Cast Off etc

Max shows off his reading ability.





Our "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" meal (out of the mouth of Tim): beets, turkey loaf and toast



Where does the time go? I seem to have missed another week.

Max had his cast removed on Thursday. His arm was still a little swollen but it has not caused him any pain. The doctor said that even after 11 days, it had healed enough to go without a cast and will heal better with a bit more mobility now.

Tim has been busy studying for the CFA examination which he'll take on Sunday. He says that he doesn't feel very well prepared but he'll take the test anyway. He figures at least he'll know what it is like: if he fails, then he can better decide whether or not it is worth his time to study for it again in the future.

Since my miscarriage the doctor has been pushing us toward doing another IVF. I'm willing to meet with a fertility specialist but I am still not ready to head down that road yet. She thinks that it is the age of my eggs that MAY result in more miscarriages down the road. I think that I need to have more than one miscarriage before I feel like my age is becoming an issue. I'm feeling fine about it all.

We are very happy to announce the birth of our niece, Olivia Lee Wonhof, who arrived on 11/14/07. She was born with a rare condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease). Many of her ribs were broken at birth and she has had some trouble breathing on her own. She has casts on all of her limbs. Poor darling. Her parents have spent most of their waking moments with her and got a chance to hold her on a special "bed" over the last couple of days. We feel fortunate that Children's Hospital in Denver is one of the top three facilities in the country for treating her condition. Olivia has a lot of family living in the area so she and her parents have lots of support. We are thankful for that, especially since we ourselves are so far away. We look forward to getting back home for a proper introduction!

Big Week!

So...I thought the big news this week was that I miscarried. Yes, I was pregnant (probably 5-6 weeks but it was hard to assess) but it never felt right so I wasn't surprised at the news. Still sad.

Instead, the big news is that, sadly, Max fractured his arm today (on the day he turned 17 months). He does this little protest wriggle when we pull him away from something he shouldn't be doing. Anyway, he did that wriggle when he was up on Tim's shoulders this morning and Tim lost his grip on him. Strangely enough, I had told Max (not that he understood what I was saying) a number of times that he was going to hurt himself sometime when he did that wriggle. I had no idea it would be something more than a little bump on the head. He has a little cast on his left forearm that he'll have to wear for three weeks. Poor little guy.

Other events this week: Max attended his friend Janosch's third birthday party on Monday. Janosch got squirt guns for his birthday. The kids had a great time but poor Max never figured out how to work the guns so he was only on the receiving end of the squirts. Janosch and his parents are returning to Germany for two months so Max won't have his weekly playdate with Janosch for awhile.

We've had a visitor every few days this week just after Max goes to bed. This possum stole one of our precious mangoes off our patio. Guess we shouldn't store fruit outside at night. Silly foreigners.

We are within a week of the start of "birthing festival." Between family and friends, we have four upcoming births over the next two months. We send along our love and prayers to those families!

Daddy's Home!

Tim just returned from a two week trip to the U.S. It sounds like he had a good time visiting family in Denver, friends in Chicago, and family & friends in MN/SD. He managed to run the Denver half marathon while he was there and said he was pleased with his time.

I gotta say that I commend all of those single parents out there. It is really hard to remain patient with a toddler when you don't get any breaks or have any help nearby. Fortunately, I knew it was only for a short period of time.

Max has finally decided that he is old enough to sleep through the night (the decision was made with a little prompting from Mom & Dad). Anyway, he sleeps from about 7 until 5:30. I love it! We are early birds ourselves so 5:30 is very reasonable, especially after a full nights sleep!

Now that Tim is home, Max is back to calling me Mommy (with a few "Rachels" thrown in now and again). It was cute when he first started saying "Rachel" but I missed being "Mommy". He also started tugging on his clothes this week b/c he wanted to run naked. It amazes me how much kids enjoy being naked.

Max has also become a pretty good eater again. He actually ate a taco salad tonight (greens and all!) for dinner. He still doesn't eat with a spoon or fork very well so he uses his hands most of the time. I find that I can mix just about anything with rice and he will gobble it up.

I had a soccer game today. My team made it to the final match to decide first and second place in the league. We walloped our opponents! I guess the other team had not lost a game in four seasons so it was a pretty big deal. I was voted player of the match...which is always a little more exciting when you are playing with a bunch of younguns. Just a little tooting of my own horn :-)

The pic: Max has new swimming duds!