some more pics...i'm on a roll! :)

Short but sweet...

I only have a quick minute to post because I'm using the TV as a sitter at this moment and the 25 minute show is almost over!! :) I used to swear that I would NEVER do that...but let's face it...it's pretty convenient. And Isaac is learning how to "build words" while I get other things done. Hehe. Okay...it's over! ACK! Okay...here are just a couple photos from our time outside today...
If you can't tell...I'm sort of in love with Isaac's new shoes (which he had to wear for his aunt Jessica's wedding this weekend. I'll blog later about THAT!! :)

Recent Pics!!!!! (finally)

The past two months have just been a whirlwind in the Ober home. Between Naomi's cast and mine...there's just a lot of craziness. But I have tried to capture some moments still. Naomi is becoming quite the little character. She LOVES being silly and making people laugh. So far, her only semblance of a word is when she sees a dog, she'll say, "doh-doh-doh!" :) Pretty cute. She's still a tiny little thing, and getting around like you would not believe! She even tries to STAND in her cast! It's really quite a sight. Anyway...without further ado...here are a slew of recent photos....ENJOY! :)

Life Lesson with a two-year-old...

Isaac: Mommy, I found a BUG!!!!
Me: Wow...what kind of bug is it?
Isaac: "It's a....ant!"
Me: Is it a big one or a little one?
Isaac: It's a little one. I wanna touch it.
Me: Okay...just be careful.
(a minute or two passes)
Isaac: Uh oh. I dink I hurt da bug.
Me: Is it moving?
Isaac: "No...it's NOT moving!"
(I walk over to assess the damage)
Me: You're right, sweetie. He's not moving. I think he's dead.
Isaac: He's dead? (pauses, to think) Mommy kiss it?
Me: No...we don't kiss bugs...that's yucky.
Isaac: Mommy touch it?
Me: No thank you...I don't like to touch bugs. Do you like to touch them?
Isaac: I DO like to touch bugs!!
Me: Okay...then you can touch it.
(long pause, as he surveys the dead bug)
Isaac: I'm afraid to touch it now.
Me: (chuckle to myself)

We'll see how long this lesson lasts! :) We've been having all sorts of life conversations lately. The kid's vocabulary, grammar, reasoning, and understanding are UNreal. I keep having to remind myself (especially when he's being ornery) that he's only two!! :)

I know it's been awhile since I've posted pics...they're coming...I promise!

isaacisms...again...

Went up to Isaac after he'd been in time-out for a couple of minutes, knelt down beside him, and let him know that he could get up. He said, "But I would like more time-out." I answered: "Okay...that's fine. But when you're ready to get up, you may come back to join us." He ran back in and started whining again (what got him put in time-out to begin with). I asked, "Are you going to start whining again?" His reply (in a whiny voice): "Yeah."

Back to time-out. When those two minutes where up, I went in and explained that it is rude to whine to get what we want. He just stared at me. So I asked, "Do you know what whining means?" His answer: "Babies whine." "You're right, buddy. And you're a big boy. Big boys use their words...not whining." Pause. Isaac mumbled something about big boys like to color. So I asked: "Would you like to color?" Isaac answered: "No dank you. But we need to put the lid on the crayons!"

And speaking of crayons, this child LOVES to color. And we have gone round and round with him about coloring on things he shouldn't. Today, he started coloring on his train table. With a very stern voice, I said, "Isaac, please put that crayon away and come to mommy...I need to talk to you." He obeyed...quickly put the crayon away and walked speedily toward me. Once in my arms, I started the dialogue: "Isaac, what are we supposed to use our crayons on?" His reply: "We cullow on the paper!" Me: "You're right. And what did you just color on?" Isaac: "I cullowed on my train." Me: "Are we supposed to color on our train table?" Isaac: "No...we not." Me: "Can you say that you're sorry for that?" Isaac: "I sawee, mommy."

We seriously have this talk with him almost daily. And yet he continues exploring with these crayons! At least he's not eating them anymore!! :) And I guess you could say that it's just making my walls, windows, mirrors, toys, furniture, etc. look a little more colorful! :) Perhaps he's inherited his mommy's artistic nature!! :)


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On a separate note, I got news today that the tumor was indeed benign!! :) I have been put into a cast for the next 4 weeks. It's big, bulky, and can't get wet. If anyone has ANY ideas on how to do the dishes with one hand...please let me know!! :) Kevin has been amazing through all of this. I couldn't have done it without him!! Thanks, babe!

Updates...

So I had surgery on my finger on Friday. It went well, and now I have a useless hand that is all bandaged up. My follow-up appointment is on Monday, and they are planning to put me in a cast for up to 4 weeks. Oh boy. But hopefully the lifting restriction will be gone after next week. Not being able to lift either of my kiddos has proven to be quite a challenge. I haven't changed a diaper in a week and a half...and it just feels so weird!! :)

Naomi had her 9-month check-up last week. She's doing great, but is still a petite little thing. WITH the cast on, she is falling into the 25th percentile for weight!! Without it, it's more like the 10th-15th percentile. She weighs 16-17 lbs. And we have no idea how long she is. It'll be fun to see how much she has grown once her cast finally comes off.

