Whiskers. . .

And, I'm not talking about the ones that grow naturally from the chin of a man. . .

I am talking about the ones on the chin of my two year old son.

It was a day like any other day, except for the fact that it was the anniversary of the day my mother gave birth to her youngest daughter, and that would be me.

Remember those lovely benches that I bought for our kitchen table? Love them. But, when your children tend to act like monkeys, they are an accident waiting to happen.

Monkey child + backless bench + concrete floors = a trip to Daddy's office and 3 stitches

JCT and Joshua were playing at the kitchen table, and I was completely engrossed in a conversation with my mom who was in town for a visit when it happened. We heard a boom, looked up, and saw JCT laying face down on the floor. I picked him up, and he cried a bit. I looked in his mouth, no blood. I held him for a few minutes trying to calm him down. Then, I noticed that there was blood on his sweater. So, I looked under his chin and found an open wound.

Long story short. . . We were at Erik's office a few minutes later. Halfway to his office, I realized that I had forgotten to grab the camera. So, with JCT bleeding in the backseat, I turned the car around and went back home to get my beloved camera. Finally, we got to Erik's office. He took one look at JCT's chin and said he needed stitches. Kim, Erik's nurse, gave me gauze pads soaked in Lidocaine to hold under his chin until Erik finished seeing his morning patients.

And, so you ask. . . Was the doctor's son a good patient?

That would be a. . .

N.O.

Bless his little heart he was scared and mad, and he kicked and screamed and cried. How in the world Erik stitched him up is beyond me. The child refused to hold still even with a crew of people trying to hold him down and talk to him. Erik was amazing to watch, his hand was steady, he appeared perfectly calm. Other than the fact that sweat was dripping, pouring actually, off his forehead, I would have thought the whole thing a walk in the park for him. He just stuck that fatty tissue back inside JCT's chin and sewed my sweet baby up!

Needless to say, JCT was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. He completely wore himself out fighting off Erik, Kim, Sean (Erik's partner), Julie (works at the front desk), Lisa (works in the lab), and me. But, I must say, he looked pretty cute in the rearview mirror -asleep with his little bandaged chin.

And, after JCT woke up from his nap, Joshua admired his bandage saying it looked like a pirate's beard. Aren't big brothers wonderful!

I'm not sure what was more upsetting to me - the fact that my two year old had to be held down by 6 people and given stitches or the fact that I don't have a single picture of the incident.

Why, you ask, do I not have a single picture since I turned the car around to get my camera? Because, I tell you, a digital camera is a wonderful thing, but it will not work without a CF card - you know, present inside the camera. I took wonderful pictures of Erik leaning over JCT's gaping wound, and of JCT sleeping soundly in his carseat after the exhausting endeavor. But, they are recorded only in my memory. And, yes, my camera does alert the user to the fact that the CF card is missing. "No CF" blinks on the screen if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, I was a bit preoccupied, therefore I didn't notice until it was like 5 hours too late.

This picture was taken later that night after I realized that I had neglected to notice the missing CF card. Just call him "Captain Bandage Beard."

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, that is pizza sauce on the corner of his mouth, not blood. Mr. Cute pouty lips!

This is the T-shirt that he wore while getting stitches. I still haven't washed it.

I'm sure this is the first of many trips we will take to Daddy's office, and I don't mean to visit Daddy. I mean trips to Daddy's office for stitches, x-rays, etc. I've got a hunch that most of these trips will involve JCT. . .