First Broken Bone

While Hayden has already been in a sling for a minor arm injury and visited the ER to get 3 staples in her head, last week was the first time for her, or any of our kids, to get a broken bone. She fell backwards of a stepstool and caught herself with her hands. Unfortunately four of her left-hand fingers went one way and her pinky went the other.

It happened at 6:00 pm and thankfully Nunie was on hand to take her to the ER. It had been a rough day already. And to think that I thought things were going poorly when Madison cut off some of her hair! She was so excited that she came running over to show me what she had done. Once I showed my displeasure she realized that it wasn't a good thing. Then she refused to throw her hair clippings in the trash because she didn't want to part with them and even kissed them before she finally let them go.

Hayden cried when she broke her finger but I've definitely heard her scream and wail much louder and harder than that. But the moment I saw her finger I knew it was broken. No. Doubt. I gasped when I first saw it sticking out to the side which scared her for a moment and made her cry a little harder. But I remained supermom calm which helped her to settle down rather quickly as well.

I quickly loaded the carseat in Nunie's car and sent her on her way with a lovey, a snack and a sucker. The X-ray confirmed the damage: a growth plate fracture.

After a few hours in the ER, Hayden and Nunie stopped to get Hayden's prescription filled and to get a late dinner at McDonald's. I have a feeling that a lot of injured children have finished their day's journey at McDonald's!

Hayden had received a couple of numbing shots before they realigned her finger so she was quite bubbly when she got home. But she did feel the pain as soon as it wore off. She was just happy to have an excuse to take medicine, I think!

Almost 3 1/2 hours later, Nunie was headed home. Hayden was in bed just after 10:00 pm. Thank you, Jacque, for all of your love and help!

Hayden had been asking about Payson and Madison while she was in the ER just as they were asking about her. They didn't want to go to sleep until she got home but I was somehow able to convince them to. The next day they had a lot of catching up to do!

We're scheduled to see an orthopedic hand specialist later this week. There is a chance she'll need surgery but I am hopeful that a cast will be enough. It's been a tough few days but she is handling it surprisingly well. Miss Independent is still even able to dress herself (some of the time), go potty, put on her shoes, and do a myriad of other things ON HER OWN, just like she likes it!

Happy 60th Pops!

My dad, aka Pops, is celebrating his 60th birthday this month. We had a great time celebrating his and Uncle Neil's birthdays with a family party full of fun!

Daddy kicked off the party with a little nap and snuggle with Hayden.

Things get crazy with festive party poppers!

Hayden proudly helps Nunie with feeding the dogs.

Cake time!

No party is complete without a dance party!

We later treated the birthday boy with dinner at Nick & Sam's. YUM!

Now that is some prime meat!

Make a wish!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!

Camping and Pirate Adventures

Payson took his first camping trip with Keith and four other dads and toddler boys this month. The report is that everything went really smoothly and that they had a great time!

Loading up for the big one-night trip to Eisenhower State Park.

Payson and his buddy Griffin are all smiles as they head out.

Although they camped in tents, grilled out and took bathroom breaks in the woods, they were treated to a movie that night as one of the dad's brought his projector and large screen.

Here's Payson getting ready for bed. The night before he had picked out his jammies along with an additional pair that he specifically wanted to wear on his camping trip.

The boys fished, hiked and explored the caves.

The kids had a blast transforming into Pirates at Luke's 3rd birthday party. Here they are checking out their Treasure Maps while on a scavenger hunt for their pirate gear.

Hayden gets in touch with her inner pirate as she searches for her eye patch.

Now with patches on and squirt guns in hand, Hayden, Luke and Elle are ready to capture their last hidden item...

Tattoos for all of the little pirates!

Elle, Madison and Hayden sail away in Luke's pirate ship. Ahoy Matey!

The pirates are hard at work digging for their buried treasure: coins and stones!

Hayden and Elle take care not to leave even one piece of treasure behind.

