b e n j a m i n f a l k e n b e r g

Updates from October, 2009

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  Pumpkins and Llamas and Hay, Oh My

  Stacey and Alex 12:43 pm on October 12, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: cousins (6), grandparents (9), playing (30), Pleasure Valley Llamas, pumpkin farm

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  Spent the afternoon this past Sunday at Pleasure Valley Llamas (and Pumpkin Farm) with Stacey’s parents and Stacey’s nephews Owen and Alejandro. It was our second year visiting. Zachary was too little to really enjoy it last year, but he really made up for it this year. Benjamin had good time again this year, too.

  A few pictures have been uploaded to Flickr if you’re interested:

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexfalkenberg/tags/pleasurevalleyllamaandpumpkinfarm/

  It’s well worth the $8 per wristband to enjoy all of the various activities there. Each wristband also includes a 20-pound pumpkin of your choice–picked from their patch yourself, or taken from carts near the entrance/exit. Larger pumpkins are $2 for every additional ten pounds over twenty, so a $40-lb pumpkin would only cost you an extra four bucks; a pretty good deal in the grand scheme of things-pumpkin. It’s located about 20 miles or so west of Random Lake, near Adell/Batavia. The farm’s website (linked above) has a map.

  We hope you enjoy the pictures.

   

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  Zachary's Now Two

  Stacey and Alex 3:06 am on September 24, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: age (20), birthday (13), party (8)

  The title says it all. He’s two! Congrats, little dude.

  

  We would also like to thank everyone for coming for his birthday party last week. Everyone here had a great time!

   
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  Zachary Sheds His Cast

  Dad 20:40 pm on January 8, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bone growth, broken (2), broken bone (2), cast (2), cast removal, eating (16), fall (2), forearm (2), fracture (2), gore-tex, guarding, handedness, healed, healing, no fear, radius (2), recovery, saw, shedding bone, ulna (2), waterproof, x-ray (2), xray (2)

  Zachary went in earlier this afternoon to get his cast removed and have another x-ray to verify his arm has indeed healed correctly.

  Bone growth was excellent, and he’s well on his way to full recovery. No second cast needed. All clear, he’s OK, and we can go home and be normal again!

  

  Though his radius still looks crooked in the x-ray, we’re told that it will straighten back out fully on its own, growing and shedding bone as necessary to adjust to the correct positioning. At his age, we’re told that takes 3-4 months or so. The bone growth is very obvious in the x-ray; you can see a large mass of new growth covering the areas where the break occurred.

  The skin on his arm is a little bit chapped and dry, but that will resolve itself in no time as well with a bath and some lotion.

  One other thing we’ll be watching is whether he goes back to being a right-handed eater like he was before the cast; he’s gotten pretty used to eating as a lefty lately, with both his hands and with utensils.

  We went out to eat after his cast removal, and he kept raising both arms and dancing to the music. I think he’s happy to have his arm back. He’s still being a little bit guarded with it, but it’s just become habit these last few weeks from not using it fully; he’ll get over that quickly. He was giving high-fives and scratching his head and ear at dinner… and quite pleased with himself. Yay!

   
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  Happy Holidays!

  Stacey and Alex 8:00 am on December 25, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 2008, Benjamin handwriting, Christmas (6), letter, Santa (3)

  

  Benjamin wrote his first-ever letter to Santa to put out with the cookies and milk last night on Christmas Eve. Or, rather, Dad asked Benjamin what he wanted to say to Santa, Benjamin told Dad, and Dad wrote most of it, except for a couple of bits Benjamin insisted he write himself; he focused so very hard writing the bits he did, and it was incredibly cute…

  Dear Santa,

  Merry Christmas!

  Hi. I’ve been a good boy this year. My brother Zachary was a good boy this year, too.

  [Benjamin scribbles, saying each word out loud as he slowly, carefully writes...] (”It’s a good cookie.”)

  Mommy has been a good girl, and Daddy was a good guy. Owen and Ollie and Laura and Lydia were good, too. Nana and Papa were good, too.

  Merry Christmas.

  [Benjamin scribbles, saying each word out loud as he slowly, carefully writes...] (”I was a good boy.”)

  Santa, thank you for the presents.

  We love you, Santa.

  – Benjamin, Zachary, Mommy, Daddy and Yoda… (and [long list of cousins, aunts and uncles here])

  Bye!

