No more green cast...

After 4 weeks in a stinky, itchy cast, Keller was hoping for good news when we went back to see the orthopedic doctor.  

Baseball practice had started and he was ready to get that thing off so he could have full use of his right hand/arm.  Lucky for him, the doctor said it was healing perfectly and told him he would send the nurse in to cut it off.  You can tell by the picture, he didn't think too highly of that part.

The doctor wanted him to wear a wrist brace for two weeks but that didn't exactly happen.  Apparently, the straps were bothering him at school so he asked one of the little girls to cut them and they ended up too short.  The brace wouldn't fasten so to the trash it went. 

iPhone Pics

Rather than try to go back and write a post about each picture, I decided it would be much easier to just dump some of my favorite iPhone pics into one big blog post.  These are just a few of the ones that make me smile each time I scroll through my photos.  Actually, they all make me smile but 289 pictures in one post is a little much.  Thank goodness for the trusty camera phone...sure is nice to capture those special moments with family and friends without having to haul the big Canon around everywhere.

Spirit day at school...love my little Yellowjackets!

Keller and his baseball buddies striking their victory pose.

Mean face...too bad it doesn't work well for him!

 Keller made fast friends with the guests at the Christmas parade.  He wanted a picture with every.single.one. of them!

Celebrating NYE with great friends.

Kase and I preparing for our first 5k together.  It was freezing cold but we rocked it in 37 minutes and a few seconds.  So much fun!

Keller getting adjusted before his first tournament of the Spring season.  He hit two home runs that weekend so he's now a firm believer in the power of chiropractic care.

Kase all decked out in neon colors for his glow party at Church.  He had a blast!

Daddy's little helper...such a big boy!

 And last but not least, you know it's summertime when the Mohawks come out.  Keller couldn't wait to get his done and we thought Kase was going to join him but he changed his mind last minute.  It's hard to see but he also had his baseball number shaved into the side.  That and blue hair dye are in preparation for the Little League World Series.  A post with pictures from that will come soon cause it was a big week for the Texans!

Keller's first cast

Back to the story of Keller's "broken thumb" and I now use those words loosely because his thumb was never broken.  We were seen at Urgent Care Sunday and by Monday morning, my gut was telling me something still wasn't right with Keller.  He wasn't complaining of pain but I wasn't 100% convinced the diagnosis was correct.  The more I thought about how he landed and where he complained of pain the night it happened just didn't lead me to believe it was his thumb.  We decided to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor because Keller is very active in sports and we wanted to make sure he received the appropriate treatment.  Good thing we did because after reviewing the X-ray, the doctor informed us that Keller's wrist was broken and it would need a cast. There was no break on the thumb so I'm still not sure what they saw that resembled that. Nonetheless, it's highly unlikely we'll ever return to that place!

This was our first experience with a child in a cast and it came as no surprise that it was with Keller.  The nurse brought in the color choices for casts and of course, Keller chose the brightest color they offered. He was a tad bit nervous but handled it like a champ.  All smiles and didn't slow him down a bit!

 Fortunately, it was a clean break and not near a growth plate so the doctor said it would heal nicely...and it has.  Broken bone #1 in the books and with this ornery thing, who knows when the next one might be?!?!  

Choir Performance

Right before Christmas break, I took the day off so I could help chaperon Kase's choir field trip.  I thought I might be cramping  his style by being there but he and his 4 buddies didn't seem to mind me tagging along for the day.  I tried to be "cool" mom for Kase's sake so no hugs, kisses or calling him "Bubby" in front of his friends. We shopped for a couple of hours and ate lunch before their performance.  To say it was entertaining would be an understatement...hanging out with 4th grade boys is downright hilarious.  They shopped for very specific things (necklaces, iPod and phone cases, shoelaces, wallets and video games) and their conversations...well, we don't even need to go there.  I'm sure you can imagine what those consisted of.

Getting ready for showtime!
Can you tell Kase isn't sure about girls being up in his personal space?  They still have cooties in 4th grade but I hear it all changes in 5th.  Not sure I'm ready for all of this!

Here we are...still alive.

Well, well...can you believe it?  You are reading a new blog post from the Lindemans and there may even be several more that follow...if I can stay focused.  After taking 6 months off, I decided it was time to sit down and reacquaint myself with the world of blogging.  Thank goodness for password manager because without it, I'd still be trying to get logged into my blog account...that's when you know it's been too long.  I actually considered deleting the blog altogether but know how much the boys love to look at our blog book so that pretty much made my decision for me. They will sit on the couch together, read each story, look at every picture and ask questions along the way. Before I know it, we're all smiling and reliving the memory like it was yesterday.  Those moments are precious and definitely worth the time it takes to keep it going so I'm back at it, just have some catching up to do.  Now, if I can just figure out where to start.  Kase and Keller both celebrated birthdays in January and February so that seems like the perfect place to start...and since I already had a draft written, that makes it easy on me. Here we go...enjoy!

Happy Birthday Keller

7 years ago today (which by now is 7 1/2 years ago), I became mom to this little firecracker!

Already having a son, I wasn't sure how in the world I could possibly love another one as much as I loved the first one.  Crazy as it sounds, it was an honest fear I had leading up to his birth but disappeared the minute I laid eyes on his sweet face.  He was absolutely perfect and I still marvel at the goodness of God for knowing what our family needed and for providing it to us in the way of another son.  It was in that moment that our family was complete.  Since then, there have been many times I wish he weren't so stinkin' stubborn and strong willed but he comes by it naturally.  I have no one to thank but myself for passing along those traits to him.  I know that hard head and independent little personality will serve him well one day...if we make it to that day.  He blesses our lives each day and I am so honored to be his mom.  Happy Birthday my big 7 year old.  You're worth every grey hair you've caused me the past 7 years and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you. Without a doubt, it's going to be filled with laughter and crazy amounts of fun because that's your motto in life.  We love you big Keller Bug!

Party, party, ER!

Keller's birthday party turned out to be an interesting day for all of us.  Party was on Sunday and Friday before the party, he fell and hurt his wrist.  It wasn't swollen, didn't bruise and he only complained of pain off and on that evening.  Tony and I, being the wonderful parents we are, made him tough it out for his basketball game on Saturday.  He woke up Sunday morning raring to go for his party and didn't complain about it hurting at all.  Just to be safe, we gave him some ibuprofen and off we went to celebrate his special day with friends.  

Midway through the party, I noticed he wasn't really acting like himself nor was he using his right arm. 

 In fact, he even asked to sit out on a game of dodge ball because he couldn't grip the ball to throw it.

That's when I realized we had a problem.  We made it through the party, came home to open presents and then off to Urgent Care we went.  After getting an X-ray, the doctor on call said he had a broken thumb.

Strange and not at all what we were expecting because he never once complained of his thumb hurting but okay; they're the specialists so we'll go with it.  They wrapped it, put him in a sling and away we went.  Talk about serious guilt...I cried myself to sleep!  Not only did I make my son wait 48 hours to see a doctor, I forced him to play a basketball game with a broken bone! Needless to say, I'm no longer in the running for mom of the year but hey, the cupcakes were delicious, the party was great and he got the Aaron Rodgers shirt and Chima Lego set he wanted.

Doesn't that count for something?!?!  No, because the story got worse when we followed up with an orthopedic doctor. That'll be a post of its own!

Look at that cute boy still smiling-such a trooper!  Sorry your birthday ended with a trip to the ER but just think, it's one we'll never forget!  

P.S. I promise I'll never make you play in a game with a broken bone (unless it's your choice) or make you wait to see a doctor. Those days are gone!