Tubes at last

Well, we met with the ENT specialist.  He's a really friendly guy who calls himself "Dr. Bob".  As soon as he heard our story of 4 ear infections in 6 weeks with every possible form of antibiotics (including injections), he asked "What are you doing next week Wednesday?"  As in, he was ready to put tubes in Little Man's ears as soon as possible.  It turned out he was booked on Wednesday.  But he had a meeting cancelled on Monday, so we were up at 5am last Monday to get him to Children's Hospital for tubes.  Many of our friends have spoken highly about their experiences there and we've now joined the ranks of their raving fans.  Everyone was friendly and helpful.  They did a great job of explaining what to expect.  And the procedure was over before we knew it.  He was only away from us for a half-hour.  He was hungry when he woke up, but they were afraid to let him eat too much for fear that it would react with the anesthesia.  Eventually we were able to give him apple juice, graham crackers, and a couple ounces of formula to calm his frantic hungry cries.  We had him home by 10am, at which point he took another bottle and went fast to sleep FOR 3.5 HOURS!!  When he woke up, he was his normal, happy self.  We just have to give him ear drops twice a day for two weeks and go back for a follow-up appointment to make sure everything looks good.  Overall, no big deal...as all my friends told me it would be!

I couldn't bear to leave him with a babysitter all day Saturday, so we took him to the Badger Football game vs. Minnesota this week.  He was much happier there without an ear infection and just had to fight extreme exhaustion.  In a complete turn of events, he slept in until 8am on Saturday.  Normally, we would have LOVED this.  Except it was an 11am kick-off and I wanted to be on the road by 8.  Ooops!  He fell asleep in the car just as we got into Madison, so he was running on pretty much no nap all day.  He snuggled with me for most the first half and finally fell asleep during the fourth quarter.  After the game, we stopped by to visit my friends Kelly and Pete and their 3-day-old daughter, Riley.  She is cute as can be and SO TINY!  She's over 7 lb...I've just gotten so used to Giovanni's size that I forget how small they come.

The weather was so nice on Sunday, we had to seize the opportunity to take him to the pumpkin patch.  While waiting in line to buy our tickets, we ran into best friend Logan and his Mommy and Daddy.  It was funny getting to share the experience with them!

And now, on to the cuteness...

Aw, Mama...do you
HAVE to go to work?

Playing in the grass
at the pumpkin patch

Riding on the haywagon
with my new friend Harper.

I can haz punkin?

Fest with the Best!

The Vulcans got me with
their grease marker!

This past weekend was La Crosse Oktoberfest.  For several years now, we've gone with the same group and it's always a blast.  We finally persuaded Nana and Papa to join us for the festivities this year.  We got to the parade route around 7am to start tailgating.  Yes, you read that right.  We tailgate for a parade.  Jenny Rae et al had already been there for at least two hours, ensuring that we got our usual prime spot...middle of the bridge just north of the Fest Grounds.  The parade reached us around 11am and ran until 2pm.  It was a great time, as usual.  Turns out that adorable toddlers are a magnet for the candy throwers...Giovanni got quite a haul!

Unfortunately, his grumpy side started coming out Saturday evening and Sunday.  I stayed home with him Monday and took him to the doctor to confirm that his ear infection is back with a vengeance.  Another round of Augmentin (higher dose this time) and a referral to an ENT specialist in 10-12 days.  Poor little guy.

I also got a taste of JUST HOW HARD it is to be a stay-at-home Mom.  Grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and still resolving issues remotely for my team.  I was sooo ready to go back to work on Tuesday!


Thanks for the awesome drum set, Mom! 

Of course, we had some very sweet moments this week.  Like when someone sneezed last weekend and Giovanni did a perfect imitation, complete with dropping his head toward his chest.  "Ah-choo!"  So cute.  Of course, he stopped doing it when I had my video camera ready.  :o)  Also, we like to let him explore as much of his world as is safe.  As such, we don't have locks on the kitchen cabinets other than the one with cleaning supplies.  One morning, he pulled all the metal bowls out and arranged them around him like a drum set and started beating.

You're pretty good at this
feeding thing, Aunt Amanda!

Crowns are for eating, right?