Monday, August 22, 2011

It only takes a second!


Friday evening Henry fell off the kitchen counter and fractured his skull. I feel like a terrible mother, and so so guilty. I knew he shouldn't be up there, but he is such a crab when I set him on the ground to get anything done. I'd gotten in the habit of setting him on the counter right in front of me when I'm working on something in the kitchen. Friday had been a long day. I got home from work late, Jason didn't feel well, the other kids were watching TV and the kitchen was a mess. I just wanted to pick up a bit so that I could get dinner started.

I set him on the counter and turned my back for a second to throw something in the trash. In that second I heard aloud THUD. I turned around and found Henry laying flat on his back. I picked him up and tried to sooth him. He almost immediately vomited. A friends daughter had a skull injury earlier this summer and I learned from her that vomiting was a very bad sign.

I took Henry to the ER and after an hour was finally seen by a doctor. The doctor had told me that I should just go home and "observe" him for 24 hours. I insisted that something wasn't right and I wanted testing. She relented and ordered a CT scan. After another hour and half we finally had the test and knew he had a skull fracture. Thankfully the skull hadn't moved and it appeared he was fine, but the decision was made to transport Henry to Oakland Children's Hospital via ambulance for further evaluation.

Oakland Children's Hospital ER was amazing! We immediately had several doctors, nurses, and surgeons evaluating Henry. We were admitted for overnight observation. It was the longest night of my life, and a very trying day, but in the end it was determined that Henry was fine. Because the skull did not move there was no brain injury, bleeding or swelling. The fracture in itself isn't dangerous. We now have to watch him and try to prevent him from further injuring the skull for at least a month. After that time he should be good as new, as if nothing happened to him.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Henry Eating Ice Cream

The last night we were in Santa Cruz we treated ourselves to Marianne's Ice Cream. We had heard that it was a locals favorite and not to be missed. While enjoying our ice cream we all remarked at Henry's facial expressions. Whenever he eats anything that is cold or sweet (or both) he makes the most awful face like we are torturing him. Then he opens his mouth and wants more.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pictures from Santa Cruz

The opinons about Santa Cruz were unanimous. The best part of the trip was "playing with our cousins" or "spending time with the family". The 2nd best part was "going to the beach"! We had a great time in Santa Cruz and hope we can go back in a year or two.


Saturday, August 13, 2011

Santa Cruz Beach House!

We are in Santa Cruz! The whole family!
This year Jason and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary and my parents will celebrate their 45th! Earlier in the year my mom and I were talking about how to celebrate and we thought a family vacation was in order. In previous years we've had wonderful trips to Hawaii, but that just wasn't in the cards this year. Finances are tight with the addition of Henry and the recent remodel, and time is short with so many people trying to coordinate schedules. We knew we wanted to be close to the ocean, so we looked at places we could go in California. Mendocino was crossed off the list since it was too far for John and the boys to travel. Point Reyes was considered but we finally decided on Santa Cruz. It is only about 30 minutes from Los Gatos so we hoped that John and the boys could at least sneak away for a few days to meet us. It worked out that we found a house to rent that is big enough for everyone and within walking distance to the beach AND the Boardwalk!
For the last few months we've looked forward to the big day! The kids (and I) love spending time with the twins and we looked forward to all being together just as much as we looked forward to being at the ocean. We've talked about what we could do and decided on the beach, the boardwalk and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Yesterday, after Meet Your Teacher Day, we loaded up the car and headed down the coast. After a quick stop at In-N-Out for lunch, we headed down to Santa Cruz. Our GPS tried to send us on a wild goose chase, but for the most part we out smarted it and arrived in town after only a slight detour. We found the street and Grampa was standing out front. We made quick work of unloading the car and then found Mays and Dallas with Grammie in the 3rd floor loft. Up there we found Pillow Pets!
The afternoon and evening were spent playing with our cousins and taking a quick trip to the beach. The beach is only a short walk away and it is beautiful! Unfortunately we can't really see the sunset from the house, but we might find somewhere to see it tonight.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Happy Birthday Gracie Lu!

Happy Birthday Sweet little Girl! I love you!

You always have a smile on your face and a story on your tongue.
You love your little brothers to pieces and adore your older sister.
I'm amazed by your creativity and your coloring ability. You are far more artistic than I could even dream of being.
You are learning to be a great reader and love doing math problems. Maybe you'll take after Grammie and Mommy and go into accounting:).

This past weekend we had most of Gracie's class over for a birthday party and she had so much fun playing with her friends. They jumped in the princess jumpy house and made princess (and prince charming) crowns. It was a joy watching Grace in her element with her friends. We don't often have playdates, so I very rarely see her playing with her friends. She is a sweet little girl who tries to please everyone.

(pictures will be added as soon as Henry gives me a moments peace)