Malakai: 5 1/2

I haven't posted an update on Malakai since he started school (he already looks so much older!). I remember when he was just a baby I would do monthly updates on what he was learning and how he was developing. Obviously additional kiddos and other life changes keep me from blogging as much as I did those days, but I want to be sure to document their milestones as much as I can.

Malakai technically turned 5 1/2 in January. These photos were taken December 30th (by b.lovely photography). Since then he has lost his bottom two front teeth and has another loose one!

The biggest leap Malakai has made in the last few months is in reading. He had some sight words down before starting Kindergarten and as soon as he started school more concepts just started to click. He is so very interested in school that for a while he would do his nightly homework sheet and then make up additional "homework" for himself. At one point he was getting pretty burnt out and frustrated and we had to talk about taking a break from "school work" to make sure he was playing!

A few months ago I grabbed The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverley Cleary to read aloud to Malakai and Desmond. Malakai would constantly beg to read it himself, and I would remind him that it's good for him to be read to as well. Plus, there were quite a few longer and more difficult words and concepts in the book so I didn't want to induce any additional frustrations. Once we finished it I handed it to him and said he could read it if he wanted. He devoured the entire book (13 chapeters, 158 pages with a few small pictures here and there) in 2 days time. What surprised me the most was that when he comes to a big word that he doesn't know immediately he sounds it out as best he can and just keeps on going. What truly blew me away was when I handed him the next book, Ralph S. Mouse, without pre-reading it to him and he finished it even faster. Same number of pages, and he could recount the story to me. Words can't express how proud I am that he is reading so fluently and comprehending it all as well! I'm so glad he can read to himself whenever he wants, it's the perfect outlet when he's feeling more introverted.

His social skills are certainly maturing and he's picking up on subtle cues, some good...some not so great. There are moments when he'll say something to me with an impatient attitude and that just does not work for me! We've had more talks recently about how to speak respectfully and make sure that we are kind and treating people how we would want them to treat us. I can hardly believe I'm already into this stage of parenting, it's so fun but it's so much more complicated!

When it comes to his siblings, he is definitely the rule keeper. He surely matches all the tendencies of an oldest child. He and Desmond are the best of friends but can also fight pretty easily...brothers. When it comes to Aurelia he just can't get enough. His face lights up to see her when she wakes up in the morning and when he's home from school. He loves to hold her and play with her and if he finds a way to make her laugh he won't stop performing for her.

Malakai and Ben are such a sweet pair. Malakai loves to help out and beams if he ever gets the chance to work on a project with daddy or spend special one on one time with him. He loves to help in the yard or with putting things together, like a piece of furniture or a new toy.

I'm cherishing that he is still little enough to snuggle up with me on the couch and read together or to needs and want a hug or a kiss when he's hurt, sad, and before bed.

All in all my Malakai has such a sweet heart and is so good natured. I'm totally blessed by him and so proud to be his mama.


>>all photos by the talented b.lovely photography<<

It's good to be 5

My first born is 5 years old. It's still sinking in...if you couldn't tell. If I think of it in terms of having been a parents for 5 years, or that it's been 5 whole years since he was a tiny newborn...I just can't wrap my mind around it. They tell you it goes by fast, and I know adding baby sister to our family will only speed the clock up, but wow has it flown past us!

Malakai counted down to his birthday for at least 2 weeks leading up to it. He was just so excited to be 5 and once the day came he was mostly looking forward to our traditional breakfast at the Original Pancake House... I can't blame him! When we asked how it felt to be 5 or what he thought about it, his reply was always "good".

I love watching my kids grow into the people God has created them to be. I love watching them learn and I love learning about them. They are always so interesting to me.

Ben + I are discovering that Malakai is mildly introverted. It's not so intense that he has trouble in social situations, but he does get overloaded by them. He does some times get overwhelmed, especially when he doesn't know what to expect. He went to his first vacation Bible school earlier this summer. It was tough at first, but on the last day he asked if he could come back next week. He's also really looking forward to day camp next month and is already in love with Camp Harlow. Something that his daddy is very happy about (Ben has a long history with Harlow).

