Benscoter Family: July 2013

It is hard to believe that another month in Altus, OK has come and gone. We are just a few short weeks from our final destination....McGuire AFB, NJ! It has been a long road leading up to this exciting point and I am having to remind myself to stop planning for the future and enjoy the present.

We began the month of July with a short vacation with the Dixon's to Dallas, Texas. On July 3rd we went to Addison Kaboom Town for an air show and fireworks. It was so much fun! We spent the first couple of hours watching Sophia play in the bouncy castles which was followed by an amazing firework show. All of the kids enjoyed the show and even had great temperaments given how late we kept them up. We spent the 4th of July exploring Dallas. We checked out the site of JFK's assassination then we got sub sandwiches from a food van parked next to a beautiful park complete with a kid's splash pad! It was a warm afternoon but Sophia really had fun cooling off in the water. After lunch we headed back to the hotel for nap time. Afterwards we went to Babe's Chicken for dinner at the high recommendation of our friends, the Imondi's. The food was FANTASTIC! We had some of the most amazing fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, corn...you name it, we had it! Once we finished dinner, the weather had cooled down considerably so we walked around the quaint town around the restaurant which was a nice way to end the day. On July 5th we spent the day at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. It is a relatively new museum so all of the exhibits had state of the art technology. The highlight of my day was meeting a couple who had a son with HLHS! The father saw me feeding Tyler through his pump and he told me his son had a G-tube as well. We got to talking and what do you know? Their son has the same heart defect! I spent a very long time speaking with the mom, Emilie, and asking about their son since he is just about to have his Fontan operation (the third, and hopefully final, surgery). We ended the day with a fantastic dinner at Kuby's, a German restaurant. I had some wonderful schnitzel and Tyler and I enjoyed the pommes frites (french fries)! July 6th was a VERY warm day but we braved the heat and spent the day at the Dallas zoo. We had a great time seeing the animals as well as riding the tram, train, and carousel. We had another great dinner at a Chinese restaurant before heading back to the hotel for a dip in the pool before bed time. Before we left Dallas on July 7th we spent a few hours in the Grapevine Mills Mall which is by far the most awesome outlet mall I have ever been to! I'm glad we didn't have much time there because I could have done some serious damage shopping at all of those stores! After getting lunch at In and Out we drove back to Altus which was a quiet, uneventful trip.

On July 9th we celebrated Tyler's first birthday. What a joyous occasion! He has been such a trooper in his first year of life...I only hope his warrior spirit continues throughout his lifetime. We began the day with donuts for breakfast followed by the first present opening session in which we Skyped with Grandma. Then we went for a walk and visited the neighborhood park. For lunch Joe made everyone grilled cheese sandwiches which was followed by nap time. Afterwards, we had a big party with the Dixons, Phil and Jamie Glorioso, and Joe Swart all of whom are Air Force friends of ours. Everyone enjoyed lasagna for dinner and cupcakes for dessert. We ended the evening with another session of gift opening. Sophia and Will were big present-opening helpers! Sophia even pushed Tyler in the wagon he got from Nana and Papa! The kids had such a blast together :)

We decided to take a quick trip back to Clovis, NM so that I could see some of our friends one last time before moving to New Jersey. We arrived in Clovis on July 12th just in time for dinner at Fat Boys, my favorite BBQ restaurant in town. We had a wonderful meal with both the Henrikson and Imondi families! Laura was gracious enough to host us for the weekend so after dinner we got settled in the Imondi home and went to bed. On July 13th we wen to Coffee Bistro for a lunch date with Paula, the sonographer that detected Tyler's heart condition. I have kept in contact with her and have given her periodic updates on Tyler's health. When I told her we would be in town for a short visit she jumped at the chance to see us and, most importantly, meet Tyler. Paula loved holding Tyler and I was able to fully explain everything he has gone through this year. I was also able to express my gratitude for the amazing job she did finding and reporting his heart condition to the doctors so that we could be appropriately referred to a pediatric cardiologist for the duration of my pregnancy. So many babies are born with undetected heart defects and Tyler has had such a better chance at life because of her expertise and professionalism. That evening we had a huge party at the Henrikson's house. Stacy invited so many of our friends to their home just so I could see some of my favorite people one more time. It was one of the best nights I have had in years! It was so great catching up with everyone and I had such a huge sense of closure after really getting to say good-bye to so many of my friends that were special to me during our time there. Our Clovis weekend concluded on July 13th with mass on base and lunch at Cotton Patch Cafe with the Imondi's, Henrikson's, and Winblad's. What an amazing way to end such a fun weekend!

On July 25th we celebrated Brittney's and her Mom Beth's birthday! Patrick ordered a delicious strawberry Hawaiian-themed cake which we enjoyed after dinner while wearing fun party hats :) To further the birthday celebration, Beth watched all the kids on July 27th so that Patrick, Brittney, Joe, and I could go on a double date. That night we went to a Mexican restaurant and then went to see the movie Wolverine (romantic, right?). Anyway-- it was a fabulous evening out! Brittney's actual birthday was July 28th and we celebrated by going out to dinner at Backdoor Steakhouse. It would have been a much more enjoyable meal if Tyler wasn't so cranky. Joe and I took turns entertaining Tyler outside since he was being so fussy and disruptive. He is usually a very calm, easy-going baby but it seemed as though he was teething....more on that in next month's post!

