weekend review

This past weekend was really fun, and really needed.
Friday night we went to dinner at Trio and then went up to the Hansen's family cabin with them and the Turnbulls. We stayed there that night and stayed up way to late playing fun games, having a dance party, telling stories and watching a movie. the next morning we slept in, ate breakfast and packed up and stopped at Chipotle on the way home. This group is so fun and a little crazy together and it made for lots of laughs. Paul and I felt totally re-energized (in an I-stayed-up-too-late kind of way) and grateful for our friendships. We were also grateful to Rebekah and Jordan a.k.a the best babysitters ever. In the parking lot of Chipotle we realized we never took any pictures so here's our last minute proof:

Saturday we hung out with the kiddos then went to a late showing of Captain Phillips which was INTENSE but good.

Sunday we had a lesson recapping things that we learned in general conference and I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes:

Elder Uchtdorf

Elder Holland

 Elder Christofferson

 Elder Nelson

first metatarsal

Here is the (very detailed) account of how our poor little Nolan man broke his foot.

On Wednesday night (October 2nd) Nolan climbed up on one of the kitchen chairs and was standing on the seat, facing the back of the chair and holding onto it. This is something that he does all the time... climbs up then climbs down. He is usually not up there for long and he's a very good climber. All of a sudden I heard the chair fall and looked to see that it had tipped over, making Nolan fall face forward to the floor. I got to him as soon as it happened and he wasn't trapped or immediately looked hurt, just crying a lot. It took him a really long time to stop crying (very unlike him) and I was holding him the whole time. When he had calmed down I set him on the floor and his legs began to tremble and he started crying again and wanted to be held. I could tell that he didn't want to put pressure on his legs so I moved around his legs, knees, ankles, but he didn't show any signs of pain. He was still fussy though and by this time it was late so I gave him Tylenol and put him to bed. I thought it was probably a sprain and he would be able to sleep it off.

He slept great and woke up happy the next morning. However when he wanted to get down we out him down and the same thing happened: legs trembling and him crying. We again moved around his legs and began to see that the right foot looked a little swollen. When Paul pushed against the bottom of his right foot he started crying. We knew it had to be something to do with his foot. He started crawling and pulling himself up with one foot then standing on one foot holding onto things.

I took him to our doctor's office that morning. Our regular doctor was not there so we saw his PA. She also diagnosed it was something with his foot and guessed a fracture. They put him in a splint and sent us to get an x-Ray. We went to the hospital and got the x-Ray and he was very good and held very still (with a tech holding him down) and did not fuss or make a peep during the x-ray. Both kids were very well behaved the whole day... Caitlin took her job very seriously to help Nolan be brave and sing him songs and get him stickers. Nolan was his happy self.. flirting with all the nurses and saying hi and just crawling around playing wherever he could.

The x-rays came back as a buckle (aka green stick) fracture on the first metatarsal, supposedly the best kind of fracture to have that will heal well and is not close to the growth plate. We were instructed to come back Monday for a cast after the swelling had gone down.

Monday came and we took off the splint in the morning to inspect the swelling and noticed a big red blister on the back of his heel. This had probably come from the type of splint he had and his heel rubbing against the back. I took him into the doctor and they said with a blister they could not put a cast over it because it could turn into an ulcer under the conditions in the cast. They re-fashioned the splint so his heel was exposed and instructed me to wait and see if it went away. In the new splint Nolan was able to walk a little and still never showed signs of complaint and the only pain was when I had to put medicine on his blister. He is such a trooper!

Unfortunately the blister did not heal by Friday. At this point it had been over a week since the break and I was anxious to get him in a more permanent solution to get him healing! They said my options were to wait for the blister to go away and then cast or to get him a boot. That way I could take the boot on and off to monitor his blister. They called an orthopedic specialist and were able to find the smaller boot they make that would fit him. (I believe the boot is suited for 18 months-2 year olds so it's a good thing he's a big boy) I took him to the orthopedic office and they put the boot on him and showed me how help his blister.

