Sweet Impromptu

The girls had a dentist appointment yesterday afternoon.  The game plan was for Hubby to take them, and I’d join everyone for the dentist’s walkthrough at the end of the appointment.  I left work 30 minutes early, thinking my timing would be perfect.  I guess they were running ahead of schedule, though, as I got the call that they were all done when I was a couple of blocks away from the dentist's office.

(Everyone got a good report…hooray!)

It was about 4:15, which is far before suppertime in my book.  But…we were SO CLOSE to downtown.  We decided to head that way and take advantage of a happy hour appetizer special somewhere.

Before making our restaurant choice, we stopped by the jewelry store to pick up the beads the girls ordered for their bracelets (the ones they get for each tooth they lose).  Then we landed next door at a new little restaurant, one we checked out for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

We enjoyed a yummy, relatively lightly supper.  What a treat it was, on a random Monday late afternoon, to hang out with my girlies downtown!  We talked about their day, they asked about mine, and we fantasized about vacation.  Even after a normal (semi-hectic) day of work, our dinner felt so leisurely!

We finished supper and it was barely 5:30.  We had two cars, and Hubby declared he had an errand to run.  I decided I wasn’t quite ready for our adventure to end…so I drove the girls to get some yogurt.  They were almost incredulous that we would do that after supper!  (I think they always consider yogurt a mid-afternoon treat…the thought of having it so late in the day drew gasps of surprise!)

(I'm growing to appreciate the goofy charm of a selfie...at least the [awkward!] way I take them!)

After we savored every last spoonful of yogurt, we headed home.  It was a HOT afternoon – still about 90 degrees – but the driveway was mostly shady.  The girls jumped at the chance to ride their bikes for a few minutes.

Just as they were donning their helmets, Hubby pulled into the driveway.  He took over chaperone duty while I changed out of my work clothes.  I got to witness a few final spins up and down the drive (and WOW how the girls have improved since last week!!!).

We headed in and had a quick shower before bedtime.  I told the girls we could read some Little House as a bedtime story, and they were again elated.  We’re reading through a very harrowing part (book 6, The Long Winter).  We read a chapter and a half – and by that time put us a little late for bed.  They begged for just one more chapter, but I had to finally tell them we’d packed all the adventure we could into the afternoon.

Just as I was tucking the girls into bed, Daddy came upstairs for one last hug.  We all finished the day with big smiles on our faces.

What a wonderful afternoon of impromptu we enjoyed.  Some of life’s simple pleasures, for sure.

She Finally Did It!!!

My sweet Baby B lost her first tooth Friday night!!!  It’s been a long, long time in coming…both in that Baby A lost her first tooth a full year and a half ago, and in that this tooth has been very wiggly for a long time now.

We went to the dentist on Thursday, and I joked with B that they might pull it for her.  She was OK with that!  The hygienist said that they didn’t want to “traumatize” a kiddo, though, and she encouraged B to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

When I went to floss B’s teeth on Friday night, the tooth was literally hanging by a tiny thread.  I told her she really needed to try to pull it.  I handed her a tissue to use to improve her grasp.  I can only compare the sensation I had to that of when I was encouraging her final step in the potty-training process.  She wanted to do it…she was excited to do it…but she was just a tiny bit scared.  I was cheering her on, and she was shivering, almost crying…and giggling, all at once.

She came so close, but she didn’t quite make it.  I asked if she wanted me to pull it, and she said yes.  I took the tissue and very easily came out with a tooth.

I wish I could have recorded all the dancing and squealing and laughing!!!  And very soon after, she tried to whistle, to make sure she still could.  Affirmative.

Baby A’s first-tooth experience caught me by surprise.  It was not something I was mentally prepared for, and I really had to fight back tears, to put on my happy “celebration” face.  For B, though, I was nothing but ecstatic.  I am so proud how patiently she’s waited for this to happen, and I am so excited for her to finally join these ranks.

We ran downstairs to show Daddy and make pictures, and then we made promises to celebrate B’s special day on Saturday.  We kicked off Saturday with breakfast at JD’s, B’s choice.  We hadn’t been there in ages, so it was a big treat for all of us.

B was looking forward to having her first bead on her bracelet, too.  I was hopeful she wouldn’t be disappointed that I’d bought her bead already.  (The jewelry store was discontinuing the line of beads we started buying, and I went ahead and bought her initial bead so it would match her sister’s.)  I wrapped it up with a pretty bow and gave it to her as a surprise at the restaurant, before our breakfast was served.  She was so happy!