{directing the camera or acting a little camera shy}

Over the last 5 months since we took Malakai to Kindergarten orientation he has gone from being extremely hesitant to super excited about starting school this fall. I know that my chore seeking, craft loving, project obsessed little boy is going to adore school. It is my prayer that he excels but is not bored and that he blooms socially. I'm so thankful that we've had him in so many social programs, the most of which has been being at church 3 times a week for the past year. I know they have helped prepare him for going off to school since we did all his pre schooling at home. I'm also thrilled that he will be heading to public school with Christ in his heart, something he will surely need to cling to when things get hard. As his mama I want to protect him from anything that might hurt him, but I know that he will learn and thrive in doing for himself and leaning not on his own understanding but that of the Lord, who is always with him. I'm comforted and strengthened knowing he has that foundation to build on.

As I mentioned, Malakai is always asking for projects. Every day he asks if I "have something for us to do together." Most of the time he'd prefer a craft or a constructive type toy (legos, and other building toys are right up his ally at the moment), but sometimes he'll settle for something simple like helping clean up or coloring. He also loves work books, dot to dots and mazes are a new favorite. He's learning to play board games like Connect Four and he always wants to help daddy build things. He has been helping his Grandpa Ron build a cabin in their back yard and loving it. He's also learning to cast on his very own fishing pole with G'Pa Jim. He wants to do it all!

Over the last few weeks Kai has really come into his big brother role. He seems to have grown up overnight to want to protect and lead his brother and nurture his little sister. He is so curious about babies and loves to ask questions about his brand new cousin Luke. He can't wait for his sister to get here. Kai does not like surprises, so when we tell him that her name will be a birth day surprise he has gotten upset to the point of tears. This boy just wants to know everything there is to know.

This morning he had his well check and he was amazing. I'm honestly impressed by his bravery. We talked about shots a few days ago and again today, he wasn't happy about it. This would be the first time he's had shots in his arm. I don't think he's had any immunization or other needs for shots since he was 3! When the time came he winced and said it hurt but no tears, no fits, and he's totally fine. Even I tend to whine for a few hours afterwards!

He's taking after me so far in all of his 41 inches (9th percentile) but is a sturdy kid for looking so skinny at 44lbs (73rd percentile). He's developing right on track, the whole appointment was a breeze.

I'm so blessed by my sweet family and today I'm especially thankful for my new 5 year old Malakai Benson and the privilege it is to be his mama.

sunny days

It has been a gorgeous week of sunny days around here. We've been limited in our enjoyment of it, but have been out in the spring weather when we could. Desmond is on a nap strike so I decided to wear them out earlier in the week and we went for a walk to the park in the mid afternoon. I got some fun pictures and had some sweet conversations. 

Desmond has been narrating everything he sees, he will ask some questions but mostly he tells you what he thinks about the world. Malakai still asks a million questions a day, I love it (most of the time). As we walked by a house with freshly cut grass and clippings on the sidewalk you could smell it in the air and Kai said "mama...I smell green beans" in a disgusted voice. I try not to laugh at him when he says things that strike me as funny, but it's so hard sometimes. I explained to him that it was the grass clippings, but he insisted it smelled of green beans. 

Malakai looks so big to me, walking around without someone holding his hand (until we come to a street of course, no one lecture me please). 

Kai got ahead of us once we were on the path to the park, Des had to catch up with him and I felt super slow lagging behind them. They did wait up for me when they got to the park, how nice. 

{not quite heavy enough to teeter totter on their own}

They climbed around on the play structure and went down the slides a few times as usual. It amazes me how independent Des is compared to the last time we played at the park on a regular basis (early fall). He's all over the place and I'm not too worried about him stepping off of ledges to nowhere. 

I always suggest they run up the hill when I want to wear them out and head home soon. It's their favorite part of this park. Kai took off and Des ran after him...

