Just us...

Caleb got his cast off yesterday! I have a picture of the process, but Caleb was really scared and is crying and devastated and I just don't think I can post it. Poor dude. He is over it and excited about his new freedom. He has to wear the splint for three weeks and is still restricted, but he can take it off when not playing and has movement of his elbow back! He has lizard skin (doctor's term) that he likes to rub on my leg and leave little skin leavings...fun stuff.  We are in a better place and super excited!

So since I won't post a picture of the cast removal, I thought I would just post some pictures of us. Love you all!!!

Crafy Moment...

As you can tell by the pregnancy ticker in the sidebar, my sister is into her third trimester and my new nephew is almost here! So Caleb and I broke out the paint and created some one-of-a-kind awesomeness for baby Matthew. I thought I would share. I just really like the results!

L-R:

1- Caleb wrote out Matthew on a piece of paper, which I scanned onto transfer paper. I love that the onesie has baby Matthew's name on it written by his big cousin Caleb!

2 & 3- Then Caleb just got into the painting, picking out a yellow moose stamp for one of them!

4- Caleb's handprints as a heart...since he had a cast on his right hand, it is actually two left handprints minus a thumb on one of them!

Caleb picked out this iron-on....

...and I couldn't resist a star on the bum!

These were an extra in the package. I made some washcloth lollipops and was pretty okay with my first attempt! My sister loves them and says she doesn't want to open them!

Our Retreat

More catch-up: this time we are flashing back to Labour Day Weekend....

The Wednesday prior to the long weekend I sent out a prayer request for our poor dude suffering from the effects of a cast. My Mother-in-Law almost immediately responded with an incredably encouraging phonecall and an offer to retreat to their home in Houston for the weekend. An invitation that we quickly took them up on. It was the best decision we could have made, especially considering that we had previously thought a quiet weekend at home was what we needed!
So we packed our car and headed off. They wouldn't hardly let us lift a finger, we got the sleep we had been deprived of for a few too many weeks and just had a really good time. The day after we got to Houston, Brian's Mom took us to the Johnson Space Center. Caleb had a great time exploring NASA but NOTHING compares to his reaction when we went into the building housing the Saturn V rocket. He just stopped in his tracks. He has a space room and space books, but nothing prepared him for just how big spaceships really are.
Thank you so much Grandmom and Grandad. We went home in better spirits, more relaxed and with loads of fabulous memories. Caleb saw a waffle maker the other day and stated that we needed to go to Grandmom and Grandad's house to make some (he has completely forgotten that we make them too). He talks about the trip a lot. It has made a lasting impression on all of us. We love you!

Astronaut Caleb reporting for duty.

Ready for it...he is touching an ACTUAL moon rock!

Buttons!

Grandmom with her boys.

About to check out the space shuttle. Super excited little dude.

Caleb was most excited about the space potty inside...

Don't look now Caleb. But there is a really big astronaut behind you.

These look like toys compared to what was inside the building. I love this picture.

This picture now ranks amongst my faves. Love it!

My my. What big F-1 engines you have!

So tall.

The infamous waffles!

Spidey-Caleb couldn't wait for Grandmom to come make muffins with him for breakfast.

Another fave!

Caleb with his Grandmom and Grandad. So very sweet.

Fort Worth Children's Museum

For the summer's last Mom2Mom playdate, we headed to the Fort Worth Children's Museum for some big fun. We carpooled with Caleb's best buds Trevor and Tatum, which always adds more fun and a bit of crazy to the day!

This was our first time to visit the museum and it was worth the drive and the traffic (of course, I wasn't driving, so Heather may or may not agree...). The children's museum is inside of the Nature and Science museum, so there was no end to the activities and exhibits for the kiddos. I think that I will let the pictures speak for themselves...mostly. =) If you haven't gone and you don't live in another state or country...then you have to take your children!

Running...with sling...Mommy held her breath and managed to get a pic even though she was afraid to look...

Industrious builder.

Sitting in a dino-sized footprint. Our big dino-dude!

Heaven for little boys that LOVE big trucks.