It was a very rainy day yesterday, so we have yet to celebrate with ice cream at the Dairy Queen, another tradition, but we’ll add that to the list of celebratory actions very soon.

I love this now-crooked smile, and the big heart of the kiddo it belongs to.

I Wasn't Ready for This!!!

Wednesday was a day on which we didn’t have many commitments.  I had proposed going for a walk, and I was thinking about making some granola with the girls.  I’d planned for us to spend a leisurely day at home.

I was drinking coffee and spending a little bit of time on the computer.  My A crawled in the chair behind me, and I heard the most spine-tingling sound, that of her grinding her teeth together.  “Don’t do that, Sweetie!” I cautioned, trying not to sound too horrified.

A few seconds later I noticed she had a really funny look on her face, and I asked her to open her mouth.  I couldn’t have been more surprised at what I saw!

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so shocked.  My A bumped her front tooth in August (I think).  The dentist said it would likely solidify again, which it eventually did.  He noted that she might expect to lose her teeth earlier than average, since she started cutting teeth on the early side (about five months).  When A bumped her tooth again on Friday, I thought the same thing would happen and we wouldn’t have any snaggle-tooth smiles for a while yet…but I was wrong!

As surprised as I was, I am very thankful my first reaction was of joy (even if a little bit of that was manufactured on the quick).  “WOW!!!  Baby girl!!!  That’s awesome!!!  What a big girl you are!!!  Let Mommy see!!!  We have to take a picture!!!  And let’s go look at you in the mirror!!!”

Baby A had a huge smile on her face as we danced around, high-fiving and giggling.

(I did take a deep breath shortly thereafter, and I called the dentist.  The lady laughed at me a little bit, but she promised I wasn’t the only mama to call after her kiddo lost a tooth.)

What to do now???

We don’t celebrate Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, so the Tooth Fairy wasn’t in our plans.  I wanted to do something really special to mark this milestone, though.  I posted a question on Facebook (HOW did parents survive before Facebook???), and a friend suggested a really awesome idea.  I could start a necklace for the girls, and for each tooth they lost, they’d get a bead.  Brilliant!!!

Before we commenced bead shopping, we went for ice cream…at 10:00 in the morning!  I knew that would be such a special treat for the girls.  They were giddy!

It took us a few tries, but we finally landed at the jewelry store downtown, where we decided on a wrap bracelet for my sweet A, something that could easily grow with her.  We chose her first charm, the letter “A”.

It wasn’t quite time for lunch, so we decided then to surprise Daddy with a quick visit.  I called him on the way to his school, and he hadn’t yet seen the email I sent with the picture evidence.  He met us in the parking lot of his school, and Baby A flashed a huge smile.  Daddy was so surprised!!!

The final celebration was lunch at Tea Bayou with my BIG girls.

We had such a fun day, and I can’t quit thinking about it.  I am so thankful we were all home, with nothing else going on, that we could invent a brand-new tradition and roll with it from start to finish.

And I am so incredibly proud of BOTH of my girls.

Baby A took the milestone like such a champ.  She can sometimes be pretty sensitive to attention, almost self-conscious about her person.  While she wasn’t willing to show off her new smile to everyone we met while we were out and about that morning, she was all smiles, all day, at home.

And my sweet Baby B was such a supportive sister.  She did get a tiny bit wistful as Baby A picked out her bracelet, but the vast majority of the day, she was smiling, right alongside her sis.  I caught her a few times, checking her teeth for any signs of wiggles, but she did a lot of congratulating, telling A, “Great job, Sissy!”

I never would have thought to anticipate such a day, but I must say, it turned out pretty perfectly, and for that, we are all smiling.

The Dentist is Old Hat

The girls had their first visit to the dentist when they were about 18 months old.  It was something I’d put a lot of thought into, having gotten really conflicting information about when a child should have her first dental appointment.  The feedback I got ranged from one year…all the way to four or five years old!

I knew from the pediatric dentists in town that the girls wouldn’t have a full cleaning until they were about three, but I wanted to go ahead and get them headed in the right direction.

Hubby and I both went to the appointment, camera in tow.  The girls took turns, sitting in my lap.  They both did a great job…no fussing!...and they got cute little ducks that they still play with quite often.

When the girls were three and a half, I took them back for their first actual cleaning.  By the time I got the appointment scheduled, Hubby was back in school, so I had to take the girls by myself.  I was pretty nervous about that…not knowing how they’d do in new surroundings and with such a degree of invasion into their personal space.

