Been a Busy Month!

Well, the Collis household has been staying pretty busy. I will give you the playback over the last month and I'll put Easter in a blog of its own. It was GREAT! :)

OK. I'll start with Liam, since that is the reason most of you read this anyways.
Last time I wrote, I told you we were being referred to an ENT. We had that visit and with it came a hearing test. Liam had a little hearing loss (nothing significant yet, thank goodness) and still had fluid in his ears. You are supposed to be able to hear/react somewhere between 5-20 decibels and Liam was at 25. Some of you know this, but if you dont work in the medical field, you may not...so I'll be very basic with details. Hearing can impair your speech and learning abilities, so even though his hearing loss wasnt "significant," any loss at a very young age is not good. It only gets worse as you get older, so he was already starting off at a disadvantage. Luckily for me, Liam has been right on with all of his development and other than having to 'yell' at him on occasion to get his attention, the loss hadnt made any impact that we could tell so far.
Soo....what does all this mean? Well, you have to meet 1 of 3 qualifications to get tubes placed and Liam met all 3. :(
1) 3 ear infections in 6 months or  4 ear infections in a year - Liam had 7 in 7 months
2) Fluid that has remained in/on the ear for longer than 3 months - They suspect Liam's has been there the whole 7 months
3) Hearing Loss - it was minor, but enough to cause concern

I have never been too excited about the thought of him getting tubes. I know its a very simple and common procedure, but I know too many people who still have trouble with their ears bc of tube surgery or something related. BUT when the doctor (Dr. Hawkins, who I recommend to everyone now) told me that if he got another ear infection with the tubes, they would treat it with antibiotic ear DROPS instead of oral medications, I was sold! Its not good for kids, or adults for that matter, to be on so many antibiotics. It can create immunities and cause your body to not respond as quickly when you really need them later. He also said that there would be NO water precautions. Liam can swim and play in in the water all he wants this summer!! So we told them we wanted to have the surgery.
That appt was on Tuesday, surgery was on Friday and it was truly a blessing that the doctor said all I needed to hear in his office that day to guide me toward the right decision. While he was placing the tubes, he suctioned out Liams ears so he would start out fresh and get his hearing back. While he was suctioning, the fluid was so thick, it clogged his suction tube. That is what happens to the fluid when it stays in the ear too long. Basically, the antibiotics were killing the bacteria, but the fluid never drained, so as soon as Liam was off the meds, the bacteria came right back bc the fluid was still there. He would have continued to get ear infections over and over again for possibly another 6 to 12 months. I was sad to hear that all the pressure and fluid was in his ears, but soooo thankful we made the right decision. I had just gotten over a sinus infection and an ear ache/stopped up ear that week and cried when I realized that is probably what Liam felt like the whole time.

with Mommy and Daddy before surgery

Feeling sluggish from "goofy Juice" and watching cartoons

Now he is healed and doing great! We go back for his check up next week (on his birthday). I have to say, I wasnt sure before about his hearing..or if I could tell a difference in how much he could hear, but now, I can. He truly listens/responds quicker and it takes far less request/commands. This has lifted a HUGE weight off of our shoulders. Just knowing that we dont have to worry about antibiotics and dr visits every other week! whew!

Liam has had several birthday parties to attend to lately and this month we had 2 in 1 weekend. Miss Hannah turned 11 and we went to her indoor pool party. It was a good time and Liam splashed around in the water (with me holding him) a little.

Krista and Liam at the party

New swim trunks :)

 Miss Anisten turned 2 and we played at the park for her party! Liam loved swinging and going down the slides.

notice the excitement on his face...this is slide 5,782! haha

It was fun to go to both parties because they are like our family up here. I dont have any of my side of the family up here and J's cousins live here but unfortunately we always are all sooo busy and dont see enough of each other. So Krista and Kristen are 2 of my closest friends and we are each others "Village!" :)
'It takes a village' Is what they keep telling me when I need so much help with Liam and I feel terrible for it. The have been life savers to us and we all have adopted each others families. We LOVE all 8 of you!! I hope I can help them one day as much as they have helped me!

Elise and Jeremiah came up for a visit for his birthday. We took them to eat at the Melting Pot, then played around at the Casino for an hour or 2, then sat on the patio at a local bar and enjoyed the amazing weather! Im excited for them to move to London, but we are going to miss them sooooooooo much.
AND I have to brag. Jeremiah ran his 1st Marathon and it was in London. He did AMAZING!!! We are so proud of you! :) Jeremiah - do something special for the wifey cause she put up with a lot of alone time while you trained!! hehe

birthday boy!

Now, here are a few cute pictures I have taken over the last month. Enjoy!

If this doesnt make you smile, I dont know what could!

Serious case of bed head!! soooo funny!

I couldnt stop laughing or taking pictures hahahaha

(sing) I wear my sunglasses at night...