Thanksgiving Weekend (Part 1)

Wednesday we made the trek to get our tree. The weather was perfect and the selection was awesome. It Gerrit liked holding the saw and Emmit even held it for a brief time. It is now decorated (thanks to the help from Gerrit) and we are enjoying the evergreen smell and beauty it brings to the living room.

Thanksgiving was low key which was perfect. Travis came for football and dinner. I didn't get to see the Lion's game (guess there was not much to see) due to cooking and decorating but Gerrit was insistent on putting on the 'miracles' (ornaments - not sure where he came up with miracles) before the lights so I had to get the lights done ASAP. I even forgot the garland and had to do that after he left for Iowa! It was such a warm day that after dinner we took a walk to the park. The boys enjoyed getting out and I enjoyed a little exercise after a big meal. We were hoping the 'cool' air would be good for Emmit (he got croup Wed night) but it was so warm it didn't do what we were hoping it would. Uncle Travis enjoyed the zip line which prompted Adam to join in on the fun.  

Friday, Adam and Gerrit left for Iowa with Dave, Paul and Luke. Stay tuned for a few pictures later this week.

Post Dinner Fun

Lately this is what our house looks like after dinner:

Emmit took a beak from the action to smile for me.

Let's Be Honest

The phone rang tonight, and like always, Gerrit enjoys answering it...on the other end is Oma.

Oma: Are you being a good boy?

Gerrit: No, I just got in trouble for hitting my dad in the nuts

This same kid has had the following similar conversation with 2 different people recently:

Other person: is your mom there?

Gerrit: no

Other person: so you are home alone?

Gerrit: yes....pause....just kidding - here she is!

This same kid locked me out of the house at 9pm and sets the alarm off to the Subaru! Luckily my look of death was enough for him to unlock the door so I could deactivate the alarm! 

Love the kid but if this is any indication for what he's going to be like when he's a teenager...I'm doomed!

Batman and Robin Sighting!

Halloween was extra special this year because Oma and Opa were here! We had a quick dinner and then it was time to put the costumes on - Gerrit had been asking all day to put it on! We headed out to the neighbors first. Shorty was sitting on the wall awaiting our arrival. Emmit was a quick learner - he had no problem getting candy from the bowl and filling his pumpkin with as much as he could before we pulled him away. (Thankfully he's cute so he didn't look like a greedy kid!) At Garry and Shirley's (the other side of Nick and Shorty's), Emmit stuffed 7 popcorn balls in his bucket before we had to hide the bowl of popcorn balls! We made a quick stop at Langley's before heading over to Dahlen's where Luke took they boys up and down his street (with Adam's assistance). I stayed at the house with Oma and Opa and enjoyed an adult beverage (my kind of trick or treating!). Gerrit lasted only a few houses before he wanted to go home. Emmit on the other hand was knocking on the doors and helping himself to as much candy as he could get his hands on!

It was a fun night, not a ton of candy which I'm thankful for (so I don't eat it all). Gerrit enjoyed his cape and tried to get it to 'fly' in the wind. Emmit picked off all the details I had glued on to his costume. (Note to self: sew the details on and the costume will last longer!)

I love thinking of costumes for the boys - trying to keep them as a 'duo' of some sort. We already have an idea for next year and we have a year to talk it up and hope Gerrit will agree to it rather than be want to be a football player (again). Until next year - Happy Halloween! 

October Fun

Figured I should get these pictures posted before the Halloween ones! We've been busy lately with Oma and Opa visiting and having a blast.
Luke and Anne came over for the annual pumpkin carving night. We ended up with 4 pumpkins this year from our garden and Anne and Luke brought a few too so we had a lot to carve! Gerrit enjoyed drawing on them and assisted in telling us what he wanted carved (which is why there is an H on one of them).

The other morning, I walked into the kitchen to find this:

Thought it was too cute  not to get a picture of! He loves to 'hide' or sit in the pantry. It makes me nervous because my spice are in there and most are in glass containers!

