Trigger Thumb/3rd Birthday Party/funny pics

I took a big bite of humble pie today. As it turns, out Kate has had a trigger thumb for quite some time. The incident in the stroller was not what caused it or made it worse. The doctor said many times an injury is what causes a parent to examine the thumb to realize the child has trigger thumb. Our doctor performs this surgery between 4-8 times a month on children. Trigger finger usually happens when you are older and have had excessive use or overuse of a finger. She said it is not the same thing. Trigger thumb usually happens in children, and she said you are not born with it, but it happens over time. Some kids will have it lock in and out of place and it does not bother them. It could be this was happening with Kate without us realizing it. It can bother some children, but it has not and does not seem to bother Kate now. However, it is now locked in the down position. She said the injury did not cause it based on the X-rays. How do you think this makes me feel as a stay at home Mom? How could I not see that her thumb was bent and not straight? However, who examines a child's thumb when they are not complaining about it and especially when it is not on their writing hand? I am always working with Kate on writing, but she is right handed, and her trigger thumb is on her left hand. I may have seen it bent but did not realize it wouldn't go straight. We are going to hold off on surgery till the end of summer; therefore, it does not our impact our swimming. When she does have the surgery, she will be in a cast for two weeks. So FYI examine your child's thumbs so you won't feel so horrible!
On a different note, we had a joint birthday party with Aubrey last Saturday, and it was a lot of fun! We had it at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. We had family and a couple of friends there to celebrate, too.

(Side note) We missed Zack's family, though. Please be in prayer over Zack's family and specifically his mom. Debbie had a pretty invasive back surgery a last week. Also last week, her mom, Zack's Grandma, passed away. Nannie had been sick for awhile so we knew it was time, but we are still saddened by her loss. We will have her funeral in a week. This will allow Debbie to recover a little bit more from her back surgery, too.

We had the party in the morning to beat the heat and it was really nice. This same day we took off the rails on Kate's crib to make it a toddler bed. We bought some cute bedding from Target to make it more exciting for Kate. It has gone very well! She has gotten out of her bed twice, but that is it. She never got out of her crib, though. This is why we waited for so long!

Here are some pictures from the party, Carly and Kate's room:

I was finally able to capture Carly doing this move. She loves to do this! She seriously does this about five times a day. We look over and there she is upside down looking at us or something.

Where is Carly?

Pictures from the party...here is Mom and Dad(Nana and Papa)

The Hughes'

Matt, Zack and Michael

Sheri and Lori

Kate and Hannah

Breanne and Will

Keari and Ian

Carly playing with a balloon. She loves balloons!

Ellee loved playing with the sidewalk chalk.

I love this picture of the girls, which Erika took.

Kate blowing out the candle on her donut. (We did donuts instead of cake since it was a morning party.)

Pinata time! Hit it Kate!

Kate's room before

And After