This is the only photo in this post that I edited, because I wanted to see the joy on their faces but they were a bit backlit. However, it doesn't post large enough here to see. Click through and you may be able to view it bigger. Such happy kids!

At the top of the hill they discovered a patch of dandelions with a cucumber beetle in it and they had to investigate. 

I suggested we go on a walk before heading home but Des was breathing hard after the hill so we found a picnic table to take a rest but instead they both picked me flowers. 

{I came home with handful of daisy and dandelion tops}

On our walk Malakai declared that white trees are made of paper...I love the way his mind works...

We walked a few blocks away before Kai declared he wanted to go home, so we turned around and  headed back. This was the first time that they've both walked the whole way to and from the park. In the past Des has gotten too tired and needed to be carried back or we've had the wagon. They were pretty exhausted so we took a rest when we got home and early bed time went very smoothly. 

Des is still on a nap strike so I'm thinking with this pretty weather (if it lasts) I need to get them out of the house in the mornings to wear them out in hopes he'll actually go back to nap. Mama needs a break!

I can't wait for this weekend, while I have a lot of decluttering to do I plan to spend some time outside with my guys! 

Happy Friday!

Oregon Zoo Road Trip + College Pals Reunion

A couple months back some friends of mine from college and I got to talking about orchestrating a mini "reunion" of sorts. We hadn't all been together since my wedding in 2007 and it felt about time to see each other, meet the kids, and catch up in a more personal way than instagram photos and facebook updates. Portland was the most "central" for all of us and with the kids we decided on a trip to the Oregon Zoo.

After 2 reschedules and one person having to cancel, the rest of us and our families got together on June 1st. Ben and I decided that if we could swing it, staying over night in Portland the night before would work best. That way we wouldn't have to wake up at 5am to get on the road to meet everyone. While we had a ton of fun staying overnight with our newly-wed friends in their lovely home, we probably would have gotten more sleep at our place. Desmond is very particular when it comes to night-time sleep. He didn't get to bed until 10:30 and was up several times. Malakai had a cot next to our bed and was so stoked that he was out pretty quickly, although that was also 10:30 because he took a nap on the drive up.

Speaking of, our drive up was fairly painless. We borrowed my father-in-law's Tahoe for the storage space. Malakai slept the first half, we stopped and ate a picnic dinner outside of a starbucks and then piled back in. I had purchased Kai the soundtrack to Jake and The Neverland Pirates (which has been newly added to Netflix and he's obsessed) and he listened to that with his 1st pair of headphones for the rest of our drive.

{on our way!}

Desmond was happy to talk to himself for most of the ride. Except for the last 10 minutes of our 2 hour drive he kept yelling "WALK! Please?" -he was so totally done sitting.

We had a great time catching up with Reid + Carina, even though our kids were determined to stay up all night.

{Kai showing his TAG reader to Reid + Carina}

At the zoo Malakai was so excited he could barely contain himself. We tried waiting for our friends before going through the gates but he just couldn't stand it, so we went through and waited at the first exhibit.

{mountain goat, bears, and ducks}

Once Caity and her husband Trevor and their son Roman then Reid and Carina arrived we began to explore the zoo. The guys kept us on track with the maps so we were sure to see everything that was open. (Sadly we didn't see Zebra, Panda bears, Tigers, Gorillas and a few others). 

{{At the farm exhibit, seeing a cougar, getting help to see some livestock from Reid, checking out the Polar bear- who jumped in the water right in front of us!}}

Most of the pictures are of Malakai because Desmond was pretty exhausted. He fell asleep on the 15 minute drive to the zoo and would be skipping his nap to spend the day at there. He was fairly content to graze on his snack and watch the animals from his stroller. I did take him out for the animals that he had to be lifted high to see and to let him run around a bit.

