New Cast

I wasn't supposed to get my cast on until Tuesday, but when mom picked me up at school the other day, the top half of my splint had come unwrapped. And later that evening, the bottom half came undone. She managed to get it wrapped back up, but wasn't convinced the splint would last through the weekend. My doctor got me in this afternoon to put the cast on.

I did a great job waiting in the lobby and drew a picture while we were there.



The doctor wasn't running too late (it's pretty typical to wait for an hour here - mom would know as she's spent a lot of time here in the past year!) Turns out that the doctor treating my arm is the same doctor who operated on her foot :) The nurses were all very nice as usual and I was being a goofball. I've recently learned to cross my eyes and to whistle, both of which are driving mom CRAZY!



One of the nurses cut my splint off and cleaned my arm so they could cast it. I picked pink, of course! It didn't take too long, but it was pretty sticky. After she got the cast on, it got a little warm, but then it cooled off and it was hard and protected my arm. We were good to go! I get it off in 3 weeks and then get a brace to wear after that. Needless to say, mom's going to be a nervous wreck for my birthday party if I fall on my left hand (I get the cast off 2 days before my birthday).



I was TIRED by the time we left, so I took a little snooze in the car. We've been keeping my butterfly pillow in mom's car for me to rest my arm on - it works pretty well!



Anyway, I like the cast much better than the splint. My fingers are a little more free and it's hard, so I don't (I mean mom doesn't) have to worry as much about it coming apart. And of course, the best part is that it's pink :)

Thank goodness the weather is nice, because I have to wear shirts with bigger arm openings. I've been wearing mom's t-shirts to sleep in and that works pretty well. Fingers crossed for a good night sleep! Tonight's the first night with no Motrin, so we'll see how that goes...

Consequences

I had a great second day of Kindergarten as well. It's really not so different for me because it's at the same school I've been going to for the past year and a half and I already know the kids and teachers (though the Kindergarten teachers are new this semester). We worked on our time capsules again today - apparently the bags we started yesterday were just the beginning and the teachers are having us draw pictures and put different objects in the bags. Then we'll open it on the 100th Day (It's *One* Hundredth Day, not *Hundredth* Day as mom said earlier today).

I slept pretty well again last night and told mom my arm didn't hurt this morning. I didn't want any Motrin, nor did I want my sling. Mom packed it in my backpack anyway, but I think she knew I wasn't going to use it. She told my teachers and the director to call her if I seemed to be in pain at all during the day, but they didn't have to call her.

We went out to dinner to celebrate Ruthie's birthday tonight. We went to Cava, a Greek restaurant that I've been to before. I'm still going through a picky eating phase (which drives mom nuts) where I won't eat things that I used to love and sometimes only will eat a few bites, even though I complain that I'm hungry. Of course, I only ate a few bites of my dinner tonight. Then I asked mom if I could have a dessert for Ruthie's birthday, but she told me no since I hadn't eaten dinner. That's the rule - no dinner = no dessert. I started crying and had a hard time stopping, so mom took me to the bathroom to calm down. I told her I didn't like the consequences tonight...

I calmed down and we said goodbye to our friends. In the car on the way home, I told mom that my heart had broken into four pieces and was going to stay that way until I was an adult. She said that made her sad and we talked about choices and consequences. We agreed that it was my choice to not eat dinner and the consequence was to not get dessert. I thought about it for a while and told mom that if she didn't want my heart to stay broken that she might want to choose a different consequence for me. I think I'm sharpening my negotiating skills :)

First Day of Kindergarten!

I survived the night with my splint on and was only in a little pain this morning. Mom and I found a dress that would fit over the splint, but I was cold, so wanted to wear leggings and socks too.



We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a special first day of school breakfast. I got a Boston Cream donut and an apple juice - yummy! I ate it in the car and had a very chocolatey face by the time we got to school :)

We found my new cubby at school and met one of my new teachers (mom can't remember how to spell their names, though). Mom said she'd be back to pick me up if she could get me in to see the orthopedist.

I had a great day! I knew almost everyone in my class and am now in a class with some of the older kids from last year (there are only a few of us who are 4, but turning 5 before the end of the year - the rest are already 5). My favorite part of the day was making the time capsule. We'll open it on the 100th day of school! I wasn't very specific in talking to mom, but I told her I put my name in a bag. I guess we'll see!

Mom did come back to get me a little early. We saw Dr. Witte (the one who operated on her foot!) and he confirmed the break. He said that since I was able to sleep with the splint on, he wants to wait a week to put the cast on. Said this splint would allow for swelling and would be less painful for me if we wait. It should be a quick healing process with a cast for only 3 weeks. He said he'd give me a brace to wear for my birthday party so I could still bounce away. Huzzah! And I don't *have* to use the sling if I don't want to, so I was happy about that - it's a pain and didn't stay put easily. Not to mention it made it significantly more difficult to get in and out of my car seat!



