If It Doesn't Have a Tail It's Not A Monkey

Even though it has a monkey kind of shape. Wesley's cast came off on Monday. HOORAY! And you know what that means- bath time with our favorite older brother. Wesley was absolutely thrilled! And so was Luke who has missed him quite a bit.
And now the shot you have all been waiting for... his "new born thumb" (as Allie calls it). This was Monday evening. It looks even better now as most of the stitches have dissolved. The appointment went very well. When the dr. got the pliers to pull the pin out we were concerned but it was just a quick zip and pull and out it came. I was so relieved that his thumb looked better than it had the week before. Much of the swelling has gone done. Basically, it just keeps looking better and better. We will post another one soon.


I realized these shots are all kind of a different color. It is because I developed them while sitting here at the computer under a sheet. Sounds strange? Well stay tuned!

Happy Easter

Off With the Old, On With the New

Wesley had a doctor's appointment on Monday. They took off his old cast and put on a new one. We got to see his thumb for the first time. When the nurses had stepped away I said to Jason "It's so UGLY!" and it is. But, as Jason reminded me, it is still swollen and red from surgery and the big ugly black zig-zag down the side stitches really will dissolve... eventually. All five (sniff- sniff... only 5) little nails badly needed trimming. They left the pin in. Wesley saw it and tried to pull it out himself. It looks like a little push sticking out of the end of his thumb. But of course it goes through the bones the entire length of his thumb. They took x-rays again (it is so nice to have Jason and I together for that alone since we both had to hold his arm down and in place. It took a couple of tries). They recast him but at least this time we can see his other little fingers poking out.

In this photo of his first cast (which we kept of course), I tried to get a picture of the bottom side to show you how worn down it was from sliding around. The fist area which he used to clobber us with was soft enough you could push in on it.

The new, improved, lighter weight and brighter colored cast!
It was so hard to get a video of Wesley's slide because as soon as he saw the camera, that is all he wanted. So he would stop sliding and start scrambling to try to get to me. All the same you can see how and why his cast was so worn down.


And lastly, I thought I would throw this one in. I know it will seem foreign to most of you but this is a shot of the Sunday afternoon session of Conference.

Allie is into verbrado...

We tried to get video of Wesley sliding along with his cast but after last weekend in AZ and cousin Mackay walking circles around him, well he decided maybe that was the better way to go. He gets his cast off tomorrow afternoon and the pin out of his thumb as well. We don't know yet if he'll have another cast put on or not.



I sat down with Allie and Luke today for a little chat. The Grandmas may be the only ones to watch all of the videos, they get a little repetitive...



Allie is starting to show her mother's genes in this next one. I can't do arithmetic to save my life...


This next one, I suppose, we should be a bit shy to show. Maybe Allie has watched Mulan one too many times. She hasn't seen it too much I guess, I'm just surprised how quickly she learns the silly little songs in cartoons. This is all her:

(watch how she sings so nice as she gouges out her brother's eye)

Sliding By

Things are progressing quite well! We gave Wesley some ibuprofen the day we came home from the hospital, just in case. He has never acted like he felt any pain so we have never given him anything since the first dose. For a day or so he would fuss to get down and play and then fuss because he couldn't crawl. It didn't take him long to figure it out. Now he slides along the floor. You can see the wear mark on the bottom of his cast. We thought of several excuses* to tell strangers when they asked what happened (thanks Keri for tipping us off to be prepared). Shark attack in Mexico, reaching into the garbage disposal, fixing the lawn mower. I have used the first two. By far the best is to tell them the truth.

Stranger: Oh what a cute little a boy and what a big cast! What happened?!
Me: He got his thumb cut off.
Stranger: (quite shocked) Whoa. How?!
Me: A scalpel I guess. Whatever it is that surgeons use.
Stranger: (more shock and great confusion)... um... what?
Me: (laughing to myself at the hilarious situation of putting some stranger in an awkward position. I know... so funny.) He was born with two thumbs and they removed one.
Stranger: (why did I ever open my mouth) Oh that's nice.

I don't have a great video of him doing his slide. This was after the first day or two and the only reason he is fussy is because he wanted the camera (which is why it is so hard to get a good video clip of the slide). The clip below is low resolution on purpose so it would actually upload but you'll get the idea.


