More gray hairs for us!

Today we met our friends Anna & Haidyn at the adorable Seatoun Christmas Parade. It was so charming, we wished our camera wasn't in the shop. It was everything you could want in a small-town, child-centered parade. Santa Clause waved and threw candy from his float, there were pirates, fairies and even a giant swan float! We had lunch at a local cafe. Andy and I had delicious egg and bacon pie, which we learned is a staple here, and the kids had hot cocoa. Later Team Doucette headed down to the beach. Unfortunately, It has been super windy, cold and rainy lately (courtesy of El Nino) and today was no exception. At the beach, Ronan picked a bouquet of pink and yellow wildflowers for Mommy. Daddy & Ronan made sculptures from sticks, plants and rocks on the sand. Liam tasted the exotic sand and was quite happy sitting in the sand.

Before explaining what happened next, I just want to say that Ronan is fine and playing right now.

Ronan spotted some cool-looking rocks he wanted to explore. While checking them out, Ronan slipped and fell, hitting his forehead. The sound and the enormous amount of blood that ensued left us with no question of where we had to go. Daddy immediately ran up the hill carrying our precious cargo. By the time we got to the car, Ronan's yellow raincoat was no longer yellow. I'm sure we were all in shock. Because we needed to apply pressure to the wound, I held Ronan in the front seat holding a clean diaper over the wound. Daddy was somehow able to remain focused and got us all to the emergency room as quickly as possible. After his initial outburst on the rocks, our little man was very quiet and calm all the way to the emergency room. Ronan is so brave and so incredibly tough, he really impressed us today.

The nurses and doctors at Wellington Hospital were so gentle, comforting and professional. They cleaned Ronan up and we learned that the cut was superficial. We were so surprised that the doctor was able to avoid using stitches by using surgical glue. He magically glued up the wound and Ronan will probably avoid scarring! Afterwards they even gave him a lemonade "ice block" (popsicle), which he loved. Ronan was relaxed the entire time and was curious about the hospital gadgets. He is such a trooper!

"Captain Tuffington" is resting comfortably after having his favorite foods: french fries and chocolate ice cream, and unwinding with a little "Oswald". Later that evening "Doctor Ronan" was busy putting "medicine glue" on Daddy's pretend boo-boo as Daddy lay on the "Emergency bed". Although Andy and I were traumatized, he came out relatively unscathed. Amazing.

Parents are never prepared to see their little one in such a bloody state. Seeing Ronan like that was the scariest experience that, as parents, we have had to face. When their health and well-being is threatened, you are reminded how precious, vulnerable and fragile our little ones are. Today we also discovered how incredibly resilient and courageous they are too. Kinda makes you feel comforted that they'll be o.k in this big, dangerous world. They may freak us out and terrify us with their stunts, but we wouldn't trade our newly-gray hairs for anything.

We are making sure to smother both boys with extra kisses and hugs.