Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th of July!  A little bit late... but no less happy, ha!  We had a great day at home, which was a real treat.  Somehow summer has been more scheduled than I feel like summer should be.  The good news is everyone is having a good time, even DB whose summer break now includes 3-year olds :)  Not quite the same as the surfing days of the past, but he claims this is even better and has the stories to prove it.  Of course, we're still getting to the beach so I think that helps, too.

I was waiting to post this thinking I had to have made the kiddos pose for a group shot!  Nope... but one of the best things about birthdays is cake, and I did get photos of that, kind of...

George, where's the cake?!

In my tummy!

Actually, half of it might be on your face, ha!

Then there's my girl, working very hard to enjoy AND stay clean...

... but eventually can't handle it anymore and must get every last lick of icing :)

Now that is my girl!

Samuel even got in on the cake just a bit.  About a second before this was taken, he reached up on his own and swiped a dab of icing for a quick taste.  YEA!

DB both made the cake and was quite creative with his USA decorating :)  The singing of the birthday song is one I will remember... everyone sang, but Samuel was not happy at all about the candles being blown out. Poor guy!  We sang it again, because that's half the fun, and when he knew the song was nearing the end he hid his face and cried!  We did not sing it a third time, but no one minded because that meant it was time to eat.

New Shoes

What a wonderful reminder of how far Samuel has come in the last year and a half.  Two weeks ago Samuel got his fifth pair of AFO/SMO/Inserts... fifth pair in the last 18 months!  And not because anything was wrong with them, simply because he has gotten so much better at walking!  The stronger he has gotten, the less support he has needed... each pair represents a new strength in Samuel's overall leg strength, increase in ability to handle mobility, increase in coordination, etc.  Wow.

From the left: First pair - solid and all the way up the calf... 

but I loved the lightening bolts on the back :)

Second pair - almost the same as the first, but with a hinged ankle.

Third pair - no more high leg support.

Fourth pair - free up the toes.

Fifth, and most recent pair - the least support yet, more like an advanced insert.