Cast Off

Lincoln's cast is off, and it's kind of funny watching him crawl and walk as if it's still on. He has to regain strength and confidence in the leg, and Dr. Schrader said it can take between 2 and 4 weeks until little ones are holding and moving their leg normally again. Right now he's preferring to crawl rather than walk. So we've got a bit of a break for a few more days.

Our new bedroom furniture was delivered, and we really like it. It doesn't take up as much space in the bedroom as we thought it might, which is a very good thing. Now the only eye-sore in our house is our master bathroom... it's a pit. And our motivation to finish it is really slow because there's awful wallpaper on the walls. Both awful in the sense that it's hideous, but it's also a nightmare to remove. We'll get there one of these days.

Lincoln had his first episode with a teen babysitter this morning, and he was a champ. Erin came to us on referral from our good friend Joy, and she was very good with him. Joy has three kids, so we knew if Erin could handle three, Lincoln would be no problem. Jenn and I are glad to know a good babysitter close by. Our babysitter from Scottsdale can't make it on short notice, although she also did a great job with Lincoln for long stretches.

Grandpa Doug and Grandma Paulette arrive back home today, and I understand they're itching to see Lincoln, so we're going over there for pizza this evening.

On a completely separate subject, what's up with the cold July nights?

Independence Day Weekend, 2009

We've had an enjoyable Independence Day weekend at the Gates Home. On Friday evening we met up with three couple-friends from church and went to Blossom for their Salute to America. Lots of Sousa, 1812 and other good American music have become somewhat of a tradition for us, and this year we shared it outside of the family. We each brought a different dish to complete a whole meal, and you could say we ate well.

We didn't visit any parades on Saturday. It was more of a day of catching up on some of the household chores, but we did go for a short hike later in the day.

Two very interesting, very new events happened yesterday:

• In the early afternoon, when Jenn was cleaning downstairs and I was occupying Lincoln upstairs, we'd been playing for quite a while, it was approaching lunch-time, and Lincoln pointed to his crib and started fussing. So I put him in the crib and he slept for more than an hour and a half. Stop for a minute, those of you who know Lincoln, and ponder the significance of that story... Lincoln told me when he was tired and ready for a nap. Holy cow!
• Secondly, in the evening, when Lincoln was getting ready for his bath, he looked up at Jenn and said, "Snack?" It's a good thing dinner came right after the bath.

We've had to rearrange bath time to allow his cast to dry. It dries very well, it just takes about an hour to do so. For those who are worried about Lincoln, as I'm writing this, he's pushing his Lion around just as he did in early May before he broke his leg.

Big Breakfast

Lincoln and I went to his doctor's appointment on Wednesday and learned that he'll wear his cast until July 16. He's up and around like little is wrong. So just a few more weeks.

We're looking forward to Auntie Haley's visit in a couple of weeks. What started out as just a weekend visit has been extended because she's going to take care of Lincoln on Monday and Tuesday while Jenn and I are at work. He'll get some quality-Auntie-Haley time! I understand Great Grandparents Mullen will be over on Sunday and Monday, as well. Lincoln really does enjoy visitors.

In my last blog post I mentioned the Shaquisition, and suggested a potential nickname. Apparently some others had come up with The Big Walleye, as well. I read another one that I liked: The Big Witness. So we'll see how things shake out. There's definitely a small buzz of excitement about the trade... usually it's Cleveland shipping its own stars out to save a little money. Also, I wonder if the Indians kicked in a little money to help out the Cavs... I think the Indians ownership would do just about anything to get off of the front page for a while given all of the losing that's taken place.

As usual, Saturday marked our trip to the bakery to get some breakfast. Today we got a loaf of day-old white bread, and we made French Toast. Let's just say it was a winner in Lincoln's book.

Managing just fine

Lincoln hasn't spent a minute feeling sorry for himself. He's been a man on the move despite his cast, and because he's got an anchor attached to his leg, he gets tired of moving more easily, so when he's decided he's had enough of moving, he just sits in one place and plays very nicely.

Jenn's been working her way through the Twilight series for the third or fourth time. She says it's the best series of novels she's ever read. I finished Atlas Shrugged last week, and it was an amazing novel. Written in the '50's, Ayn Rand, the author, darn near wrote about our current events 60 years ago. But more than that, she told a story that verbalized the moral foundation for capitalism and detailed the segment of society that vilifies and attempts to punish the successful. Rand touches on science, government, business, farming, art, industry and medicine, claiming that one's pursuit of success in their chosen field is not only in their own best interest, but is also in the best interest of society. Taking from one's success to supplement the failure of another is immoral, and Rand points out why. The premise: John Galt, a brilliant engineer, decides he's not going to follow the new CEO's plan of compensation: to each according to his needs, from each according to his ability. And as the government takes over more and more of the private sector, more and more industrialists join Galt. You can probably guess what then happens to the nation, and just like governments of all time, they make the wrong decisions, and things spiral downward. Will the industrialists return to save the nation? Will the bureaucrats loosen their grip on an ailing economy? How much taxation can a business owner stand before he decides to give up? It's a long read, but a wonderful one.

So now I'm on to Tom Sawyer, which is quite the shift in gears. I've been laughing out loud through the first couple of chapters.

The Indians stink, and despite injuries, I'll still argue that it's time for change at the top. The Indians stunk before Grady and the others got hurt. Speaking of Cleveland sports, there's a Cavs rumor that looks pretty cool. LeBron to Yao?

Right now we're watching The Odd Couple... a funny flick.

First Week

The little man in the cast is doing great. He learned to crawl effectively with it within 24 hours. He's sleeping pretty well, too. And last night he had his first bath with the cast. This was the first time I've had experience with a wet cast, and it was a little odd seeing his cast fully submerged. But it dried out quickly, and there wasn't a problem at all.

We went on a walk yesterday afternoon. The neighborhood around downtown Hudson and Western Reserve Academy, right next to First and Main, has become our new favorite place to walk. Anyway, we've found a number of homes with Pugs, and when we walk past them, Lincoln says, "Puh!" or, "yip, yip," (the sound Betty makes when she's begging from the deck). Yesterday we stopped to talk with one of the owners, and the brewing storm moved in and we got soaked on our way back to the car. Lincoln didn't care, and we all looked pretty funny.

We're thankful for a healthy little boy, and we're all doing quite well despite a neon green cast in our home.

Bummer

Lincoln is learning to talk, and one word that he repeats pretty well is "bummer." He's going to have ample opportunity to use it because he's got a broken leg with a cast on it. Bummer. He had a fall on Saturday, and was not interested in walking on it. After 36 hours of absolutely no improvement, I took him to the doctor. The pediatrician sent us to another place for radiographs, then we were sent to Children's Hospital in Akron for cast application. Aside from lots of crying during the films and the casting, Lincoln was an absolute All Star: waving to folks in the hospital, talking to the receptionists, playing nicely, etc.


The photo above is similar to Lincoln's fracture. It is an injury to one cortex, and when he wasn't putting pressure on it, he was comfortable, which is why he was so pleasant during the day when he wasn't scared. Toddler's Fractures are apparently a very common thing. Jenn and I don't deal with them in our line of medicine, but the Ortho Resident that applied Lincoln's cast said they get 4-5 of them per day. But when he would attempt to stand, he put pressure on the end of the fracture, and he was very painful. Long story short, the Ortho Resident said that he'll be healed in about 3-4 weeks.

We've been working on learning the names of the food Lincoln's eating, and now when he grabs a piece of banana, he holds it up on the air, says, "baaaaa!" and I finish with, "nana!!!!"