Noah's Birthday Party

Can anyone guess what this is?

If you guessed Noah's little hand covered in chocolate cake from his birthday party, you're right!  We threw Noah a little backyard baby pool party to celebrate his first birthday.  And it was a blast.  We kept it pretty simple with just a few close friends and neighbors.  But all the kids had a great time splashing around.  Especially the birthday boy!

He was a little less thrilled about having to wait through all 4 lines of "Happy Birthday to you" before he could get to his cupcake.

But in the end it was all worth it!

Look at the way he shoves that cake into his mouth.  Is it possible that he takes after a father whose callsign is "Worm"?!?  (As in "tapeworm" for the way that Ryan can eat and eat and yet still be hungry!)

Looks like someone's ready for another cupcake!

Maya was a little more dainty with her cupcake, tasting a finger-ful of frosting at a time.

We all had a really nice day, but it's hard to believe that it's been a year since Noah was born!  Time sure flies!  Noah told me to tell everyone thank you for all the nice gifts he received.  So thank you!

Yuck stomach bug : P

Hey Everyone!

So sorry it's been forever since my last post, I know you've all missed me so much!

I just returned from Park Creek Camp (pretty much the best camp in California.) and from visiting my Grandparents.  But I came back with this stupid stomach bug.  Aw well at least I'm better now, but while I was sick I discovered the wonderful world of Jamba Juice!  I am pretty much in love with that stuff!!! My favorite smoothie so far is the Banana Berry!

 At the moment Nana and Papa John are visiting from Thailand.  And tomorrow is their last day :( :( :(

Well I'm gonna miss them a lot.

But my Aunt Steph and cousins are coming soon so that will be pretty fun!  And then I am off to Oregon!!!  Well I will have to do dishes (yay...) I will pop on when I get a chance!!!

BYE my adoring fans!!!

- Jaida's 'da bomb

 

Preparing for the "Face-Off"

Pam and I have certainly hit the ground running since we've come back from our trip to Niagara Falls.  We were only home a couple of days before Jaida was off to California for a week.  She'll be home tomorrow and I know she had a great time but I'll let her tell you all about it later.  

Maya and Noah seemed so much bigger after only a week of being away from them.  Maya's vocabulary is getting so much better and Noah is quite the little man.  He loves to grab hold of Maya's chair and pull the whole thing closer to his seat.  The impressive part is that Maya is still sitting in the chair when he does it!  We also have to watch out when he's playing in our ball pit upstairs because he is strong enough to pull himself up and over onto the highest bars.  He loves to do that and then look over at one of us with his feet dangling so we can enjoy it, too.  He's such a funny little guy.  And Maya is such a happy little kid and so full of energy.  She can throw a crazy tantrum that is really a wonder to behold but she is also a very good big sister.  And Jaida is learning more everyday about the meaning of patience and understanding just by being around the two of them.  

Pam has been crazy busy with all of the above.  She recently coordinated a night out for the Marine Spouses and it was a big hit!  Pam was pretty nervous leading up to it but she made sure everything came together and I know there are going to be more of these as a result.  It's a great outlet for the families here.  

I have been getting back into the full-time therapy schedule again while coordinating other various treatments and scheduling upcoming surgeries at the same time.  The one on our plate right now is a big one.  Pam and I have always referred to it as the "face-off" surgery because that's essentially what it is.  A few months ago I had tissue expanders (essentially breast implants) inserted into my shoulders.  Since then I've been going in at least once a week to get them pumped up with saline.  What this does is stretch all of the unburned skin on my shoulders and produce an excess of good skin.  This excess can then be used to replace burn scar.  The doctor performing the procedure is a rockstar brought to BAMC specifically for the severe burn injuries here and surgeries required for them.  I've been fortunate enough to see first hand the results of his work and I am blown away (If it's okay for a burned guy to even use that term!).  The doctors are very pleased with how my "shoulder boobs" have been coming along and yesterday we scheduled both surgeries.  On August 11th they will remove most of the burn scar on my cheeks and flap the excess good skin from my shoulders to replace it.  The flap will remain connected to my shoulder for three weeks to provide blood supply to the flap until the vessels take hold.  On September 2nd the flap will be disconnected from my shoulder and the remaining tissue will be used to resurface my eyelids, nose, upper lip and chin.  It will be a major surgery but I have a really good feeling about it.  When we met for the scheduling and discussed the surgeries the doctor was almost giddy talking about how good he felt about the surgery.  He said that based on how my shoulders looked, how the expanders were coming along and his experience with other patients that he thought it was going to be a home run.  And if you knew this doctor as well as Pam and I have come to know him you would realize that he is hardly prone to false enthusiasm.  I think that's what I like best about him.  It will be a chaotic couple of months up ahead but hopefully all goes well.  I will be sure to post pictures ("shoulder boobs" included!) soon.  Thank you for your prayers and continuing support and God Bless. 

People are good

This is Ryan standing in front of The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, home of the Original Buffalo Wings.  Yum!

I'm finally getting around to blogging after returning from our anniversary getaway.  Ryan and I took a week off together and went to Niagara Falls to relax and reconnect.  We left the kids at home with Ryan's sister, Rhonda, and spent 7 full days having "grown up time".  It was great! We stayed in an amazing bed & breakfast, Kilpatrick Manor, and achieved the perfect balance of doing fun things and doing nothing at all.  We went for a ride on the Maid of the Mist.  We had dinner in the Revolving Restaurant at the top of the Skylon Tower.  We went for a tour in the Niagara wine country.  We saw the Broadway musical "Wicked" in Buffalo.  We ate lots of delicious food and saw fireworks on 4 different nights.  But we also managed to read several books, take several naps, get a great massage, and watch the entire first season of the show "Army Wives".  We came home very refreshed!

Here Ryan and I are standing in the vineyard at Pilliteri Estates Winery.  It was beautiful!

I think the best part of our trip was all the nice people we met.  I kept teasing Ryan that he was "Mr. Most Inspirational" because everyone wanted to meet him, shake his hand, and hear his story.  It was our first time really being away from the military and people who have seen an injured Marine before.  I had no idea how deeply affected everyone would be when they saw Ryan.  Sometimes it was just people in the airport who wanted to thank him for his service or give him a hug.  One person even went to the ticket counter and requested that we be upgraded to first class for our trip home.  (That request was granted and we had a very nice flight.  Thank you Mr. Ken Morris!)  But we really got a chance to get to know the other guests at the bed and breakfast. Most people only stay in a B&B for a couple of days, so after a week our hosts, Kevin & Nance, started to feel like family.  And every two days it seemed like Ryan was telling his story around the breakfast table.  People were always touched and amazed.  But the most amazing part for me was seeing how talking to Ryan made others comfortable enough to talk about the tragedies that they had endured.  So many people have had unbelievably difficult trials in their lives, but you would never know it by looking at them.  Talking to Ryan gives them the freedom to share their pain with another soul who knows what pain is.  And by sharing our burdens, they become a little easier to bear.  Ryan wears his scars on the outside, which unconsciously gives others permission to show the scars they wear on the inside.

This trip was exactly what we needed when we needed it.  It was hard being away from the kiddos for so long, but we knew they were in great hands.  (Thanks, Rhonda!  And thanks to Aaron, Kaitlyn, and Kassidy, for giving her up to us for so long!)  Jaida is off at camp all week in California.  And then we're expecting visits from grandparents, aunts, and cousins.  Noah turns 1 at the end of this month.  So there should be lots of blogging to come!  I'll try to keep up!

We survived a boat ride to the base of Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist.  It was awesome!