JJ's Hiking Birthday Party

In lieu of a traditional birthday party, James requested a Father/Son hike on the Soos Creek Trail followed by playtime at the park with everyone. The boys did great, hiking a total of 3¼ miles before reaching the 208th play area. The weather held out for us and the clouds even burned away to let in the sunshine part way through the party. The kids had such a great time playing with their friends.

First Broken Bone

It's official...one of my boys has incurred their first sports-related broken bone. James broke his middle finger & possibly the pointer one on his left hand while playing football with a neighbor on Sunday.

Monday he told the Doctor that he was hoping for a cast. 15 minutes after being splinted and wrapped, he was singing a different tune. His hand now not only hurt, but was itchy, sweaty and uncomfortable - not to mention his buddies were splashing in a pool that he was no longer allowed to play in.

Wednesday, it was off to the Orthopedic Doctor for further evaluation. They decided he did not need a cast, but would have to remain splinted/wrapped for 2½-3 weeks. He is doing a great job keeping his wrap on now that he knows that reinjuring it could result in the possibility of surgery and 6 weeks in a cast.

The journey begins...I love that I have active children. I love that they enjoy spending afternoons throwing a ball around or swinging a bat. Right this second, I love that our first break was a relatively minor one.

Happy 7th Birthday James

James is officially 7 years old! Today was his day and exactly how he hoped it would be. The day began with candle-filled donuts for breakfast. Then we were off to school with Cinnamon Twist & Sprinkle Donuts for his first grade class (after they sang to him of course). Daddy came home early to pick him up from school & give him the absolute BEST PRESENT EVER!!! Lego Starwars for the Wii. James (and Josiah) were thrilled beyond belief. After an hour of Light saber battles & pod racing, we hit the Soos Creek Trail for a little hike before playing at the playground.
Finally it was time to head home and eat pizza followed by Cold Stone Cotton Candy ice cream (filled with marshmallows, white chocolate chips, sprinkles and gummy bears) Sounds appealing, huh?

Before tucking him in bed, I asked him to tell me a little about his favorite things:

Video Games: Excite Truck, Lego Starwars and Mario Party 8 on the Wii.

Board/Other Games: Frame-it, Sneaks, I Spy Bingo, Boggle, Phase 10 and Wheel of Fortune.

Outdoor Activities: Jump on the trampoline, swinging, squirt gun fights, camping and hiking.

Sports: Football, Basketball, Soccer, Baseball and Wrestling. (He also asked if Boxing was considered a sport because he likes to box his brother...if his Mom lets him).

Things that Happened This Year: Roller Skating, Jonathan being born, March for Babies Walk on Timothy's Team, Easter, Seattle Fountain, Riding his Scooter & Bike, and Camping.

School Memories: Treasure Box Picks, Recess, Friends

Friends: Austin, James B., Anthony, Brandon, D-Ray, Marcel, Nathan, Josh, Jordan, Jacob, Bradley, Kalacious, Connor

P.S. You may have noticed in the first picture that he also received a splint/wrap for his birthday too...I'll blog more about that tomorrow after his appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor :)

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Jonathan participated in his second 5k walk, this time in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

First Trampoline Related Injury

I love our trampoline. I mean LOVE our trampoline. We have had it in the backyard for one year now and have not grown the least bit tired of it. Almost every dry day of the year, you can find one (if not all) of us jumping away.

Last night started out as a perfect evening. I mean perfect. Jimmy was at the BBQ, Aliya was laying on a blanket in the grass watching while James, Josiah, Abby & I jumped our little hearts out. We were having so much fun, laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. It was girls against boys with only one goal to go before we were all heading in to enjoy dinner when it happened. Our first trampoline related injury. Abby's chin came down on James' head.

She immediately headed for the exit saying "Help me Mommy". I knew she was hurt, which I quickly pushed to the back burner when I saw the blood on James' head. "The blood Mommy! I think I'm going to die!" OK, so maybe a little dramatic but there was quite a bit of blood...dime sized drops following him into the house and throughout the bathroom. Quick reassessment of both kids and sent them off with Jimmy to Urgent Care.

Abby's chin was a pretty clean cut which was able to be closed with a little Dermabond. Unfortunately, they couldn't Dermabond the top of James' head. After being evaluated by 2 different Doctors, James was released without a single stitch. The 2nd Doctor admitted that while a couple of staples would help lessen the scarring, he didn't think it was necessary. He was confident that once the swelling went down his cut would look much better. He was right!

We still LOVE our trampoline. While I wish the injury portion of the evening hadn't occurred, I wouldn't have changed a thing. It was just one of those random accidents...and as Jimmy put it at the end of the night "Now our children just have permanent reminders (scars) of what a great evening they had!"Believe it or not, this picture was actually taken 2+ hours later, after he had been cleaned up & was back home from Urgent Care.
Abby the morning after - still a little nervous to move her chin, but smiling none the less!

Teeth

While Jonathan has been busy getting his two new front teeth in, James was busy losing another one of his!

Happy Birthday Denise

We had a blast celebrating Denise's birthday today! What a great excuse for a super fun playdate :)