Nate's motorcycle

You know Clayton was in heaven as he watched Nate roll up on his motorcycle tonight. This boy couldn't get enough.

Obsession doesn't begin to describe Clayton's love of motorcycles. That said, he was a little too hesitant to pose for a picture on the bike, so we settled for in front of the bike instead.

Who is this kid?

Where did my baby go?

Eli Loves Clayton

Lately Eli has really been watching his big brother, Clayton. He's got to know what Clayton's doing. He's starting to interact with Clayton too. He loves when Clayton talks to him and shares toys with him. He hates when Clayton smothers him or playfully screams at him.

Tonight Eli was in Clayton's bed as I got Clayton in pajamas. When Clayton crawled into bed, Eli lit up completely. I ran to get my camera, and although I couldn't get Eli to look as excited as he had, I did get this shot of Clayton so generously sharing a sippy cup of water with a very hungry Eli. Can you see the excitement on Eli's face?

I pray these boys will always have each other.

Cast

We had our appointment with the orthopedist this morning. He assured me Clayton's break is a very minor thing. He said kids do this all the time, and that he'll need to wear a cast for 4 weeks. Then he'll be as good as new. He had been made aware of Clayton's cardiology issues, and I was a little taken aback by how compassionate he seemed about that. He wanted to know about Clayton's surgeries, how he was doing, and what we expect on the horizon. Over and over he assured me the arm was definitely no big deal in the grand scheme of Clayton's medical history. I could tell he was the slightest bit shaken up about Clayton's heart.

I have to say it was a slightly refreshing appointment.

1. A doctor with excellent kid bedside manner, and he's not even a peds specialist.

2. A doctor with compassion for Clayton's condition- the arm and the heart.

3. An orthopedist that knew what HLHS was. Not all doctors remember the chapter on congenital heart defects.

Clayton sat super still and didn't care at all as the tech put on the new cast. They were out of blue casts, so Clayton's next choice was purple, which was quickly vetoed by Mama, who selected green. Lucky for Clayton, they were able to do a short cast below the elbow. Not being able to bend his elbow had really annoyed him in the splint. The cast is also waterproof (I'd never heard of such a thing), so he'll be able to bathe, swim, and most importantly, run through the sprinklers. The tech told me insurance would not cover the waterproof cast, but she'd put it on if I payed the difference. I braced myself as I asked how much I'd have to pay out of pocket. $15. Sold! I think we'll get our money's worth.

Dat's Boke!

If it doesn't work the first time, or if it doesn't work the way Clayton desires, or if it doesn't work period, "Dat's boke, Mama." I think I hear this from Clayton about ten times a minute. Well unfortunately for Clayton's arm, dat's boke!

So here's the terrible mom part. I'm not exactly sure how this happened. There are a couple possibilities. I usually help Clayton in and out of his booster at the table, but last night, he started to get down before I could reach him. I watched in horror as he fell head first onto the tile. He got an enormous knot on his head, and I was worried, so my neighbor came over to help me decide what to do. We watched him for a while, and he seemed to get over it. A while later, she asked me if I thought he was nursing his right arm. I didn't, but she moved it around a little, and he seemed just fine with that.

Then this morning Clayton woke up on the cranky side of the bed. He was a crank all through breakfast, and then as he was dragging his whiny self through my room, he tripped and fell with his arms straight out. He screamed and screamed, but he got over it. He played a little, but he continued to be super cranky. I started to think he was nursing that arm a little. He was using it and moving all his fingers, but something was different.

I decided we had to go to the ER. As I signed in, Clayton had a little toy motorcycle that he was driving with his right hand (the side in question) all over the chairs in the waiting room. Surely the nurses at the check in thought I was over paranoid, and I was wondering why I'd dragged us all down there. The doctor came in and said we'd get an x-ray just to be sure.

Well, sure enough, he's got two broken bones in there. They are buckle fractures, which means the bones just buckled on themselves from the force. They splinted him up, and we see the orthopedist tomorrow.

I can't say how relieved I am that I took him to the ER. I just didn't know, and I don't want to be that mom who freaks out everytime their kid gets a little bump.

Clayton seems fine. The only time he's been upset since the ER was when I wouldn't let him ride the neighbor boy's razor scooter. I don't think we need anymore broken bones tonight, thank ya very much. They probably have a little red flag in our chart because I didn't know exactly how my son's arm got broken. It wouldn't look good to drag him back in there with yet another broken bone.