In preparation, we talked about what to expect, and the girls practiced their “dentist face”, opening their mouths as wide as possible.

To my great relief, they did a great job again.  The girls’ February appointment came and went, and they had another appointment yesterday.

The girls actually love going to the dentist now.  They get so excited to show off their pearly whites, and then to pick out a toy after their appointment.  They’ve been asking for at least four months now when they could go back to see Dr. E.

It struck me yesterday, as I didn’t even whip out my camera ahead of, during, or after their visit -- a sure sign that we’ve hit our stride -- that going to the dentist is now (thankfully!) old hat.

Super Stuff on a Monday / Tuesday

We have had a busy-but-fun week…thankfully full of super!

1)      Over supper one day, B asked me what “stressful” meant.  As I was forming my response, Baby A piped up, “It means when you have a tough day.”  It was so cool to see how she rephrased something so well!

2)      After sustaining a bump on the face on Tuesday evening, I was worried that B had hit her front tooth.  I got her in to see the dentist on Wednesday morning.  The girls have been SO excited to see the dentist on our last couple of trips, but sweet little B was pretty emotional.  She was so brave, though!  She sat in my lap for her x-ray, but following that she was all smiles.  (And I was all smiles, too, after hearing everything was OK.)

3)      After our trip to the dentist Wednesday morning, and a haircut a couple of hours later, the girls and I rewarded ourselves with lunch out.  They chose our favorite Mexican place, and we had a great meal.  I still sometimes marvel…a year ago, I was still nervous about taking the girls out to eat by myself…but now – dare I say? – it’s almost relaxing for all of us!

4)      If the girls get their toys cleaned up after supper in a timely fashion, their reward is that we have time to play a game before bed.  They were super fast one day, while Daddy and I were still worked to get the kitchen clean.  They decided to move forward with a game of dominoes by themselves…a first.  They were doing so well, working together.  We got a big laugh when Hubby went over to check on them, though.  They had all the dominoes turned over, even in the “boneyard”.  They’d just pick which one they needed!  After Hubby called them on it, they would pretend to cover their eyes as they drew the exact domino they wanted.  HA!

5)      The girls and I dyed Easter eggs for the first time ever this year.  They were so very excited when I told them of our plans.  Baby A went running upstairs to get an Easter book, saying it would be a good “reference”…HA!  The girls were so intent to watch and help, ever-so-carefully, in getting the eggs in and out of the cups.  After we did blue, yellow, and pink eggs (the only dye tablets we had), we experimented with a couple of mixes.  They were absolutely delighted when I put the blue egg in the yellow dye…and it turned GREEN!!!

6)      I saw a notice on Facebook on Saturday morning for the Kids’ Club at the local craft store.  On a whim, I decided to take the girls there to make an Easter egg / chick craft.  They were SO excited!!!  Among other things, Baby A exclaimed, “I haven’t worn my new shoes to Michael’s yet!” which just made me laugh.  The girls followed directions so well, and they waited patiently on our turn, too.  After our craft, I had a little shopping to do there, and the girls always love pulling the little rolling carts.  It was such a fun morning, all the way around!

7)      For Christmas I got the girls some magnetic foam blocks.  They haven’t played with them very much…until this week.  I happened upon the little insert that came with the blocks that shows how to build different figures.  The girls were so intent on building each and every figure…and I was amazed at how well they could translate from paper to blocks.  So cool!

8)      The girls got a surprise package in the mail from Uncle Tommy and Aunt Janet.  They squealed, almost in unison, “WATCH!!!!!!!!”

9)      For supper on Sunday night, I asked the girls if they wanted to peel the eggs that we dyed on Friday.  They were super excited, and they worked so hard.  It had been a while since they last peeled eggs, but they still had the touch!  The funny thing was that they only wanted to eat the white, not the yolk.  They loved stuffed eggs, but apparently they need their onion and mayo to like the middle.

10)   Baby A saw me making a grocery list.  She came up and said, “Crayons!”  And then she started sounding out the word for me to write it down…”Cr...cr...cr...”  She was serious about that addition to the list!

11)   And my Baby A quote of the week?  Upon seeing everything her sister had strewn out on the floor, she stated, “This is a big mess...bigger than ever...I think it's time to pick up, Sissy."

12)   And B had a few quotable quotes…

"Mommy, can you help situate my animals?"

Pretending:  "Mommy, I see a camel on the ceiling. He is purple, and he speaks Serbian, English, Spanish, and Russian. His favorite foods are beets, tomatoes, and cucumbers."

