~The Big Hunt~

Wow! Look at all those eggs! Addi, Dax, and Tate had so much fun on their big hunt around the house! Here are all the eggs they found.

Wake up Addi! She was excited the Easter Bunny even hid eggs in her room while she was sleeping!

Dax couldn't run fast enough to get his eggs. He just couldn't figure out, "how could the Easter Bunny reach so high to hide those eggs?"

Tate didn't care how many eggs he found on the hunt. As long as he has one to play with. He even figured out how to open them (by throwing them) then he would stuff his mouth as fast as he could with jelly beans. He looked like a little chipmunk, but he loved it!

The final result.

Here is the final result from coloring Easter eggs. The kids were so into this and had so much fun! They want to do it again real soon!

Addi was very into making her eggs look pretty. She liked to leave them in the dye for a long time so they would be really dark.

Dax thought it was great fun coloring Easter Eggs! He just kept forgetting to set them down carefully so we didn't have cracked eggs. Needless to say, we had lots of cracked eggs, but that's ok, he had a great time and we just had a little bit of colored eggs on the inside too!

Our first zoo trip of the year was to Hogle Zoo. (March 27, 2009) It was a cool day, but very beautiful. The kids had a great time!

Is every animal a dog?

Here is Tater with Grandma Lindy. He was pointing at every animal saying, "doggie, doggie" and "oooohhh". He was so excited! He still says doggie to every animal he sees.

The Elephants

Here we are at Hogle Zoo. The kids were impressed with the elephants. Dax was especially interested in how they pick up food with their trunk and put it in their mouth.

Opening the cubbards... a new adventure!

We now have elastics around most of our cubbard knobs. Tate loves to get in them and pull everything out!! Sometimes I let him just to entertain him. He was even pulling out casserole dishes and breaking them, oops! It was sure fun! Just look at the mischief in that face!

Addi is such a good big sister. Whenever Tate is crying she will pick him up or take him what he needs. One thing Tate likes to do is sit with Addi in the big chair while she watches TV. He especially likes it because Addi gives him the remote to play with. Dax tries his hardest to be like Addi and always help with Tate. Sometimes he tries a little too hard. Thanks for your help guys!

Dax's new gun

Here is Dax in his orange undies (ready for hunting!) with his new double barrel gun. (Not real.) His last gun was used so much it broke. He had a cavity and had to get a shot in his mouth. So after being a big brave boy, Daddy took him to Cal-Ranch to get a new one! Boy was he excited!

A New Toy for Tate...

Tate has now discovered the dishwasher. He loves to pull things out of it. Anytime it is open, he either has to be away from it or I have to quickly do what I need to and get it shut!

Happy 1st Birthday, Tate!

Can you believe it?? Tate is already 1 year old! What a blessing Tate has been in our family. He is such a fun baby! Eveyone loves to hold him, feed him, play with him and just love him! He wasn't so sure about opening all of these presents... good thing he had lots and lots of help from Addi and Dax! We love you Tater!

Eating his own birthday cake! He mostly just thought it was funny. He like to pat it and play with it. He ate a little bite here and a little bite there. This is about as messy as he got! Hopefully this is a sign of his personality to come!

Blowing out the candles... not sure what to do. Play with the fire? No more burns! Mommy just blew it out fast!

Tate's first birthday cake.

Tate's Hands

It has been a while since I wrote about Tate's hands. We went to the doctor again on Wednesday. He seemed much more positive this time! We are finally able to unwrap his right hand!!!! The skin is looking good. It doesn't look like we will have to do skin grafts! What a blessing! However, the skin in the palm of his right hand is scarring pretty bad. So his thumb is retracting toward his fingers. He can't pull it all the way down. So we have to massage it and pull on his thumb to work the skin. He does NOT like that. If this doesn't work, then he will have to have surgery to have his thumb released, so his hand can work the right way. The doctor said it could be up to three months before we know if we have to do this. He is starting to use his right hand a little more each day. He even crawls once in a while instead of scooting. It's so good to see him be able to use both hands!

Right hand- Day 9

Here is Tate's right hand. It still has a ways to go. The palm and two fingers are still white. However, there is a little pink coming through in the crease of his palm. Good sign!!! The therapist said another week and we should know which way we are headed with this hand. (Either healing or skin grafts if it's not healing.) So for now, we have to keep it bandaged and keep doing what we have been.

Left Hand- Day 9

Day 9- (February 4th) Today therapy went pretty good. Some good news on the left hand... it has healed quite well. We were able to keep the bandage off!!! Now, we just have a sock like cover with the fingers sticking out. It still looks kinda yucky, but the skin will just keep peeling off. He even put it in the tub and didn't cry!!! Big improvement!!! Let's just hope the right hand will catch up soon!

