First Haircut

It's a boy!!!

We finally took him in for his first haircut after a little guy at the park asked how old "she" was. Now, we can say for certain that he looks like Daddy...just double click for the whole show!

This morning, Day #4 of the burn on the baby bird...
the kids got to "visit" with a squirrel in the backyard

Saying hello.

A comfy place to sit.

Making friends.

Peeking high...notice the bandaged hands...then...

An exciting update!
The doctor who originally saw him at the ER called today to request that we still call the surgeon, that he'd like him seen right away. So I called and they asked us to come in this afternoon and cancel our regular pediatrician visit. We went and look at the results! Yay! Our baby bird has his hands back!!! The surgeon said he's pretty sure all the skin will regenerate on its own and that he should go without bandages! He said not to worry if he pops the blisters, in fact, to do it ourselves to relieve the pressure once he's sleeping. So here he is! Once he took the bandages off, the little bird kept saying, "Owww? Owww?" But he doesn't seem to be in pain. Now we guard him from infection, no sandboxes or public bathrooms for a while and we'll go back for a follow up in 10 days. I'm so happy and so thankful for all of your prayers and support!

Hi Mom, I have fingers!

Here is the right hand, this was the bad one, it's not so bad now!

Showing the Big Bird for her inspection :).

Little Blue Bird's Burn Day #3

Today we were back at the ER for a follow up from Friday's burn. Yesterday they said it was likely 3rd degree because of the lack of pain. A second opinion today tells us they are likely all 2nd degree burns because of the blisters. A third degree burn goes beneath the tissue and will appear more "charred" than this, which is good news, a blister means there is liquid forming beneath and skin is beginning to regenerate. The next step is to call the surgeon (a local hand surgeon the ER found for us who is very reputable for what he does, also good news) and see whether he thinks a skin graft is still necessary, at this point, it may not be needed! Then we'll go back for another follow up on Tuesday at the ER, because today's doctor said you can tell the most 4 days after the burn occurs. The little bird is still doing really well, he doesn't seem to be in pain, a little annoyed by the clubs at the ends of his arms, but otherwise very resourceful, using his teeth and chin and elbows to get things rather than his hands. Smart little guy.

this morning's blisters, he kept clapping his hands when the bandages were taken off...

then he wasn't too happy when they put them back on, but it doesn't seem to affect his sleeping.
A sidenote: During Mass today, we sang, "Do not be afraid, I am with you..." there are some verses in that which really hit home and just made me feel good knowing that God will take care of him. He has already provided us with wonderful doctors and nurses, one of whom sang camp songs to the little guy this morning (we sang "Dicky Bird" together) and a network of support we can lean on. I know this is minor in the whole scheme of life, especially in the face of other recent tragedy our family has been through, but still, I thank you all for your prayers, it's been a big deal to us to see our little boy (and brother) in pain and going through this.

Poor Little Blue Bird

The little guy is recovering now from two hands gripping onto a hot curling iron yesterday morning. I made a poor decision to try to curl my hair and left the bathroom door open while I ran to finish getting dressed...the curling iron was on the bathroom counter. Our sweet little boy grabbed the hot iron, I heard the clink of the metal on the sink and ran to the bathroom where he was screaming yet still holding on, not knowing to let go when it hurt. I peeled his fingers from the metal and the big sister bird grabbed a diaper and some clothes and we booked it to the hospital with the emergency lights on, passing cars when it was safe to do so. They took him right in and gave him a sedative, but it took 45 minutes before it worked so the little guy screamed in pain that entire time. They were able to evaluate him once he'd falled asleep and gave him some more groggy medicine for the rest of the next few days and sent us home, to come back again for re-evaluation in the morning. He has 3rd degree burns to his right hand, across the fingers and onto his thumb and on two fingers of his left hand. For now, we're waiting for the surgeon to get in to the ER this afternoon and he'll call and we'll talk about skin grafts and move from there. I feel so bad for our little boy. The fact that he isn't in pain makes the doctor suspicious of deeper tissue damage into the nerves. But we'll pray while we wait for the best case scenerio, which would be recovery at home with visits every few days, just to check for infections. Here are pictures of him, he's dealing with it remarkably well.


Just got home from the ER.

What are these things on my feet? (an oxygen sensor on his right big toe and a bracelet on his left ankle)

And what are these things on my arms? I'm like a kitten with paws!

Sleeping soundly, until he pulled off the bandages in his sleep and woke up, then we put socks over his arms after that.

Groggy all day, asleep in the sling...

And on Dad, wherever he was, he was sleeping.

This morning, they removed the bandages to check the burns, this is his right hand. While the bandage was off, he kept rubbing the blister and tried to bite it off.

The nurses bandaging him up today gave him lobster claws, but I didn't get a picture of that and he's sleeping now.

We returned this week from a brief trip to Texas. We went to visit family there and only took a few photos we wanted to share. A few hours after we arrived, my cousin was killed in a car accident. While we felt fortunate to be there to help the family and support them through these beginning stages of grieving, it was a difficult trip. We came home before the funeral services, but think of dear Scott often. May God rest is soul and provide comfort to his family. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him and his family when I called on you.
Below are photos from some of our trip. Double click on the killer whale and the album will open :).