Wine

Scott and I managed to make it to TWO wineries in one month!  Whew!  June really is a good month :).  On Saturday we headed down to Ste. Genevieve, MO to help Mary celebrate her birthday.  It was fun to hang with the "little kids" for a bit while leaving OUR little kids with my mom :).  I liked the Hermann wines better, but that didn't stop us from having a good time!

 the birthday girl :)

Summer fun

What could be more fun on a hot summer day than a little naked outdoor painting followed by running in the sprinkler?  It turned out to be a pretty good entertainment combination last Friday!

 

 Merrill did NOT like the sprinkler "raining" on her -- she squealed "OW" every time a drop hit her :)

 she enjoyed the big puddle though!

More soccer

Millie warmed up to soccer camp pretty well and seemed to enjoy the experience.  She missed one day because of her arm, but made it back for the final day on Friday and did fine despite the cast.  Wednesday, Scott took an early lunch so he could come and see the fun for himself :).

 warming up with Scott

 practicing her soccer pose :)

 throw-in!

I also got smarter after the first class and started bringing snacks, toys, crayons, etc. for Merrill -- made for a much easier hour!

Playing with a cast actually helped Millie in some respects because she HAD to kick the ball everywhere she went (it was too difficult to pick it up) -- looks like it also may have helped her balance a bit :)

 her soccer pose definitely improved over the week!

 playing hard

 really, she did have more fun than that picture suggests ;)

Deja Vu. Again.

Wait, didn't I just write about Deja vu?  Um, yeah, apparently I wrote too soon... 

Less than an hour after my last post, the Dr. from the urgent care called.  He had sent out Millie's x-rays to a radiologist and orthopedist at the hospital (standard procedure) and after consulting with them as well as a pediatric orthopedist, they decided that there WAS possibly something there after all.  (He kept using the word "abnormality" to describe what they were seeing, which was a little disconcerting because it sounded like it could be something other than a break or fracture.)  He suggested that she wear the sling the rest of the day (we were already in bed reading books, so this wasn't really an issue) and that if the pain persisted in the morning we should take her in to the orthopedist she saw last year.  Sigh.  Not the news we wanted.  Scott went up to the urgent care to pick up the sling we had left there earlier in the day (because I didn't think we needed it...) and Millie's x-rays, then we finally got the girls to sleep (too much excitement for one day!).  After the girls were asleep, Scott and I looked at the x-rays and thought we could see the spot the Dr.'s were concerned about, but were still hoping it would be nothing.

Fast forward to this morning.  Millie woke up pretty unwilling to use her arm, but not crying in pain. 

Eating breakfast -- notice she is attempting to use her left hand instead of the right, which is the one she fell on. It got a little messy.  Of course, the Dr.'s office didn't open until 8:30 (and we wake up at 6:30) so we had to wait a few hours to even know when our appointment would be ... and then we had to wait for the actual appointment, which wasn't scheduled until 1:40.  That's a long time to keep a 3 1/2 year-old with a possible arm fracture happy, entertained, and STILL.  So, we ran to Target for a few things, including new leotards for the girls, played dance class, had lunch, read some books, got Merrill down for a nap, read some more and then it was finally time to leave. 

 playing dance class.  You can tell in the last picture that she is holding her right arm a little rigid ...

By this time I was doubtful that she had fractured it again because after her initial dose of ibuprofen this morning, she was moving around fine, dancing, having fun, using her arm -- even as the medicine was wearing off.  (It was EXACTLY how things played out LAST year so I should have known better)  But, we all agreed taking her in was the best thing "just in case," especially given the frequent use of the word "abnormality" that just made us all uncomfortable.

Millie did great at the Dr.'s.  We read "highlights" in the waiting room and played rhyming games while waiting for the Dr. after talking to the nurse.  She had LOTS of energy and kept climbing on a step stool they had in there, which made me VERY nervous!   The Dr. (different Dr., but same practice, so they all knew we had been there a year ago for the same thing...) came in and reviewed the x-ray with us and the verdict was ...

fracture on the humerus bone ... again.  Pretty much the exact same injury as last year, just on the opposite arm.  As you can see, Millie chose a purple cast this year.  She was okay while they put it on and still smiling while it dried (it just takes a couple of minutes these days with the fiberglass casts), but by the time we were leaving the office she was feeling pretty bummed and expressed MANY times tonight that having a cast is NOT fun.  They took the cast over her hand this time, so she has even less mobility than last year ... and it is her dominant hand, so she is really not happy. 

 Fortunately, it's only for three weeks, and it was nothing worse.

But seriously, I do NOT want to make this our summer tradition!

Deja Vu (almost)

but thankfully, not.  We had a bit of a scare this afternoon when Millie fell off of a chair ... again.  This time it was a chair in the basement and she landed on a carpeted floor, but the screams that came from her made us think we were going to have a repeat of last summer when she broke her arm.  Luckily after a little time in the waiting room of the (same) urgent care, a brief visit with the (same) Dr., a sucker, and some x-rays we gave a huge sigh of relief when we heard the words "no broken bones"!  Whew.  That's one summer activity I DON'T want to make a tradition...

{DaNCe}

It's a busy week around here.  Not only are we doing soccer camp, but tonight we did a trial dance class for Millie.  I think we'll be signing up for the full summer session :).  Millie is enjoying the soccer camp, and today went much better than yesterday, but she's definitely taking some time to find her groove.  Tonight though, all it took was walking through the studio doors from the waiting room for her to be willing to go with the teacher and let me sit on the sidelines (at soccer, I'm still running around right there with her -- no sidelines for me :) ).  She was attentive and followed the teachers directions and was ALL smiles the whole time.  It helped that it was an enclosed space with only 5 other children, a super friendly and perky teacher and frequent "hug" breaks (as opposed to a VERY open field with 11 other children and one super friendly but slightly overwhelmed coach...).  Millie was so excited about class tonight that she barely ate any dinner.  We'll have to work on that one.  She's already talking about her next class and buying a leotard so she can be a real dancer.  I know one little girl who is going to be very tired by the end of the week!

walking backwards

she LOVED watching herself in the mirrors :)

learning to dance in unison

scarf dancing

LEAPING!

Puppy Fashion Show

{Soccer}

 We started a week-long soccer camp for Millie today.  The camp runs just one hour in the morning every day this week. 

I'd like to say our whole first session looked like this, with Millie listening to her coach and actively participating in the games ...

... but in reality, it looked more like this, with Millie picking flowers :).  That's my girl.

Millieisms

Millie: I'm really still hungry

Scott: I just gave you nuts and craisins in your mug

Millie: well, I really didn't want that, but thanks for offering

Happy Father's Day!

 SURPRISE!!  Breakfasting in bed :)

followed by...

playing with trains then ...

... heading to the Cards game with as many dads as we could round up!

my dad

Mary's dad

Jason -- dad-to-be

 all the awesome dads: Scott, Jason, Jason's dad, my dad, Mary's dad

 Of course there were some awesome moms and moms-to-be there too -- not to mention two adorable little girls :)

riding the trolley with Lainey

SO excited for the game!

The view.  I lucked out in selecting the tickets and managed to get 14 seats in the shade on a hot summer day!

taking a break from watching the game to read a book with LoLo ...

... and nap with mommy

so happy to be celebrating such a wonderful man and father

We wish a happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and we send love to the dads and grandfathers that couldn't be with us today!