 {Malakai checking out the lion, he claimed it was his favorite.}

At the beginning of the trip Kai had let us know he wanted to see lions and dogs. We thought we might see wolves (we didn't) but unbeknownst to us, there were wild dogs in the exhibit right next to the lions. Sadly, they were asleep so they weren't too exciting. He was still pretty happy about it. 

 There were a LOT of monkeys. Countless types in multiple areas of the zoo. Most of them were pretty fun to watch, Kai got close to a couple and really loved it. Desmond enjoyed saying monkey and pointing from his cozy spot in the stroller.

Malakai also enjoyed this random tunnel thing and both boys LOVED the creepy crocodile. For the entire time we were in there (which wasn't long because it was a muggy indoor rainforest) Des kept saying "a-die-oh" in an effort to say crocodile. I held him close to it, and he giggled with delight.

The bottom left photo of the above collage is Caity, Carina, and myself. The day was going fast and I knew we had to capture a picture of the three of us before it escaped us. I really wish we would have taken one of our whole group together!

My personal favorite was the sea lions. Malakai was enthralled and could have stayed watching them all day. These 2 sea lions, 1 brown and 1 white, were literally swimming the same lap over and over again. Desmond found a group of teenage girls that would giggle every time he danced around...so he didn't even notice the sea lions.

 {Here's Des continuing his dance in front of a fish tank. Then stealing Roman's zoo-issue car/stroller.}

Last but not least was the train ride. We parted ways with Carina + Reid at this point and the rest of us piled into a train car together (again, I wish I had a decent picture of all of us but we were busy holding on to kids who wanted to wiggle around). The train ride is 25 minutes and we rode a real steam engine. Caity + Trevor's son Roman is really in to trains and was even more excited than my kiddos about this experience, it was adorable.

After SIX hours at the zoo we said goodbyes and we piled our stuff and ourselves back into the car. Both boys fell asleep before we even moved from our parking space...which was a problem because our next stop was the Nike Employee store. One of my best friends works in legal at Nike so she put us on the list to shop that day. It was a bit stressful because the boys were crabby but in the end we made out with a cool pair of shoes for Kai (our main goal) and a nice little jacket for me.

After that we found a McMenamins and ate dinner. We decided that now that the kids were happy and full we should let them burn off some energy before putting them in the car for the trip home. We googled and found the nearest park. It ended up being a disaster...Kai ran straight for the field near the play structures only to fall into a hidden swampy mess. He was covered and his bum was saturated. Ben took him to the car to clean up and I took Des to the play ground, but almost immediately encountered a giant shard of glass and called it quits. The kids weren't too happy about the short-lived trip but were tired enough to settle in for the trip home. Des talked to himself for nearly the entire 2 hours and Malakai passed out after zoning on his piratey tunes.

 The next day I took out a zoo passport we had printed from a site online (I've pinned it but don't have the energy to find it to link here). Kai was too excited to see the animals to care about this at the zoo, but loved thinking back on what we saw and drawing in the animals that weren't included in the book.

Overall it was a successful trip with our little family. We were so glad to finally get our kids up to the zoo, to see Reid + Carina's house for the first time, and to meet up with Caity and her family who we haven't seen since our wedding nearly 6 years ago! Let's hope it's not that long until we meet again!

Desmond Lee: 18 months

Desmond is officially a year and a half old as of April 10th. He's such a big boy in so many ways! I thought it would be fun to do a comparison with Kai at this age (since I haven't done one in a while).

In these photos the boys are wearing the same hoodie, jeans, and boots. Des is slightly bigger than Kai was at this age, but not by a ton. I can't find Kai's 18 month stats to compare though. Malakai is on the left and Desmond on the right. I didn't pose Des, I just snapped pictures and then found the ones of Kai that looked the most similar in pose...

{picking up things and investigating them}

{walking around on the deck}

{squatting to reach things: not easy to do in boots}

{carrying things around and loving it}

Desmond is 33 inches tall (62%), 26lbs 11.5oz (63%). From memory I'm pretty sure Kai was not in the 60th percentile for height at this age. We often wonder if Des will surpass Kai in height, much like Ben and his younger brother.

