Walking...Again

Shawn and I really thought Sam would just pick up walking right where he left off before he broke his leg. 

He didn't. 

I don't know if it was fear of hurting himself or if his leg/foot were still sore or it was just plain ol' stubborn habit that kept him crawling, but after he got his cast off, he flat out refused to walk.  He would stand up and cruise along our furniture if there was something too high for him to reach from the floor, but don't even think about getting that kid to stand up and walk while holding your hand.  Ain't gonna happen!  We had been periodically testing him to see if he would walk with us, but it resulted in such fussing and crying that I had finally just decided he would walk when he was good and ready but not a moment before.  We weren't really concerned--we knew he physically could walk--for whatever reason he just didn't want to.

Last Wednesday night, I gave it another try and just attempted to get Sam to hold my hands and take a few steps.  He was literally pulling down into the floor and screaming his protests.  Then, Thursday morning our babysitter sent me a text saying he was starting to walk a little bit at her house.  By the time I got there to pick him up that afternoon, he was able to stand up on one side of her living room and walk to greet me, unassisted.  Delighted, I grabbed his hand and helped him down her steps and watched in amazement as he toddled off towards my car.  When I went to pick him up to put him in his seat, he through one of those good ol' back-arching, red-faced, screaming fits. 

Can someone tell me how, in the span of about 12 hours, my child went from, "Why are you trying to make me walk?" to "Why won't you meanies ever LET me walk?" 

Pictures to follow...

Hide And Seek

In a couple of days, when I'm frantically banging through kitchen cabinets and drawers screaming, "Where are the oven mitts?!", will someone please call me and remind me that my son felt like they would be more appropriately stored here?

Come And Get It!!!

Remember how I talked about independence?  Um, yeah...

Sam decided one day this week that he wanted a snack.  So he crawled over to our pantry, extracted a box of Apple Jacks and just helped himself.  Momma heard Molly crunching away on something and peeked around the corner to investigate:

They were livin' it up, just enjoying a grand buffet right there in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Right now, I am choosing to NOT think about all of the disgustingness that lives on my kitchen floor and choosing TO think about how cute the whole scenario was.



Caprese Salad

My tomato plants are gasping their last breath.  I'm sad to see them go, but we had a HUGE success this year.  I'm so glad I decided to have my little garden.  I almost chickened out, thinking that I wouldn't put the time into it that it required.  And while there are some changes that will have to be made next year (Hello, zucchini plants that took over the entire space), I think we'll be having fresh veggies on our table again for years to come.

Last week, I thawed out some spaghetti sauce I had frozen for a quick dinner.  I wanted to do something with a few of our last tomatoes, but I didn't have any good bread, so bruschetta was out.  Caprese salad, anyone? 

This is something really great to serve if you're having someone over for dinner.  It's super easy, and it looks really pretty on a plate.  Everything in my salad was fresh from our little garden...except for the mozzarella cheese.  I think Lowe's must have been out of the cheese seeds the day that I picked out my plants. 

Anyway, here's what you do:

Caprese Salad
-2 or 3 large tomatoes, sliced in thick slices
-log of mozzarella cheese, sliced
-fresh basil (I left the leaves whole because I thought it was pretty that way)
-fresh parsley, chopped
-extra virgin olive oil

Arrange the tomatoes on a plate, then place the cheese slices over it.  Sprinkle with basil and parsley.  Just before serving, drizzle lightly with olive oil. 

Sam was literally bucking in his highchair because I wasn't cutting it up fast enough for him.  Sorry, Molly...there will be no sharing this one with you.

A List About Molly

1)  She loves Sam.  Like really loves him.  When he's sitting in the floor playing, she wants to lay right beside him.  She chases him around sniffing his bottom when he's crawling (while he howls with laughter).  She noses his bedroom door open when he's napping and sneaks in to stick her nose between the slats on his crib.  They are best buds. 

2)  She is not food motivated.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet.  Maddie was so easy to train.  We could have taught that dog to stand up and wash dishes if she thought it would mean she'd get a bite of something...anything.  But she was also very protective of her food.  While Sam could literally take food out of Molly's mouth while she's eating it (and has), we haven't quite figured out the best way to teach her things yet.  Frankly, she couldn't care less if we give her a treat so why should she learn to roll over? 

