Hattie and the Purple Cast

So yesterday, Monday, we woke up and started our day and Hattie was still limping. I called the pediatrician and they recommended we go to the Ortopedic Pediatrics Unit at DMH. So that's what we did. We ended up seeing the PA, Zack in Dr. Tuan's office and he was wonderful as were the nurses. He examined her, pushed and pulled very gingerly. He was also able to look at her Xrays from Express Care. He agreed that he didn't see a break but said sometimes you can't see them in toddlers because of the location of the growth plates. He wasn't comfortable with her mobility so we put a cast/splint on for the time being and he wants to Xray again on APRIL 7th!!! That seems so far away. But it is what it is. Overall she is being a trooper. And to me, the look on Bugs face speaks volumes. Hattie is claiming that Leah pushed her off the trampoline ladder. Leah says she fell while on the trampoline and Bug is keeping her mouth shut. We may never know the truth, but for now we have some sad little girls. Trying to figure out if we can make our Wisconsin Dells waterpark trip work for next week.

The worst part was by far sleeping. Lucky for us, Mitch was gone. She kept climbing out of bed and crawling to my room. I kept taking her back to her bed, but she just wasnt having it. She kept crying saying "take it off, mommy" and "but it's itchy, mommy". This sweet girl was just breaking my heart. I let her and Bug sleep in this morning while I got Leah up and out the door for school. It was a long night.

***She slept with my every night while Mitch was gone and I loved every ounce of snuggle.

Bone Contusion

I just don't know what I am going to do with this girl. She thinks she can keep up with her sisters...and she can't. On Friday there was a mishap with the trampoline. Leah came in the house and said Hattie wanted off, but I was on the phone. I asked her to help her and a few minutes later there is a lot of screaming and I watched Leah and Bug drag poor Hattie up the deck stairs. I finished up my call quickly and tended to the little.

It didn't take long for me to realize that she wouldn't put any weight on her leg. I called Mitch immediately. He came home and we tried to figure out what was wrong. As far as we could tell it wasn't broken, but something clearly wasn't right. So at 5:40 off to Urgent Care I went. They said it could be a Toddlers fracture, so they did Xrays. She was not a happy camper. I tried to get a picture of her but she was squirming in pain.

They came back with the results and said there was not fracture or breaks and that she may just have a bone contusion...fancy word for bruise. Her little toddler bones aren't ready to play so rough and tumble like big sisters. Friday night she didn't sleep the greatest. She ended up in our bed with her little leg propped up. She never put any weight on it all day, Saturday and spent most of the day on the couch. Of course I got some snuggles in. She slept all night, last night, and took two steps this morning and is letting us move it a little more. But otherwise she's been on the couch all day again. Poor Hattie cakes...Its not common for her to sit still this long. I hope this gets better quick :(

YMCA

So the YMCA started a new program last week called Toddler Time. It is on Thursdays from 10-noon. It is free for members and $2 for others. And my girls LOVE it. I wish that I had more pictures but they are bouncing around so much I can't seem to get any good ones. They are always blurry.

Anyway, they always have a bounce house, which of course is a huge hit! They have riding toys, tumbling mats, a craft and the girls LOVE it. I really can't say enough good things about our Y. The nursery workers, Anne and Laura are just amazing. The classes are great, as well as the instructors...Angela, Heidi, Suzy, Joy, Jillian. I may not look it, but I'm probably healthier than I have ever been. They even have fitness classes for the kids. Leah, Kiersten and I have been doing ActionLab on Saturday mornings. And I know this summer they will LOVE Kid Fit Zone. I can't tell you how much I appreciate their help in teaching my kids how to live a healthy, active life. If you haven't been there, check it out!

Happy 5th Birthday, Love BUG!

How did this happen?!?! I have to admit that I am taking 5 a little hard. This means that soon she has to go to school and she won't be here for me to love on ALL.DAY.LONG. She is turning into such a big girl...I can hardly stand it. She just makes my heart so happy...I mean look at that smile? I think she came into this world with a smile. Don't get me wrong...she can be all sorts of fiesty and independent and bullheaded too (I blame that on the Schultz side of her, lol) but for the most part, she is still my little love bug, my little snuggle bug who is perfectly content to just curl up in my lap. I know I won't realize it when it happens but someday there will be a last time, and I just can't imagine our days without it.