Princesses Hayden and Madison

Hayden and Madison got such a kick out of watching the Royal Wedding on TV. They were fascinated by all of the fancy fascinators worn by the ladies at the wedding that they each wanted their own!

We had a fabulous tea party to attend the following day which made for the perfect occasion to sport their new homemade headpieces.

Here are the kids watching Prince William and Princess Kate's Royal Wedding on TV.

And, like a true princess, Madison flaunted her dress and four additional tutus around the house. Apparently you can never have (or wear) too many!

Hayden is officially fully potty trained (all in her timing, of course) so she got to pick out a Disney cup as her reward. She chose a pink Sleeping Beauty cup to commemorate the big event!

Of course princesses do get into trouble now and again. Like when they play in the mud and smear it all over their toys and their previously stark white jackets.

Or when they sneak out of their new big girl beds half an hour after bedtime to open their curtains ("for more light"), pull out all of the clothes from their closet and dresser and change their sleeping attire.

Or when they paint their arm instead of the paper when the Queen Mum isn't looking.

Or when they refuse to sit still for a haircut causing a one-inch trim to turn into a 3 1/2-inch chopping!

(The result looks nice though!)

"Like star dust glistening on fairies' wings

Little girls dreams are of magical things."

-Sherry Larson

We love you Hayden and Madison!

Little Slugger

Payson joined a team of three-year-olds to play T-Ball this spring and he is loving every minute of it! He asks almost every day if he has a T-Ball game. And with every weather-related cancelled practice or game I end up holding my little boy as he sobs in my arms, "But, I wanted to play T-Ball!"

After nearly every game Payson tells us how well he followed the coach's instructions. Which is not something we tell him regularly, you must know. But rather, we told him one time back in March that he needed to listen to his coach and do what he says and Payson has been proudly doing just that ever since. Here he is chatting up his coach just before his big hit.

D'oh! But, look at the sheer joy on his face!

How many dads does it take to wrangle 12 three-year-olds?

Yep, that's Payson under there running to third base!

Payson with Daddy and his best buddy Griffin.

Payson hustles for the ball and gets a chance to throw it to first!

Payson loves that people want to watch him play and will ask questions before each game like, "Who's gonna come watch me play?" The last time I told him that we had a late game cancellation, after he was already dressed and ready to go, he sobbed and said, "But people wanted to see me play!" Here he is getting props from his peeps in the grandstand after he crossed home plate.

Here are two of Payson's biggest fans enjoying the game: Hayden and Daddy!

Eggstravagant Easter!

Easter morning is like a mini-Christmas at our house. First, we read part of the Easter story in the Bible (parallel: Christmas story). Then the kids are surprised with baskets filled with goodies (parallel: stockings). And, finally, the kids get to hunt down and open all of their Easter eggs (parallel: presents)!

And they're off!

Hayden filled her basket first and soon declared that she didn't want any more eggs. What? Yep, her basket was so heavy that she had to call it a day.

Payson on the move.

The actually hunt didn't take long, of course, and the kids were soon in discovery mode. It was so fun to see the excitement that each new egg brought them. And it was even more fun to see them initiate passing toys and candy to each other because it was that other siblings' "color" or was something that everyone knows that child likes.

Sunday afternoon brought another egg hunt with the extended family. Gam and Grandad's grass, once again, made for the perfect setting.

Hayden collected her eggs first and opened them later.

Madison, on the other hand, did a little snacking along the way!

Madison gave her best effort to reach the purple egg tucked high up in the tree. But unfortunately her Go-Go-Gadget arm wasn't working so she had to settle with Daddy's help instead.

Finally time to dig in!

Payson and Nunie enjoying life together.

Payson inspecting a Dandelion as little boys do!

All aboard! Hayden, cousin Addison and Payson go for a spin in the golf cart with Pops and Nunie.

So, we finally had that Easter egg hunt that Payson has been talking about since last October. I think it definitely lived up to his expectations!