Parent of the Year 2010...

will NOT be going to Jen and Brian this year. Callie fell off the swing on our swing set last night. We had the tears and the whining, but in response to Callie's ongoing drama we told her she would be fine. Callie has a long history of being very dramatic!! All night she held her arm and refused to move it. We tried to get her to grab at things with her left arm but she held on to that arm all night. Even after baking M&M cookies and asking her to eat it with her left hand, she refused. By the time we thought something really might be wrong, it was bedtime and she was tired and wanted to go to bed. So when she woke up this morning and still wouldn't move her arm, we got everyone up and dressed and headed to the ER. And, this is the result.

Her wrist is broken and her cast runs from her fingertips to her shoulder. Swim team is over for her this season. That alone brings me to tears. For a family that lives at the pool, we are going to have find some new activities for a while.

In the past 5 hours that she has had her cast on, she has received a lot of attention and can you tell by her smile that this little situation doesn't feel to bad to her...yet. It's been like Christmas. My mom brought over lunch and lots of gifts from her, my dad and brother. Our best friends came over with gifts. I had to get all new shirts at Target that we could get over her cast (tank tops) and new pajamas that don't have sleeves. She is currently on the couch with a new Scooby Doo DVD. Next comes manicures with new nail polish. So all in all she is pretty happy right now. But this won't last long. Not being able to swim, ride her bike, play on the swings, take a bath... will make things tough and the novelty will come to a screeching halt.

Then we won't have this smiling face, but instead a very frustrated little girl. We go back for x-rays in 2 weeks and hopefully get a new cast that ends at her forearm.

And as for Brian and myself- we feel horrible. Horrible that we kept telling her she was fine. Horrible that we didn't just take her to the doctor last night. So no special parenting award for us this year. We'll have to try for next year.