Cast Removal

After 5 weeks of wearing the hard cast for his broken wrist, it was time to have the cast removed in mid-November. They use this really neat machine to slice through the cast, and it blows a lot of air which Connor said tickled his arm. He was so excited to finally get that cast off!

Afterwards, we checked his wrist to see if we noticed any difference but the only thing we noticed was the grime left behind on his skin. As Connor waited to get another x-ray to check if the bones were healed, he realized he could actually scratch his name in the grime. Ewwww!

Not surprisingly, the x-ray indicated that Connor's wrist bones weren't yet fully healed. He was given a strong brace with a metal insert to wear and he was told to avoid contact sports for 3 mores weeks while the bones finished healing. The funny thing is that Connor didn't mind the brace or diagnosis at all, because it would allow him to continue participation in the "Cripple Club" at school, meaning he could leave classes early with a friend (a.k.a. "slave") to help carry his belongings.

Our Houston Texans

After being in Dubai for the past 2 years, Jeff was THRILLED to finally be back in Texas and attending his beloved Texans games again. Despite some questionable decisions by our coaching staff (haha) the Texans played well and secured their spot in another post-season, only to leave us heartbroken after yet another monumental collapse in the playoffs. Oh well, here's to next season!

Kaitlynn's Fall Thankful Party

During the week before Thanksgiving, Kaitlynn's elementary school hosted a Thankful Party to celebrate the upcoming holiday. I jumped at the chance to attend the party with my favorite girl!

The party was held in the gym where they had a party DJ, dance floor, multiple stations of various games for the kids. The music was hopping and the kids all had fun hanging out away from their usual school schedule. Our favorite station was the large Jenga game that Kaitlynn and I managed to build quite high before it toppled over.

I'm so thankful for these special memories of Kaitlynn's final year of elementary school!

Halloween

Our first Halloween back in the States was a low-key one with our new neighbors in Katy. As usual, I preferred to stay inside while Jeff took Kaitlynn trick-or-treating with her friends Sumaiyah and Simone, and Connor manned our front door to hand out the candy. Most of our trick-or-treating adventures throughout the years have involved muggy weather and hot costumes, so we were pleasantly surprised to have a cool October evening so that Kaitlynn could enjoy her favorite costume to date - ZEBRA!

Random comment: we have NO idea who the T-rex and Ninja friends were in our small group of early trick-or-treaters. Jeff and Kaitlynn walked with them for a bit and to this day we're not sure where they live, ha!

Kaitlynn was so happy to participate in trick-or-treating again, and she was even more thrilled with her haul of candy!

Miscellaneous Kaitlynn Updates

I found a ton of photos of Kaitlynn on my phone and definitely had to share. With her adjustment at a new school and away from her beloved friends in Dubai, she has been going through quite the transition and has really been seeming so grown up to me lately. Something that has NOT changed however is her love of zebras. On any given day she can be found wearing or carrying something with zebra stripes. On her recent pajama day at school, she wore her zebra-striped student id lanyard and made sure to take a stuffed zebra as well.

As she settled into her new elementary school, she began frequently asking if Jeff or I could join her for lunch. At first I thought she was really needing some special attention as she was struggling to find her place with friends. Soon, however, the real reason became obvious: McDonalds!!! This child is obsessed with McDonald's fries and chicken nuggets, and it doesn't take much to convince us to bring her favorite meal for her when we visit. By the photos I found from our lunchtime visits, I'd say she has been quite convincing when she asks her Sweet Daddy to join her for lunch. Interesting fact: the McDonald's chicken nugget meal in Dubai included a 9-count box of nuggets instead of the 10-count that you find here in the US. For months, we found ourselves at the Katy drive-through asking for the 9-count chicken nugget meal and getting very strange looks!

Recently one of Kaitlynn's sweet friends, Evan, invited her to attend his church musical production of Frozen. She was so happy to see Evan again and was happily surprised to see her sweet friend Dominique as well. The musical was wonderful!

Lily had her 9th birthday party recently and Kaitlynn was so excited to participate in the painting experience at her house. She didn't know any of Lily's other friends but she had a blast with the outdoor painting.

End of an Era?

When Connor broke his wrist, one of his immediate reactions was relief. Why? Because he would no longer have to play football with his junior high team. That's how much he enjoyed playing, ha! He was now relegated to the "Cripple Club" (as he called it) with some fellow injured teammates, and they still joined their team at the games on the sidelines.

Before Connor was injured, he was actually wearing #61 and was rarely subbed out on both offense and defense. Despite all of his playing time he rarely found enjoyment in playing, but we sure enjoyed watching him from the sidelines. He still maintains that he won't play football next year when he enters high school, so these might be our last glimpses of Connor in his football gear. The end of an era?!