mercer dislocated his elbow last night.

we were in toys "r" us last night, having a blast with mercer as he searched around for something we could use a gift certificate on. he found the big power wheels/cars that you can drive around in and of course, he didn't want to get out. even after 20 minutes. so, we had to pull him away because it was getting close to dinner time. well, we were trying to distract him with other toys, but he kept trying to make a run for it. during one of these runs, mom grabbed mercer's left arm and heard a "pop!"

mercer was then crying about both his arm and the fact that we wouldn't let him back in the toy cars. he was holding his wrist up, barely moving his arm, and couldn't grasp anything tightly. uh-oh. after making our purchase (an awesome tool box set), we rushed down to the fantastic children's hospital near us and waited in the emergency room. eventually, the doctor took a look at mercer, who at this point was pretty lethargic from the pain I suppose he was feeling up and down his arm. the doctor felt for broken bones, but after not finding anything, he suspected a nursemaid's elbow, which is basically a partially dislocated elbow found in toddlers under the age of 5. toddler tendons are not as strong as adult tendons, so it's easier to dislocate something. the doctor grabbed mercer's arm, twisted, and "snap!" it went right back into place. after 15 seconds of crying, mercer was back to normal, holding his crayons and new toy hammer tightly.

all is well now, but both mom and pop had visions of mercer wearing a tiny cast for 8 weeks or worse, undergoing surgery. ah, the joys of parenthood.