been happy to throw it out the window myself, but I'm sure some people like to keep those things. I was happy to see it get dumped though :)

Right after they took the cast and wrappings off, Hayden started shaking and she kept saying, "Coldee, coldee, coldee," (meaning she was cold.) She had goosebumps all over her body and she was shivering. Her cast had kept her pretty well insulated over the last 8 weeks, so as soon as her skin was exposed again, she got cold pretty fast. We were able to put some clothes on her after they took x-rays though, so she warmed up again quickly. The x-rays looked really good and when the doctor took measurements on the bones, he said she was within normal range and the bone will continue to get stronger over time.

The first thing we did when we got home was give Hayden a much-needed BATH. Two months is a long time to go without a real bath, especially for a 3-year-old:) When she first got in the tub, she was a little wobbly since she hadn't sat up on her own for so long. She kept falling back on her hands, but I let her figure it out and eventually she stabilized herself.

Once she sat up on her own, she kept pointing to things saying, "Look, Mommy." She was so intrigued by all her bath toys and the water and everything. She was so happy and excited - it was like her first bath all over again.This is the leg she broke (her right leg) and it is much thinner than it was before all this happened. I'm sure it will take a while to get her soft, chunky Hayden legs back.
After her bath, she sat on the couch and naturally bent her right leg the way it was in the cast. It still hurts her to move it too much because the joints and muscles are so stiff.

Hayden pointing to her leg that was broken and so happy to not be in her cast anymore :)

Finally eating at the table in a normal chair instead of her stroller!Hayden hasn't put any pressure on her feet yet since she got the cast off. She keeps getting her toes close to the floor like she's going to stand, but then brings her feet back up. I think in addition to her muscles and joints being stiff, she is just scared to try to stand or walk yet. The doctor said it would probably take about a week for her to walk again. We tried to help her stand today, but she still won't put her feet down on the ground. It may take some coercing if she doesn't try it after a few more days, but we'll see how it goes.

We are just so happy that she is out of her cast now! Although she smiled with the cast on and found ways to be happy, she is so much more happy now and is enjoying the freedom to move around more and sit much more comfortably. It is so much easier to carry her around and hold her and change her diaper now - all things I took for granted before. We are also grateful that it healed so well and that she will soon be back to her normal self. Thank you again to all of you for your love and support. We have such wonderful friends, family, and ward members who have helped us so much over the last few months - we could not have done it without you all :)

Thank you!

Countdown to Cast-off

Well, I can hardly believe it, but Hayden gets her cast off in 3 days!! This Friday is the big day and we are all so excited. It has actually gone by pretty fast for us surprisingly. The first few weeks were definitely the hardest, and it has been a challenge trying to get places at times, but for the most part it has gone pretty well. Hayden has done remarkably well and we are very grateful that she has adjusted well to this lifestyle. It is going to be interesting to see how she does when the cast comes off. The doctor said she will most likely sit on the couch for a few days at first, but she will gradually build up the strength in her legs and should be able to walk again without needing any physical therapy. I will update her progress soon, and in the meantime we will continue the countdown...

What's that White Stuff on the Ground??

Last Sunday afternoon we were surprised with a hail storm in Casa Grande. Avery had never seen hail before, since it is such a rare occurrence here, so she asked me, "What's that white stuff on the ground, Mommy?" I told her it was little balls of ice that were called hail. She didn't really understand it, but she had fun watching it come down.I couldn't believe all of the ice that was on the ground when it stopped. It was pretty crazy. Avery didn't want to go outside, so she stood in front of the doorway to get a pic with the ice in the background.

So that's our closest thing to snow we'll ever get here. It only lasted for a few minutes but it was nice to have a little change in weather. Happy Arizona winter!

25 Random Things About Me

(I was tagged by my friend and college roommate Amy:)

1. I had my tonsils taken out when I was in 4th grade
2. I could eat ice cream at any time of day, every day, and not get sick of it
3. I don't really have a favorite color, but today I really like red
4. Brandon and I met in our high school sophomore English class 11 years ago
5. I am completely obsessed with clearance sales; I rarely buy something that is not on clearance (my recent clearance purchase was a pair of black flats that were normally $30 and I got them for $2.99)
6. I applied for dental hygiene school when we were engaged but decided that being a mom was more important to me
7. Our first baby was born 9 months and three days after our wedding day (she was 3 weeks early, but yes it was fast)
8. I have dreams about playing volleyball almost on a weekly basis, but I haven't played in years
9. I ran a marathon a month before Brandon came home from his mission
10. I love Mexican food - bean & cheese burritos are my favorite (we call them "beanurritos")
11. I watch the show Jon & Kate plus 8 all the time (it makes me feel less crazy)
12. I have never broken a bone in my body
13. Brandon and I were in a bad car accident on the night we went to the Sadies dance (the paramedics said if we hadn't been wearing our seatbelts, we could have been ejected)
14. I cut my own hair about a month ago
15. I have a really hard time waking up early in the morning, especially when my kids are still sleeping
16. I belonged to a book club when I was younger, but now I am not much of a reader
17. Scrapbooking is my favorite hobby - it gives me a break from motherhood and life, and I love to go back and look at the pictures with my kids
18. Brandon and I used to write notes to each other all the time in high school and we both saved almost all of them
19. I had my last baby without an epidural and it was probably the craziest thing I've ever done
20. I love meeting new people, although I am not very outgoing at first
21. Brandon is really good at shopping for me - he has picked out the majority of my clothes and shoes
22. I, like Amy, can't believe I will be 27 soon - I still feel like I should be in high school
23. Brandon and I both have three sisters and no brothers
24. Although it gets pretty emotional at our house sometimes, I love having three girls - they are all fun and unique in their own way add so much joy to our family
25. When Brandon and I hung out together for the first time, I wrote in my journal that he had qualities I wanted in a husband. We have been through a lot over the last 11 years and I love him more every day that we have together. I am so grateful for all of my blessings:)

Mommy, Can We Say...?

Lately, we have noticed that Avery likes to repeat a lot of the phrases and things that she hears on TV or movies, so we have to be careful what she hears and correct her if she says something we don't approve of. For example, if she repeats something like, "You're stupid," we tell her, "Avery, we don't say stupid." She is catching on to this and is now asking us if she is allowed to say something before she repeats it.

Yesterday the girls were watching Nemo and this was what she asked me:

Dori: "Nice trench."

Avery: "Mommy, can we say trench?"

Me: (laughing) "Yes, Avery, we can say trench."

(later on in the movie)

Dori: speaking in whale language

Avery: "Mommy, can we say blah?"

Me: (laughing even harder) "Yes, Avery, we can say blah."