Following Gerrit's check up he wanted to go to the last basketball practice. We took the little ball thinking it would be easier for him w/ only the 1 arm. He did a little bit of dribbling and enjoyed playing the games without the ball - and the other kids did too! No one told them not to use a ball and before we knew it, they were playing what time is it Mr. Fox without a basketball! Gerrit got a little extra 'help' or attention from his coach when he lifted him up to dunk which made the other kids a bit jealous. I worked with him on the side showing him how to shoot with one hand and before the end of the session, he made a basket! Oma and Opa enjoyed watching and were very impressed with his coordination compared to the other kids. Emmit found the drinking fountain this time (thankfully he didn't find the button to get the water!). He also enjoyed peeking out in the hall where the dance line girls were practicing!

We'll have some fun pictures from Halloween after tonight so stay tuned!

Fun at the Hospital

Gerrit had his 1 week check up yesterday. Luckily Oma and Opa are still here so they drove him to my school and I took him from there. This way I could still teach 1/2 a day. Gerrit came in and watched the kids play volleyball and was disappointed they were not playing football.

We had a little time to kill so we went to the toy store and looked around. This also was a great distraction from eating - he couldn't eat until after the appointment and it was well past lunch time!

Following our field trip to the toy store we headed back to the hospital. It was a piece of cake going the 2nd time now that we knew where to go and what to expect. We headed to get the x-ray done and then went back to the waiting room until the Dr was ready to see us. While we were there Gerrit had the chance to decorate a pumpkin. It was all set up and he could color on a little pumpkin as well as put stickers on it. I helped him out a bit and distracted him from the donut holes and apple juice that was also available.

The start of the masterpiece:

Working on the nose:

The finished product and a happy patient:

This was in his goodie bag he got when he finished the pumpkin. I thought it was hilarious and convinced him to wear it long enough to get a picture! (The scratch under it is real - he fell at the farm last weekend - holding a stick! Luckily he didn't take his eye out!)

I figured our wait this time would be similar to the last time but was wrong. So all the games, knitting, and new toy was not needed! We just finished the pumpkin and were getting settled in for a decent wait and we were called back!

We had to go back for a few more x-rays as the Dr. wanted to see his elbow area as well. Gerrit didn't put up a fuss and did a great job sitting still. He answered all the questions for the Dr. and we had a little time to discuss MSU's big win last weekend as well as the upcoming game vs the Cornhuskers - his Dr. is a Nebraska fan.

Everything is healing well and the alignment with the elbow looks great. He will have his cast off on Nov. 28 - just after Thankgiving. (I think he can race in Iowa if he wants to and can balance his bike w/ one hand as the healing will be done. Will see - he'll be racing the Grinch and he didn't like that last year even when he got a build a bear at the finish line!) The Dr was kind enough to come in on a day she normally isn't at this hospital just for Gerrit. The receptionist said Gerrit must have done something great for that to happen!

Until then, we will count down the days until its off and do the best we can with it on. He's gotten a few new toys out of the situation so I think he doesn't mind the cast!

Gerrit's New Accessory

So Oma and Opa arrive Wed. evening after dinner. Gerrit was soo excited for them to come; he couldn't wait! Luckily we had enough time to squeeze in a haircut before they arrived. We were sitting around the living room talking and having dessert while Gerrit was playing. He was laying over my legs (which were propped up on the coffee table). After too many times of doing this, (it was starting to hurt), I let my legs down while Gerrit was laying on them and he fell to the floor  (maybe 18" drop?). He cried and I said I was sorry and we gave him some Tylonol and left it at that.  The only odd thing was Opa, Adam and I heard a 'snap' and deep down I was secretly hoping it was his hand hitting his arm when he fell. We decided to go to bed and see how he felt in the morning.

Thursday, Adam decided to stay home (2nd day off) due to his nasty cold which was given to him by me! (He lucked out and the worst is over, I'm still dealing with it after 2 weeks - but have meds waiting for me at the pharmacy tomorrow thanks to Dr. Pott!) Anyways, Gerrit woke up and was baby-ing his arm which was not like him. Adam asked him to rotate his arm and he couldn't do it. It was not really swollen either which made us hesitate to bring him in. But, for peace of mind, we decided to make a trip to the cities and find out. Adam stayed home due to his cold, Emmit went to daycare, and the rest of us headed north thinking that after the dr. we would have lunch and hit a few favorite stores and be back for dinner.