She went under general anesthesia again this morning for another hip arthrogram and cast change. We were actually really hoping that they would tell us that 6 weeks was all that she needed in the cast...and that she was finished with it!! :) But unfortunately quite the opposite was true. The doctor was actually disappointed in her progress. He said that her hip was only SLIGHTLY better, but still quite loose. UGH. So what does this mean? AT LEAST another 6 weeks in this cast...another trip to the hospital to be put under for yet another hip arthrogram...and possibly an ADDITIONAL 6 weeks after that. And still hoping that it doesn't require surgery.

She was a trooper and did well throughout the procedure. We are just bummed we didn't get better news. Maybe next time!!

In Isaac news, his mouth is doing MUCH better. He hasn't seem fazed by the injury at all. He has become QUITE the little character. He is speaking SO clearly and with such diction that it makes us giggle. He is VERY matter-of-fact. His favorite thing to do is tell us what he does NOT want to do. "I don't WANT to go to church!" or "Mommy...don't tickle me. I said 'No thank you!'" He has been SO utterly obstinate lately. He is testing us left and right. And he has taken a liking to being rude to Naomi and Mona. And when I ask him, "Are you being kind or are you being rude?" He answers with SUCH pride (and with a cheeky grin): "I'm being RUDE!"

He totally understands. And is STILL choosing to do the wrong things. I spend many of my days looking forward to naps and bedtime!! :) But there are definitely sweet moments too. The other night, we were sitting in our living room. Kevin and I were just talking about something. And all of the sudden, we stopped to the sound of Isaac READING a book. I'm sure he's just memorized what we say with the pictures...but we're talking a Dr. Suess book here. Like with real words. It was SO fun to see him 'reading' on his own!!

Anyway...sorry no pictures lately! I do have a little video of the kiddos from over a week ago. I was in the other room when I overheard them laughing hysterically. It was SO precious to see them finally starting to play together!! Enjoy!

And if you thought it couldn't get any crazier....

It did. A little. Yesterday afternoon Isaac had a blast playing outside for the first time in I don't know how long. Until he fell and busted his mouth on his little picnic table. And we're talking LOTS of blood. I was concerned about the need for stitches. It was nasty. And one of his poor front teeth is pushed back as well.

We saw the pediatric dentist today and he was a champ. He may have slight nerve damage, but it's hard to tell this early. And he basically completely severed his frenulum (that little piece of skin between your gums and upper lip). Doctor said he'd be fine, but he'll just need to be on antibiotics to makes sure he doesn't develop any infection.

So that's the added craziness this week. Naomi is 9-months-old today and I have nothing to show for it. Sad. My goal is to do a photo session with her in the next week or so. HA! I keep forgetting that I'm about to have surgery in a couple of days. I hope my hand feels better post-op than it does now, because I've really been hurting.

Oh...almost forgot...heard back from the doctor and the bone scan came back clean! No other bone tumors in my body!! Praise God!! :) Despite all of the craziness going on, we continue to keep our heads held high. God is SO good to us. And we have joy and peace that go SO much deeper than any of these afflictions. We are also so thankful to the community of friends and family that we have around us to lean on in this time!! You guys ROCK!! :)

lots going on...

It's been awhile since I've posted, but life has been crazy. And when it seems as though it can't get any more crazy...it does. :) I'm typing this post with one hand as I wait for the radio-active dye to seep into my bones. Hehe. That sounds dramatic, doesn't it? I have a full-body bone scan in about twenty minutes. I went this morning already to be injected with the dye.

Why all this testing? Well this past Friday night is when this new craziness began. I was at my friend's house with the kiddos. I went to pick up Naomi, when my left pinkie finger snapped upon touching her. I heard and felt a snap, and saw my finger bent in a very unnatural way. My first thought (and words) were "Omigosh...I just broke my finger!" But then I started rationalizing. People don't just break their fingers upon lightly touching something. Maybe I just dislocated it??

So my first instinct was to take my finger and pull it and push it back together. If it had been dislocated then this should have made it better. But to my horror, it did not feel any better. Less awkward...but still in a HUGE amount of pain. It was swollen and crooked and I couldn't move it at all. So I went to the ER. A huge thank you to my friend, Mary, and my sister, Kristin, for helping me with the kiddos since Kevin was out-of-town for business.

I felt kind of silly going to the ER. Surely it was something simple. And I was a moron trying to fix it myself. Right?? Wrong. I did indeed break my finger. It broke straight through. And the reason for breaking? I have a tumor, called an enchrondroma. The doctor is quite certain that it is not cancerous, but will biopsy it during surgery later this week. And according to the ER doctor, I did a pretty good job of resetting the finger myself! :)

So bone scan today...to check for any other abnormal bone growths...and then surgery on Friday. They will remove the tumor and have to do a bone graft to replace the missing bone in order to prevent this from happening again. I've got quite a road of recovery ahead of me and we are hoping and praying that the doctor is correct and that it is indeed non-cancerous. We should know the biopsy results on Friday.

Sooooo....that is a little glimpse into our present craziness. I am currently in quite a bit of pain and VERY limited in what I can do. You don't realize how much you actually use your hand (even if it is the non-dominant one) until you can't! Having two babies in diapers has proven to be QUITE a challenge. We'll get through it, but it's no fun. I'll update when I know more!! Thanks!