Carly Turns 11

As I have stated before this time of year is birthday season at our house. Carly has had a pretty good year. Aside from the chip fracture from last summer it seems everything has gone to the good. A little bit older, a little bit taller, a little bit smarter, but definitely sweeter. Oh, and she's also just becoming more beautiful all the time. (All the young boys out there who might be reading this should take note. Her daddy has a selection of high powered lead launchers ready for the next decade of dummies!) She was a sweet girl before but something clicked during the last year and now she much more endearing and also seems to help out around the house a bit more. Carly and Charles both have been learning Latin. She seems to absorb the language quickly and blurts out answers during the daily oral exam. Not to take from Charles, just that I am amazed at how well she has done with Latin. I mentioned her being a little taller. It appears that this year will be the year that no stinking measuring tape is going to come betwixt her and the biggest roller coasters on earth. We didn't get to do any of that in '09 but we are going to try like heck to get it done this year! I look forward to it.

She had so much fun at her little brother's birthday/skate party that she decided to do the same. So Saturday afternoon we are going to put the stunt boots back on and tempt fate one more time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLY!! HAPPY 11th!!

Love,
-Dad

On Broken Wings

My little girl learned how to fly a week ago. At the tender age of ten years old Carly took flight right off the side of this hill. Our chip and tar driveway leads down to a concrete drive coming up the hill. Well, I am told that Carly, her brothers and her friends from Minor Hill were riding in circles on that concrete drive where it opens up on top of the hill. She says that at some point she lost the ability to steer. This sent her careening off the hill with enough speed to take flight. All it took was a nice sized boulder off the side of the driveway to provide the lift needed to make her nightmares come true. Upon liftoff she was flung over the front of the bike and into a small tree. She says she landed on her left arm with it extended and hand down. That very position, with enough force, can cause a chip fracture of the ulna right at the elbow.

They all said she laughed for a few seconds and then began to cry for a short time. She did some complaining but did not appear to be in agony so we kept checking her elbow out for a day. I told her to let me know if the pain doesn't subside or if she feels that she needs to go to the hospital. The next evening she timidly said she was ready to go to the doc. I thought it was probably sprained or maybe a torn muscle. After the x-rays it was obvious that there was a piece of bone that had mostly separated from the elbow joint. She is a tough girl. Of course she has to be growing up with what will be six brothers by September.

She is taking it well. I remember breaking my arm when I was 12. This may be some right of passage in my family. I hope not. It was a compound fracture breaking both radius and ulna and then they broke through the skin. It was nasty and I passed out at first! I did not take it well. My oldest son Michael broke his arm when he was 11 very much the same way I did. A compound fracture breaking both bones in his left forearm. I guess what makes me so jealous of Carly is that SHE gets the "goretex" cast that allows her to GO SWIMMING! Those did not exist 25 years ago. That just ain't right.

I plan on getting a pic or two of her when she isn't expecting it. It may be the only way I will get away with a picture of her in a cast. I love that girl.

Carly's Birthday

As of yesterday, 01/21/09, my only little girl turned 10 years old. Unbelievable how time flies. I just wanted to share a little story about her which I have shared numerous times in the past.

I have 5 boys and only one girl, Carly, who just turned 10. I do think the next loaf in the oven is a girl though, too. This girl is very petite and is a natural, almost ethereal beauty. She cannot hide her feelings and moreover she is sure that you know what is on her mind and heart. She and her brothers are very talented and athletic. They are involved in numerous arts and sports. This girl is torn between doing her best and taking time to help others. Sometimes she does both in one swing. She is anything but simple but she is absolutely true.

When Carly was about 2 years old she was potty trained during the day but was not ready for a whole night without a diaper. At bed time, reading stories to a girl that loves to hear them is no way to get her to sleep, maybe yourself but not her. She would figure out ways to get one of us to stay with her. If the door was open she would simply get out of bed and come in our room or get into things in the kitchen. So we started closing her door. Not to be out done, she would take off her diaper and shove it under the door to make one of us go in there and stay with her. One night we fixed it so she could not easily remove her diaper. She cried and cried. I thought she would cry herself to sleep but it went on for a long while. Feeling bad about it I went in there and laid down on her twin sized bed. This made her quite happy and she crawled around the bed a few minutes like she was running laps. The room was lit by a small night light. Suddenly it occurred to me that little girls love secrets. So I told her I had a little secret I wanted to tell her. She stopped, crawled real lightly over and put her right ear to my mouth. I whispered "I love you". She gave a little sigh, then laid down right in front of me and pulled my left arm over her chest holding it with both of hers. A few seconds passed and the silence was broken when she flung her right hand up in the air and said, "that's no secret!". I love that girl.

In the future I'll share more funny things this girl has done.