Look Who's Back!

Charlie got his cast off last Wednesday. Patrick took him. He said that Charlie just sat next to him and held his hand while they sawed off the cast. He was a little scared at first, but then was more intrigued as to what they were doing. He didn't even cry! (Through that part, at least). Then came the x-rays. Enter tears here. For some reason, Charlie REALLY hates getting x-rays. But, luckily, there shouldn't be anymore for a while. (Fingers crossed.) X-rays showed that Charlie's leg is healing nicely and they don't even want us to come back for a follow-up! Yippee! Charlie is still limping a little as if he still has the cast on, but that should pass quickly. The night he got it off, we had a bath party... he even ate dinner in the bath!! The leg was a little funky after 4 weeks of sponge baths!

What a Weekend

I enjoyed a very enjoyable, much-to-quick, weekend in Sonoma with my college girlfriends. The views where unbeatable:

The company was some of my most favorite:

And the meals where some of the best I've ever eaten:

Now, back to reality:

Check out my friend, Molly's blog, for a complete run-down of the trip. And my friend, Carrie's, for some interesting conversations that took place over the weekend.

P.S.- Thank you to Julie for taking Charlie to Shreveport for the weekend. And thanks to my family for keeping him happy and safe!

Learning to Walk

Here's how the first couple of days went on the walking front.

Not there yet:

Getting closer...

We made it!!

Activities

During the first 2 days after Charlie's injury, he wouldn't walk on it. Wouldn't even attempt it. So, I had to become creative as to what would entertain my non-mobile toddler. Here's what we came up with:

Movie watching (thanks to Caroline and Ben for letting us borrow some DVDs!)

Fun with cookies and balloons! (Thanks to LHCCEC)
Colors! (Thank you to the Hamiltons)
We found a new love for stickers
And playing with bowls

Diagnosis Confirmed... Sort Of

We were in and out at the specialists' office yesterday. He confirmed that Charlie does, in fact, have a fractured tibia. He called it a "buckle" in the bone. However, it is in a different location than originally thought. It is actually right where the splint ended (right under his knee cap). So, we came to the doctors office wearing this:
And left wearing this:
Charlie has to wear his little cast for 4 weeks. At that point they will do another x-ray to make sure everything is healing nicely. More than likely, Charlie's leg will grow normally. The doctor did say that, it's rare, but he "could" be a little bow-legged for a few years. Time will tell. At least Charlie has been pretty happy through all of this. We have been practicing crawling and walking on our own. Charlie has got the crawl down, but still needs help slinging the cast around to walk. We'll get there.

First Injury

After our Kindermusik class yesterday, I took Charlie to the playground behing our house. (Music is also at that church... convenient!) This is a playground that we regularly play at, but haven't quite mastered all of the elements, apparently. Last week I was shocked to see that Charlie could climb up these round steps they have to the tall platform to go down the slide. (This platform is taller than I am, so pretty tall for such a little guy.) Yesterday I was standing there, but wasn't "spotting" as much as I should have been because he had done it fine last week and twice yesterday before said injury. He went up fine, put one foot on the landing and missed with the other foot. He fell face down onto the soft wood chips with his legs in a "hurky" position. I was more concerned with a head/neck injury more than anything due to his bloody lip. I immediately carried him home where it was obvious that he was not disoriented, but wouldn't put pressure on his left leg. The fall occurred at 11 am and I let him nap (on top of me to make sure no vommitting began) from 11:30-1:30 in hopes that he would wake up walking just fine. Not so much. He kept grabbing his leg and saying, "Uh-oh, hurts." I called our pediatrician's office who said they would have the nurse call back. By the time she did, we were already at Primacare and she said to just stay there. We were at Primacare for 1.5 hrs. just to be told that they couldn't help us and to go to the E.R. Another call to our pediatrician directed us to Medical City since they have a Pediatric E.R. We entered the hospital at 4:00pm and left at 10:30pm. During that time it was determined that Charlie "probably" has a fractured tibia and that we need to follow-up with a Pediactric Bone Specialist today to confirm. So, here is what we have now:

Our appointment is at 2pm today. Charlie still will not even attempt to put pressure on his leg. More to come soon.