Real Life vs. Reporting Real Life

The title really says it.  It's not that we've not been up to much, we've been up to too much!  Consequently, this blog (and you, dear readers) have suffered my neglect of the blogosphere.  In order to make amends I propose to post many small posts in quick succession (bless the 'schedule' function in Blogger) to catch y'all up with happenings in our family, kitchen, and my head (if I get that far).  So, here goes...

We have discovered what every parent of young children needs to know in a hot Dallas summer - the council splash parks.  These fabulous locations are dotted around our baking hot city and provide free, COOL entertainment for those not inclined to wallow in a deep pool or run their air-conditioner ragged.  They are perfect for young children who cannot be left for a second near a traditional pool, or even a paddling pool.  Chlorinated water sprays from a myriad of fountains, pipes, and moving sculptures (think the Wellington bucket fountain on Cuba St, kiwis!) and then runs off the rubberized surface to drain away and be recirculated.  You'd have to work hard to drown here!

We have had a number of fun visits over the last month to our local spray park in Lake Highlands.  J has no fear!  C tried to out-do his brother in the fear stakes on our last visit and crawled through every jet of water he could reach.  Which makes our abrupt halt on visits all the more difficult.  However, water and casts don't mix.  Yes, poor C has broken his leg!

It happened as we left the splash park on August 5th.  N was carrying C and slipped on the sandy surface as we came down an incline on our way back to the car.  He broke C's fall, and was alright himself, but C hollered for a good while.  We thought, given the fright of dropping vertically very fast and his overdue need for a nap, that he would calm down and sleep it off.  But when he woke and couldn't put weight on his right leg (crawling or pulling up) we knew that something wasn't right, and we were off to the ER to be checked over.  That night he had a temporary splint and we went back the next day to see the orthopedic specialist.  As best we can piece it together, C's foot was caught under N's hip and twisted as he landed.  I'm just thankful that N was able to keep hold of C so well that there weren't more broken bones!

C is now in a cast until September 10th.
It hasn't really slowed him down at all.  In fact, it seems more like resistance or weight training for muscle building.  The cast's toe is showing a great deal of wear from all the crawling.  So here is the 'before' shot and I'll have to post an 'after' shots just before he gets it taken off.

We can't wait until the splash park is back on the agenda!