Short story long...

Has it really been that long since I've posted?! Hmm. Well, it's definitely time. I'll post more about the 4th and all that a little later, but I wanted to share a little story I like to call,

"No More Jentri's Jumpin' on the Bed."

There once was a sweet girl named Jentri, who finally agreed that it was time to give her crib to her baby sister. However, what she didn't realize was that meant she had to sleep in her dreaded "big girl bed." Which I suppose IS rather intimidating, considering its size? I don't know. Anyway, the first night went great for Emma. She slept soundly in the crib and she's sleeping through the night, which is even more exciting.. Wahoo! Jen, however, ended up sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed, per Daddy's invitation (thanks, Daddy ;P) Nap time the next day went swimmingly in the Big Girl Bed, and Jen didn't get out of her bed at all, and even slept longer than usual--3 1/2 hours! Sweet! We were on our way!!

Well, that night was a different story. Daddy put an apprehensive girlie in her bed, who said she'd stay there as long as Daddy left the door open a "widdo bit." Not a big deal, we can handle that. At around midnight, while Mommy and Daddy were painting their bedroom (more on that later) they heard a big THUNK followed by crying. We dropped the paint rollers and rushed into the girls' room to find Jentri on the floor, her left arm underneath her. When asked what happened, she replied with tears in her eyes, "I stan up in my big goh bed." We picked her up and asked where it hurt, with no thought of anything being broken. She pointed to her left arm, and asked us to "kiss it better." Sure, no problem. Quick inspection? Nothing out of joint or jagged/sticking out where it shouldn't be, so we both kissed it better and Jen went back to sleep, no problems.

The next day (The 4th) we went about our business as usual and did all the fun stuff we had planned. Playing on the swingset and swimming at Grandma Price's, playing with cousins, BBQ at Grandma Snarr's, more playing with cousins, fireworks at Murray Park, the whole shebang. Jen mentioned in passing a couple of times that her arm hurt and to kiss it better, and even then to look at it there was just a little bruise. Sure, I'll kiss it better. Again...no problem. Throughout the day she seemed ultra sensitive to being told 'no, don't do that,' and things like that, but my first thought wasn't, "oh, her arm must be broken if she's being so ornery." I thought she was just tired for staying up so late and not having much of a nap, and maybe didn't feel well again. She had thrown up in the car a few days earlier...anyway, I'm still oblivious at this point in the story...

Finally at Sunday dinner a wise Daddy Jake thought to ask his ever so wise mother (who has five boys and a little experience with broken bones) if she thought we should have it looked at. Jen was complaining of it hurting still, but in our minds if she could still play like she did, and move it and it didn't look broken then we were fine. Jake's mom thought we should have it looked at because she could have a fracture and still be able to move it. We value her opinion so we decided to take her in. we took her to the first available doctor at the BYU Student Health Center, and looking at the X-rays he thought it might be a buckle fracture in her ulna I thought I heard him say (the arm bone that connects with your pinky), but he wasn't sure. ANYWAY, they made an appointment with an Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in arm injuries, to put a cast on it this morning (Wed.). Come to find out BOTH bones in her forearm are fractured, and it wasn't a buckle fracture, it was a Greenstick Fracture in both. The radius (the one that connects with your thumb) more so than the ulna, as you can see in the pics we took of the X-rays.

I tell ya nothing makes you feel like a good parent like going an entire weekend without realizing your daughter has a fractured arm. NOT! I felt so bad for her and kept thinking, "how could I not know her arm was broken?!" I also kept getting frustrated with her moods and tantrums all weekend. I definitely learned my lesson, we should get things checked out--BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY! And I am definitely sorry this time, sweet Jen!!

To make a short story longer:), she was so brave while getting the cast on. Here's a "before" pic in the sling. I had to tie one end with a rubber band so she'd keep her arm in there. Her choices for cast color were blue or white. BYU-go figure. Once she figured out that the doctor wasn't going to hurt her (ie give her shots) she was super brave and sat relatively still the rest of the time.

In the process...

A finished product...

She seems to be adjusting well to life in a cast. Just in time for Uncle Zac's wedding on Saturday, so that's cool I guess. She likes it much better than that awful sling, I can tell ya that. Try and tell a two-year-old not to use her arm, or that she can't climb on anything or run because she might break it more...pretty much do nothing that a typical toddler LOVES to do. Doesn't work! That was sure fun. :) She's bruised her head even since she's had the cast on because she went to wipe her hair out of her face or to scratch an itch on her eye. Poor thing.

She'll only have to wear the hard cast for two weeks, three weeks at most, so that's not too bad. They didn't have to set it, either, which I was grateful for. I guess the don't usually have to do that with toddlers because their bones are still soft and don't usually break all the way. I've never broken any bones so I think I was more nervous than Jen in not knowing what to expect. But it all worked out in the end, as it usually does. She's such a trooper. Love you, Jen--My brave little chica!