3)  She does this thing when she's scratching her ear where she kinda growls.  It's almost like she's saying, "Oh yeah...that's the spot." 

4)  She doesn't bark that much.  Occasionally she'll bark at one of the cats if she's really wanting to play.  (In response to which they hiss and Sam giggles.  Shawn thinks she does it specifically for his entertainment.  I think he might be right.)  But she doesn't bark when someone knocks on the door or if we meet another dog on a walk.  She's actually very quiet.

5)  She's a bed hog.

6)  In the evenings, she will come sit beside me on the couch, but somehow she always manages to be not so much beside me as she is on top of me.  She just gradually inches herself closer, little...by little...by little...until she is literally in my lap. 

7)  She weighs 70 pounds.  (See #6.)

8)  She doesn't know how to play ball.  We throw a ball in the yard and she just gives us this blank look that seems to say, "Well that was dumb.  Now you're just gonna have to walk out there and get that."

9)  She does, however, love stuffed animals.  I am constantly walking into Sam's room to find a dog's rump sticking out of his toy box as she digs through it looking for a teddy bear to rip to shreds.  Bonus for her if it's a musical or talking toy.  She squeezes those with her mouth then runs in circles around our living room, whimpering while they sing their songs.  Again...in response to which Sam laughs hysterically. 

10)  She has never so much as taken a bite of Pooh.  He smells faintly of soured milk and peanut butter.  In reality, she probably thinks he stinks (as do I), but I tell myself that she knows he is Sam's favorite and she's being considerate.

Independence...

...we're feeling it lately.

I can do it all by myself, thankyouverymuch!

 Don't do it...

 What?!  I'm just reading the nutritional information?

Well...maybe just one little taste...

 For some reason, yogurt just tastes better when you lick it straight out of the container.

 Spoons are for sissies.

 We're still working on getting all of the yogurt in our mouth...

...but SHARING we've got down pat.



Runners, Take Your Mark!

Get Set!

Um...runners?  *tap, tap, tap*  Is this thing on??? 

Hunh...I guess cast removal is pretty exhausting for a feller.

I'm happy to report that Sam got his cast off this week.  Hurray!!!  He still has a place on his heal that looks pretty sore to me, but it doesn't seem to be giving him any problems.  When the doctor examined it, Sam thought he was ticking his foot and giggled.  Oh, how I love that boy!

First order of business after cast removal:  clippage of the toenails.  I swear, that kid could've hung from a tree branch with those things.  I'm sure his heinous toes were no shock to the nurse...she probably sees that type of thing every day.  But if I'm being completely honest, I snarled a little when the cast came off and immediately started brushing away toe jam and taking mental inventory of the diaper bag.  Do I keep nail clippers in one of those pockets or not?  I just couldn't help myself. 

Judging by the way he was trying to walk on his cast, Shawn and I really figured he'd take off running as soon as he got it off.  That wasn't exactly the case.  Pulling up and cruising around furniture is about all he's done for now.  Well...that and pull all of the DVD's off of the shelf, push buttons on the satellite receiver, and turn the television volume up so loud that a deaf man in China could probably hear it.

But I'm sure in no time he will be outrunning me and climbing on things and looking for new ways to injure himself.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

1)  The nice lady who helped me at the grocery store.

Sam and I went to the grocery store Saturday...the first time he and I had been since his accident.  (So thankful to have a husband who does most of the grocery shopping!)   When we got there and I went to lift him into the shopping cart, I had a brief flash of, "Um...how's this gonna work?"  But his leg went in fine so we went about our shopping.  But when we went to LEAVE???  Problems.  Yes...I got my child stuck in a shopping cart.  Please hold your applause for Mother of the Year.