"I'm going to draw a bumblebee sipping nectar."  And then, she did!

So thankful for another week of super highlights from my baby girls!

Super Stuff on a Monday

So much FABULOUS stuff this week…I love it!!! 

1)      We had pretty chilly weather a good part of the week, but we’ve been able to get out for walks several times this weekend.  It’s been great!

2)      The girls have been putting things into perspective in terms of time.  It cracks me up when they say, “A long time ago, when I was three…”  HA!

3)      Still, we have some work to do as far as days and weeks and months go.  It’s not uncommon, in the context of them playing birthday party, to overhear, “Elphie’s birthday is today.  He is five.  He will be six in 17 months.”

4)      The girls got “fuzzy socks” for Christmas, and Baby A has been downright obsessed with them.  She puts on a pair first thing in the morning.  If we go somewhere during the day, she takes them off and “saves” them somewhere so she can put them back on when we get home.  We now have a total of four pairs, but we still occasionally run short.  A couple of nights, the very last thing A has said to me as I tucked her in was, “Wash my fuzzy socks.”  Top of mind!!!

5)      At school the girls learned about what makes their teeth "happy" and "sad". We were discussing different foods over supper, and Baby A wisely surmised, "Ice cream makes my teeth sad, but my it makes my tummy happy!"

6)      At the dentist on Wednesday, both girls did such a great job.  Baby B finished before her sister, and she walked over to her chair.  “Good job of being patient, Sissy!” she told her.

7)      The girls had a great report at the dentist, and we enjoyed a super-special snack at Panera afterwards…it always feels so very special to hang out in “coffee shop mode” (even for 15 minutes) with my girls. 

8)      I love how the girls pick up on our lexicon.  I asked A to get the phone for me, and she replied, “I would gladly do that.”  Another time she answered me with, “Yes, indeed!”

9)      Baby A has been admiring everything I have lately.  She’s said so many times, “Mommy, when I get older will you buy me ….” referring to anything and everything I’m wearing or using….a jacket like this / a shirt like this / a sweater like this / toothpaste like this / a hairdryer like this.

10)   The girls were playing "vet" with their stuffed animals, and A came running in..."Snoopy is 9 inches taller than his sister! And they're twins!!!" Baby A is almost three inches taller than B, and she's quite proud of it...obviously. ;)

11)   For the longest times, the girls were bringing home scribbles from preschool, done during free time at their art station.  I’ve encouraged them to take their time and draw something…and I am so proud this week that they’ve been bringing home actual pictures!  Baby A has drawn numerous cats, and B told me her creation was a “whiskered walrus” when I picked her up on Thursday.  HA!

12)   It belongs in another post entirely, but – as a HUGE surprise – Miss Demara, M&C’s mom, kept the girls for what sounds like a very awesome play date on Friday while I was pampered beyond my imagination at the SPA.  The girls had such a big time at their house…they’re still talking about every little detail.  (And I, of course, am still reveling in the spa treatment!)

13)   The girls were so sweet in celebrating my birthday.  They sang to me multiple times, and they even made up a song (sorta-kinda) about Sasha and me.

14)   It was B’s turn to choose the night-night story on Sunday night, and I had to jot down what she told me as I was brushing A’s teeth: “I originally chose “Kitty’s Colorful Day”, but I decided instead to read the butterfly book.”  I love the way she expressed herself!

15)   At random, B said one day, "Raw peppers are my favorite vegetable."  I tried not to grin too broadly…I didn’t want to let on how happy that makes me!

16)   I just love listening to the girls talk to each other.  I had to jot down one exchange from this morning, as B laid out the game plan:  “My idea is that we’ll have breakfast, and then Mommy wipes us up, and then while Mommy drinks her coffee, we’ll go on a train ride.  You bring your directions, and I’ll bring mine.”  It made me laugh that, as they were talking about such big plans, they still included, “…Mommy wipes us up.”  HA!

17)   For the longest time, Baby A has been abbreviating words…her way of making a cute little diminutive form.  Here’s a sampling from the week…”Fuzz-ahs” = fuzzy socks…”Fluff-ahs” = fluffy jackets…and “Let me run pod” = potty.  Said in her ever-baby voice…I find it completely irresistible.

18)   And one day, at random, B said, "Daddies know everything!”  “What about mommies?” I asked.  And then, somewhat reluctantly, she said, "Um, yeah, mommies, too.”  I guess I’ll take it???

[I tried to write in bullet-point format as best I could...but it was hard!]