A First Time for Everything

This past little bit has been pretty rough. William fell off the bed and broke his humerus bone - right above the elbow. Matthew and I took him to the hospital, thinking that it would be a minor fracture, maybe severely bruised, but the doctor came back with the x-rays saying that he needed surgery and as soon as possible. My heart stopped. It's a pretty crucial bone for little ones while they're growing, I have now found out. Since William is left handed and he broke his left arm, it was even more so needed. The doctor was saying things that would happen if we didn't get it done now. There are possibilities of his left arm being longer that his right. I don't really remember. I was still concentrating on the fact that my son needed surgery.

( William and his name tag. He was so excited to have a bracelet - made anklet- with his name on it.)

Now, I know that there are children out there with worse things happening. Parents who have children that need more care than William. But, for me, a broken arm was enough. We were transferred up to Primary Children's Hospital - without the ambulance we were offered - where we waited and waited from 1:00 am until 7:45 pm for a surgical room to be open. Those had to be some of the most difficult hours of my life.
As moms, I believe we were made to be ready to help our children. Usually first and foremost. This was the first time in my life that I felt completely helpless. My 3 year old had a broken arm, was starving, thirsty, and bored out of his mind. And I couldn't really do a thing to help. Yeah, I got him ice packs and told the nurse when he needed more Tylenol. Or tried to keep him occupied by watching movies or reading books. Mostly we just cuddled, which was my favorite part. But, I couldn't truly take the pain away.

As if that was bad enough, when it was finally our turn for Will's surgery, it hit me hard that I couldn't be there. I had no control over what happened to my son. My sleepless night and mom hormones kicked in as they wheeled him away - awake - and William realized we weren't coming with him.
On a positive note, William's surgery only took about a half hour. It went smoothly. It was all done by x-ray, so no incision was made, except for the two pins that were stuck into his arm. We were able to leave the hospital at 10:00 that night, which was a blessing!
William was such a brave boy. We are going in to get his hard cast next week! Until then, we are taking things slowly and carefully. And sometimes restlessly.

Belated Hallowen Pics

I can't believe that Halloween had already come and gone! It's crazy to me how fast this year has flown by! Halloween was a busy busy day, but it was fun. William dressed up as Thomas the Tank Engine. We got the costume from Carrie's sister in law. Will absolutely loved it. Lily dressed up as Tinkerbell. Carrie and I made the majority of her costume because I wasn't really satisfied with anything that was in my price range in the stores. I had so much fun with this project and I'm sort of sad that it's over. In case you haven't noticed, Carrie was a huge part of our Halloween costumes! I couldn't have had these awesome costumes without her. Thank you Carrie for everything!

Carrie brought Raven and Tessa over to take pictures before we both went to grandparent's houses for trick or treating. We had fun taking a lot of pictures. These kids are so hilarious together.

Then we went to Grandma Townsend's house for trick or treating. It was a fun year for us because William had a blast running from house to house. It brought back memories of being a kid and being so excited to go trick or treating, getting a huge pillowcase full of candy, and then bringing it home to sort through. Will was so excited and it's the first year he would go up to the door by himself. When did he get so independent??

Lily was excited to get candy, but she got so tired easily. About halfway through the neighborhood, she started riding on Matthew's shoulders. I think she had fun though. It was great to go trick or treating with the Townsend's. With so many couples and children, we had a huge party walking around the neighborhood. It was great. Happy Belated Halloween!!

Imitation

Last night, the kid's bedroom was a wreck. Usually, we try to have William and Lily pick up their toys before they go to bed. Matthew was going to change Lily's pull up before he enforced our usual rule and he sat down on a piece of Will's train tracks. Not just a little piece of a track. It resembles a huge block with plastic fences on the top of it (it's meant for a bridge). "OUCH!" he shrieked. Matthew pulled the thing out from under him and tossed it to the side.

William thought that this was hilarious. So, he proceeded to imitate Matthew. He kept sitting -carefully, I might add- on the track and yelling/laughing "OUCH!" and then he would laugh hysterically. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures. I was laughing so hard at Will doing this!

Heavenly Car Services

Our topic of discussion today was death. Why? We were watching the Lion King and William asked what was wrong with Mufasa.
Me: He went to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

William: But he's just sleeping.

Me: No, he's not just sleeping. He passed away. That's what we say when someone goes to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus. He passed away. His body is still there, but his Spirit is with Jesus.

William: Oh... He fell down and then he got in a car to go see Jesus.

Me: (trying not to laugh) well... sure.

You've got to love the logic of a child.

Curiosity Killed the Parent

As I have stated in before posts, William is like a sponge ready to absorb information. He is asking questions and remembers every detail of the answer that you give him and brings it up again at a later time. For instance, he has a running list of things that we need to get at the store, which he'll bring up everyday until we go to the grocery store. I swear, this kid remembers everything!
Lately he's been curious about anatomy... I have decided to handle this by calling everything what it's really called. No substitute names. We have had a wide range of questions and discussions. From what it is to why doesn't Lily have one to boys have this and girls have that to what is inappropriate to do. We talk about it everyday. Anytime he changes underwear or goes to the bathroom.. there it is! We need to discuss! I'm sorry to say too that if he knows you, we've talked about whether you're a boy or a girl and what you have and what you don't have.
Is this normal? Have I just totally created a monster by answering his questions? Does every kid do this or is it just boys? Or just my boy? If it is normal, when does it stop? Does it ever stop?
It's not all he talks about, but it is pretty much a daily topic... right up there with our ever increasing grocery list.

A Piece of Info

Lily went to the bathroom today!!! In the Toilet!!! It was very convenient since we ran out of diapers yesterday... But... After 3+ years of buying diapers, is there actually an end in sight?? Two children toilet trained?? 2 for 2?? I'm hoping that this new fad sticks with Lily. It sure would be nice!! Princess underwear, here we come!!

Teaching 'Em Young

William is blooming with wisdom these days. He's steadily getting to the point where we can have an actual conversation and I'm loving it. Although he is moving forward, we still have our minor roadblocks where I have to figure out what he's meaning when he says something. For instance, instead of "How old are you?" he asks, "What's your number?" Which, I think, is absolutely adorable and creative for a three year old to come up with. Well, here's a great story starring my very own William Rigdon.
Our balcony at our apartment is right beside the main entrance to our building. With our screen door open, it would be physically impossible for someone to enter or exit our building from that door without us knowing. We could be like the building security guards because we have that much access. So, one day, William and Lily are playing on the balcony. When they are out there, they speak to anything and everyone they see. This particular day, I hear both of them talking to the woman who parks right next to us in the covered parking. The conversation went something like this:

Will and Lily: Hi!!

Woman: Oh, Hi there! How are you?

Will: Good. Hey! What's your number??


Either the woman was too shocked to answer, or she had gotten in her car because there was no response. It occurred to me at that moment that it might not be cute and creative to other people that he says that... It could sound like we are parents who have trained our son to ask for ladies' numbers.