Charlie's Injury

The day after I got back from Texas, we had a little mishap at our house.  Kelly, Greg and the kids were in town (more on that in the next post), and I was off work because it was Thanksgiving week.  We were getting ready to meet my family for lunch when Charlie apparently decided to go downstairs to get something (which he does all the time with no problem).  We're not entirely sure what happened, but he fell somehow and tumbled down most of the stairs.  He could move his arm, but wasn't able to lift his arm above his head without crying and wincing.  So we dropped Jack at the restaurant with my family and took Charlie to the Mercy Hospital Pediatric ER.

We gave him some ibuprofen before we left the house, so by the time we got to the hospital he wasn't really in pain.

 We got him his second-ever Lunchable out of a vending machine, since we skipped lunch...

 Then he got an x-ray of his shoulder....

 And he had a fractured right collarbone.  It's a little hard to see in the x-ray below...

The poor baby had to wear a sling on his right arm for three weeks.  He was a trooper and didn't complain much.

This is one of my favorite ever pictures of Charlie.  Such a pathetic little face.  And those lips...

After the three weeks were up, he went back and got a follow-up x-ray at the pediatrician's office.  They said he was not quite healed, but it looked much better, so he was allowed to ditch the sling.  This was the first broken bone of our family, and we hope it's the last!

Girls Trip - Austin, TX

In November, my life long friends and I decided to do a second annual girls getaway weekend.  Our first trip last year was to Scottsdale.  This year we decided to check out Austin, Texas instead.  Unfortunately, our friend Angie couldn't make it this year, so it was Jules, Laura and me.  It worked out great because my friend Amanda from college moved to San Antonio several years ago (and I've only seen her once since then!).  Turns out that's just an hour from Austin, so I tacked on a little visit on my way to meet my friends.  We had a nice 18 hours catching up.

Then Amanda and Greg were gracious enough to drive me up to Austin to meet up with the girls.  It was warm in Texas, but was a rainy weekend, which was kind of a bummer.  We had lots of good meals and a couple laid back nights out, but more importantly, lots of catching up, laughing and sleeping!  We had a great visit!

We found a bar with a bowling alley so decided to play a quick game.  Here is a step-by-step of Laura performing her 'I got a strike' maneuver.  I'm pretty sure she won the game.

Sunday morning, we went to the famous gospel brunch at Stubb's BBQ.  The food was good and we enjoyed the music, but we decided to sneak out after we finished eating to go back and relax in our hotel room.

 Sunday was finally sunny, so we did a little walking around in the city.

These girls are some of my best friends.  We grew up together and though we live far away from each other (Laura in San Francisco, Julie in Chicago*), when we get together it's like we've never missed a beat!  I love these girls and I'm so grateful we've been able to take these little trips.  Hopefully Ang can join us again next time!

*A couple weeks ago Jules and Adam relocated to Singapore!!  They will be there for a few years, but are planning a long visit home each summer, so we will still get to see them.  I'm secretly hoping we can sneak in a visit while they're there (I've been for work twice (here and here) and loved it; what a great opportunity it would be to visit with Jason!).

School Pictures

In the fall Jack and Charlie got new pictures taken at school and I may have laughed out loud at a few of them.  So they started off pretty decent...

I liked their individual portraits,..

 

Then they start getting a little cheesy...

Maybe a little too big for the ladder pose?

And Char was thinking "you want me to do sit how??"

 And then they just get downright humorous!!  I love Charlie's face in both of these next pictures.  Good stuff!

Needless to say we bought the portraits but passed on the others.  :)

Magic House Birthday Party

Jack was invited to a birthday party at the Magic House in November for one of his classmates.  It happened to be about a week before our membership there expired, so I decided to take Charlie along too and make a morning of it. The boys always have so much fun there, but it's hard to justify a membership because it's pricey and not super convenient for us to get to.  We may renew again some day, but for now we're going to sit out for a bit.

Our last hurrah for awhile:

 At the party, Jack and his friends made a few crafts.

 Then they got to decorate their own cupcakes.  They had a few extra, so Charlie got to participate in that part too.

 

 

 

We also got to check off #24 on our Summer Bucket List (better late than never)

Coon Club

The first weekend in November we spent our Saturday afternoon and evening at a Coon Club with Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Todd and their neighbors.  Their neighbors Kenny and Winnie have a membership in a duck hunting property in St. Charles County.  It's land for hunting, but there is also a big house for entertaining.  We had a lot of fun!

We went on a tractor ride:

We played kickball, football, soccer, etc.  We ate dinner there and roasted marshmallows.  Jack even got to shoot a gun for the first time, which may have freaked me out a bit.  They were VERY careful though.  We told Charlie he was too young to try it; maybe next time for the little man.

After dinner, the kids watched a movie while the grown-ups sat outside by the fire.

We had a great time; so fun to do something different.

Halloween 2014

Jack decided pretty early on that he was going to be a Ninja Turtle for Halloween.  More specifically, the blue Ninja Turtle, Leonardo (shocking!).  Charlie followed suit and decided to be the red Ninja Turtle, Raphael.

We kicked Halloween off with the parade at school.  It was on a Thursday, so Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to bring them up to participate since they weren't at school that day.

Jack and the Grasshopper class

Charlie and the Blue Jay class

Jack with his buddies Jack and William

On Halloween we did our typical routine....started out with the neighbors for a photo shoot.

 Easier said than done with this many kiddos!!!

 This was my favorite costume.  Sweet little Levi was a football player to go with his sister's cheerleader costume...

 Then we headed over to Cyndi and Todd's house to trick or treat with Mia and Lily and to celebrate Grandma Clayton's birthday.

 
 It was kind of a cold night, so Daddy and Uncle Todd took the kids around while the rest of us stayed cozy in the house.  Check out that loot!

 After trick or treating we went over to Cyndi and Todd's neighbors' (Channa and Greg) house for a little while before heading home.  It was a busy, but fun night!