First trip to the dentist

And guess what WE did a couple of weeks ago!! YEP! First trip to the ol' dentist!! Ellie has not heard anything negative about the dentist, but she told us every time we "excitedly" told her we would be taking her for her first trip, that she was, indeed, NOT going!

It took quite a while, but eventually, she DID open her mouth!! Dr. Griggs is a very gentle speaking and patient woman. She has her own young uns and knows how to go slowly.

Todd held this little princess for the whole procedure. And "the procedure" ended up being her having her teeth counted! And Dr. Griggs got to put the mirror in her mouth to look around. That's about it!

And then came baby number two. I'll bet you can imagine whose lap she had to sit in!!

And it didnt' take as many games and encouragement to get her to open her mouth. Basically, she just had to see me do it!

And you all know she is a mama's girl, so ta-daaaaa.... and like that, she was having her teeth counted too!

Then, the dental hygientist spent all kinds of time letting them watch her with the noisy and intimidating equipment, just nowhere near their mouths!

She'd let Ellie Sue squirt the water into a cup, then suck it out with the sucker machine.

I know, I know... I am so high tech! But really, this is a GRAND way to let Miss Inquisitive see that they are not "scary" and that maybe next time we could squirt the water into her mouth and let the sucker machine suck it out.

I thought it was a great way to introduce my kids to the dentist!! They had an overal really good experience.

And then Ellie educated Gabbi. Who would expect anything less!?

By the way, Ellie has 20 teeth. Gabbi has 19!

I wasnt' sure Ellie would leave once she became the educator! She loves to learn new things and even moreso likes to "teach" her younger sister. Just wait til I share the pictures of those two at dancing together. It'll melt your heart!! May be some of my favorite pics of them yet. But, I digress!

About this time, everyone was probably like, "ummm, we need to move along girls. We have other patients today, girls!!".

Gabbi was really less eager than her sissy to actually handle the tools. She let the cleaner thingy "tickle' her finger a time or two!

And finally, we pulled them away from their chair. Everybody there kinda got in on the cheering and congratulatory exit.

It was just exactly how I hoped the visit would go. And they don't even KNOW that I am a psycho mama who makes every single event in their lives a big deal!! Of course, Ellie had to approve her photo they took!

Being asked to stop and pose... NOT something foreign to my baby girls!!

Awww... would ya just look at those two?! I am so glad I have two girls. Two girls, close in age, who can go through experiences like this together, and who are friends. (Cheerleading tryouts, making the dance company, who gets picked for first string in sports, etc , in the future may bring a different emotion from me altogether!!)

But as for now, I wouldn't have it any other way!!

And finally, as promised, the balloons came out, the stickers were chosen, and the girls were all smiles!

And as you would also guess, these balloons didn't make it far out the front door. All balloons in this family go straight to Heaven! We have a pal up there who we feel needs balloons more than we do. So, we always send them to Jake to let him know we remember him. And even though Ellie nor Gabbi ever met Jake, they talk about him (well, really just Ellie so far) like they knew him as well as any of us! And it is also a great way to talk very openly and "real" about Heaven!

So, thanks, Dr. Griggs and the whole staff, for the patience and kindness shown during my girls' first visit to the dentist. We'll be seeing you again!!

MO