We went to our favorite sushi restaurant for dinner to celebrate a good first day :) Then mom and I had to figure out a way to take a bath. We managed to get me clean and keep my arm dry, but it was hard for mom to bend over the tub with her belly in the way! My brother's growing too much! At least we've somewhat figured out how to get the bath done, though we may end up doing baths every other day until the cast comes off!

Hopefully I'll have more to report about school tomorrow!

First Broken Bone :(

Boo. I was having so much fun at a playdate with Casey and Cameron, but when I was hanging on the gray spinny things (kind of like monkey bars, but they spin around), I slipped, fell, and hurt my arm. Mom was walking towards me when it happened, so unfortunately she didn't see exactly what happened. I was shaking and crying, so we put an ice pack on it and sat down on a bench for a few minutes. Thankfully mom had an ice pack in the bag with my snacks! I didn't stop shaking or crying, so mom thought I should be checked out. Casey and Cameron gave me some princess stickers and those made me feel a little better.

We headed to the ER, which was right down the street. We talked to daddy on the way (he's unfortunately at a sales meeting this week) and that made me feel a little better. We got checked in really quickly, but had to wait in the room to see a doctor for a while. The doctor came in and checked me out from head to toe since we weren't sure if I had hit my head or hurt anything else. Everything else was fine, it was just my arm that hurt. The nice nurse gave me some blankets to rest my arm on and an ice pack. There was a TV in my room, but we couldn't find anything worth watching, so mom and I just talked.



I got really tired and cold waiting for them to come x-ray my arm.



They finally came and took me over to the x-ray room. Mom had to stay in the hallway because of the baby, but I was a really brave girl and did exactly what they asked me to do. They took two pictures first and then let me choose 2 stickers. The tech asked mom if I had ever broken my arm before, to which she of course said "no." But of course that made mom wonder what they saw...They came back and took a few more pictures before they let me get up and go back to the room.

The doctor came back in and told mom that I had fractured my arm. She said they'd come and splint it and we'd follow up with the orthopedist in a few days.

Here's the beginning of the splint...



The splint is fiberglass and completely immobilizes my wrist and entire forearm. The fiberglass goes from my hand the whole way around my elbow. Then it's wrapped in padding and elastic bandages. Once the fiberglass dried, it hardened, so it's almost like a cast. The advantage to a splint like this is that it allows for swelling (which a cast does not) without cutting off circulation to the fingers or contributing to "compartment syndrome" (when there is swelling, but nowhere for the swelling to go). The doctor told us that the orthopedist may want to wait a few days to put the cast on because of the swelling. They gave me a sling to rest the splint in because it's kind of heavy. I'm not so fond of the sling, though...



Mom said I was a trooper, so I got whatever I wanted for lunch...Mac and Cheese, chocolate milk, and a Rice Krispie Treat for dessert :)



Mom let me watch TV when we got home so I could sit and relax with my arm up (I'm supposed to sit with it propped up on pillows when I'm at home).



Mom gave me a mini-bath and at least washed off my feet and back. Then we piled up some pillows in my bed so I could get comfy. My buddies helped to keep me comfortable, too.



Mom checked on me several times through the night, but I slept relatively well (except the few times I woke her up to tell her I had itchy bug bites).



Not happy it happened, but happy I seem to have survived my first broken bone!

Last Day of Summer Camp

What a fun day! Summer camp at school ended today, so it was "School Spirit" day and we had a parade to celebrate. Daddy took me to school and was able to stay for the parade :)

We were supposed to wear red, white, and blue for Spirit Day, so I picked my fourth of July dress.



For the parade, we got to march around the school with our class and got to show off our favorite book. I took "Fancy Nancy - The 100th Day of School."



Mom went to work really early this morning so she could pick me up early to take me to the dentist - we both had to get our teeth cleaned.

I did SUCH a great job at the dentist! Would you also believe that I already have TWO of my grown-up teeth??? My 6 year old molars on the bottom are in already, so I have 22 teeth. I was only expecting to have 20! I let the hygienist clean my teeth while the dentist checked mom's teeth. I even did a great job with the fluoride treatment - it was hard to wait for a minute and not swallow with that big tray in my mouth, but I did it! No cavities for me and the dentist said I was doing a great job brushing. She even let me pick something out of the treasure chest - I picked an awesome gold coin!



Since I did such a great job at the dentist, mom told me I could pick where we went for dinner. I picked Dogfish because they have great Mac and Cheese :)



We even saw Ken, Marie, and Cole there - how funny!

And last, but not least, a great big Happy Birthday to my Grandma Coble! Glad you had a great birthday!

Lullaby for Baby Brother

After our bedtime books, I've been singing to my baby brother. Mom says he can hear me and will recognize my voice when he's born.