Welcome to the World of Boys

Within 1 week's time, Garrett experienced his first goose-egg to the forehead/black eye and stitches! I already briefly blogged about him missing the front porch steps at Grandpa's house and his big black eye that formed later that day. Thankfully that is looking much better these days. On Saturday we went for our bike ride to our neighborhood park. A steep sidewalk leads into the park and Garrett and Avery typically fly down this on their Strider bikes. That day, Avery decided to hang with me and Garrett raced ahead. I could see his front tire start to wobble followed by a big crash. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but it didn't protect his forehead very well. He came running toward me with blood running down his face, a big gash in his forehead, and a bloody nose. We wiped up the blood the best that we could and I tried to calm him down. Anyone that knows Garrett well, knows that he is our spirited child and his reactions are usually elevated above most children's. It was a long slow walk toward home. Thankfully our friend, Audrey, who lives nearby, gave us a ride. I wasn't sure if we would need stitches or not, but luckily our pediatrician's office is open on weekends, and they said to come right in. When the doctor saw him, he asked if he had lost consciousness (referring to his black eye) and I had to explain that his black eye was from the previous weekend. The doctor laughed about that and said, "Welcome to the world of boys." Sure enough, my buddy needed stitches. He didn't want anyone to touch his face, so they had to "papoose" him with velcro to a backboard. It still took 2 of us to hold him still while the doctor gave him 5 stitches! My poor boy! Avery was a good sport too. Thinking that he wouldn't really need stitches, I had taken her along with me. She sat in the corner and rocked Garrett's stuffed cookie monster back and forth. Let's just say that it was traumatic for everyone involved! But the good news is that his stitches are healing nicely and he gets them removed on Thursday. We'll probably be a little more cautious around our house for awhile.