Anders' first haircut

The time came for Anders to get his first haircut and we weren't quite sure what to expect.  Somewhat surprisingly he sat very patiently and even had a little fun!  Of course he banged up his forehead right beforehand... we don't call him "Crash Kelly" for no reason!

the "before" (aka a mullet)

the "after" (looking very handsome albeit a little old for mommy's liking)

early taste of winter

Over Thanksgiving Mommy and the kids took advantage of their flexible schedules and stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the week.  The early snowfall there provided for some much needed outdoor fun.

Whitney and Max checking out the snow

Anders is 2 years old!!!

For Anders' actual birthday we celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Pam, Drew and Dylan at brunch, followed by the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer musical.  It was a fun day for all and a festive way to start of the Christmas season. Happy Birthday to our sweet baby boy!

It wouldn't be a birthday celebration without another round of cake!

spinning records on the new record player

choo-choo bob's train store

Since Anders' 2nd birthday fell over Thanksgiving weekend while we were planning on being in Hudson, we decided to have a party for him at a St. Paul train store called Choo-Choo Bob's.  Anyone who has seen Anders in the past 12-18 months, knows that you're hard pressed to find him without a car or train in his hands.  We were hoping this enthusiasm would translate into him enjoying Choo-Choo Bob's... and boy did he ever!  He had a smile on his face the whole time and appeared to forget that he was still in the process of healing his broken leg.

Mommy's good college friends (Tracie, Sheila, Lisa, and Amy) were able to join in on the festivities along with their families.  The lucky man in the middle is Engineer Paul, who did a nice job entertaining the kids.

fancy whitney

Whitney has recently become a "Fancy Nancy" book enthusiast.  For those of you not familiar with with the original book, Nancy teaches her family to dress fancy and act fancy while going out for pizza and ice cream sundaes.  Whitney thought it would be a good idea for our family to do the same thing, so on Saturday we (joined by cousins Elizabeth, Meghan, and Ryan) went out for our fancy evening on Michigan Avenue...

Anders' mishap

On October 1st, Anders had the bad fortune of breaking his femur.  He was helping his brother, sister, and Daddy put together a step stool, when he accidentally slipped on the floor.  At first we assumed it was a sprained knee or torn ligament, but as luck would have it, he twisted it at just the right/wrong angle to cause a spiral fracture of the femur.  The next 48 hours entailed an urgent care visit, an ER visit, an overnight stay at the hospital, and finally the realigning and casting of his femur in the operating room.

This was the first of multiple doses of morphine and valium.  Unfortunately it did nothing to stop the constant muscle spasms that prevented him from sleeping until the bone was set.

Anders was very brave throughout the entire process and specifically while getting ready to go into the OR for his cast.

 The cast itself was a bit of a nightmare in terms of mobility and diapering.

The hospital outfitted us with a special carseat designed for hip spica casts.

back at home...

I tracked down a woman who makes custom tables/chairs for kids in hip spica casts.  This was very helpful seeing how few positions Anders could be in.

Finally after a long 6 weeks, it was time to get the (stinky!) cast off.  The orthopedic surgeon said he may not walk for a couple weeks and at that point could limp for a month or two.  But if all goes well he should not need any sort of physical therapy or rehabilitation.

the first 48 hours at home without the cast...