For a training update on Joe: he finished all of his training in the C17 simulator on July 26th. I even got to go in a sim on July 19th which was really fun! His instructor was really nice and even let me fly through Anchorage, Alaska! I told the instructor that flying a C17 is WAY easier than taking care of two small children all day! Joe had his first actual flight in a C17 on July 30th. He had a great time! His second flight was a night flight on August 1st. Now we wait for his third and final flight (his check ride) which is scheduled for August 8th. Once this flight is complete we can hit the road to McGuire AFB, NJ!

Sophia continues to be a typical toddler....complete with funny lines followed by massive tantrums. Our days are more fun than frustrating so I try to focus on the positive! She has started playing peek-a-boo with Tyler which he thoroughly enjoys! She will just run all around him then scream "Peek-a-boo!" to which he will just bust up in laughter...it's just too cute! Then she'll say, "Mommy, Tyler likes me!" She also likes to say, "Mommy, what you say about?" when she doesn't hear me or understand what I am telling her. She has been doing well with potty training and has very few accidents during the day although she wears a pull-up during nap and bed time. She made it clear to me that she has been listening to my lessons about how big girls keep their panties dry one day while we were at the base pool. She was standing on the edge of the pool when I lifted myself out from the side of the pool. As I stood up and water dripped from by bathing suit bottoms Sophia exclaimed, "Oh no, Mommy! You went pee pee in your big girl panties!" I tried to tell her that it was just the pool water dripping off of me but she gave me a VERY skeptical look. Silly girl! I will share one more funny interaction we had this month as I went to tuck her into bed:

Me: OK Sophia, let me help you put on your socks before I tuck you into bed
Sophia: No! I do it! (she struggles for a minute)
Me: (Reaching out to help) Here, let me help you
Sophia: (Recoiling) No! I do it! You understand me?
Me: Yes, I do
Sophia: You wanna go time-out?

What?!? SHE tried to put ME in time out!! I had to try so hard not to crack up! She was reversing roles on me since I typically ask her if she understands me when I am trying to get her to behave. She is just too precious!

Tyler continues to grow and has been staying very healthy. We will be seeing all of his specialists in Boston on August 15th which will be the first doctor's visit for him in over 4 months! Tyler and I have both enjoyed the break! He continues to babble and has even said "Uh-Oh!" on a handful of occasions. One of his favorite activities is to put smaller objects into larger cups, buckets, etc. He also enjoys playing catch and knocking down towers of blocks. He has not yet begun to crawl but he is getting much better at transitioning from sitting to going on all fours and back. We have also started practicing walking and at first he required my assistance to move his feet forward. Now he is able to initiate steps on his own while I hold onto his hands and shift his weight from side to side. He will get there!

I have started contacting hospitals and rehab facilities in New Jersey so that I can start back to work in the next month or so. I've been fortunate enough to get a few interviews so I am hoping and praying for the best! We will be going through a lot of transition in the month of August so I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Enjoy the picture and video overload!

Feeding the ducks

Sophia passed out right before we got to Dallas

Sophia LOVED the bouncy castle

Going up the bouncy house with Daddy

Ready to go down the big blow-up slide

Waiting for fireworks

Hanging out with the Dixon's!

Visiting the JFK assassination site

We found a great splash park in the middle of Dallas....Sophia had a blast!

Nap time in the hotel

Waiting to be seated at Babe's Chicken on the 4th of July

This is the best shot I got of all three kids...

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Tyler loves french fries just like his Mommy!

On the tram at the Dallas Zoo!

Petting Zoo!

She was being very courageous!

Time for a cold treat on such a hot summer day!

Train ride!

Tyler wasn't too impressed with the trains

Will LOVED the train!

Sweet friends

Carousel ride!

Tyler had such a blast on his first carousel ride!!

Clapping!!

Yehaw!

Sophia loves "holding" Tyler :)

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, TYLER!!!

Donuts for Tyler's birthday breakfast

Morning present opening session

This Auburn book is tasty!

He loved playing with the bags and tissue paper

Skyping with Grandma!

Thanks for the new clothes, Grandma!

Cupcake for the birthday boy!

Yummy frosting!

What a sweet mess!

Evening present opening session.

Sophia was entertaining everyone with her somersaults :)

Tyler loves his new wagon from Nana and Papa

Tissue paper!

Sophia gave Tyler a fun birthday wagon ride.

Looking cozy in his new socks from the Dixon's

Enjoying a yummy BBQ meal at Fat Boys in Clovis, NM

Tyler meeting Paula, the sonographer who detected his heart defect when I was only 20 weeks pregnant with him. It was so great introducing her to our miracle!