Our first broken bone

This pic was taken in the ER last night.
This is the pretty version before everything turned black and blue. Poor Jane broke her finger last night. (Friday)  :( She was eating dinner when her chair (that we found out was broken) fell over with her on it and the heaviest part of the back of the chair slammed her pinkie. I've never heard Jane in that much pain before. I almost cried with her because I felt awful for her. Robert and I took her to the ER. We only had to wait 2.5hrs. which was much shorter than what I was expecting. The xray confirmed a broken bone. It's the section of the bone underneath the base of her fingernail. She needs to keep the splint on at least 2 weeks, or longer if we can manage it. 4-6 weeks healing time for the bone. It's a total bummer because Jane is queen of the monkey bars. 2 days in to school and she's going to have to be careful when she is playing. She is hurting this morning.

I'm supposed to check in with her pediatrician in a week to check how it is healing. The good news is that they don't think we'll have to see a bone specialist because it was a clean break, not jagged or crooked.

 This morning. (Saturday)

UPDATE....
I changed her gauze yesterday (Sunday). Here's what the other side of the finger looks like. Her fingernail is also filled with blood so she may loose it eventually.

Claire's 4yr. Stats -

The best part of Claire's Dr. appointment yesterday was when the Dr. asked her if she knew her first and last name. She very clearly and confidently stated:  CLAIRE   BEAR

Height: 42.5"
91st   percentile

Weight: 35.8lbs.
49th  percentile

She got all of her Kinder shots yesterday, so she's ready for next Fall. She is the last of my children to have completed all of her shots! Three cheers for no more shots.

First Day of School - 2012

4th Grader, 3rd Grader, 1st Grader

Well, they're off to their first day of this school year!

Linda got Mrs. Wickman, who was Bruce's teacher last year.

Jane got Mrs. Briggs, who was Linda's teacher when she was in 1st grade. I'm very happy about those teachers. This is Jane's first year of full day school.

Bruce, however, got stuck with a teacher that I've been repeatedly warned about. I was not happy. I spent most of yesterday morning in the office trying to get him out of it. I even talked to the principal on the phone last night. Unfortunately, he'll be in there for a couple of weeks before we can get him transferred out. Ughh! Of course all of the teachers were standing outside of their class this morning greeting parents and students but when we got to Bruce's class his teacher was nowhere to be found. It's going to be a long couple of weeks for him. 

Claire and I will be hanging out at home. This is Claire's last school year at home with me. She starts Kinder next year!

Surgery Results

We met with Claire's surgeon today to go over test results from her surgery. He read the results and the only thing I understood on my own was the word  BENIGN. :) The tissue in her neck was healthy tissue, just in the wrong place. However, it would have kept growing as she grew and got older, so she would've had to live with a big lump in her neck or a small scar. So, good news! Movin on...

A few pics of the incision area. This one is where they marked before surgery. It's actually underneath that circle, but she has her head tilted back.

Here it is post surgery with the steri strips on.

Here's how it looks when the steri strips were removed. The surgeon said to keep it covered when we're in the sun long periods because sometimes scars will darken when exposed to sunlight. She still has stitches underneath the skin which makes the scar a little puffy. They will dissolve in time.

Jane - 6 years old- August 16th

Happy birthday to Jane! Jane is sweet. We really like her. :)

She has a quiet confidence about her. She holds her own with anyone but is never the kid that needs to get attention from everyone. She loves learning anything new and is very determined. For example, last month Linda lost a tooth. Jane saw that Linda got money under her pillow so she went to work on one of her bottom teeth and it was out within a week! :) When she decided she wanted to ride a bike she was constantly in the back yard working hard at it until she got it. She is really good at anything she does because she follows directions and works hard. She loves being active and is really good at reading. She is always the first one down the stairs when I call for the kids and always remembers to put her plate away after every meal. She's a keeper. She does not like to be left out or treated like a little kid.

Facts about Jane:

She hardly ever uses a pillow or a blanket

She often snores

For her birthday dinner she chose macaroni & cheese, toast, and strawberries

Her favorite treat is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

She loves sweet but also loves salt. She would put salt on everything if I let her. She eats is plain.

When she grows up she wants to be a mom

Jane is my only girl with pierced ears (and she's proud of that)
Her favorite color is black

Birthday Destination

Bruce & Jane have birthdays close together. They both decided that they wanted to go to Disney California Adventure this year. So, I convinced them to go together. :) We had a long, hot, but FUN day. They were most excited to go see Cars Land.

It was a fun day.