One of the most notable things about Desmond's development is his speech and comprehension. (I'm in no way bragging here, just documenting). When the pediatrician asked how many words he could say, we had a really hard time answering. I explained that he can say almost any word you ask him to. She asked how many words he is not just repeating, but comprehends. What's funny, is that it's often evident that he comprehends them almost instantly based on his use of them again in reference to the object not only right then but in the future. I'm totally crediting Ben with handing down these skills as he is able to understand things quickly as well. Me? I am super visual and pretty hands on so I need examples and trial + error to really learn most things.

So- his most common used words and phrases are:

"Malakai" or "Kai"
"Mama"
"Daddy"
"nana" (banana"
"bagel"
"milk"
"cup"
"water"
"cookie"
"cracker"
"snack"
"pizza"
"sammich" (sandwich)
...noticing a trend here? Our boy likes to eat.
"up"
"hold you"
"help you?"
"no"
"yeah" or "yes"
"Cooz, Cooz" (Blue's Clues)
"ponies"
....just about every animal and their sound.
"my turn"
"thank you"
"welcome"(often said as "thank you- welcome")
"peez" (please)
"all done"
"more"
"cereal"
"I want it"
"I need it"
"have it"
"nuggle" (snuggle)
"read it"
"legos"
"wub you" (love you)
"happy" (how he refers to the "You are my sunshine" song/book)
"window"
"i-pod"
"cuh-yuh" (color)
"baff" (bath"
"nuh-night"
"cars"
"truck"
"Bye-bye"

and the list goes on.

He's becoming more and more independent, which has caused some obvious problems when it comes to playing with his brother. They start off okay at sharing most of the time, but it always turns into a struggle or a fight.

He is still enamored with climbing (as he has been since 6 months of age). He is obviously much better at it. We had to start using a sleep sack at 15 months old because he was climbing out of his crib on it's lowest setting. The sleep sack has already bought us 3 month and we're hoping for 2-6 more before we have to make the toddler bed transition. He often climbs to the top of our dining room table, always in 2 seconds flat.

He is super interested in potty learning. I'm sure it's from watching Malakai learn. He has actually used the toilet a handful of times. One day he went 3 times. We have him go every night before bath but we aren't putting any pressure on him, we've learned (the hard way) to be laid back about it.

We started cloth diapering really recently and I'll be sharing more on that soon. So far Desmond hasn't even seemed to notice a difference, thankfully!

Des is our snuggler. He loves the song/book "You Are My Sunshine" and asks for it by saying "happy?". He blows kisses whenever anyone says loves you or kisses.  He miraculously puts himself to sleep for 2-3 hours at nap time but struggles to do so at bed time. So much so that over the last 3 months he refuses to let me put him to bed at night, and will only sleep if Ben cradles him to sleep. He adamantly refuses to go down "drowsy but awake" and often struggles to soothe himself when he wakes in the middle of the night, although that's improving.

He loves pointing out animals and saying their names and the sounds they make. He is obsessed with Kai's room and trying to stand on the bed to look out the window. He loves to "read" and be read to. He's mastered the art of building a lego tower and he loves to color with crayons and markers. He knows a handful of signs, and always says the phrase while doing the signs.

Like I mentioned before, he LOVES to eat. His favorite is bananas. He will often ask for cookies because I shared one with him ONCE. He gets super cranky if we are late on snacks or meals and then is instantly happy again when he gets to eat. The only foods he isn't fond of lately are meats, which I think are a texture thing. If he's anything like Kai in this regard, I don't know if he'll ever eat chicken.

He's fairly mellow but is starting to exert himself when he wants something. He's been known to throw his weight around when throwing a fit, which is not a pretty sight. Otherwise he's super sweet, and I can't get enough of watching him grow.