Tate update...

Yesterday, (Monday) Tate had an appointment with Dr. Maloff. He said that his left hand is looking good. It is healing nicely. He is very concerned about his right hand, however. His palm is very white and back to those two fingertips, they are pretty white, also. I kept asking what that meant, or what will come of it. All Dr. Maloff would say to me is, "we'll just give it some time and see what happens." We had therapy after that. The therapist said that it probably means skin grafts. But, like the doctor said, we'll just have to wait and see. As for now, we now only have to do therapy every other day!!!!!! Today was the first day that we haven't had to go. It was great! However, we still have to change his bandages on those days. It's not too bad. Tate just screams... he just hates having his hands touched. I can't say that I blame him. He is starting to act a lot more like himself. So, we just continue to pray that he will heal ok.

R. Hand- Day 5

Here is Tate's right hand today. It is definitely the worst one. He screams when they are working on this one. It is still a little white in the palm (meaning the tissue is damaged deeper). Tomorrow he goes back to see Dr. Maloff. Hopefully we contine to receive good news. Then, he has therapy again at 1:00. Wish us luck! Hopefully we can get more sleep tonight!!!

L. Hand- Day 5

Here is Tate's left hand today. We think it actually is starting to look like it is healing!!! It still looks nasty, but we are making some progress.

Day 5- Feb. 1, 2009

We had therapy again this morning at 8:00. Not so fun to get up and get in town by then. Especially after long nights of not much sleep. Anyway, this is a picture of the therapist trimming dead skin off of Tate's hand. He did really well with his left hand, but cried a lot more with his right hand.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Today, Tate has a fever. He has just wanted to be held most of the day. I called Dr. Maloff and he wanted me to have him checked out by his primary doctor to make sure he didn't have ear infection or anything. Dr. Holmstead checked him out and couldn't find anything. So, Dr. Maloff met us at therapy this afternoon to check him out. He did give some reassuring news. He couldn't see any sign of infection. So they think he just may have a little bug or might be getting more teeth. Dr. Maloff thought Tate's hands looked quite well. He said the right hand is definitely worse, but even his fingers that they have been worried about (on his r. hand) looked lots better today. He thinks his hands are going to heal quite well. Much better than he expected. He goes in tomorrow morning at 8 for more therapy, also on Sunday. Monday we see Dr. Maloff again. He said Tate will probably continue with therapy through next week, then we will see how he is doing. His fever was a bit better tonight and he was smiling a bit more. We are feeling very blessed with the news we received today. He still has a long road ahead, but we feel we are very lucky. Thanks to everyone for all your help and prayers!

Left Hand- after day 2

Here is Tate's left hand. This is after it has been trimmed. Today they trimmed blisters off of each finger. They say this hand is looking good so far. The red underneath is a good sign. He goes in for more therapy tomorrow afternoon. Hang in there, Buddy!

Right hand-after day 2

This is Tate's right hand just after they took the bandages off today. They trimmed some more skin away, soaked it, and rebandaged. They are very concerned about his 4th finger on this hand. It is really white underneath the blister which isn't good. They are afraid it is 3rd degree- to the bone. But it is still too early to know for sure.

Right Hand

Tate's Right Hand

This hand is the worst.... Today they cut these big blisters off, so the tissue underneath can heal.

Tater with his mittens...

Another view of Tate's left hand.

Tate's left hand...

Last night (Jan. 27th) we were at my mom and dad's house and Tate's leaned his hands onto their fireplace and burned them both really bad. We took him to the ER and they put some cream on and bandaged them up. We now have to take him in daily for the next several days to whirlpool and physical therapy. This morning they popped the blisters and cut them off. It was very sad to watch him go through this. I just wish I could take the pain for him. They did this so that no infection will get into the wounds. Then we soaked his hands in the whirlpool and they bandaged him again. He looks like he has two big mittens on. I'll try to get more pictures on later. I am also trying to get the picture of his right hand on, but I am having troubles getting it off my phone. Stay tuned for more. Please include him in your prayers.

Shane's new look after a morning of having a fun snowmobile ride!

Shane's snowmobile accident...

Shane was in a snomobile accident a couple of weeks ago. He got his eye cut up pretty bad, but it is healing nice now. We are just very grateful he wasn't hurt any worse.

Watch out! Tate is started crawling Dec. 27th. He is now into everything! He thinks he is as big as the other kids now!

Making cookies, great fun! We had a nice mess of dough, flour, frosting, and sprinkles by the time they were done! But, the cookies tasted great! Good job, guys!

Making Cookies

Aunt Heidi made sugar cookie dough and brought out for Addi and Dax to cut out and decorate. They had a blast! Thanks Aunt Heidi!