Piggies

Aw! Look at those cute toes. So little. So ticklish. So crossing over themselves.

These are Nathan's toes. The doctors at Shriner's Children's Hospital took a look at his toes this week to determine if anything should be done to correct his crossing toes. Apparently, this condition is known as "Curly Toe." The tendons in the middle toes are too tight for some unknown reason and pull the toes down so that they are curled all the time. Meanwhile, the index (?) toes move over into the open area much like my husband takes over my side of the bed.

The doctor said that this can be corrected by a simple out-patient surgery which cuts the tendons and allows them to heal at the proper length. Then the toes move back into their proper position. It is supposed to have a super fast recovery time. I like simple. So someday soon Nathan's toes will be straight again. I hope they don't mind "being like everyone else." Maybe I can come up with a new name for them. Wiggly Toe?

I'm still trying to come up with a procedure to stop my husband from hogging the bed.

Not A Chance!

As I was trying to get things done around the house today, I checked up on Nathan. "Whatcha doing, Nathan?" He replies, "Um .... are you going to take a shower?" I immediately had a mental flashback. "NO" was my resounding answer.

I don't know what he was planning but it wasn't going to happen on my watch ... again.

Just Coming

As I descend the basement stairs I hear Nathan saying, "Wait for me! I'm coming." My errand is so short that I don't wait as I tell him to come along. Nathan continues to talk to me as I retrieve a towel from the dryer. "I'm coming! I'm not cutting my lip; I'm just coming." I love how his mind works.

Speaking of cutting lips....
Noah's lip looks a lot better today. The hanging chad fell off during the night. The specialists will examine him again tomorrow and determine if they think surgery would be best. I just want what is best for Noah.

Since Tuesday, Nathan and Noah have been feeling sick. It's that puke-on-your mom-and-in-your-bed-don't-feel-like-moving-or-eating-want-to-be-held-feverish kind of sick. Thankfully, they are on the mend! Lots of cuddles and prayers and Gatorade later, they are longing to return to the Great Outdoors.


They want to join Josiah outside. Just a little more rest, guys.

I realize that this morning's post may be somewhat jumbled and unfocused but that tends to be how I function when I don't get my quota of sleep. Besides, life doesn't usually hand us one thing at a time and it is the multiple facets that make most things beautiful.

Morning Surprise

As I returned home from my walk this morning, Josiah greeted me in the kitchen. He said, "I made something for you!" and went upstairs to retrieve it.

I thought it must be one of his many crafts. He loves to create something new out of something old. As he is upstairs looking for his "craft" I start drawing a picture for him since he absolutely loves getting notes and pictures. (He still has birthday cards from years ago.)

After a minute, Josiah returns with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! He knew I would be hungry after walking. He said he made some for Nathan and Noah too for when they wake up, and Daddy "even though he probably wouldn't want it." I could not refuse such a thoughtful gift and thankfully ate a generously loaded peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.

Then we visited about how to best draw a motorcycle (the motorcycle I was attempting to draw was lacking an engine, gas tank, and more) and I shared with him the qualities that I see in him. Josiah is thoughtful, intelligent, fun, creative, inquisitive, resourceful, funny, compassionate, and friendly to name a few. I'm so thankful that Josiah is part of our family and I am excited to be able to spend more time with him during the summer!

Still a Little Cringey

I took pictures this morning of Noah and his lip. He just wants to go about his day as usual, but I want to put him in a bubble to eliminate any chance of him bumping his injured lip. That same lip about which he seems to be oblivious. The thought of an additional injury makes me cringe. When I snapped this I thought I had a good picture before I realized that he had used "The Hand".

"No more pictures, please!"

Self Haircut

Josiah cut his hair with his school scissors on Friday. First, he cut his hair. Secondly, he's not even supposed to use scissors without permission. Two wrongs. They didn't make a right.

I saw his head and said, "You know I'm going to have to cut your hair very short to even it out some. Why did you do that?" He didn't know, of course. (He never seems to know why he cuts things with scissors....) So this is as short as we went. Heh heh heh. He has been very fond of hats the last couple of days, more so than usual.

On Saturday, Josiah wasn't feeling well. He was so tired that he was just sitting in one of his brothers' strollers. After eating a blue Popsicle, his lips were a very pale blue. With the hair, the fatigue, and the lips, he could have been a poster child for some disease! At least it won't take long for his hair to grow in.

Nathanisms

Nathan and I had some special time together. As Nathan and I were leaving a store, he turns to me and asks, "Did you have fun?" Yes, I did. Thank you. Did you? "Yup!"

John and Nathan were watching golf yesterday. Nathan had a running commentary. This is a snippet: "Oop! It's gone. It went in the hole. Ah! He found it!"

Lack of Communication

Apparently, Noah didn't get the memo. You know? The "No more stitches!" memo?

He fell and busted his lip. He is at the hospital right now. My heart is aching for him.

I tried to stop the bleeding, administered some Tylenol, and gave him an ice cold juice bottle. He was calm by the time he and John left. Little ones in pain have an extra helping of compassion from me. All they know is that it hurts. I hope that this passes quickly for Noah.

Update: The doctors in the E.R. had John take Noah to the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists to see a doctor with plastics experience. The first specialist to look at him wanted to do surgery today but the second doctor thought we should wait and see how it heals on its own. Since he is so little, he would have to go to the surgery center and be put to sleep for the surgery. The surgery they are talking about would be some sort of skin graft. On Friday, we'll return to the specialists to see how things are progressing and if any further action is necessary. As of now, they prescribed an ointment to put on twice a day *cringe* and warned us that things will look a lot worse before they start looking better. Noah is doing fine and seems oblivious to the state of his lip.

Day 2 ...... and ..... Day 3

Day 4 ............ and...............Day 5

Eight days later....

Nona came over to remove Josiah's stitches. Of course, he was willing to wait yet another day but the time had come.

Josiah was nervous at first; however, when the first stitch was removed without him feeling a thing, he relaxed.

It's okay to wince. I did.

Hurray! Now he can take baths and run and quit using all the bandages...

See the three little stitches?

Now we have our very own stitch removal kit but like I said before, we won't be making a habit of this. Seriously. No more stitches please. I told John that I want that stuff they shake onto those gaping wounds in the war movies so that I can just put that onto any cuts and everything will be A-Okay. You know the stuff I'm talking about, don't you? Is that too much to ask? Hm. Probably. Okay, let's just not get cut.

So Funny

Recently, Josiah asked Daddy, "Why are you so furry?"

A naked Nathan comes into the living room this morning to get dressed and says this: "This is my peepee! My peepee is gonna hide in unwear (underwear) now."