On the DL

Henry suited up and went to his first t-ball game this season.  He brought his mitt (even though he can’t fit it on his hand) to catch any balls that might come over the fence toward him.  He sat on the bench and watched all the action.  It broke my heart just a little bit.  At the end of the game he got to have part of the team snack which almost made up for not getting to play.  Henry is a good kid.

Off With The Cast

Henry has been eagerly waiting to get his cast off and for the last week he’s been counting down the days until his appointment.  Today was the day and Ben took Henry in while I waited with the rest of the kids.  Ben said that Henry was quite nervous when it came time to have it off.

Everything looked good.  His little arm is so skinny and still a little bruised, but he’s free!  Ben said he could still see a line on the x-ray from the break, but his body  has grown new bone to fill in the gap.

Henry has a brace to wear for the next three weeks.  He’s feeling super protective of his new cast-free arm.  I’m trying to encourage him to use his arm for little things so that he can work on improving his range of motion and strengthening his muscles.  This evening before bed, he got to take a shower (without the brace) and just let the water run on his arm.  It was a big step for him and one he was happy about.

I’m amazed at how resourceful Henry has become.  He wants to play baseball so badly and has gotten quite good at batting one-handed.  He uses his injured arm to throw up pine cones or balls and then he hits them with his bat or even a stick.  I let him go to a t-ball practice last week and he did amazing.  I honestly couldn’t tell a difference in his abilities versus the other kids on the team.  Unfortunately, we are going to have to put off t-ball for a bit longer.  Hopefully, if things go well he may be able to play a few t-ball games before his season is done.  We definitely aren’t rushing it.  He has another check-up in 6 weeks to make sure everything has continued to heal.  This has sure turned into quite the ordeal!

Said

“I’m in a tucky place.” — Adelaide, tucking herself into her towel

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“I want to dance on a stage and I want Ikey to watch.” — Adelaide, talking about taking ballet and having cousin Ikey watch her dance

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“The book is like a magnet for me.” — William, talking about wanting to read Harry Potter instead of do his schoolwork

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“You and Dad should feel lucky. I started out wanting a horse and now I’m down to a small little hamster.” — Molly, talking about her quest for a pet

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“Mama, you know what I need for my room?  Gum.  Real gum.  Yummy gum.” — Adelaide, speaking very seriously

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“Molly is trying to hypnotize us into following her path and becoming weird.” — William

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“When I play the piano it feels like my fingers have brains.” — Molly

School at Home

Working through math problems in the sunshine.

 

Finishing up a test.

 

Spontaneous exploration of patterns.

 

Feasting on books.

Surrounded by love.

Game Ball

William earned the game ball at his baseball game today.  It was definitely his best game to date.  He hit the ball off the machine at all three of his at-bats.  He played third base and short stop and left field this game and did a great job.  He was so proud of himself.  We are too!

Fruit

Look at all those blossoms!  We’ll surely be having cherries this year.  I’m sure I’ll have to fight the birds for them.  I am so excited about all the fruit we have growing in our yard.  Behind those two cherry trees are two each of apple, plum and pear.

In addition to the stone fruit, we have a nice patch of thornless raspberry bushes.  I thought they were blueberries, until the leaves sprouted.  They are definitely raspberries.  We’ll have to fight the birds and squirrels for these too.

Then a few days ago a friend helped me identify these beautiful pink flowers.  They are salmon berries!  How exciting!

Oliver

Oliver has been fighting sickness this entire month.  He picked up a cold virus that’s been rather tricky to get rid of.  I called the doctor and made a visit to urgent care, but there hasn’t been anything to do.  Then this week he made a turn for the worse, spiked a fever, wouldn’t sleep, couldn’t breathe and was miserable.  I brought him into the doctor and they gave him antibiotics for a sinus infection.  Now, 48hrs later, I have a whole new baby!  Even though he is still congested, he is happy and able to nap in his own bed.  Hooray!  I love my baby, but it is hard to have to have him attached to me all day and all night.  Sometimes Mama just needs a break.

Adelaide

Oh Adelaide, my fickle little princess.

I think she is finally starting to settle down after all of the changes we threw at her.  (Move, baby brother, potty training…)  We were afraid that she had turned feral for awhile there, but it turns out there is quite a bit of sweetness under all that sass.

 

She is constantly busying herself with different activities throughout the house.  To find her, I just follow the mess.  Her favorite activities right now are reading books, playing babies, building forts with Henry, and drawing pictures.

 

A few weeks ago at church, Ben drew her a little kitty and then she drew her own kitty with whiskers and everything.

 

A few days ago, she drew a self-portrait and then asked me to add the shirt, skirt, and limbs.  She was adamant about me adding fingers and then she was so proud that she had added a neck all by herself.

And just look at these Hs!  She did this whole page all by herself.  I can tell she must be watching Henry doing his schoolwork.  I decided that I’d better show her how to do an A for Adelaide, but she decided it would be more fun to try and make other letters.  (She strongly dislikes anything that is my idea.)  So now she will carefully draw different shapes and ask me what letters they are.  I think by next year she will definitely be ready to do some school activities with the big kids.

 

 

Henry

Henry is always moving and he hasn’t let his broken arm slow him down one bit.  Riding his bike with one arm?  Check.  Shooting hoops with one arm?  Check.  Hitting baseballs with one arm?  Check.

Several times a day, I have to ask Henry to stop circling me.  Ever in motion, he will walk circles around me while he talks to me until I get dizzy.  If he isn’t circling, then he is inevitably kicking something, anything, that is lying on the floor.  I’m so glad that the weather is starting to turn because this boy of mine needs a good dose of outside playtime every day to keep us both sane.

 

Henry only has a few more weeks with his cast on.  I can tell his arm is healing and that he is feeling better.  I can’t explain it very well other than to say that he just looks healthier.  He seems to carry himself differently and he even uses his arm for things now instead of just letting it hang.  I’m excited for him to be able to get back to normal soon.

William

William has discovered the world of Harry Potter.  We read the first book together and the first chapter of book #2.  But then he grew tired of waiting for bedtime to read another chapter and decided to read on his own.  He’s now nearing the end of book 6.  Six!  I hadn’t realized that he’d become such a proficient reader.  So quick too.  I shouldn’t be too surprised, seeing as Molly was also an exceptional reader at that age.

I love listening to William belly laugh when he gets to a funny part in the book.  Less fun is when I think he’s trying to grasp a math concept I’m explaining, but then he blurts out some question or observation about Harry Potter instead.  (Okay, I kind of love that too.  It makes me laugh.)