I took Aurora to the mall today for a little one on one time with Mom and to see Santa. I figured Santa wouldn't want a 50 pound cast laden, screaming two year old who doesn't even know who he is on his lap so I spared bringing Alex. Aurora and I did some shopping, had lunch, and picked out this year's ornaments. They each get a new ornament every year. This year she decided on the Little Einstein's Rocket ornament for both of them. We talked about what a big helper she has been with Alex. Then she got to ride the Christmas train and talk to Santa. She told him she wanted barbies, a tent, and Pixos. Here's the picture:
And here is Aurora's letter to Santa:
Dear Santa:
This is Aurora. I've been a good girl this year. I've been taking good care of Alex and being good to him. I have been handing him toys and staying in my room at night. I've been trying to listen to Momma and Daddy. Here is what I want for Christmas:
Barbies
Pixos
Dinosaurs
Refrigerator
Tent
CARS Banshee
Pretend Food
I will leave you cookies and milk and carrots for your reindeer. Thank you. AURORA
Well, the ortho said that kids figure out how to move in their cast, and I didn't believe her. Boy, has Alex proved me wrong!! This boy is amazing! I put him on his tummy this evening and he immediately figured out how to scoot backwards! He went forward a little bit too but it was much harder; I imagine when he gets his muscles built up he will be able to do it! He was SO proud of himself and even started screaming when I eventually picked him up to put his pajamas on.
Thank goodness he is starting to figure this out, because he was getting very frustrated with laying around, especially dropping toys all the time and not being able to play with everything he wants. Overall he's been quite the trooper though. We had some problems with sleeping; he was waking every 1-2 hours. I called the ortho and she said it was probably muscle spasms and called in a prescription of Valium. He has slept much better since!
Anyway we are doing pretty well, considering the circumstances. Josh is taking some vacation from work and I am fortunate to be able to work from home for now. I really hope Alex is able to get out of the cast by Christmas!
Video of Alex's scooting (with Big Sister helping, of course!):
Here is the XRay of Alex's break
Here is a picture of Alex's cast
Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. It started at about 6am, when we were getting the kids ready to go to their grandparents' house before we went to work. They were going to stay the night there and we were going to do some Christmas shopping that evening.
We have a shoe cabinet in the play room, a large, heavy shelf with three doors that pull out to display shoes like this. As I was getting dressed, I heard Alex say, "Momma, shoes"...and then I heard a crash and instant screaming. I ran into the play room to see the cabinet toppled over, on top of Alex, who was face down and screaming. I screamed for Josh and pulled the cabinet off of him and pulled him out. I set him on the kitchen counter to check him over and calm him down. I didn't see any injuries and got him somewhat calmed down so I stood him up on the kitchen floor. He collapsed, instantly. He couldn't stand. And he was screaming.
I became hysterical at that point, Josh had to calm me down and get me to focus, especially because Aurora was there. She said that as Alex was trying to open a drawer on the shoe cabinet, and as the same time he was opening it, one of our cats jumped on top of it, causing it to come down.
We got them in the car and drove to the emergency room. We couldn't even get him out of his car seat, he was flinching and screaming. I was terrified he had a back injury. Josh carried him in, car seat and all. At the ER they did xrays and determined that his left femur was broken in his leg. They were also worried about abdominal injuries because of the amount of force it would have taken to break that bone. We were transferred by ambulance to the Pediatric hospital downtown.
At the pediatric hospital they did comprehensive xrays to check everything. Fortunately there were no internal injuries and the femur was the only break. It is what they call a spiral fracture, which means he was most likely turning away from the cabinet as it came down. He had to go into the OR and be put to sleep and have the bone reset and a cast put on. However, since the break was in the femur, and they need to keep his hip still, he is basically in a cast from the chest down. It goes from his chest all the way down to his toes on the leg that was broken and halfway down the other leg. My poor baby is in a body cast and has to be in it for at least 3 weeks, at which point they will cut it down to just the one leg. And it is REALLY heavy.
So it is basically like having a 60 pound newborn for the next couple of weeks. He can't move in it. The orthopedic surgeon said that they will often find a way to be mobile, but I don't see how. We have to prop him up with pillows to enable him to be in a semi-upright position. To transport him in a car he has to lay down in the back seat with a special harness on. To change his diapers we have to shove a newborn diaper up into the hole they made in the cast and then put a bigger diaper over the whole thing. This requires two people to lift him up to put the diaper on. He wakes frequently at night because he can't move and is scared or in pain. It's going to be a long couple of weeks.