You have to admit, all sadness aside, he does look pretty cute with the splint and sling, don't you think?

Touch-a-Truck

This morning I took the boys over to the annual Touch-a-Truck event. They had over 70 vehicles of all kinds in a huge parking lot, and kids could climb in and explore. There were fire trucks, police cars and motorcycles, tractors, cranes, semis, and military vehicles, just to name a few. When we turned into the parking lot, Clayton was absolutely thrilled. I was pretty proud of myself for getting the boys out to such an event and catering to Clayton's "all boy" interests. There was only one problem I hadn't considered. The same horns and sirens that Clayton was loving were terrifying poor Eli. Oops! Hadn't considered that. Oh well. Poor Eli had to put up with the noise while Clayton explored.

A little boy in heaven

PS Just when you think it's time to put those jackets away...

Birthday Card from Mom

I've been meaning to scan this card for a while.

I thought it was fitting.

Recent Travels

The boys and I have been travelling around a lot lately. Last Saturday we headed up to Arkansas to celebrate my cousin Justin's college graduation, my cousin Stephanie's master's graduation, and Stephanie's husband Nathaniel's graduation from med school. There was a lot of celebration, and a lot of University of Arkansas pride. I, unfortunately, forgot the camera, but hopefully someone will email me some pictures of Clayton wearing the hog hat all night. That was quite a sight. The family is pretty determined to turn Clayton into a razorback. It's not ideal, but there are worse things in life.

We swung by home Sunday, and headed down to Texas to visit Jennifer on Monday. Elisabeth Anne was born the previous Wednesday, and I was desperate to see her. We were able to spend the night and get some good holding time. Clayton was so excited to see E-yid-bet.

I'm not sure I've ever seen so much hair on a newborn. It was dark, long, and thick.

Doesn't my baby look like the Pilsbury Dough Boy next to Elisabeth?

Elisabeth had been so good, but she suddenly decided she did not want her picture taken. As soon as I put the camera down, she was fine, of course. Aren't these kiddos sweet? I hope they'll all be good friends one day.

Lounger

The worst part? Yes, he's watching TV. Sorry, Ryan.

It's Tough Being the Little Brother

Clayton (with great excitement): Mama, Mama... I shay wit Bay-he E-yi!

Yes, all those lessons in sharing are paying off, or are they? Poor Eli.

Next lesson: Please don't stack things on the baby.

Eli's First Meal

Eli's been a pretty hungry boy lately, so I decided it was time for a little rice cereal.



By the time I got everything set up, Eli was starving. He wasn't particularly thrilled about learning something new at that moment, but he tried a few bites before getting a little frustrated.

I can't believe my baby is old enough to eat rice cereal. He's five months old today. Where has the time gone?

We Love Daddy

Clayton Update

Clayton had his three year well check up and his GI appointment last week. He's now 25.4 pounds and 33.5 inches, which means he's up 3/4 of an inch and over 3/4 of a pound in the last three months. Yeah! Considering he'd only gained 3/4 of a pound and not grown at all in the previous 9 months, that was pretty good. I must say that I've had my doubts about the appetite stimulant, but I think overall he does eat better when he's on it. Our GI doctor is most concerned about Clayton's height, so I'm thrilled he grew a little. They went ahead and upped the dose on the appetite stimulant a little to see what happens, and I'm pleased to report that Clayton has been eating me out of house and home this last week. We go back in three months for another check up.

When I first got to Stanford when I was pregnant with Colin, my mom and I met this really nice mom, Frances, and her mother, Barbara. Frances's baby girl had a liver transplant and had been pretty sick her entire life. As a result, she was absolutely the tiniest 9 month old I'd ever seen. She was still wearing all newborn clothes. I asked Frances about Grace's weight once, and she told me Grace was in the 2nd percentile for weight. A few seconds later she said, "Well, actually she's not anywhere near the chart, but I like to say the 2nd % because it sounds better." We all chuckled about that.

I've always remembered that as Clayton has drifted further and further off the chart. I usually just tell people he's pretty near the bottom. Well, with all the recent weight gain, I'm pleased to say that Clayton is now in the 1.57% for weight. I'm rounding up, so now, for real, Clayton is in the 2nd percentile. I know Frances would be pleased. His height was in the 0.29%, so we just won't talk about that, or maybe we'll just embellish slightly and say he's in the second percentile. Wink wink.