splash pad!

We got to come to Florence this weekend to visit Matt's parents, sister, and her kiddos. Last week was the big family beach week, so Kim and the kids are down from New York. They came to Granny and Grandaddy's for this next week, so Matt and I wanted to make sure we came for the weekend and Jonah got to play with his cousins (since we can't go to the beach anymore). Matt took off work today and we'll be heading back this evening around dinner time.

Yesterday, we took Jonah to a Splash Pad for the first time. HE HAD SO MUCH FUN! It was really nerve-wracking because if he had fallen, it would have been REALLY bad (he wasn't wearing bandages, only Tubifast garments). We just stayed right with him the whole time. Not the most relaxing thing, but fun, nonetheless. Worth it, for sure.

SWIMMING!

Jonah got to go swimming today. With hardly any bandages. I'll write a more detailed post later, but for now, here are the photos. He was scared at first, but then LOVED it the entire time. We did bandages right after, and his skin looked great! No damage, whatsoever.

I'm so thankful.

we're going swimming!

WE'RE GOING TO TAKE JONAH SWIMMING! Yes, that warrants all caps. On Sunday. Without his bandages. I'm freaking out.

It may not work. He may blister. He may hate it. It may be a complete disaster. But I feel like we owe it to him to try it. What if he loves it? What if it's his favorite thing ever? Every little kid should get to spend some time at the pool, right? If there's a way?

This was the only time (week) he's ever been swimming. And we'd take him for 20-30 minutes, get his sopping, have-to-ring-him-out little body out of the pool and go straight in to do bandage change. It worked because we were at the beach, and there was a pool in the backyard. But not that he's older and we don't have an accessible-from-the-house pool, we have to come up with a new plan. I can't imagine how miserable he would be, so heavy in his soaking wet bandages, or how I would get him home in the car seat.

So my plan is to take his bandages off, and put him in Tubifast garments. There essentially the same material as his top layer of bandages but made into a long sleeve shirt and tights.

Photo Credit

And on top of those, the amazing folks at UV Skinz sent us a long sleeve UV shirt, some UV shorts, and a UV hat to try. 

                 

I don't know that this will work, but our philosophy has always been to let him try. So we'll try. And troubleshoot from there. I'm so thankful to God that He's given us the chance to take a chance. I'll keep you posted. :)

on a jetplane (on our way to NY)

Alright, I'm obviously going to have to break these vacation pictures up, because I have a ton and not enough time to write a post long enough to include them all. 

Jonah was amazing the entire time, but I could not believe how wonderfully he did at the airport and on the plane. He was so excited, and loved watching the planes and tanker trucks out the window. 

I was really cold in the airport. I obviously have no clue how to dress for an airport, airplane or a week in 55 degree high New York. Anyway, I was cold so Matt's mom pointed out $5 long sleeve shirts for sale at the little news shop.

Matt was mad because I bought a shirt that had the phrase "Tar Heel" on it. I told him he was giving UNC too much credit if he let them "own" that phrase. We are the Tar Heel state, whether he likes the sound of it or not. And it was cold. And it cost five bucks.

I was so worried that Jonah would be so anxious getting on the plane and/or while it was taking off that he would throw up. So I told the lady at the desk that we needed to get on first and she let us. He did cry and I was worried, but we made it to the back of the plane and got settled before anyone else got on. HE WAS AMAZING. He cried some, but it was intermittent, and he did great during take-off. I asked him if he wanted to pray for God's help, so as we were taxiing down the runway and lifting off, he was repeating my prayer that God would be with us. It was such a sweet moment.  He LOVED the flight and being up in the sky.

We played with toys and he was content the entire time.

We were sitting on the very back row of the plane, so we were last off, and Jonah got to look in the cockpit. The pilot offered to let him steer, but Jonah wouldn't go up there.

It was a REALLY great experience, and if it weren't for Matt's sister having to buy $200 worth of stuff ahead of time for us, us having to ship a huge box of stuff from here ahead of time, getting our bandages shipped directly to NY, and still checking a huge suitcase for Jonah, a smaller suitcase for Jonah, a cooler with his g-tube feeds, and his massage table for dressing change, I would fly any time we traveled. It was definitely a production, but so easy once we got to Kim's house.

To be continued...

tweetsie railroad

We took Jonah to Tweetsie today and had a blast. He rode the big train, a little mouse train that went through a long tunnel, the carousel, and the bus up the mountain. I know that doesn't sound like much but he gets so nervous and freaks out about anything like that. He won't even ride the little dragon/train etc rides at the grocery store. I was so proud of him. He ate his lunch by mouth like a champ and only puked a little when we tube fed him on the ride home. :) He LOVED it all, and we loved spending the time with him and having a "normal family" day. We got lots of looks, a few nicely stated questions, a few remarks made when people thought we couldn't hear them (and were even POINTING at him), and one stare down (to which I responded with a death look cause I'm mature like that), but overall we were able to just ignore and live. On the flip side, we got recognized by a blog reader who squealed "JONAH!" and gave me a huge hug! (I love it when y'all say "hi") It was a wonderful day with beautiful weather. I'm so thankful.

Terrified (but not crying) after the loud guns followed by the loud train whistle.

My heart breaks for Tuscaloosa and other places that were hit so hard by tornadoes. Have y'all seen this site? It shows satellite images of Tuscaloosa before and after the tornadoes. Really devastating and puts a whole heck of a lot of stuff in perspective. One of our best friends, Trent, lives in Tuscaloosa and Matt's Aunt and Uncle live in Birmingham. They and their homes are okay. But many many of their friends and coworkers have lost their homes and everything they own. We really don't have much to complain about.

Hope you all have a great worship-filled, restful Sunday.