I lifted Sam from the front...his leg got stuck.  I lifted him from the back...his leg got stuck.  I tried to hook one arm under his arms and feed his other leg through the hole with my other hand...he was too heavy.  So there I stood in the parking lot trying to formulate a plan.  Put the entire buggy in the back of my car and drive home that way???  Suddenly a very nice lady appeared out of nowhere and asked if we needed some help.  I gladly accepted and thanked her profusely for helping us out.  So wherever you may be, Nice Lady, thank you for taking the time to save the day. 

2)  Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha.

There's just something about the combination of salty and sweet with just a touch of coffee.  Go get one today.  You'll thank me later.

3)  We're on the final countdown for Sam's cast!

We signed Sam's first cast.  We didn't sign the second.  But I thought on this one it might be fun to do a countdown.  In case you can't read it, across the top it reads:  "Days 'Til This Thing Comes Off:"  I'm so thankful that babies heal quickly and we're almost done with this cast business.  It adds a good 2 or 3 pounds to an already heavy little dude. 

Quick update:  Sam's doctor's appointment this week went well.  His heel is looking better.  It's not completely healed, but it looks better than it did last week.  His x-rays looked fantastic.  And while the cast saw experience wasn't completely tear-free it was soooo much better than last week.  Thanks to all of you who said a prayer for my little boy Tuesday morning.

Linking up to Black Tag Diaries.

Dear Sam,
Today you turned 17 months old.  These days, you are watching and copying and learning at lightning speed, little man.  I think I wake up every morning thinking, "He just can't possibly be any more fun today than he was yesterday," and every day I'm wrong.  I love walking into your room and seeing you peek out at me from between the slats in your crib and then seeing your little blond head pop up over the rail.  You greet me with a smile and a "Mah!" which I tell myself is you saying, "Good morning, Mother.  How are you today?" but it's probably more like, "Hey lady!  Where's Molly?" 

Molly is your absolute best friend.  This has been a bit hard for me to accept because all this time I thought I was your best friend.  I really am, aren't I?  I love to hear you call her.  You put your hand next to your mouth and shout, "Moe Moe!"  When she actually comes to you when you call her, you get so excited you can hardly sit still.  You guys make lap after lap around our house...you doing your stomp-crawl with Molly right behind you, nipping at your heels.  Every now and then you will stop and sit up so she can plant a big wet one right on your mouth.  This makes you laugh your delightful baby little boy laugh, and then you're back at it again. 

Tonight, you and Molly got one of the cats cornered.  Molly was barking at the cat, and you started barking with her.  You could hardly breathe because you were laughing hysterically in between barks.  If it hadn't been for me being afraid that the cat would claw your eyes out, I would have let you do it all night because it was just too stinkin' funny. 

Your vocabulary has really exploded lately.  You have this whole Samonese language that you speak.  If I'm being honest, I kinda love the fact that your dad and I are the only ones who really know how to speak it.  When we say our prayers, you always fold your hands and sit quietly while we talk to God.  Then when we're done you shout, "May-man!"  And you love to read, but I really think you just like to read the last page.  That way you can slam the book shut and say, "the end" which comes out sounding more like "nah nah."  You frequently ask to go outside, "goahshide?" and you can tell us when you want something to drink, "noon."  (I really have no idea where noon came from, but it's clearly, "May I please have something to drink".)  With some serious prompting, you will say love you, "la la la."  But I think the thing that you say most clearly is bye bye.  You.  Love.  Going.  Bye bye.  From the time you wake up, you're asking to go bye bye.  And as soon as we start making our way towards the door, you wave to whomever is looking and yell, "GO BYE BYE!!!!" at the top of your lungs. 

You also know a little bit of sign language.  You can ask for more and say all done.  We're working on please and thank you, but they're a work in progress. 

You are becoming so affectionate these days.  Just this week, you and I were grocery shopping and you suddenly reached out to me for a hug.  I leaned down and hugged you, but when I went to raise up you grabbed my neck a little bit tighter.  I thought about it for about 1/2 second and decided that we'd stay that way as long as you needed to.  We literally stood in the middle of the shampoo aisle just holding each other for several minutes.  Every now and then you would gently pat my back and softly say, "Mah."  It's a moment I hope I remember forever. 

