This is one of the games I play with both kids when they are grumpy. It looks like it worked really well, right? Well, as soon as I shut the camera off, she started crying again.

This is where we were going… to take the dogs for a walk on the levee. One of the few easy outings we can do right now.

Superboy! He calls this his “Incredibles” shirt. He loves the Incredibles, but has no idea who Superman is.

I really wanted to draw on his cast… with one thing in mind!

Reed shows you what else I drew and tells you about having a cast on his leg.

Someone else wanted me to draw on her. How could I resist? Doesn’t she make a cute little tattooed girl?

Lena and I love to share kisses. Sometimes, I throw in a raspberry. Well, I was putting her in bed, giving her lots of goodnight kisses and she was returning them and then surprise… a raspberry on my cheek! She figured out how to give raspberries and it is too cute.She is just too stinkin’ cute when she wants to be.

Reed got his cast on today… yay! He has the doctor’s permission to walk on it as much as he wants. Unfortunately, as you can see in the photo below, that is easier said than done. I have been encouraging him to move however he can and he is not so sure about that. Unless he really figures out his mobility, I don’t think he will go back to preschool until the cast is off… which is in just 3 WEEKS! Yay! When Aaron first took him to the ER, ten days ago, they said 6-8 weeks, so 4 weeks total is a huge improvement. He gets it off on 10/10!

Lena has been doing pretty well lately. Our church had a picnic and lake baptism this past Sunday. It was a nice time all around, but what I really noticed was how connected I felt with Lena. I was holding her during the service and it started to get a bit chilly. She just leaned into me and put her head on my shoulder. I loved that.

We are trying to figure out a trip to the East Coast. We had actually planned one leaving this Wednesday, but we cancelled it with Reed’s broken leg. We will be doing lots of fun things while we are there, and did not want him to feel left out. I am SO looking forward to this trip, whenever it happens. We planned this trip to see my family in Pennsylvania, but we will have the opportunity to connect with a lot of people along the drive and while we are there.

Reed’s appointment is tomorrow. He wants an orange cast, if they have orange. I am ready to know the verdict…. really hoping he can have some mobility. He has yet to complain about what he can’t do. He has a tendency to whine about it only when he doesn’t want to do something. He can be very helpful at times, and then other times, he flops like I am carrying dead weight or refuses to put weight on his good leg so I can pull up his pants.

Lena is also struggling to adjust to our new circumstances. I decided to bring in our umbrella stroller to put Reed Sunday evening. Thought I could use it to push him around the house. We got this umbrella stroller for free when we were buying Lena’s toddler bed on Craigslist. We barely ever use it and it typically just sits in a corner in our garage. So, I went out there at 9pm– just before the kids went to bed, but I wanted to have it ready in the morning. Aaron had a job at 4am, so he was in bed. I grabbed the stroller, saw a couple of spiders and dropped it quickly. I needed it, so I was going to get some paper towels from the car to take care of the spiders. As much as I try to convince myself that I should not be scared of most spiders… I jump every time I see one. So, I stood there for a minute, reminding myself those spiders are harmless. And then I look down… there’s one on my foot! I freaked out, flung it off and gave up on the umbrella stroller. So, I decided to get our nicer, much bigger green stroller. I took off Lena’s seat in the back, the front bar and the sun cover to bring it inside. I hauled it inside and loaded Reed up. He was pretty amused about it. Then, Lena says to me “Lena? Stroller?” This girl throws a tantrum at the sight of the stroller, even if I just told her we are bringing it to carry our water bottles– not to ride in. So, I said to her “Oh, no, you don’t need to ride in it. Just Reed does, since he broke his leg.” Cue her gigantic tantrum. I was not my best self in that moment– pretty frustrated with her and the fact that I can never guess how she is going to react.

We did get some good news today… Lena will be getting weekly speech therapy. She is in the first percentile for articulation and her difficulties are not typical of an English language learner who spoke Russian first. I am so glad that she is getting help. I really like the speech pathologist who will be working with her– a big plus. My biggest pet peeve with any type of professional is when they assume they are more knowledgable than me, especially related to myself or my kids… she listens to my concerns and makes sure I am on board with what she is saying… big points for her.

I’ll try to update tomorrow with some cast photos.