So now he's in the boot until at least 4 weeks after the break. He is able to walk in it and so far has continued to be a great sport. There has been some discomfort and rubbing and sometimes I'll see him try to take it off or look frustrated with it but for the most part he does well. He is supposed to wear it 24/7 minus a couple times a day when I can take it off to check his blister and give him a quick bath. The saddest is seeing him sleep in that huge thing, although while he's sleeping is the only time i feel like he is truly being able to heal because he's so active the rest of the time. He hasn't been sleeping as well as before so I'm hoping that is due to the boot also.

It was a crazy week getting everything diagnosed and situated. Even through two different splints and now a boot hasn't discouraged him or held him back from doing anything he has wanted to do (definitely a good and bad thing). This little boy is so rough and tumble and fearless I have to think this is just the beginning. But I'm also grateful that he is so good-natured about everything.

weekend review

October 4th was Vivint's year end party. They have a history of throwing great parties and this year was no exception. It was a private concert from Imagine Dragons held in the Energy Solutions Arena. We went to dinner beforehand with friends and then went to enjoy our 9th row floor seats for the concert. I knew about the 3 most popular Imagine Dragons songs and found that I liked a lot of their other ones. I had no idea they were all so musically involved too... they were constantly changing up instruments and banging on drums and switching around places all while singing and performing. It was really cool. We all enjoyed the fist pumping - heart beating out of your chest - ear splitting show.

The following two days were general conference. We enjoyed the time at home as a family and listened to the messages as much as we could. We came up with a little game for Caitlin to do while listening: we hung up primary pictures of key words and whenever she heard one of her "special words" she got  a coin and during the songs she could use her coins to buy treats. She really liked it and did a great job for the most part. We played with daddy's newest toy: a motorized mountain board. We also got to take a family drive up the Alpine Loop and admired the beautiful scenery and fall colors before they will soon be covered in snow. Both kids fell asleep in their car seats and we parked at the top of the mountain and listened to the apostles speak on the radio and I felt like I had a little bit of heaven on earth. We also went to Chelsea and Tyler's for dinner and ate delicious smoked brisket.

 

tot soccer

Caitlin played tot soccer for her first fall season. Over the 6 week we had a lot of funny experiences, and the short and sweet season turned out to be the perfect amount of time:
-I was one of the coaches with another mom on the team. Yes, I coached. And no, I have never played soccer in my life other than a few recesses in elementary school when i tried my hardest to stay away from any contact with the ball. I actually was volunteering Paul to be a coach and there was some miscommunication and i somehow got roped into doing it. Luckily there is about zero skill involved at this age and "coaching" tot soccer is really more akin to herding cats. I probably wouldn't want to do it again but I actually did have a fun time being involved and getting to know the kids and teaching Caitlin about soccer.  
-She was on a team of 8, although by the end of the season we were down to 6 regulars. The kids chose their team name and we were the "Green Frogs"
-The kids played for two 16 minute halves, with a 5 minute halftime in the middle. We tried to rotate them out about every 4 minutes to give everyone a turn but that would last for about 2 rotations and then it was just whoever wanted to play and wasn't crying or feeling tired at the moment could come in.
-We had 4 boys and 4 girls on our team and I feel like ours was one of the youngest teams. Caitlin turned 3 the day of her first game and the teams were for 3-4 years olds but a lot of the other teams we played had total ringers on their team that I'm pretty sure were on the verge of 5 possibly 6. Just saying.
-They don't keep score in tot soccer and let's just say that's probably a good thing for us. Unless they would have counted goals scored in the wrong goal then we may have had a chance. We had a few kids that picked up pretty well and may have a little future in soccer and they totally carried the team. One little girl showed up in her jean mini skirt every game and totally rocked the field. Most of the kids favorite part was the snacks afterward.
-We held practice once a week and played games and did little scrimmages. They liked all the games and getting to have their own ball to themselves the whole time. Other coaches came to the game with plays and terms like "defense" and "attack" and "corner kick" and we were on our side like "Ok do you guys remember which goal we are kicking into?" No one needs to "attack"! It's tot soccer!
-Caitlin thought if she ran really hard than she was playing soccer really hard. She would run her little heart out all around the field whether it was close to the ball or not. She would wave and say "hi" anytime she was by the sideline or (my personal favorite) stop wherever she was and get our attention and give us a big thumbs up. She liked kicking off to the opposing team from the middle after goals were scored, but seldom kicked the ball other than that. A few times the ball would come around her and she would be quick to get out of its way, but kept her fast running pace just the same.
-Soccer may not be her sport but it sure was fun to try. She loved going to practice and having her pink soccer ball and going to her games and seeing her friends on the team. And that's really what it' all about. Try your best and have fun!    

