The Arnold Weekly

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The Arnold Weekly

Issue Date 9/24/11

BREAKING NEWS:  Last Sunday evening , Luke had quite a fall.  He only fell onto the tile from running, so it wasn't a far fall, but he hit his face just right where he was bleeding a lot.  It was scary for me because of all of the blood coming out of his mouth.  He wouldn't let me look in his mouth easily to check his teeth, which is what I was worried about.  His lip was cut and bleeding as well as his gums around his two top teeth, but they weren't loose as much as I could tell with the split second I was able to get my fingers in his mouth.  His upper lip quickly turned into a fat lip making him look like quite the bruiser!  He was fine the rest of the day evening, and I fed him peanut butter with Nutella for dinner since it is soft in case his teeth were hurting.  They didn't seem to bother him though, until I brushed his teeth that night.  He's usually really good about letting me brush his teeth but it was obvious they were hurting him because he would scream when the toothbrush touched them.  The next morning, Mimi told me that he had blood on his sheets when he woke up, so I made an appointment with the dentist for that morning.  After checking his teeth, the dentist said that he tore his frenulum, which is the skin connecting his upper lip to his gums.  Surprisingly, he said that this is a good thing.  Evidentaly, his was too low which is not uncommon, but often kids have to get this surgically cut when they get older if it doesn't tear away on it's own.  It's similar to the tongue tie he had as a baby where the skin connecting his tongue was too close to the end, but this was the skin connecting his lip, and it was connecting on his gum all the way through his two front teeth, which was causing them to be separated.  Therefore, the dentist said that this could actually help those two top front teeth to grow closer together closing the gap without needing the surgery.  He said that because this tore is why there was so much blood, which explains the gory scene the night before.  So, all in all, this was good news, and Luke surgically removed his extra frenulum himself!

Luke's fat lip healed up rather quickly (a couple days), and I forgot to get a picture in that timeframe, so I don't have a picture of his fat lip, but it was pretty cute!

This week in ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday, September 21st- My mom took Hudson on a little date to see The Lion King.  Hudson thought this was pretty special, and he loves going to the movies so it was a nice treat.  My mom said that he really liked the movie, especially Simba!  Luke and Opa had one on one time and played while the other two were at the movies.

Thursday, September 22nd- Matthew had dinner with his buddies on Thursday night, so my friend, Jessica, came over.  Since it was such a nice evening (and we want lots of steps for our work challenge), we took the boys to Bear Creek Park for a walk.  I pulled the boys in their wagon, while we walked.  After the park, we went to Chilis for dinner.  I laughed at the end of our meal because Jessica looked beat!  Taking those two out to dinner is exhausting, especially for someone who is single (now engaged) and not used to the chaos.  She loves kids though, and she is Hudson's favorite babysitter!  After dinner, we came back to my house and took another stroll around the block (more steps!).  We had Misha this time, and Luke wanted to walk her, so we slowly walked around the block to keep in pace with Luke.  Now that the weather's been nice, we've been taking Misha for more walks because she needs it!  She's gotten a little belly with all the food Luke throws down on the ground for her.  She did this when Hudson was in that stage too and slimmed back down after he grew out of it.

Friday, September 23rd- Friday morning was incredibly beautiful outside!  Jill and I met at Parr Park to let the kids play and enjoy the weather.  It was a perfect morning!  We decided to continue this while the weather lasts, so I'm sure we'll be back out there next week.

Saturday, September 24th- After Hudson's soccer game, we ate lunch with Mimi, Papa, Andy and Megan at one of Matthew favorite local restaurants.  It is next door to his old office, and he knows the owner who is still a client of his.  I have to say that the food was outstanding, so we'll be back soon!

This evening we went on another walk.  Luke walked Misha and Hudson pulled the wagon.  We were walking around the block with the wagon, but nobody was inside! Towards the end of our walk, both boys decided to get in, so we were able to pick up our pace a bit.

This week in SPORTS

Tuesday, September 20th- Hudson did outstanding at soccer practice this week.  It was obvious he was trying harder to get the ball and did excellent when he was playing against his opponent to kick the ball in the goal.

Saturaday, September 24th- Hudson was HILARIOUS on the field today!  Everyone on our team as well as the opponent team knew who Hudson was.  For some reason, each time a play ended, Hudson felt that he needed to fall dramatically on the ground like he just played a big football play or something.  It was so funny that he even had the parents on the opposite team laughing as well as the referee!  I think he enjoyed someone giving him a hand to pull him up and then wiping his hands on his shorts.  Papa even made the comment toward the end of the game, "Well, Hudson will sure look like he played hard with all the dirt on his knees!".  After three quarters of doing this, I asked Hudson to not fall down after every play, and he did just that.  Although it was hilarious, he stopped doing his act for the last quarter.

Today was my day to bring snacks, and I couldn't help it... I had to add a little personal touch!  I had some stickers left over from Luke's party, so I picked up some purple take out boxes and decorated them for each player, personalized with their jersey number.  This was fun for the kids, and they enjoyed getting their snack with they number on it at the end of the game.  Here are Hudson and Kelsey's:

Each box was filled with a pouch of Cheez-Its, a strawberry Nutri-Grain bar and a soccer napkin.  I gave the kids a Capri Sun Roarin' Water for their drink.  At halftime, I served grapes.  It seemed to be a hit!

This week in EDUCATION

Hudson is doing very well in school!  I love to see all of the crafts he comes home with each day and what Bible verse he is learning every week.  He seems to be developing friendships as he is talking more about his friends after class.

This week in TODDLER MELTDOWNS

Our little Luke is quite the strong-willed little fella!  We are working on teaching him how to handle situations when he doesn't get his way.  We've had a couple, "battle of wills" episodes this week, but he is making some progress.  He is doing better with his screaming and using his words instead.  All in all, he's making progress.

Hudson is learning not to tease or evoke his brother, but other than that, he has been quite pleasant this week!