Sticks and stones will break your bones....

And so will wrestling with your sister. Yup, Jacob broke his leg today. He managed to fracture his tibia, near the base, after a rustle with Sophia. It was a freak accident, really, although sophia was very concerned as "Jacob is the only brother I have.". After a breath holding, red in the face, "I am really hurt" cry and subsequent sobs, David and I spent some time trying to figure out what got hurt. Nothing was swelling, nothing looked bruised. When we tried to get Jacob to walk, he resolutely refused to put any weight on either leg. This refusal signaled another ER trip for me and J. Sigh. I wonder how much money we would have to donate to get a room named after us, or even a reservation. This was the second trip for me this week, I took Sophia earlier this week with a high fever.

Anyway, after waiting, we were seen by an emergency nurse and then the ER doctor (both were super great with Jacob) and then sent down to X-ray Jake cried through the whole thing, mostly because they had to manipulate his leg in order to get the right shots. What an awful feeling to watch your child in pain and be able to do nothing about it. After the x ray we headed back to our room in the ER and waited for the outcome. That is when we were told about the break. The doctor reassured me that one of the good things about being this young with a break is that they heal fast and cleanly. Yahoo.

Jake got a half cast, plaster just on the back of the leg which is then held in place with a couple of tensors. We go on Monday to get a fitted spiral cast, which will encompass his entire shin area. I am really hoping that it will be light enough for him to walk with. Otherwise we are going to hear a lot of crying to be carried. He is already frustrated with not being able to walk. Not sure yet, how long he will have the cast for.

All in all, he is in pretty good spirits. Even tried to move a little while at the family dance at church. He is a trooper. Love him lots.














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First time on Ice

We live in the land of ice and snow for about 8 months of the year (or at least it feels that way). So far this year we have had about 190 cm of snow, according to the newspaper we have had 120.5 cm of snow since October, beating the last record of 113.4 in 1973-74. So we've had 47.25 inches of snow. That's a lot of snow. And to go along with the snow we've had crazy cold temperatures...it was -33 without the wind chill the other morning. So what can you do, when the temperature finally "warms" up to -15? Well a favorite past time is ice skating. The City of Regina is thoughtful enough to take several school play yards and make outdoor skating rinks. We thought it was time to start teaching Sophia to skate so that we had one more activity to do with her this winter.

We did not sign up for any lessons, either they were way too expensive or way too hard to get into. So we opted to do it ourselves, or David took on the challenge. I stay home with Jacob as he is no where coordinated enough to skate, and it is impossible to find skates for tiny little feet like his! We purchased a pair of bob-skates for Sophia....think of bobsleds with the dual runners on the bottom. Well these are training skates that have dual blades and just strap onto her winter boots. Way more comfortable as a first try and less expensive. This new adventure did mean that David and I had to buy skates. For some crazy reason, indoor skating rinks figure you have your own and don't rent them, so we need to have them if we plan to skate in warmer locations. That was fun. Being a West Coast girl, I have always rented skates, so was befuddled at the need to buy. Do you know how many choices there are out there.

Anyway you want to see pictures, right...

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Lego Bliss

I don't know if you know.... but David is a Lego addict. He and his brother spent hours sifting through thousands of lego pieces, looking for the right brick for such and such a space craft etc. Heck, Diane even got involved, helping with the sifting and loving every minute of it.

Now, since Sophia was young, he has tried to get Lego going in our house. And it really hasn't been until this year that she has shown any interest. Mostly, I think it is because Jacob seems to love the stuff. Granted he does spend a lot of time breaking things apart, but he will spend loads of time building towers and such with his Duplo pieces. He particularly likes to dump the whole basket on the carpet and then sit in the middle pulling and pushing the pieces to and away from him. It makes a nice noise.

