Lumen's Birthday Jamboree!

Last weekend, we threw Lumen a really special party for her fourth birthday! With her birthday being only a week after Christmas (and 3 days before her brother's birthday), we had a hard time coming up with fun ideas that would set her day apart. And with the weather being so cold, our options were even more limited. So we decided to go with a "gymnastics" theme and just let her and her friends get wild in the confines of our apartment. We cleared out our TV and console, couches, coffee table and rug from our living room, rounded up some tumbling mats, a balance beam and play tunnel and went from there! Considering the rental of an indoor play space runs about $200 and gets booked up too fast during the wetter months, we decided we were just better off getting creative with what we had at home. I went to Target and purchased some craft supplies, balloons, a pack of dance ribbons, and some party favor trinkets, which besides the food, was the bulk of our expenses! Hooray for DIY. I'm obsessed with Target's "Hand Made Modern" stuff, which is a really cute line of craft supplies and projects for kids. I got some mixed-print tissue paper to make paper poofs with (is that what they're even called?) and a crepe paper flower making kit. I also used up some of our gold wrapping paper from Christmas to make little origami stars for the table. It may seem like a lot of work, but we were on staycation the week after Christmas and I had plenty of time for these little crafts. Not to mention, the poofs and paper flowers are now resident decorations in the kids room. :)

As for the food, we went with a brunch theme. Donuts, cinnamon rolls, quiche, lots of fruit, and of course, cake. What's a party without some delicious, sugary treats and dance ribbons to spin around with?

A friend of mine has a daughter who happens to be a very talented gymnast/contortionist, and we had her come and do some cool tricks for the kids! It was so cute to watch her do something ridiculously bendy and then see the kids get so excited and try to copy her. As for the rest of the time, we put on some music (Frozen, really, what else?) and let the kids jump, spin and dance to their hearts content. 

As for her big surprise, we got her the cutest "big girl" bike from PUBLIC Bikes. She's wanted a bigger bike for a while now, since her knees have been knocking into the handle bars of her little red tricycle. As tricky as it is having both of our kids' birthdays right after Christmas and 3 days apart, one perk I've noticed is the crazy post-holidays sales! This sweet bicycle was half off!  

This party turned out really fun, and there were even zero injuries. Success! :)

Lumen Broke Her Arm

In October, Lumen stayed with my parents overnight while Tyler and I went out. That evening, I got a call from my mom and she explained that Lumen had fallen off the bed and had landed on her arm funny, but that she seemed okay despite being in a little pain. So Lumen went to sleep that night and we weren't too concerned. The next morning when we picked her up, she still seemed to be in a lot of pain, so we decided to call the doctor. Since the offices were closed for the weekend, we hesitantly took her to the ER, where we waited through exams. The doctor thought that maybe her elbow had been dislocated, so she tried to pop it back in place, then we waited for relief, but it had left her in even more pain. Poor girl! So finally, they decided to take her in for X-rays, where we learned that her elbow had actually been fractured. We were all shocked because of how Lumen had been so calm about a broken bone for the past 24 hours. 

Waiting in the ER was the hardest part, knowing our two-year-old had a broken arm and there was no relief in the moment. So we did the best we could at keeping her entertained. 

Finally, they wrapped her arm in a splint and gave her a sling, and we were discharged after five hours at the hospital. 

We took her in to the orthopedic surgeon, who gave her a glow-in-the-dark cast and ordered her to wear it for a month. She adjusted so quickly, and even the next day was jumping on the couches again and climbing around. For Halloween, she wanted to be a lion, so I scoured Target on the 31st and happened to find ONE lion costume and it happened to be in her size. Luckily, it barely fit over her cast too. She happily trick-or-treated for the first time and got tons of candy. 

She loved letting her friends sign her cast and showing it off, and Tyler drew pictures all over it.

When it was time for the cast to come off, she was really nervous about the sawing it off part, and even freaked out a little bit while taking X-rays because she associated it with her traumatic experience in the ER. She was so brave though! I can't believe what a tough little girl she is. The whole thing was a big learning experience for me as a mom, having to keep my cool in an emergency and not panicking when I see my kid in pain. It's still really hard not to hover and cringe and tell her to "be careful" like a broken record when she's playing!