What More?!?

What more?! What more can happen to my poor baby boy's legs?!
Today was not such a good day...After spending the weekend with my boy (daddy was back home in Van Wert), we were anxiously arriving daddy's return this afternoon. He got home around 3:15 today, and Cayden was absolutely overjoyed to see him! I love the smile that explodes on both of their faces when they see each other. It warms my heart every time. After many hugs and kisses from daddy, Cayden was placed on the family room floor with all of his toys to play as he does every day. Well today was different.
Daddy and I were talking, and watching Cayden roll around and play, when all of the sudden he rolled near the chair (once again, as he sometimes does...no big deal). Just as we both saw his right foot get caught in the chair, we jumped up to scoop him up...we were too slow. As we got up, Cayden rolled once more - his body moved in the direction of the roll, but his right leg stayed where it was, tucked in the chair. All I heard was "POP," and it rang in my ears. I dropped to the floor, Cayden was screaming. I knew right then something was not right. I was in tears and told Cyle that he had to look at his leg because I just couldn't bring myself to look. I knew in my head that it wouldn't be good. I've never heard the baby cry like this - and every cry KILLED us. So Cyle picked him up and tried to calm him and to look at his leg. Nothing looked wrong from the outside. Still screaming, we decided to lay him down to get a better look, and that's when we noticed that he wasn't moving his right leg at all. Right away we loaded him up to head to the E.R.
It was the fastest drive to the hospital that we've ever made - I sat in the back with the baby, and the poor thing screamed the whole way, just staring at me like "mama, what's going on, and why does it hurt so bad?" I cried right along with him.
I pulled myself together only to walk into the E.R. (the place that I work, with all of the wonderful people that I KNEW would treat my baby so well), only to break down before even getting into a room! In the next hour, Cayden had gotten some pain medicine, and an x-ray and continued to cry. The doctor came in to give us the results, and I knew before he even opened his mouth to say the words. CAYDEN BROKE HIS LEG. :-( We saw the x-rays that showed a spiral fracture through the Tibia (the larger bone in the shin). So Valerie, a tech in the E.R. (and one of Cayden's "girlfriends") put a splint on his leg. We are to follow up with Dr. Ballock bright and early tomorrow so he can be casted. I thought we saw enough of him on all of our appointments for his poor feet...and there's more?!
This just breaks my heart. We keep saying to ourselves 'if only we were a second faster,' 'if only I had taken him to the store like I was planning on doing,' "IF ONLY, IF ONLY, IF ONLY!!"
But, accidents happen, and there's nothing that we could have done. He could roll to that spot a million times again and never have the same thing happen. It was an accident. But still breaks our hearts...
So I'll update again after visiting the good Dr. Ballock. We just hope and pray that this casting doesn't impede the progress we've made with his feet. He has done so well with that and I would hate to have this be a set-back to all of that progress. Please say a quick prayer that he heals fast, and with little pain. I don't know if Mama and Daddy can handle seeing him in any more pain! It's too sad, and he's too innocent...

In the Peds E.R. - after the splinting. Notice the red cheeks from

all of the crying. :-(

We stopped in to see MeMe and Papa after picking up his prescription

for pain medication. A loving touch (and a bottle) from Meme put him right to sleep.

The subject.

His foot became stuck in the groove where the reclining footrest meets the base of the chair.

I feel like putting this thing out by the curb! :-(

A Few "Firsts"

A Few "Firsts" - From the eyes of a child...
So... here's the story. My name is Townsend, but almost everybody calls me Cayden (that's my middle name!). My life started out a little crazy, but with lots of love and help from lots of people, everything seems to be much better now! My feet are chubby, but they're straight! And sometimes mommy says they're stinky! But we've been working very hard to keep them straight, and I wear my special shoes almost every night to make sure they stay that way! All in all, I'd say I'm doing pretty good. I like to eat. Bananas have always been my all-time favorite, but really, I'll eat anything! That's how I'm gonna grow big and strong like my daddy. I really love him a lot! Anyway...back to what I was supposed to be telling you about...a few of the "firsts" that I've had so far! I've had lots; like smiling for the first time, and giggling, and sitting and standing up! I'm getting pretty good at those things now. There have been a few though that I've just recently conquered, so here they are!