Day Trippers: Gold Lake Sno-Park

Nearly a month ago we put today's "SNOW DAY" on our calendars in an effort to make sure it actually happened this year. Eugene, Oregon doesn't get a lot of snow but thankfully we don't have very far to go to find some.

Last night we checked the weather report and were really sad to find out that our favorite spot (see also: a place we went once when we were dating) was supposed to be rainy. We checked out another place further away and decided to make the call first thing in the morning. This morning we were thrilled to find that Gold Lake (near Willamette Pass) had 2 new inches of snow and was too cold for rain!

We did not get out nearly as early as we had hoped, but getting 2 kids (one of which was super cranky- Malakai!) and 4 people worth of snow clothes, extra clothes, food, and other supplies isn't a quick task. We pretty much always run late when we don't have a strict time that we have to be somewhere.

We arrived at Gold Lake Sno-Park (I didn't forget the "w"that's the actual spelling.) just before noon and began getting the boys and ourselves suited up. We borrowed some of our snow gear and a vehicle from my in-laws (thanks Ron + Debbie!) and pieced it together with what we had. Like I said, we don't get much snow. Malakai looked absolutely adorable in Ben's childhood snow suit...

Those of you who know Malakai or follow me on Instagram may be familiar with his anti-clothing ways. I got him to wear the snow suit by first, reading The Snowy Day the night before and comparing Peter's red snow suit to this one; and second, he wasn't allowed to get out of the car and go into the snow until he was properly dressed. Worked like a charm, except he refused to wear the hood after the first few photos. You win some, you lose some.

Once we got all bundled up we headed up the cross-country skiing/snow shoeing trail to find a clear spot off the track to play. We didn't go far, which was nice because without the proper gear you sink a lot and Desmond is SUPER heavy.

The weather was perfection. A light dusting of snow falling here and there, fresh powder all over, no wind and some sun breaks. Gorgeous.

Des loved playing on his tummy in the snow, so random. Malakai insisted on making "Frosty" and then snow angels- all his own ideas.

After the snowman and angels were made we explored the snow bank on the other side of the trail. I was so afraid that we'd sink into oblivion if we stepped into it. Ben and Kai tested it out and it was just fine, and super fun to play in.

Kai said, "looka me! I'm in the snow bank!" He kept wanting to climb to the top so Ben tested that out too and it was fine. Up they went...

We had an absolute amazing time. Our day could not have gone any better. The boys were in great moods (once we were out the door), totally thrilled about the snow, but easy going when it was time to leave.

We ate lunch in the warming lodge and listened in on the interesting conversations of the ski-patrol guys hanging out there. The boys didn't last long on the ride home before the fell asleep, Ben included.

Malakai was super sad that we were done with our "snow day" when we got back, but he snapped out of it alright. I hope we can make this an annual trip!

encouraging independence

Sometimes it's hard to encourage independence in little ones. I can't remember when I handed over the spoon at mealtime with Malakai for the first time, but last week I decided to give it a go with Desmond. It was some sort of fluke, he was a total natural and didn't make much of a mess. So daily I'll let him feed himself his yogurt, applesauce, etc. and he's done pretty good. It has gotten messy but yesterday morning took the cake.

His cereal was everywhere. I tried to take the spoon at one point when I realized he wasn't eating so much as playing and the kiddo swung it so hard and fast that the food starting flying all over the place. I felt like I was in some sort of cheesy sitcom, it was so dramatic. Des even growled...which is actually really normal for him. 

Anyway, I finally got the spoon back and I think I got all the food off the walls. Unfortunately he was so wild in the bath last night that I didn't end up washing his hair. Worse things have happened. 

brothers and playmates

Over the past couple weeks Desmond has made leaps and bounds developmentally. It's like he morphed into a toddler overnight. Not only does he act bigger, but he looks bigger. Walking around with confidence, doing big boy stuff. It is killing Ben + I that he's not a baby anymore (and no, that doesn't mean it's time for another one!).

Desmond has now mastered climbing on the couch and in the same day he walked across the couch and straight onto the end table. YIKES!

