A Lot Happens In A Month...

 Like our THIRTEEN year old son waking up to a room full of balloons!  Roby and I took all the balloons from his party to his room while he was sleeping.

 Natalie thought it would be fun to break her arm on March 14th....Ok maybe not fun.  

After we got home from ballet, she went to play outside because it was so nice out.  Not long after, a neighbor boy ran up to our house and told us that she had fallen down and was hurt really bad.  I ran down the street to see the kids dad, mom, and grandma trying to console her.  It didn't take us long to realize that she hurt herself more than a bonk on the arm.  I took her to the ER, they did xrays, tried to move it around, etc.  The doctor there said she couldn't see anything on the xrays (although she admitted that she couldn't see everything she wanted to see because Natalie couldn't move her arm how they wanted), said that Natalie seemed like she was in more pain than just a strain/sprain, put a splint on her arm, told us to keep it wrapped and see her primary doctor within a week.  Roby took her to her pediatrician on Monday where they took more xrays.  The doctor said that it was fractured, to keep it in the splint, she will most likely need a full arm cast, and to see a doctor at the "fracture clinic."  Yesterday I took her to THAT doctor who told us that she fractured a small piece of her radius, it had dislocated 1mm (4mm = surgery), and keeping it immobile was causing more harm than good.  He said that he could already see signs of damage caused by keeping it in the splint for so long (he usually only wants patients with that type of fracture to keep it immobile for 3-4 days).  Because of the damage, he put in a referral to see a physical therapist, and instructed Natalie to try to straighten/rotate her arm several times a day and to try to do minor action with it (ex: write at school).  He did say that where the break is should heal nicely.  She shouldn't have any long term problems such as arthritis in the joint.  Natalie was EXTREMELY upset that she wasn't getting a cast because she thought it would protect her arm and make it heal faster.  We spent a good 20 minutes in the car with her crying and me trying to reassure her it would be ok.  She has been having a hard time not doing her usual, almost ten year old, things.  Just an hour before she went to bed tonight she tried to grab something from Ethan and he accidentally bumped her arm.  Instant crying. 

 She's been wearing lots of dresses and ballet flats to school because they are easier for her to manage with her left hand (and she can't participate in PE!).

Last weekend we took the kids to the Joslyn Museum in Omaha because they were having an Ancient Egypt exhibit.  Several of the gallery rooms had artifacts and mummies brought in from another museum.
Natalie is extremely interested in Ancient Egypt.  We even went to the public library a couple weeks ago and she checked out six books about it!  She thought the mummies were pretty cool, but was more interested in telling me about what some of the hieroglyphics mean, how they lived, and about some of the more prominent people.
Right in front of the museum, they have the SAME statue that the kids climbed on in Walla Walla at Pioneer Park!  I had to take a pic of them on it!  (We promptly got yelled at to NOT climb on the statues.)  Click here to see the picture.

Natalie and I got a little bored waiting for the doctor to take a look at her xrays.  Silliness is the only option in times like those!

The kids didn't have school today, and because several weeks ago I didn't see any patients in my schedule (not to mention its my birthday!), I took the day off too!  The kids have been asking me to go to the zoo, so I figured it was a good time to take them before our pass expired.  We saw a movie in 3D at the zoos IMAX theater (it was free with membership!), then walked around and look at all the animals enjoying the sun.

One of our favorite places in the zoo is where the alligators and big snapping turtles are.  This turtle was up close and personal with the walkway.  Natalie told me I needed to take a picture so she could put it on her blog.  Maybe she'll start that up again!

I'm not a huge fan of taking pictures of a bunch of animals/etc.  I know its pretty darn boring looking at animals someone else saw... somewhere you werent.  But I think the pic of these crocks looks pretty cool!  I love how water creates so much distortion!

Ethan was entertained by this guy swinging around and showing off for the crowds.

This polar bear was playing for his audience!  He was picking up his red ball, then throwing it at the glass.  Over and over.  He looked like he was having a ball!  (Get it?  Funny, I know.)

My kids!

We went out for a delicious dinner for my birthday, then came home and lounged around for a bit before bed.  Farley thinks he is a tiny lap-dog.

 Natalie used that time to ice her arm a bit.  It gets sore and swollen almost every day.

 And this last picture?  Just because!