A lot has happened since my last post. So, I left off with Mother's Day and Heidi's first friend birthday party. What has happened since then?
- At the end of June we went with my parents to Holiday World for Mr's work's family day. The boys had a great time on the water slides and some of the rides, but they didn't ride enough roller coasters to suit me. I really like roller coasters. I think we all enjoyed watching the shows at the park. Heidi took several naps in her stroller. It was a nice weekend.
- July 1st was Heidi's first birthday! We celebrated at home with hamburgers, cupcakes and presents. My parents came over and it was a nice small celebration.
- July 3rd my wonderful Mr. decided to try to light a fire in our back yard when he got home from work. As I was getting into the shower that morning I heard a loud bang. When I looked out the window he was laying on the ground rolling around and taking his work clothes off. It was a very strange and confusing sight. By the time I got outside to see what was going on I figured out that the loud bang I heard was the gas can he was holding exploding. He was rolling around on the ground to try to put the fire out. The blue flamed fire caused by the remote control car gas that he was using was difficult to see and therefore took too long to put out. When he first got inside I didn't realize the burns were so bad. After he covered himself in mustard to try to draw the heat out, we discovered how badly he was really burned. So, we cleaned him up and I took him to the ER. Long story short, he spent the next six weeks under the care of the Vanderbilt Burn Clinic. He was never admitted to the hospital, but he was seen at the clinic once a week over those six weeks. His burns were mostly second degree and didn't require any skin grafts. After taking care of him for six weeks, I can say I can honestly probably do almost anything. Burns are a tough thing to take care of. The risk of infection is high, so I was super careful to make sure everything was clean for him. I immediately cleaned our bathroom so that everything he touched would be clean. Lysol was my constant friend. I changed our sheets daily for the first several weeks since he was spending most of his time in the bed. His bandages had to be removed daily and the burns cleaned and re-bandaged. The first time I had to change them, the whole process took three hours. It took less time as more of the burns started to heal. The whole time though, I was so thankful that I was the one able to take care of him and that he was not in the hospital having to be cared for by nurses and doctors. The whole situation could have gone so differently and ended up so much worse. I am so thankful that he is still here with only minor evidence of what he has been through. Although, I don't think it is an experience that either of us will forget for the rest of our lives.
- July 5th we (I say we... Mr. barely remembers it due to the medication he was on) celebrated Heidi's first birthday with our family and friends. It was a nice gathering but sort of a blur to me. Having to get everything together for her party and take care of Mr. at the same time was a lot to do. I couldn't have done it though without the help of my parents. The party was at their house and my mother prepared most of the food. I am thankful for the pictures I took so I can look back on it and remember. Heidi wasn't really into her cake. She definitely didn't destroy it like her brothers did. She seemed to enjoy the cupcake that we gave her on her birthday more than the cake that she had at her party. She got a lot of cool presents and her first pair of diamond earrings. Heidi might be just a little spoiled.
- July 21st Heidi started a new daycare closer to our home. She has been there for a month now, and she is doing great. It has been an adjustment for her moving up to a toddler room. She was ready though. She no longer takes a bottle, she eats anything you feed her and she naps well. She would still like to take two or three naps a day though if you let her. She likes to sleep.
- August 1st the boys started a new school year. Isaac is in the 6th grade and Alex is in the 3rd. They have both done really well these first few weeks. Isaac is playing in the band at his new school again this year. He is trying the trumpet this time though instead of the saxophone. He was really excited to find out that he can take band and PE because at his last school he couldn't take PE if he was in the band. Alex has a girl friend at school which has been his motivation most mornings to go to school. We have told him that it is ok to have friends that are girls, but he needs to remember that learning is the most important reason he goes to school.
We have signed the boys up to play soccer this fall, but I haven't heard from their coaches yet, so I'm not sure when that will start. We are really enjoying our new home and are adjusting to being out in the country. We have ventured out a few times to learn more about our new town. I think it's going to be a really nice place to raise our children. I have found some peace in knowing this could be where we'll be for at least the next 17 years until our baby girl goes off to college.
