Moving toward "normal"

You know... if such a thing exists.
At his appointment last Wednesday (sorry for the delay!) the left ear was officially declared "normal", though one frequency was 5 decibels off. But that one tiny little bit of loss that is left isn't enough to consider it a "loss" anymore. Normal! And they fully expect it to pull on up all the way, anyway.
Righty was better, but still not great. The range this time was 30-75 decibels, and the doctor does not expect to see much if any improvement when we return. In three weeks! Or, well, 2 more weeks now.
My favorite part - he is now weaned off of the prednisone! The side effects were getting worse and worse. Not just the sleep, but he was also eating like a teenager, his face was puffy, and his legs were hurting. It was time to come off of it for a while, probably for good. His last dose was Monday morning. So far, the side effects are still around.
My other favorite news - the nerve damage is nearly gone!! I've been able to see obvious changes every day. He hasn't been able to whistle, and today, I heard him whistle. He can almost pucker his lips all the way, and when he smiles, you can see the corner of the left side turning upward, and his cheek pushing out.

So, he's unmedicated; while there is hearing loss, he functions normally in spite of it; and he looks normal. In a few more weeks, he'll be able to ride his bike and swim without ear plugs and do any other normal activities that he wants to do!

Mikayla continues to be the drama queen. She got better for a few days, and then the birthday mail and presents started coming in, and it was all over. No matter how much attention you give her, it doesn't help. More attention doesn't cure the craving, and less attention makes her angry too. She's just a mad little girl. Of course, for big chunks of time, she's a perfectly happy little girl, too. It's just scattered amongst the "everybody hates me, think I'll go eat worms" moments, which tend to stick out.

Xander, well, I give up trying to keep track of his vocabulary. His favorite new word, though, is "come" because with it, he can make you go where he wants. He's got a cold right now, which I'm hoping will go away soon, because it's screwing with his sleep habits. He's waking up at night, waking up before 7 am, refusing to nap even though he so badly needs it... Go away snotty nose!

For the past 24 hours, I've had a vague headache, which I know is the result of not enough quality sleep. I'm beginning to think that my mattress is the wrong firm/softness. I don't know what I need, but I know I don't like waking up sore every morning. Waking up both sore and with a headache is even worse.

Michael starts his final required school tomorrow. (he wants to add in Ranger or Sapper school at the end of it all, but we'll see) He's in Missouri, all settled in at the Army lodging where he'll be until November, where he has maid service and continental breakfast, and cable, and internet. He's glad for school to start, because from the sounds of it, Fort Leonard Wood is only about 5 times more boring that the tales we've heard.

Also, we're in week 3 of school now, and it's going great, but I'll write more about that later. The headache is coming back for now, and it's bedtime.

Oh, see, now Mikayla is being nice. She just came up to tell me, "Mom, this is so sweet, listen. I had to go pee, and Xander went in with me, and he went pee too! And then, [pauses and gets big eyes] he poured it into the big potty! He went pee with me!" She was so excited. About pee. Dude, that kid will never be "normal." She's cute, and often sweet, and funny... but she's a strange bird for sure.