neither here nor there

September through instagram:

joys of motherhood: September

-At Costco I grabbed a box of peaches and put them in the cart. As soon as Nolan saw them he started pointing and saying "oo oo oooh" So I thought ok fine and gave him one and right away he took a huge bit out of it! It was a huge peach, and he had that whole peach gobbled up and was gnawing on the pit by the time we checked out and got to the car.

 -I was waiting in line to return something at Wal Mart with both of the kids in the cart. There was a lady in front of me that looked maybe 50 and then a younger guy. We are all just standing there waiting for our turn and the guy turned to the lady and asked if WE were her kids! She turned to look and us and then said "No.. they're hers." the guy just said oh ok sorry and the two of them kept talking for awhile. I stood there not really knowing what to think of what had just happened.

Later that same day I went to a doctor's appointment (without my kids) and a nurse came in to take my blood pressure, etc. He was maybe about 25 and we had the following conversation:
Him: so are you all settled back into school?
me: {long pause} me? (obviously me there is no one else in the room) Oh, I'm not in school. I mean I already graduated.
him: oh that's so lucky you're done, it's so hard to get through. Good for you.
me: oh, yah.... i graduated like almost 5 years ago, I have two kids.
him: oh! wow... {another long pause} so how old are your kids? (and back peddling from there....)

-Me to Caitlin: "Is Nolan your buddy?"

Caitlin: "No he's my prince"

-Caitlin had just finished a smoothie from Costco and let out a huge burp in the car. I said "Caitlin!" and she said, "Oh Mom, that was just a little bit of smoothie but it's okay"

-Nolan is sweaty after 2 seconds or doing anything physical.
-Nolan has two favorite stuffed animals he loves. Mickey and Pooh. He has to have them to sleep and usually insists on bringing them out of the crib with him in the morning. He gives them loves and they always make him so happy when he sees them! We call them "his guys" And sometimes before nap I'll say "get your guys" and he goes and picks them up and follows me into his room.

-Nolan also loves: balls, being outside, hats, and brushing his teeth with the electric toothbrush

-Nolan loves playing cars and he drives them around and says "vroom vroom"
-Let it be known that we brought home two goldfish from Matt and Cassie's luau. We had them in a bowl and got fish food for them and Caitlin named them Kippie and Polka Dot. Kippie lasted about 3 days and Polka Dot lasted a week. Caitlin and I had a long talk about death and what that means when Kippie died. Oddly enough she never even noticed when Polka Dot disappeared... guess we know which one was her favorite. And i guess we have further proven we are not good pet people.
-I have a feeling forts will become a very regular part of our life once the weather gets colder:

weekend review: Dallas

I got to take a solo trip to Dallas to help my mom with Cassie and Matt's open house at my parent's home. Turns out I did have my work cut out for me when we got there and found that it would be raining the day of. We moved what we could inside and re-vamped the overall flow and the night turned out to be beautiful with not a drop around. It all worked out well and looked great. I liked getting to help decorate. They did an ice cream bar and mini desserts.

I also go to go to the Carroll High School Homecoming football game at Dragon stadium which was really fun and got to hang out with Brittany quite a bit. Paul and others did a great job with the kids and it was a fun weekend!