Mary Poppins would be proud

It's new year's eve and it was nice out (notice the shorts). The kids were dying to do something so we decided to go fly a kite!





I was laying on the ground to get these pictures - didn't get any of Travis because I was convinced he'd let go of the kite!

On the Mend

Some of you know, many of you don't... Sophie ended up having to have surgery on her broken arm. 2 days before Christmas. She is now sporting a rod that runs the length of her forearm. She did really well with the surgery. That's the good news. The bad news is that we'll have to do it all over again in about 2 months to have the rod removed. Lovely. Not surprisingly, a cast doesn't slow her down much. Among other things, she was out raking leaves with one arm the other day... Here are some pics from our 7 hours at the hospital.

It took her a loooooooooong time to wake up from the anesthesia... She woke up briefly for a few minutes - long enough to ask to sit in my lap - and then was out again. Cute little girl.

And some others while I'm sitting here uploading...

Making our gingerbread house:

Siblings gotta HUG

Our Nativity play on Christmas Eve:

Travis really liked traveling by donkey...

Bridget was nice enough to fill in as Baby Jesus for us

From Christmas morning...
Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!
Ride 'em Cowboy!! The pajamas of choice these days:

Cutest little puppy EVER!!

That's all for now - Happy (almost) New Year!!

What did Sophie get for Christmas?

The short answer - a cast.

She fell at the park and broke her ulna (bone from elbow to little finger).


Lisa called me from the park just as I was finalizing lunch plans. I ran down and a quick look confirmed it was broken. I carried her home and felt so bad that there was nothing I could do to make the pain go away. I put her arm in a sling and loaded her in the car for the all too familiar trip to urgent care. She was terrified the doctor was going to have to cut her to fix the bone or give her a shot.

When we got there, people were really quite nice. We had to wait for about 45 minutes, but I think she melted everyone's hearts. The nurse gave her 3 princess stickers and the man ahead of us in the waiting room begged them to take Sophie instead of him because he was "just sick" whereas she "was in pain".

We got to watch Polar Express in the waiting room and found out they even were showing it on a small TV in the examination room. So here's Sophie with all the possible forms of comfort we could offer. She's nuzzling a princess sticker, snuggling with her "helicopter" blankie, and watching TV.


I really liked the doctor. Shortly after this picture a nurse gave me some adult Tylenol for her (i.e. not candy flavored). I got it in her mouth, but that's as far as it went. She refused to swallow and spit it out just as the doctor came in the room. He quickly grabbed a pad and wiped it all off the floor. He listened to her while she told him not to cut her or give her a shot, then took a quick peek at her arm, confirmed it was a break and then sent a nurse back in with children's (i.e. grape flavored) Tylenol. Sophie had no problem drinking that.

Fortunately the first x-ray picture was clear enough so we didn't have to twist her arm to get the second. Aside from diagnosing the actual break, I was surprised by how little they could do for her though. They brought in a fancier sling, and added a fancy splint, but essentially it's what I could do for her. Thanks first aid merit badge. Either way, she was clearly in less pain as we headed to Sonic for her ice cream cone.


Sophie had been playing at the park with a neighbor. We found out that this little girl was blaming herself for Sophie's accident. When we got home, she came by with a couple balloons for Sophie. That seemed to make everyone happier.

Sophie's got an appointment tomorrow with the orthopedic surgeon and will most likely come home with a cast. We knew we should have given her a bath last night.

Put on a Happy Face

it was too hard to figure out which were the best best ones - I'd have uploaded about 68 pics... so here's just 5 that I took this morning. CUTE LITTLE BABY!!!!!!!! Enjoy. :)

New Toy! (Cont.)

I can't help but point this out. You can zoom in on the catch light in the photo below to see two proud parents.



We love our new toy!

Sophie's First Talk

Sophie's had a big weekend.

Saturday night she and 2 friends sang When Joseph Went to Bethlehem in our church Christmas Party.

Today at church, she sang a couple Christmas songs in sacrament meeting with the ward primary.

Then she gave her first talk ever in Primary today. I typed it below - these words are right out of her mouth - only excluding some of her more off the wall responses to my questions.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus is special, he is our brother.

I'm grateful for Jesus.

I know he loves me because he created flowers, trees, animals and friends.

Most of all, I like that he was born.

I like Christmas because it is his birthday, and he was sent down [to earth].

He died too, but became alive again by a miracle.

I know Jesus lives.

I know Jesus loves us.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

New Toy!

Well, it's been a loooong time in coming, but we finally got a new camera!! Thank you, generous donor, and Happy Birthdays, Happy Anniversary, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas to us!! Suddenly, trips to the park are SUPER fun. Here are some pics from our last trip...

These pants are SO classic. Love them.

possibly my new favorite picture

and for those of you who helped chime in about the paint color... we finally picked it and painted!! It looks great! pictures will be forthcoming...