• On March 1st, 2009 (I was 7.5 months old then), I said "Mama" for the first time! I've been working on talking, but that day it really came out perfectly! Me, Mama and Daddy were sitting on the bed at Grandpa's house, just playing after I woke up. And that's when I did it. I looked up at my mama and said "Mama!" Then I said it again and again! I think it was six times all together! I said it so good that I saw tears in my mama's eyes (I don't know why that made her eyes fill with tears, but it did. I think they were thehappy tears, not the sad ones.) Then mommy and daddy kept looking at me and saying "say mama, say M-A-M-A," real slow like that, over and over. I looked at them and just laughed! It seemed like a fun game. I'll say it when I want to say it, and just laugh at them when they try to get me to do it. They look and sound so funny! So now I only say it when I wake up in the mornings or after my naps! I know this will make Mama come get me out of my crib! But that's the only time I like to say it, other times I just laugh at her! :-)
• On March 7th, 2009 (I was getting closer to 8 months old), my very first tooth popped through my gums! It felt so funny, and made me cry just for a little while! It's the tooth on the bottom, the one in the front on the right side. I like to chew on my toys, and sometimes it feels better when I stick my whole fist in my mouth and chomp down! Mama started calling me "Drool Baby." I can't help it! It just flows out of my mouth! I'm getting very excited because I keep hearing mommy and daddy talking about all of the good new foods I'll be able to eat when I "get more teeth!" I can't wait for that! Now I'm getting a little bump on the bottom, in the front on the left side too! That one will come in next and maybe I'll get to eat some of those good new foods then! :-)
• Okay now I just want to think back for a minute, on one of my very first favorite things...the pink bink! Before you laugh, hear me out. It's not like this was my very first bink, or the one I chose to use. I think Mama lost the bink I liked best when I was a tiny tiny baby, then tried about a million other ones to replace it. None of them were right, I couldn't hold any of them in my mouth for longer than two seconds. So Meme found this old pink one (probably from when my cousin Sarah was a baby, playing at Meme's house...which takes me to a place in my mind of sharing cooties with my cousin that I really would rather not go right now...) Anyway, this binky, whether pink or any other color, suited me just PERFECTLY! It just fit so well! I was able to grip it well in my hands, and pop it into my mouth so easily! It even started to form to my mouth from the way I sucked on it sideways! ......But then the jokes started. "But he's a boy! Why does he have a pink bink?!" "Haha! Look at that fat boy with the pink bink!" "Look at those CHEEKS! And a pink bink?!" Seemed like that was all I ever heard. Something had to be done. Inside I knew I was a BOY. I was a very strong boy, like my daddy. I am not girly, I don't even like girls (okay, maybe a few special ones!). I'm tough, I'm gonna be a hunter and a fisherman! I've got to get rid of this pink bink! So mommy went to store after store to try to find the same one, but just in a different (more masculine) color. She couldn't find one anywhere! My Meme even searched all the stores that she thought she might have found the pink one...no luck. All of the replacements just fell short. I thought I was doomed - pink bink or no bink. Then Mama found the perfect replacement (she even got a pack of two!) I now have two new binks that I enjoy as much as I enjoyed my first, my favorite pink bink. One blue, one green. (I'll be honest, I told Mama to keep the pink one for extra special days that I might need or want it, days that we're at home, and not under the scrutiny of the public eye!) Please don't judge me! I'm a MAN! :-)

Another Picture Update!

So here are some random pictures I've been meaning to post! Some were taken with my cell phone, sorry if the quality is poor - they're still adorable! (I'm biased...I know).

From the outside, Looking in.

Playtime at Grandpa's in Van Wert.

Daddy likes to carry me around in his overalls!

Daddy builds forts for Cayden to play in when Mama's at work!

Cheesin' it up in my camo hat!

Photo session at MeMe's! 7 months

And this one's my most recent favorite!

Pictures! Seven months and growing!

Look, I can hold it all by myself!

I'm just playing, aren't I cute?!
Mama, where did my big blue eyes come from?!
I like to play on the floor, I could roll around all day!
I'm even working really hard on crawling!

I'm determined to get it down before our Florida trip!
Here's a shot of my growing feet! Looking good, huh?! :-)
That's all for now! Hope you liked my picture update!