One of the best parts of watching Desmond grow up is his ability to play with Malakai. Until very recently they could play near each other, but rarely with each other. When Kai did try to play with Des, it didn't usually turn out so well for the little guy.

On Sundays after church services we feed the boys lunch in the nursery so that when they fall asleep on the drive home we don't have to wake them to feed them. We've done this since Kai was a baby. This past weekend it was just the boys and I as Ben had a meeting. Once they finished eating they played
while I cleaned up.

Kai climbed onto a rocking horse and then said he had to find one for Desmond. He grabbed the other from an adjoining room and pulled it next to his. For the next 10 minutes they were singing "ride, ride, ride, riiiiiiide!" while giggling and rocking on the horses side-by-side:

 {killer smiles}

Later that evening Kai asked to play with his spider-man car. When I brought it in I expected to have to put it away within a few minutes because he tends to get too rowdy with big toys. Instead, while he was sitting on it Desmond came up behind him and started pushing. They were both laughing so hard and spent quite some time going back and forth in the living room.

I love watching them create a bond as playmates. Malakai has finally grasped the concept of taking care of (rather than destroying) his little brother. On Monday when Des was fussing in his crib (because I was moving laundry and he's obsessed with following me into the garage), Kai sat next to him and said "It's okay, I'm here." Melt.My.Heart.

Kai's 1st ER trip...

A while back we had taken Kai in to urgent care for a sprained ankle, but we haven't had any issues since then. Saturday we had no obligations to do anything or be anywhere, so we decided to go watch the game at Ben's parents' place. When Kai got out of the car he tripped and fell onto the pavement, picked himself up and then fell again. He said he was okay and played pretty rough in the backyard afterward so we didn't worry about it.

Later the boys took a laundry basket ride through the house and almost tipped over, and Kai stretched out his arm. Then he yelled out in pain and we were frantically trying to figure out what was wrong. His arm was red and he had a small scratch so we thought maybe he scraped it on the basket. However, he was crying our periodically and he isn't usually that sensitive. We chalked it up to missing his nap earlier, but as I watched him he wasn't using his left arm at all.

{trying to cheer him up: Vanessa + David playing with glow bracelets}

I decided to call our pediatrician's office and speak with a triage nurse. She gave us some instructions to check for a dislocated shoulder or elbow but Kai wouldn't let us move him enough to really tell. When we touched him, he'd scream. So the nurse said to take him into the ER to get checked out.

Since we were away from home and it was bedtime for Desmond we decided that Ben would drop Des and I off at home and he would take Kai in. It killed me to not go and later when Kai was crying for me, I called Ben's brother David and his girlfriend Vanessa on their offer to stay with Des so I could go.

{in the waiting room with Daddy. in the exam room with Grandma}

By the time I got there I had missed the X-Ray they decided to do (because of where he claimed the pain was) and the repair of what ended up being "nursemaid's elbow" Something we didn't really expect because of where he was saying it hurt and that nobody had touched him. Apparently he had jolted it just right when on his laundry basket ride. It's amazing to me that something so small caused this issue after all the crazy falls he has had with no injury (boys!). The doctor set it before I got there and I came in to a different child. He was smiling, eating a popsicle, and using his left arm like nothing had happened. Although, he was very sleepy.

Ben and I traded places and as he headed home to Desmond, I waited with Kai and Grandma Debbie (who was visiting while on shift at the hospital) for our discharge papers. When they came the nurse joked for Kai to sign and he grabbed the pen and scribbled on the line. She was pretty surprised and it made her night. That's my funny boy!

As we were leaving the parking lot Malakai told me "That was a really nice doctor. We had a fun time." (for more quotes like this, follow @kaithoughts on instagram). He clearly wasn't traumatized by the experience, thankfully. He fell asleep about halfway home and snoozed peacefully all night.

{still wearing his glow sticks}

We are so thankful that it was a quick fix and that we don't have to deal with a 3 year old in a cast...not yet anyway!