Jason: Here are a few pics for you (Jay, I thought you might want to see a photo of Luke driving his tractor, the little farmer boy who cultivated your front yard up in Logan during the weddings):

*Some of you are asking yourselves how Vic and I could possibly be related. : )

That was the MOST fun I've ever had!

"Ok, maybe it wasn't the most fun I have ever had. But I am very happy to home now." - Wesley

It really wasn't too bad. Jason and I went to bed around 11:45pm last night after packing the bag and preparing everything for each of the kids for the next day. I got up shortly before 3:30am to nurse Wesley one last time before his fast began. And then Jason and I couldn't go back to sleep. Finally we got up and read and showered and everything else to prepare. Leah came this morning instead of spending the night. Wesley woke up around 6:30am so we grabbed him and immediately loaded him in the truck and left. His surgery was at UNMH. They have a brand new building there that is beautiful and very inviting. Wesley was distracted from the fact he was getting hungry by all the toys and new places to crawl around and under (lots of chairs in the waiting room). They called us back and we got him undressed and they took his vital signs. By this point he was starting to get cranky that no one was feeding him. They let him push buttons on the monitors for a little while and then Jason pulled him around in a little red wagon to help occupy him and forget his rumbling tummy. Soon after they gave Wesley a sedative to calm him down and help him prepare to be seperated from us. It wasn't long before he was reclined back, legs sprawled, arms and hands hanging over the edge of the wagon and saying "Dada da da da" over and over again. He looked very relaxed and quite happy (read intoxicated). I walked along side him holding his little hand and his thumbs and kissing them over and over again. I couldn't help it. I just love them so much. Finally it was time for him to go back to surgery. The sedative made the separation very easy. Jason and I gave him one last kiss and then they pulled the little red wagon through the doors. I did fine (read cried) and then we went to get a bite to eat and wait. Roughly 2 hours later they were finished and we got to speak with the doctor about how it went. He said it was perfect and everything went beautifully. They removed the radial side or the outer thumb. That was the one that did not bend much and the doctor said it was common when there are two thumbs that the outer radial thumb won't have the flexor tendon so it doesn't bend. That was Wesley's case. They ended up putting a pin in his remaining thumb to help straighten it out since it was become somewhat crooked. In two weeks we will have the cast removed, x-rays, and then maybe another cast for two weeks after that.

We got to see Wesley after that in recovery. He started to flop around and I mean literally flop. The cast is so big and heavy that every time he tried to move his arm the rest of his body would follow. They let me pick him up and hold him until he awoke. He had some IV tubes, an oxygen tube that we had to keep blowing in his face (it wasn't strapped to him), and oxygen meter strapped to his toe, and then clothes and blankets that were half on since now nothing fits over the cast. I think we will be cutting some shirts here soon. Wesley took his time to wake up. They used general anesthesia for the operation and it takes time to shake it off. Now that I held him in my arms, I was able to take a little nap too. Wesley would try to wake up, try to open his eyes and then fall right back to sleep.

Around 1:30pm or so he finally woke up, looked around and said "Da?" He seemed confused with the unfamiliar faces of the nurses but mostly confused why his arm weighed so much and why he couldn't get the big white thing off. A few more papers and to sign and instructions and finally we got to go home. No special meds other than over the counter Motrin for a few days. Kids are amazing that way- they said if you give them stronger pain killers they usually wind up more cranky from the side effects than they would otherwise be with simple OTC pain reducers.

No clothes yet but we have already started to decorate the cast. Allie was the first to leave her mark.
(Jason: Thanks to all for including our little boy in your thoughts and prayers...)

Wesley's Surgery

Tomorrow, Friday the 20th, is the day set for Wesley's hand surgery. Please pray for him. I am sure everything will go smoothly but I still can't help feel anxious about it. We will miss his sweet little thumbs. Tomorrow it will just but a thumb.

We'll give you the update tomorrow afternoon. We will leave here at 6:30am. Leah Jeppson is going to spend the night and then drop off Allie at preschool in the morning and Luke at a friend's house. It is outpatient surgery so we should be home some time in the afternoon.