She has her ups and downs with her sisters, but she is mostly a great sister. She looks up to Leah, and of course Hattie idolizes her. They are quite the trio. Leah made Kiersten a special birthday gift. She seems to be obsessed with Treasure the palace pet these days so Leah made her a card with Treasure on it. And the gratitude was so adorable. "Oh thank you, thank you, Leah!" You would have thought she was going to Disney World.

Anyway, at 5, you are starting to read, you have a crazy vocabulary and speak well past your years. You love to sing. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are your favorites. You still love to sing Firework and lately you are all about Blank Space by Taylor. You dance your little heart out every week with Ms. Jan and you are anxious about starting Golf and softball this summer. I think your favorite show is Miles from Tomorrowland on Disney channel. You never forget to say your prayers before a meal,  and you think going to the movies or to Dairy Queen is the best treat ever. You make my heart so happy. And as much as I want to keep you little I can't wait to watch you grow. I feel blessed beyond measure to be your mom. I love you, Bug!

Frozen on Ice

The show started at 2, and we were in the building at 1:30. Somehow we were surviving the day on very little sleep...probably because the girls were SOOO excited. Before we found our seats we went to the bathroom. Of course we had to get souvenirs and snacks and then we were ready to go. It started out great with some singing and dancing from the regular Disney Gang...then all the princesses came out on skates. The girls were thrilled!

Once the show started they were enthralled. They loved all the twirling and jumps...they sang along to all the songs. By the end they were on a sugar high...playing with their toys and still belting out the tunes. I think they all said that Marshmallow the monster was their favorite...and I have to admit he was pretty cool. He came out as a giant while snowball and then inflated into the huge monster from the movie. Very Cool. After we got to the car, it didn't take long for little ones to pass out...well, really it was only Bug and Hattie. We stopped for dinner in Vandalia, and then went on to meet Gigi in Sullivan. The weekend was definitely a success. I'm glad she loved it...along with all the others!

Birthday Shopping

American Girl is little girl heaven! Even though Gigi couldn't make the trip, she gave me her credit card and said to let the girls each pick out an outfit or a pet or something. They had no trouble finding what they wanted. Leah and Macy both got their dolls ears pierced and picked out Gymnastics outfits. Kiersten got the cheerleading outfit and a leash for her pet dog Pepper. Hattie got the labradoodle Apricot for her Bitty Baby. They were super excited! Thanks for spoiling them rotten, Gigi. But next time, we want you to be with us ;)

Birthday Lunch

My original plan was to have lunch at the American Girl store at the Chesterfield Mall, but they couldn't accomodate groups our size. So we went with the back-up plan. We went to the cheesecake factory and wouldn't you know it...they had highchairs for the American Girl dolls to use. Since we were going to see Frozen Jaci and I had made sure that all the girls had Anna and Elsa outfits for their dolls...remember that Valentines post a few weeks ago :)

The girls thought that they were pretty special getting their dolls at the table with them. They made ordering easy too. They all got Macaroni and cheese! Since it was a birthday party we had to get cheesecake for dessert. Jaci and Bella shared the oreo cheesecake. Hattie and I shared white chocolate macadamia nut, Leah got Red Velvet and Macy got Fresh Strawberry. The Birthday Girl got Smore's  and they wrote Happy Birthday on the plate with Chocolate sauce...she was feeling pretty special and we sang to her too! Most of the cheesecake ended up coming home with us...but it was just as good as leftovers!

Birthday Kick-Off

For weeks I kept telling Bug that she wasn't having a birthday party, that we were going to do a Birthday trip this year instead. And somehow I did a great job keeping it a secret until just a few days before. And then the weather happened. We had tickets to see Disney's Frozen on Ice on Sunday March 1st, but a huge snow storm was threatening to come in on Saturday Feb. 28th. Gigi started to panic. She had me book some hotel rooms, but on the day of, she wasn't comfortable driving. So I met her in Sullivan to get Macy and we made the trek to St. Louis. It only took us 4 hours, but we managed to arrive in Collinsville and get settled into our room. The girls were wound up after the long drive. So it felt good to get our wiggles out in the water. We headed back to the room, and I thought for sure they would all be asleep between 9:30-10...well that didn't happen. It was more like 11:30. Macy, Leah and Bella slept in bags on the floor and Bug slept with me, while Hattie slept with Jaci. Then of course Leah woke us all up around 6:30...yikes! We stayed at a Hampton Inn and they had a good continental breakfast. After we ate, Jaci took all the kids to the pool while I worked on loading up the van, and then I met them in the water. They girls were loving it!