The kids have also spent a lot of time playing with the little Lego blocks and figures that came in our Lego Advent Calendar. They often cast their eyes longingly at the Motorized AT-ATMotorized AT-AT (it looks like this but is motorized --yes folks, it walks)I got David for Christmas. Many good wife points for that and it is totally not a kid friendly Lego kit. Currently it is sitting in a place of honor on the piano although I have heard rumors of it moving to David's work office. Show off.

























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Photo issues

Don't worry....the photos are pixelated. I am working through options to fix the program on the iPad so that the photos will be better in their thumbnail forms. They will be better soon.

Er, Snow.

Okay, so this is for the Vancouver people who got four to five inches of snow (which for the West Coast is a lot, I will give you that), and for the Toronto people who had +15 weather at the end of December...bah.




That was two weeks ago...the snow is now over the bottom of the umbrella.




We can not use the swings because of the snow...see that in the corner. In the middle of the yard is David's quinzee, which used to stand alone but now is a snow fortress. The kids can't play in the yard --we'd lose Jacob for sure in the snow and Sophia might be able to just keep her head above the surface. And it is only January. Silly prairie weather.




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Strong like bull

Jacob was helping out with the groceries....













The look of triumph...those diaper packages, thems is heavy.


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mmmmm, muffins

One of the things we are supposed to be doing with Jacob is making sure that he eats enough. So in an effort to increase his calorie intake I made chocolate chocolate chip muffins (yes muffins, not cupcakes...we're not starting the debate here). I also made blueberry muffins, too, I am a good mom, really.












This is how I eat the muffins, mom. It keeps my fingers clean.








Not to be outdone by her little brother, Sophia decided to sport her own choco-face. Not quite as extreme.




Blueberry isn't as messy, we can use our hands.






Just 'cuz....who can resist this little beauty.

Sunglasses

We are in the midst of winter...duh. Anyway, the kids are trying to get beyond that.




Channelling a bit of his inner Elton John.




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Randomness

We just scored a new flash on our camera, and I have been playing. Here's some of the photos that I have taken.

Preschool Christmas concert

It is an annual tradition that is rooting itself in our family Christmas celebrations...the school Christmas concert. This year, Sophia's preschool presented parents, grandparents, friends...whoever could make the gathering and cram themselves into the little room they had....with two songs (Feliz Navidad, Les Cloches de Noel) and a poem about snow. Then the best thing possible happened --Santa came and visited, bringing laughter and candy canes.









My Sophia, the drama queen, was placed in the back row because she is so tall. As you can see in this picture, she had managed to work herself to the front.








Sophia was more than happy to have pictures with Santa, although she told David that she it wasn't really santa because she could see his dark hair under the beard. David saved the moment: "Santa is so busy that he needs all kinds of helpers." Nailed it.




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Christmas preparation

Putting up the tree has never been more fun, or cute...













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Winnipeg 2010, November

It's not everyday that a nephew turns one. In fact, it's only one day. We wanted to help celebrate, so we decided to head out to the 'Peg to see everyone. Unfortunately, David has this job that he actually has to go to, and I live the life of a stay at home mom (life of leisure, some would say...I scoff). So, I got to go early with my kiddies. The only complication was that I did not, DID NOT want to drive to Winnipeg by myself, with two kids in the winter. So my fabulous father in law agreed to fly out in the morning, and then, bless his soul, drove us out to Winnipeg (all in the same day)! David joined us a few days later, via Westjet.

We had a great time. We visited, ate, saw, laughed, partied, had fun, and enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, our trip also included a quick trip to the Children's emergency room with Jacob...darned asthma.




Little nephew, and his parentals. Happy first



Bundled up and heading off to the hospital ...see the exhaustion in both? Yeah, David had just arrived from Regina, and these attacks never happen at 2:00 pm. Oh no, just at bedtime.




Jacob was in the ER for six hours. He slept on and off during the time there. He does look rather tiny, hey?




Uncle and nephew.




The birthday cakes I made for the party!




Hanging out with Winnipeg friends.


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Sophia too

Never one to shy away from the camera, our Sophia. Here are some pictures to share.















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