I can pedal!

Had a nice weekend of chilly temps and rain.  Fall has arrived as fast as summer came and disappeared again.  Time just moves too fast.  Both the Packers and the Badgers are undefeated and the Brewers look destined to win their first division crown since 1982.  I was 6!  The leaves are starting to turn their autumn colors and it's getting dark all too soon.  The house has turned to talk of going to the apple orchard, pumpkin patch and deciding what to be for Halloween.  Justin Bieber?  Too much?  Quinny does have the sweet hair.

While enjoying the temps outside Carrie and I were hanging out in the front yard after work discussing how Quinny never learned how to ride his bike we gave him for his 2nd birthday.  His bike is stationed horizontal like a big wheel instead of a more traditional tricycle that sits high.  I thought maybe this was why he was having trouble mastering the pedal action.  The trikes they make these days sit that way so kids don't have as far to fall if they bite the dust.  As we were literally talking about it, our big boy busts out his bike and decides he's going to ride it down the hill.  Sounds good to me.  I know, but he doesn't think I do, that he's going to test the waters and see how close he can get to the street before he gets in trouble.  You can see it in his face.  I wonder where he gets that defiant attitude? And then, bam!, out of nowhere the kid turns the corner and is pedaling like he's riding a chromed out hog through the neighborhood.  Our jaws drop.  We are literally sitting there discussing it and he walks into the garage, almost to prove he heard us, and just starts riding that puppy.  So, one more thing for Quinny to cross of his bucket list - learn how to pedal - check.

While Quinny was learning how to pedal in secret, son number two is starting his own little, but less fun, adventure.  Gavin was practically born with an ear infection. He's been on antibiotics maybe six or seven times so we made the visit to the ENT today.  He was a hit.  I know I've been to an ENT before but not for a while.  In case you haven't been lately the average age in this place was approximately 107.  You can imagine the effect the cute lil' G had on the patients as well as the nurses.  When the nurse comes out it's GAVIN! IS THERE A GAVIN HERE!?  Yup, we're not deaf and we're over here.  I bet the jokes in that place never get old.  "Did ya hear the one about the...no, I guess you didn't. Ha!  Now, I can't hear in my left ear, had plenty of my own ear infections and from about 20 on have been consistently dizzy due to an inner ear issue they can't quite fix for me so I'm actually pretty concerned for our little turkey.

He starts off with a hearing test, which he can't hear very well due to the fluid in his ear.  The doc described it as listening while under water or Charlie Brown's teacher.  Click here for Miss Offmore's voice demo.  In the short term this will cause him to speak a bit later.  Carrie did some research and said it would even out by the time he was 3-4 but we're not ones to start from behind the pack.  They recommended we put some tubes in so I think we are going to do that in the next couple of weeks.  It's a fairly big deal because he gets a general anesthetic and goes completely under for roughly five minutes.  They puncture the ear drum and throw a little tube in there until his Eustachian tube grows a little bigger allowing fluid to drain easier.  It should do away with ear infections altogether because the ear can drain excess fluid automatically through the tube.  In the rare case he does get an ear infection you can treat it with a direct ear drop antibiotic that, according to Dr. Ear, is 400 times more potent/effective than taking an oral medication.  He will get through any ear infection in 3 days and no more doctor visits - hurray!  We'll let you know if we go through with it.

We asked what it would be like for Gavin and he said it will hurt like hell and he'll wake up screaming so at least we know we can trust the doctor.  I can't recall too many doctors telling me to sit down and grip the table because this is going to hurt like hell.  So I feel good about the doctor.  Iowa - you really can't beat how nice people are.  Even the bedside manner is top notch.  He said after 20 minutes of screaming while coming out of the drug induced haze he'll realize mom and dad are there and relax a bit and calm down.  He'll be fine once the pressure equalizes and he realizes he can hear for the first time since birth.  Wait until he realizes how loud he's been screaming this whole time.  I wonder if we have a shot at peace and quiet?  You're totally right, we shouldn't be getting so greedy.  And yes we're still getting up every day around 4:45 am.