September 14, and September 21, 2014

We spent most of the week (Monday-Thursday) trying to keep Annie comfortable and still while she was in her temporary splint.  They were long days.  Annie got frustrated and bored sitting around.  She would wake up around 5:00 a.m. every day in pain.  We were able to manage her pain well with Tylenol and Motrin.  Her Primary teacher came by with a treat and a coloring book.  Mommy tried to do every activity I could think of that didn't involve moving.  We did playdough, sewing cards, coloring, painting, board games, reading, and watched A LOT of movies.
 

 

Lily settled into the school routine without any problems.  Her first homework assignment was to make a paper doll version of herself.  Lily picked out the clothes and did all the tracing and drawing herself.  Mommy helped with the hair and gluing on the buttons.  Lily was motivated to finish her homework so she could spin a prize wheel in class at the end of the week.

Thursday (September 11) was an exciting day because Annie got her cast.  She and Daddy went to the appointment together because Mommy had to take Lily to dance class.  Annie was very brave and liked choosing the color of her cast.  We were all surprised she went with bright green.

Getting the cast was so great for Annie. She finally felt less pain and was free to move around on her own.  She still needs help walking and getting to the potty, but she can scoot and crawl - and sometimes walk on her own.
Tommy has been a teething monster for the past two weeks.  Grumpy, lots of messy diapers, fevers, and sleeping lightly.  He sometimes accepts popsicles and frozen fruit to help with the pain, but other days he spits them out because the cold is too intense.  His molars are starting to rise on the bottom.  Hopefully they will break through soon and we'll be done with the worst part of his teething forever.

And the cards and gifts kept coming!  Annie was most excited about the magnetic blocks set from Grammy and Grampy.  Tommy likes to chew on them so Annie will only play them when Bubba is asleep or distracted.  She is very protective of her blocks.

Monday September 15 we went to a community fair put on by our dentist and the neighboring optometrist.  They had food and bouncy houses and pony rides, plus free gifts (toothbrushes and sunglasses).  Annie was so happy to get out of the house.  She rode the pony twice and smiled the whole way.  Tommy wouldn't go near any of the ponies or toys.  He sat down with a bag of Cheetos and was content.  Lily had fun trying a little of everything.

After more than a week of trying to cater to Annie, deal with a grumpy Tommy, and help Lily with school, I needed a girls' night out.  I went to a Zumba neon class with two of my friends.  It was a blast.  I am in the top right of the picture in bright orange - my half marathon shirt.  The class was 90 minutes....KILLER.  It was exhausting and rejuvenating at the same time.  The neon was fun.  Our teacher put up a huge black light and gave everyone glow stick bracelets and necklaces to wear.  It looked really cool in the dark.  But none of my pictures turned out.  Oh well.  Such a fun way to exercise.

Annie was still in her splint for her first dance class.  We went to watch but it was so sad seeing her sitting in her stroller, I couldn't bear to take any pictures.  Well, with the cast on she was ready to try a few elements of the dance.  Her class is working on a Little Miss Muffett routine so they spend a lot of time on these cute step stools - it works great for Annie's situation.  She got to "dance" and feel involved.  She is so happy to finally be big enough for dance class.

With Annie's injury and Lily in school, I have lots of photo ops for the big girls lately.  I couldn't leave Tommy out.  Here are two of him from this week.  I love his little smile.  I just wish we could see more of it.

Trying to keep Annie entertained has been a full time job.  She gets feeling pretty down while Lily is away at school and I don't want her zoned out on television all day.  Our living room looks like this a lot.  Puzzles, books, and toys all within Annie's reach.  And the dolly bunk beds Santa built for the girls last Christmas have been a great lap table.  Annie can color on them and eat on them when she's on the floor or the couch.

Jeremy has been working away on the shelves in the basement now that the drywall is all done.  We can't wait to increase our food storage and get the garage and basement more organized!  We (and by we, I mean Jeremy) even put down the carpet squares the Halls gave us.  The storage room is looking good.

After almost two weeks in the cast, Annie is finding her groove.  She can put a little weight on it and likes to walk sometimes.  She loves the wiggle cars because they are still easy to drive even with the cast (thanks Grammy and Grampy - one of the best presents ever!).  And our neighbors have a huge swing set with a tire swing that is easy for her to ride.  Notice Annie is in the same outfit in both pictures.  She is limited in wardrobe options due to the cast and wants to wear this shirt and skirt combo almost every day.  Her pain is minimal now but with the increase in activity level, she is having some circulation issues in her foot.  She often complains of an itchy or prickly feeling in her toes.  Just last night she was complaining that the "sour feeling in (her) toes" wouldn't go away.  Sour?  That's one way to describe it.  A little rest and elevation fixed the problem right away.  When she is on her feet a lot her foot gets a little swollen. 

Lily had another homework assignment to make a robot out of triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, and hexagons.  She had to draw and cut all the shapes by herself.  She loved this project.  It took us a couple of days.  Annie wanted to try a robot also.  Lily's is on the left - Annie's is on the right.  Both girls are so proud of their work.  And Lily can say the names of all the above shapes in Spanish.  She is learning so quickly.  Mommy got to go help in the classroom one day this week.  Lily was so excited to have me there.  It was a wonderful experience for me.  I am trading childcare with one of my friends.  We will trade weeks of babysitting/helping in our kids' classes.  I love that I have the opportunity to assist at school.

We've all been trying to help Annie feel involved and stay active as she heals.  Friends love coming over to bring little toys and sign Annie's cast.  Everyone hangs out on the bunk beds together or they sit on the trampoline together to enjoy a little sunshine.  Tommy even acts silly to make Annie laugh.  The other day he pulled his arm through the neck of his shirt and ran around in circles for a while.  We don't know what gave him the idea, but Annie thought it was funny.

So that's all for us.  Annie's cast will come off on October 9th.  She is happy she won't be wearing it for her birthday or Halloween.  We're happy she only needs it for a few weeks.

We had the missionaries over for dinner Friday night.  We talked with them about their current investigators.  They are teaching Lily's teacher Mrs. Cotrina and her family the discussions.  How exciting!  Please keep the Cotrina family in your prayers.  They have a lot of questions but seem very interested in the gospel.  If they join the church they would be in our stake.  Pretty cool! 

P.S. - Jeremy had some pictures on his phone for me to add.......

Bet you didn't know Jeremy is a cover model!  His picture was on the cover of a financial report for the university.  What's really funny about this to me is that he is wearing the same tie in the cover photo and in real life. 

These sweet pictures of Bubba are summer perfection.  Warm sunshine, neighborhood party, face covered in soda, pizza, mud, frosting....and riding a tractor truck.  Tommy loved playing with his little buddies at our neighbor's party last Saturday night.  All the kids had fun.  The dirt pile was a big hit.  Most of the kids ended up digging in the dirt before the night was through.  Annie was limited to the deck and the swing set, but she didn't seem to mind.  It was a great summer party.