Oh, my sweet Sam.  Right now I'm wanting to write down every single thing you do and say.  I don't want to forget a single story.  You're growing up so quickly that you're not even the same from day to day right now.  It seems with every sunrise there's a new word, a new skill.  And while I'm so proud of you and I'm honestly enjoying seeing you grow into a little boy, I just want to freeze time and hold you close to me forever.  You make me smile easier and laugh longer. 

I love you so very much,
Mommy

Sam's Big Break Part II

When last we left our story, Sam had just gotten a cast put on his leg for a broken tibia.  The first thing I did when we got home was google "fractured tibia, toddler".  It turns out this is a fairly common type of break in small children.  So common, in fact, that it has been dubbed a "toddler's fracture."  It happens when the little guys are just learning to walk (check), they have what appears to be a normal stumble (check), and they somehow twist their ankle or fall at just the right angle to cause a little fracture.  It made me feel better to know that this happens with some frequency...although only marginally so.

So Sam had his little cast, and he did really well with it.  He didn't really seem to have any pain associated with his injury, and he quickly learned how to crawl with his new accessory.  We had a couple of sleepless nights, but I really don't think he was hurting.  It almost seemed like he would wake up and see the cast and forget why it was there.  Once we could get him fully awake, he was back to our normal, happy Sam. 

The biggest problem we ran into was bathtime.  Remember how we used to feel about baths?  It was kinda like that only PHENOMENALLY worse.  We had to wrap Sam's leg in Saran Wrap to keep the cast dry.  Saran Wrap must have some kind of flesh-eating properties in it, because as soon as we would even touch it to his skin, Sam would go into hysterics.  For a week, we experimented with different ways to do baths, and I was seriously considering just letting the dirt and grime pile up on his little body until the cast came off.  It was that traumatic for him.  And me. 

Then, my husband saved the day.  He came home with a cast protector.  It's basically a big, silicone sleeve thing that we slip over Sam's leg.  It forms a seal around the cast so it can't get wet.  I have to admit, I didn't think it would work, but we decided to give it a try.  As soon as we started to put Sam's foot into the sleeve, he began to fuss.  In a moment of divinely-appointed Mommy-ism, I told Sam he looked like an elephant and showed him how to flop his elephant trunk. 

Magic, I tell ya'.  Pure magic.

Sam spent his entire shower kicking his leg up in the air and making elephant sounds.  Hey, whatever works. 

When we went for Sam's one week follow-up, the nurse showed a little concern with how far down Sam's cast had slipped.  The wanted to repeat an x-ray anyway, so we  decided to remove the cast and see how things were looking.  Unfortunately, Sam had Houdinied the cast down his leg far enough to cause a pressure wound on his heel.  So, in an effort to keep the cast in place a bit better and prevent him from walking and putting more pressure on the wound, we put him in a full leg cast.

I was so worried that the full leg cast would just result in two weeks of pure misery for Sam, but I should have known better.  Sam took one look at the cast that goes halfway up his thigh and thought, "These guys think this will keep me in one place?  Amateurs..."  That thing hasn't slowed him down one single bit!  Within an hour of us coming home, he figured out how to crawl.  With his entire left leg stationary, he has to throw his leg out to the side when he crawls, which leaves about a two foot wide path of destruction in his wake.  It's heartbreaking and hilarious to watch him get around.  He has also been playing with some of his walking toys in the last few days.  When he walks on his cast, he sounds like a pirate with a peg leg taking a walk.  ***step...CLONK...step...CLONK...***  I have to admit, Shawn and I were worried that he would be reluctant to walk again after he gets the cast off, but it looks like he may just take off running as soon as he gets the go-ahead.  (Or maybe before...)

When we go back next week, they're going to take the cast off again so they can check on how his heel is healing.  (Momma is really looking forward to the cast saw again...I haven't told Sam about that part yet. But judging from his reaction the last time I'm guessing he won't be too crazy about the idea.)  If you are a person that talks to God regularly, would you say a prayer for Sam Tuesday morning?  Pray that he'll chill out while they take the cast off and that his heal will be all better.  We'll post another update as soon as we can.