Alcatraz

On Presidents' Day, we decided to go on a quick trip to San Francisco to go see Alcatraz. My mom and Bridget came along for the trip. We had such a good time. We had an interesting drive down. Chase and Bridget found quite a bit to fight about it. Yes, they fight already :)

We got to SF around 11:30. We started with lunch at Bubba Gumps. It was very yummy. After lunch, we headed down 6 piers to the ferry to get over to Alcatraz. The trip over was quite nauseating for my mom and I. Oh well! Once we got to Alcatraz, we were made aware of why the prison guards wore 100% wool uniforms. It was so cold! We made our way through the prison. We only stayed about 2 hours. It is kind of tough to keep 2 little ones interested in an old prison. We were ready to head back and thaw out as well :)

Overall, we had a wonderful day. It was fun to see something historical and beautiful. I would like to go back sans little kids or wait until our kids would appreciate the history a little more. We didn't get to see and read everything, so another trip might be warranted. :)

Bubba Gumps for Lunch

Pier 39

On the Ferry

On the Island

Staff Housing

Watch Tower

Brrrr!

Visitors' Area

Daddy and Chase

Mommy and Chase

Bye-Bye!

Swimming

Last week Abe had a great idea to take Chase over to our community hot tub. It was the best idea. It was freezing outside and windy, but we decided that once we got over there it would be nice and warm. We had so much fun. Chase is such a little fish. He loved every minute of it. He was blowing bubbles and kicking his feet. He was letting us help him float on his back. He has no fear. He just walks up to the edge and jumps in. It is almost crazy. I think we might have a swimmer on our hands. I am looking forward to teaching him how to swim. This Summer is going to be so fun! Can't wait. We went again tonight, but I didn't take any pics. I will try to get some more pics of him actually swimming and maybe some video :)

Getting Ready! Hurry up, please...

He just wanted to leave already! No time for pictures :)

Naughty Boy

Here is Chase being so naughty! We have been battling him for months about the TP. He loves to play with it. I finally just got the camera out and laughed about it. His shirt says Big TROUBLE comes in small packages". I got it wrong the first time. That was another t-shirt that said my middle name is trouble. Oops!

Happy birthday to you...

We would like to wish our good friends Ethan and Stef Arnold a very happy birthday. Ethan turned 3 today. He is such a big boy. Chase has learned a lot from Ethan like climbing all over the furniture! I will refrain from posting Stef's age. :)

We hope you guys have a fabulous day!

Pretty Cute

Two days ago I was laying Chase down for a nap. As I gave him some milk, the cup dripped some water in his eye. He said "eye" and rubbed his eye. It was so cute. I was pretty impressed that he knows where his eyes are.

He loves to give hugs. He will reach up and hug our necks when we are changing his diaper. Last Sunday with were at lunch with my mom and dad. My dad was holding him and hugged and hugged and hugged my dad. He wouldn't stop. He give really big and strong hugs. My dad loved every minute of it.

He is also very interested in brushing his teeth at the moment. If he sees or hears us brushing our teeth he comes running into the bathroom to get his toothbrush. The other day we told asked him if he wanted to brush his teeth. He proceeded to lead us to the bathroom to get his toothbrush. Hopefully, that will help with cavity prevention in the future :)

Those are some cute developmental things going on with Chase at the moment. It is so fun to see him grow and develop. We are blessed!

Good News!

Yesterday, we went to Shriners again. We got some pretty good news. No skin grafts!!! The nurse took a look at his foot and leg and then gave me a high-five. She said it looked great. That was encouraging.

The Dr. came in and looked at it. She said that he will have a scar on the top of his foot about the size of a quarter. Everthing thing else will go away over time. She said that to make sure that the scarred area heals correctly and the scar doesn't "pile up" he will need to wear a pressure sock for 6-12 months. The sock goes to right above his ankle. He will need to wear that for 23 out of 24 hours in a day.

We are still bandaging his foot twice a day, but next week that will drop down to once a day. They burns on his leg are now uncovered, and we just massage them 3-4 times per day with lotion to help encourage the healing process. It is much easier to bandage than before. I did it by myself this morning.

Overall, I am encouraged with the report. I was hoping for no scarring, but I am very grateful that it is only a small area compared to the size of the burn. We go back in 2 weeks, and they will give of the pressure socks and check on his progress. I am so grateful for all of the help and care Shriners has given us. The Lord was very good to us, and He answered our prayers.

One last bit of good news, we heard last night from my brother that he passed all of the testing and backgroud checks with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. He has been hired, and he will start the Academy the first week of February. We are so excited for him. Between both of our families we will have 4 family members that are deputies. That is pretty awesome!

Update on the burn victim...

Well, we started the twice a day bandage changes on Thursday morning. My grandma drove in to help me out. Let me just comment about my grandma.

She has such a skill with children and all things medical. She has some nurses' training. That has been such a blessing. She has nursed her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild back to health so many times. She is such a servant. I guess I am a "child" rising up and calling her "blessed." Just like Proverbs states. She is priceless.

Anyway, back to our update. The first bandage change went well. We put him into the bath with the whole bandage on. The water helps to soak off the bandage. He didn't even flinch. He loved the bath. The worst part was having to pull part of the bandage off of the foot wound. It had stuck to the wound. Chase didn't appreciate it much. We got the new bandage on pretty easily. He is such a trooper.

We have done it three other times since. It is getting easier and easier. His leg is also starting to look much better. The foot is still sore and needs some more healing time. It looks much better though as well.

God is answering our prayers. We are so grateful!