11am we had an apt at a different office than our usual place but still connected to the same system. He saw the oldest practicing pediatrician I've ever met with terrible bed side manors. To top it off, the x-ray machine was 'locked' and wouldn't take the pictures and the women didn't know how to unlock it. So I sat with Gerrit crying in the x-ray room for almost a 1/2 hour watching 4 nurses figure this thing out. Luckily they got it to work and after the 1st photo it was obvious he fractured his arm about an 1.5" from his elbow. After 2 pictures and a few phone calls, we had an apt. with an orthopedic surgeon (who specializes in kids) at 3 pm at one of the children's hospitals in St. Paul. No big deal, we would go to lunch and go shopping - Gerrit earned a toy for surviving the visit. The kicker - he couldn't eat or drink until the apt. in case they had to put him under to put the cast on! So that meant  no lunch for the rest of us either. Yikes!

We headed out to the sports store to get Gerrit his football helmets he has been asking for for over a year now (he chose that over a Playmobil toy!). We were able to stop at the grocery store to get a snack for him for after the apt. as well as sandwiches for the rest of us to try and eat when Gerrit wasn't looking. And Gerrit took a nap while we were at the grocery store so he knew nothing of the food that we bought. I secretly ate my sandwich driving and Oma and Opa had to wait till we were called back at the hospital before they could eat - what troopers!

We hit a few more stores and then headed to the hospital. I am always nervous going to hospitals and luckily everything went smoothly with finding where we needed to be etc. We had to wait over a half hour before we were called in but passed the time by quizzing Gerrit on the names of the Big 10 team helmets he just got. It was also humbling to look around and see all the kids in wheel chairs and made me thankful we just had a broken arm to deal with - a minor inconvenience compared to what we saw.
The ortho Dr. was great. She knew how to deal with kids and came up with a game plan that worked for me.

We tried doing the cast w/o Gerrit sedated and it worked! He cried because he was scared and was distracted a bit by Phineas and Ferb on TV. The casting ladies were able to put enough pressure on it to get it back in place and aligned properly too! Luckily it was a fracture so it didn't need to be set. Gerrit had his choice of colors and was going to go with a blue/green combo but then last minute changed his mind to just green - Opa had been prepping him all day to go with green for MSU!

We then headed for another x-ray to make sure it was set properly and I ran into a former basketball player I had coached. She was working the x-ray machine for us. It made both of us feel old but was nice to see her none the less. This x-ray was much faster than earlier so even though Gerrit cried, he did great and we were back in with the Dr. looking at his x-rays on the computer in no time.

At this point I gave Gerrit a cookie without clearing it with the Dr. - oops! Luckily things looked good and Gerrit eating was not an issue. We go back in a week for another x-ray to confirm it is healing properly and it doesn't need to be re-set again. We also have to plan for "Plan B" as I call it - sedation so fasting again! At least this time we know about it and can plan accordingly.

We were planning on pizza for lunch so we had pizza for dinner instead due to the fasting all day. Gerrit ate his whole kids pizza and Oma and Opa just had a snack seeing they had eaten lunch not that long ago! Finally, we were home at 7pm after leaving at 10am!

Here's the brave kid sportin' his new cast:

A silly face - you can see he is busy playing with his new football helmets:

Dad signing the cast (mom signed it first):

Of all the times for this to happen (as flukey as it was) this week was a good one with Oma and Opa around. They were a big help and support seeing Adam was sick with his cold during the whole ordeal and Gerrit was going to preschool only a little bit this next week so he could spend time with Oma and Opa and now with the cast - it will be easier for him to be home rather than at school. He can't play on the playground due to the gravel so for the next 6 weeks is the grass or inside for him. No biking or golfing, both of which he was going to do and he was so excited to show Opa his golf swing! Bummer.
Another bonus for Oma and Opa here - they can bring Gerrit up to meet me for the next apt so I don't have to take a full day off! So handy.

He is adjusting quite well to having to wear it - he stayed inside all day and didn't really try to get outside and play rough with it. He has started to use his left hand a little and realize it is good for some things. He keeps asking if it can come off tomorrow so the whole idea of 6 weeks doesn't quite register with him. We are hoping by Thanksgiving he will not need to have his cast as an accessory any longer! Until then, we will all adjust to his 1 arm capabilities and keep an extra eye on him so he doesn't use it as a weapon on his brother!