Dental Work

 This past month was filled with dental appointments, follow ups, orthodontic evaluations, braces placement and one dental surgery. Considering 90% of our family is able to sit in a dentist’s chair and have our teeth cleaned, this was not a small number of visits. The other 10% still rejoices when I turn on the Tooth Brushing Song, then proceeds to grab the wrong toothbrush, run away with the wrong toothpaste, scream like a Nazgul when we catch her and bite anything that comes within 6 inches of her tiny mouth with snapping turtle-like strength. She’s a delight, our Little Lulu. 

Charlie was a tricky babe. He nursed for a really long time. I nursed him all night, every night. I took care of his teeth, but never realized that the constant nursing could hurt his teeth the way it did. When Matt left New York to live in Michigan for the new job, things kind of fell apart. Charlie was running through the kitchen at Belleholm one day and fell face-first on the tile floor in the school room. He smashed his front four teeth. I took him to three separate dentists to figure out what needed to be done. He was still just a baby. The first dentist sent me to a pediatric dentist that immediately wanted to do surgery on his mouth. The third dentist I went to suggested that I take a breath and wait. He wondered if Charlie’s teeth would hold on four the six years it would take to lose them and gain his permanent teeth. 

I liked the most conservative option and decided to wait. When we moved to Michigan, I assumed I’d find a dentist right away. But, like most things that aren’t emergencies, it fell to the back burner. Charles started complaining of tooth pain this summer and we knew something had to be done. The dentist in Rochester, MI was kind and compassionate. She ignored my mom-guilt and scheduled surgery immediately. 

Charlie did great and had a heckuva lot to say under the influence of laughing gas and Versed. We now know that he only likes blue trees, that mom is a bad driver, that he gets really "bizzy" when under the influence, and that his shoes talk to him.

After one day of laying low and eating soft foods, he was back to his reckless self, trying to jump down the stairs and wrestle with Danny. 

    

Halloween

 

Breakfast

 

Charlie has been walking around with this frying pan, in anticipation of being Samwise the Brave for Halloween. He decided at bedtime last night that he would be making breakfast with his pan this morning. Esther helped him set everything up. 

When asked what he was going to make for everyone:

“EGG SOUP!”