We have a checkup with the ortho in a week and a half. At 3 weeks they will do xrays and see if they can cut the cast down to just the one leg, which will then stay on for another couple of weeks. When children this age break their bones, they often grow back longer as they heal, so she set the bone a little short to hopefully compensate and keep the leg from becoming longer than the other one. He will not need physical therapy when the cast is removed, but may go through the motions of learning to walk again - crawling, pulling up, and then walking. So yes, like having a (heavy) baby all over again. I will post pictures today when I get a chance.
I swore forever that Aurora would be our only child. We were perfectly happy with our little family of three and I'm not a big fan of the baby stage anyway. Plus she was in school part time and she had friends to play with. But as the months went by and I watched her grow and play at home I started to feel like she could benefit from having a buddy around. And I figured, if we were going to give her a brother or sister, the closer together they were the better. Thus came Alex, born when Aurora was 2 1/2. I'm not going to lie, it was a rough first year! Aurora wasn't too sure about this new baby in the family, everyone was sick a lot, and Alex had a lot of health problems. But now they are really starting to form a relationship and it is so much fun to watch. Of course not a day goes by that I'm not saying, "Leave your brother (or sister) alone!" "Don't talk to him like that!" "You have to take turns." "We need to share." "It's not your 
job to correct him." "Stop yelling!" But the rest of the time is so sweet to watch...the hugs and kisses,
the playing picnic or house together, or chasing each other around the house. Playing with the animals together, Aurora teaching Alex how to do things or say things, and getting so excited when he learns something. Alex has taught Aurora humility (she can't always be the center of the world), patience, and sharing. Aurora has taught Alex games, words, activities, and sharing as well. I look forward to continuing to watch them grow and see how their relationship changes and what they continue to learn from each other. I have a younger brother that unfortunately, I am not close to. In fact, I remember when I was pregnant with Alex and found out he was a boy - my first thought was, "Oh no Aurora is going to have to deal with a little brother!" But I really hope that I can help Aurora and Alex form a close bond that will last them all their lives!
(Aurora with her cousins this summer)
I already feel like Aurora is a teenager. The things that she says and understands just blows me away. She really has a good wit and can make little comments or retorts that are so much like an adult! The other night however, it was a little TOO much like an adult!
I can't even remember what she did, but she was doing something and I told her not too and she started talking back. I told her that when I tell her something, she's to say, "Ok Mom" and do it, and NOT talk back to me. Mad at me, she went to her room. About 5 minutes later, I went in her room to put clothes away and she tells me, "I am staying in my room until YOU come talk to me and tell me you are sorry." EXCUSE ME?!?! (Which is exactly what I said to her LOL!) I could not believe what I had just heard. I told her that I am the parent and it is my job to correct her when she is not being good and I don't have to apologize for it. We had quite the talk and then I told HER that she can come out of her room when she is ready to tell ME she was sorry. She came out 1 minute later and apologized. LOL!! This girl is going to be a challenge when she really IS 14!!!!!
We went and got pumpkins last week to do our annual carving with Grandma. The kids had a blast at the tiny pumpkin patch. We got a "Mr. Potato Head" type kit for Aurora to do with her pumpkin and Alex was happy with stickers. This was the first year we got Aurora to stick her hand in the pumpkin and pull out pulp!
I swore forever that Aurora would be our only child. We were perfectly happy with our little family of three and I'm not a big fan of the baby stage anyway. Plus she was in school part time and she had friends to play with. But as the months went by and I watched her grow and play at home I started to feel like she could benefit from having a buddy around. And I figured, if we were going to give her a brother or sister, the closer together they were the better. Thus came Alex, born when Aurora was 2 1/2. I'm not going to lie, it was a rough first year! Aurora wasn't too sure about this new baby in the family, everyone was sick a lot, and Alex had a lot of health problems. But now they are really starting to form a relationship and it is so much fun to watch. Of course not a day goes by that I'm not saying, "Leave your brother (or sister) alone!" "Don't talk to him like that!" "You have to take turns." "We need to share." "It's not your 
job to correct him." "Stop yelling!" But the rest of the time is so sweet to watch...the hugs and kisses, 
(Aurora with her cousins this summer)