Precious smiles and giggles. Love!

Watching his paper cup creation soar!

Caleb's dream come true. He would have stayed there all day but other little dudes wanted their moments too.

Update Much?

Okay. I am totally busted. My Dad and brother had a conversation about "those bloggers that don't update their blogs" with me sitting right beside them. Okay! I get the hint!

I have not updated and I apologize. It has been a rough six weeks! Since our last update, we actually ended up taking Caleb in to see his pediatrician. He wasn't adjusting to his cast, was not acting like himself and was too tired all the time. It ends up that he was depressed. This makes sense given how incredably active and independent he is, and how much that was affected by his break. It rocked his whole world. But in the past week, he has made a big turn-around. The better he gets at using his left hand, the happier he gets. My Aunt Lorrie suggested we play up the Super Caleb aspect of using his left arm, and that has worked like a charm! So while he still has his moments, we are mostly dealing with a little 'tude compliments of being almost four....but we don't need to get into that.

We have tried to keep our dude busy the past few weeks. We had an Uncle Matt playdate, another playdate at the Fort Worth Children's Museum, and a long-weekend reprieve in Houston with Brian's parents that he still talks about! My parents, and Chai, finally came home this past Friday and Caleb was very happy to see them. I will post a number of updates with pictures from these events, so keep checking back! 

We love you all! 

Already? Really?

Let me set the stage for a shocking and funny moment compliments of our dude.

Tatum was jumping on the trampoline, quite happy and with no intention of stopping yet. Caleb was standing beside the trampoline doing his best to convince her that it was his turn. She wasn't having it. Caleb was told to be patient and wait his turn. He chose instead to do what he does best...reason with her.

The result (as heard by Tatum's daddy, Nathan):

"Tatum. Do you see that sign right there. It says, No Girls Allowed."

It didn't work. Nice try dude. Where in the world did you get that?

Life With A Cast

Thank You.

Thank you for your prayers and cards and encouragment and care packages. Thank you for loving our dude and wanting to help him feel better.

Thank You.

Because life with a cast sucks.

We are so incredably sad for our dude. Because he is sad. When he goes to give me a hug and whacks me with his cast by accident, he gets really sad. Just puts his head in my neck and holds on tight and just feels sad. When he couldn't play his computer game because he couldn't manipulate the mouse with his cast, he got sad. Bathtime was horrid, because there is no way the plastic bag is comfortable and it doesn't allow for fun bath-play. He got really sad. The weight of the cast and how it is rubbing his upper arm...sad.

We wish we could make it go away, but we can't. I can't make this better. Brian can't make this better. And five weeks seems like an eternity for our precious dude. All he has wanted to do all summer was go to Hawaiin Falls. We were supposed to take him this weekend. Now he can't swim and that is all he wants to do. If he tries to do normal Caleb things (like rough-house with Trevor, jump off furniture or twirl around like a little madman) he only hears, "be careful" or "Caleb you can't do that."

But there were so many things to make him smile this week and we are so grateful for every single one of them. For Grandmom coming to spend a few nights, for McKenna's little playdate and the new game she brought with her, for the card from Celina and the care package from the Brodies. For Trevor playing with Caleb like nothing had changed, for Uncle Matt's daylong playdate and for lego sent by Grammy and Pop. Thank you all. Every bit helps. Truly.

This really is hard. Noone wants to see their little blessing hurting and sad. We think that he is okay and coping, but in the unguarded moments we glimpse just how aware he is of his predicament and just how much he is hurting.  I am comforted knowing that Caleb is God's child more than ours; that He is wrapping His loving arms around our dude.

From Caleb. We told him the letters. He wrote them. He also reads now. Seriously. Words like enter, fresh, water...

Grammy and Pop sent Uncle Matt on a mission for them (they are in Canada). To the Lego store. The three of them spent the better part of an hour assembling Caleb's new treasure. Precious moment!

The masterpiece!

Boys and their toys.

Thank you for the smiles Uncle Matt!

Playing his favourite game...hide and seek!

I hid in the shower and got this jewel of a picture when he found me. Totally worth it.