Hudson's cereal box project

While Hudson has been home sick with the flu this week (Yes, he woke up with fever & the flu Tuesday morning, the day after Cade & Callie's surgery! Yikes!), we've worked on all of his make-up work plus this "cereal box project" that was scheduled to be due today. He was equally excited about this project like he has been the others he's done for his first grade class. We were given instructions on what to specifically include & where, but he chose his book, did his own illustrations & writing. I thought it turned out awesome! He'll get to present it to his class when he returns on Monday.

Way to go, Hudson! Good job!

Surgery x 2

Cade and Callie both had surgery today to correct "trigger thumbs".  ONE pediatric trigger thumb is pretty unusual, but TWO in one family is pretty rare. 

We'd noticed Cade's left thumb didn't stretch out completely probably around age 3-3 1/2. We just kind of kept our eye on it, but didn't think too much about it. It certainly didn't bother him. At the pediatrician's office during a visit, though, I decided it might be in his best interest to ask about it. (No one had ever noticed it there either.) The doctor suggested it was likely a trigger thumb and recommended we see an orthopedic specialist to get their opinion. We scheduled an appointment for Cade at Campbell Clinic in Memphis for early January. At the appointment, Dr. Sawyer said that Cade definitely had a trigger thumb, but that it could be corrected surgically. There is like an abnormal knot at the base of the thumb that slides between the bones and tendons of the thumb, not allowing the ligaments to open up fully. If the knot is removed, full function should return. If we left it alone, it would likely get worse, possibly painful at times, but the surgery would be a simple outpatient procedure. 

As we're discussing Cade's thumb at the dinner table after the appointment (& answering Hudson's many questions :), Howie & I both, almost simultaneously, notice Callie's thumb. Howie looks at her & asks her to open up her hand like him... Sure enough! There it was again. Her left thumb was not bent forward like Cade's (yet), but it was straight, not stretched fully like the right, and she had a knot at the base that you could see & feel. So we made an appointment for her to see the orthopedic to verify what we already believed... that Callie had a trigger thumb, too. 

At Callie's appointment with Dr. Sawyer, he confirmed that she, too, had a trigger thumb. Again, we got the same options. In our minds, if we were going to have to have surgery on one, might as well pack a double-whammy and get it over with! So... here we are... surgery day... 2/27/12.

This, unfortunately, is Cade's 4th procedure... and he's only 5! (age 1-tubes, age 2-tubes & adenoids, age 3-tonsils, age 5-thumb) He obviously had a better idea of what to expect. He was a big boy, and set a great example for Callie (who really didn't have a clue!).

We, as parents, were given the choice of splint or cast following the surgery. Given the age and activity levels of these two, casts it was! (It was only for a week :)

Here's Callie as she was beginning to wake up in recovery. I was a little concerned about how she would wake up, given her age, but she did great! She woke up happy & ready to go! She looked at her arm and simply said, "pink!" (They got to pick their cast colors.)

We had to wait a little bit longer to see Cade when he woke up, but he was fine, as well. He just wanted to go to school and show his cast to his friends. :) 

 Both are definitely true champs!

I Want to Remember

I've been meaning to do this post for a while... seem to be slow getting things posted these days. But, really, this post has no specific date associated with it. There are just things that Callie does & says right now that I always want to remember. I guess I'm just getting a little sentimental with her, knowing she is "it", the end, no more. She's just so darn cute right now... and so funny... and so big... and so sweet! She brings me so much joy! She makes me smile every day. I want to remember it all!

**One of her favorite sayings - "I need tell you somptin." (I need to tell you something.)

**How she attempts to delay sleep sometimes by saying, "I need div my broders a tiss." (I need to give my brothers a kiss.)

**If she's in the shower with me while I'm shaving, she always rubs a little shaving gel off for herself. She props her little leg up in the corner just like I do, and rubs it onto her leg.

**She loves to play with anything & everything in the house - race cars, animals (cows, horses, lions, tigers, cheetahs, giraffes, deer... ALL of them!), the TAG readers & map, Hudson's Leapster, her babies & her "dirls" (two bigger dolls she refers to as her girls), shoes, vacuum cleaners & dust mops, a cell phone!!! (which you'll have trouble getting away from her if she ever gets her hands on it).

**If she falls or bumps something, she stops and talks to that body part. She says, "It's otay. It's ooo-tay. Yet me div you a tiss." Then she kisses it & it's all OK.
**When she gets bossy with her brothers, she says things like, "You go time-out! Right now!" They'll often respond with, "Callie, you're not the boss," to which she quickly retorts, "No. I not de boss!" ha! She can be in her bed and hear us getting on to the boys to get ready for bed and start bossing them :)
**Can never get enough of "I yuv you" and "I yuv you, too".
**She sings every song in every movie and TV show... "The Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast", "Wonderpets" - "Won-pets, won-pets, we on we way".
**"Whad you say, honey?" lol!
**One of her favorite words - "stinty!" (stinky)... and the facial expression to go with it is priceless!
**She hears me call her Callie Jewel sometimes, so every now & then I get, "Mommy Jewel!"

I'm sure there are a million other things I need to write down to help me remember, but these are what come to mind now... I actually asked her today if she'd always be my little girl & she quickly responded NO! ha! How true (in some ways)... they grow up too quickly... trying to enjoy every minute!

Country Concert

One of my gifts for Christmas this year from Howie was tickets to see Jason Aldean in concert. Woo-hoo! Apparently he & my sister-in-law, Sara Jane, were in cahoots trying to find tickets all the way back in November. Well, they were successful, and we all four traveled down to Tupelo, MS, for the concert. Jason Aldean was fabulous! I just enjoy his music. Luke Bryan opened for him, too. We had actually seen him once before. He puts on an excellent show!

Left: Me, Ruste, Sara Jane ... Right: Me - not taking my eyes off the stage :)

Thanks, honey, for the tickets, and the wonderful night away!

Basketball Trophies

The boys got basketball trophies at their final tournament games today. They were proud :), and we are awfully proud of them!

A Sick Day for Hudson

Hudson woke up with a bit of a stomach bug today, so he's home sick from school. 

Baby sister loves having someone to hang out with...

...and she just CAN'T stay out of anyone's face :)

 Here's our healthy fellow! (Hope he stays that way :)

Valentine's Day 2012

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Our valentine princess :)

 A surprise valentine bouquet from my husband :)

The boys enjoyed their valentine parties at school. We even got to help out at Cade's party, so Callie got to participate in eating there, too. I get tickled when the boys talk about girls and having "girlfriends"... Hudson talks about this one little girl ALL the time. Cade talks more & more about one little girl in his class (I think he's taking cues from his big brother :/), but when he opened his valentine bag, he had about 15 handmade valentine hearts with his name on them all from this little girl! So funny! :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE! HOPE YOUR DAY HAS BEEN EXTRA-SPECIAL!