  Awesome, right?  :)

  We hope you had a great 2008…and we hope you have an even better 2009. Take care, everyone–we love you all.
  

   
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  Meet the New Cast

  Stacey and Alex 8:35 am on December 20, 2008 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: broken (2), broken bone (2), cast (2), fall (2), forearm (2), fracture (2), radius (2), ulna (2), x-ray (2), xray (2)

  Zachary fell from an armchair this past week and broke his right arm. :(

  Initially, in the early evening of December 16th, both he and Benjamin were sitting in the chair together. Benjamin got down to do something else. Zachary leaned over the side of the chair to see where his brother went, and boom, down he went.

  He wasn’t acting like he’d broken anything. He rarely cries as it is, so it was hard to really determine if there was something seriously wrong or if he had just scared himself. Until the next morning, anyway, when we started to notice he wasn’t putting weight on his arm… He was climbing up the stairs, but using his right elbow instead of his entire arm. He was grabbing at things and picking things up, trying to use his arm and his hand, but heavy things (like a full sippy cup or a book) were things he couldn’t hold, and he was dropping them. Uh-oh.

  The fall was less than a foot and a half to the floor. Really. He apparently landed Just Right™. He’s certainly had bigger, more dramatic falls before…

  So we called our pediatrician, who normally offers appointments same-day for the serious stuff. We couldn’t get in; our doc was apparently on a half-day, and there just weren’t any slots open. Very disappointing (thanks, nurse!). Ended up with an appointment with him the following morning, got some x-rays, and confirmed a clean break of his right radius. Plain as day to see on the x-ray. After some calling around, he finally tracked down a orthopedic specialist who could see him and cast the arm.

  Anyway, the arm is casted. The break, it turns out, is both bones in his right forearm, and not just the radius. The ulna is also fractured; it wasn’t as obvious on the x-ray, but the ortho doctor noticed it right away. No setting of the bones was required; straightforward, clean breaks. The cast is waterproof, and the lining under it is Gore-Tex, so he can take baths and even go swimming. He’s already had a couple of baths, and the water runs right out and it’s not been a problem at all.

  You’ll notice he was casted up past his elbow; casts on kids can (and do) fall or slip off, or get pried/pulled off, so they go ahead and cast past the elbow to help hold the thing in place and prevent accidental removal/separation. Zachary would definitely try to pull it off, or at least play with it until it came off.

  We were told bones heal at the rate of approximately 1week per year of age. So Zachary’s arm should be OK in about a week and a half. That’s… amazing.

  We have an appointment again in three weeks to remove the cast, take another batch of x-rays to confirm it’s healed, and hopefully be done. Let’s hope so! It’s been a couple of days now since he got the cast, and he’s definitely felt frustrated. The red-PJ pic here is a great example from his first day with his cast: when he can’t reach something, or can’t put his right hand to his mouth to eat or touch his face at all, he gets a little upset. Can’t blame him… For the most part, though, he’s adjusting just fine. We knew he would; it’s just What He Does™.

  Neither Mom nor Dad have been casted before, so we really were not directly familiar with the process. Turns out it’s quite simple and pretty quick. We’re trying hard not to feel like bad parents, of course. These things happen, and there’s really nothing you can do to stop them. We live, we learn, we keep on going, and growing as a result. :)

   
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  Christmas 2007 Seems Like So Long Ago

  Stacey and Alex 12:53 pm on December 12, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 2007, Christmas (6), Santa (3)

  This is a picture from their 2007 visit with Santa. It was Zachary’s first Christmas, at only 4 months old. It was Benjamin’s second; he was not quite two years old here. They haven’t been to see Santa yet this year; we’ve not (yet?) made any specific plans, so who knows. Zachary took his first Santa visit here a lot better than Benjamin did his first time at 10 months (B. was basically terrified).

  It’s worth noting (again) that Zachary is pulling really, really hard on Santa’s very real beard in this picture. Poor St. Nick… That look on his face? Pure pain. We apologized, of course, but it was pretty darn funny…

  

  It’s strange looking at this picture, as both kids have grown up so much since it was taken. Zachary’s walking now. Benjamin’s in gymnastics classes, knows all his numbers and letters… Their growth this past year has been pretty amazing.

  More holiday pictures on the way as we get them processed and uploaded. Those of you that end up with our photo Christmas card–going out Any Day Now™–we hope you enjoy that, too.  Happy Holidays!