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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Curly or Straight?

Ri has always had curly hair (well, after she went bald and it grew back in as a baby).  And everyone always says how pretty it is.  I do love it.  I just don't care for how much time it takes for me to take care of it.  :)  But I'll only be doing it for her for a few more years anyway right?  
  



So the other day I decided to try to straighten it with my flat iron.  And she looked like a completely different child!


I think she's beautiful either way, though.  :)

Friday, September 21, 2012

My Little Tooth Fairy

Monday afternoon, I noticed a bump on Ri's gum above her front tooth.  I only noticed it when she smiled.  I didn't think much of it but called the dentist and made an appointment for the next morning.  But by the next morning, it was gone.  I almost canceled but they said to come in anyway.
Left - Monday afternoon: Right - Tuesday morning
Ri is our clumsy child.  She falls often and doesn't have very good balance (now I'm going to look into getting her involved in something that will help her because she's developed a habit of falling the wrong way).  Somehow, she always smacks her face.  She's had multiple instances of trauma where her teeth were bleeding. **I can remember when she was a year old and her and her cousin (who is about 4 months younger than her) were toddling out to the back screened porch and Brynn kinda rolled out but Ri sorta fell out - probably onto her face.  This was my first realization her balance and such wasn't all that great**

So when we got to the dentist, I showed them the picture I took the day before.  Then they wanted to do x-rays.  The dentist came back shortly after and said the tooth would need to come out.

Say what??!  This was a complete shock to me!  I had even made plans with a friend after the appointment.  I thought everything was fine now.

Apparently, the "bump" on her gum was an abscess.  It did go away but they said it'd eventually come back and that it meant there was an infection.  And infections are dangerous (which I did know).  I guess this isn't all that uncommon either and it was, indeed, due to her falling and hurting her teeth so much.  Her right cheek was also a bit swollen already.

I snapped this before she went back - her last picture with both front teeth! 
Once I got over the shock that she would have to lose her tooth, I asked how they'd do it.  They said they would wrap her in a blanket and she would be awake.  I could feel tears welling up.  I was so scared for my little girl.  I didn't want her to be afraid and confused about what they were going to do to her.

They did give us the option of coming back the next morning and they would give her a drug that would basically give her amnesia but she'd still technically be awake.  Thankfully, Septtro was able to leave work and meet me there.  He made the decision to go ahead and do it then (besides waiting would have been more worrisome for me and it was more dangerous to wait since it was infected).

We were told we could both go back with her. They'd give her laughing gas to help calm her down and then a numbing gel and then the shot of numbing medicine - and she'd be watching tv.  The girl doing it said they may not have to restrain her if she laid there for her.

Both Septtro and I went back with her but as soon as I laid her down and saw the "restraining blanket" and board they had, I could feel myself starting to get upset.  I knew if I got upset in front of her that it'd make it worse so I told her I was going to go check on Kaylee and that Daddy would stay with her.

When I left the room, I told another dental hygienist I wanted to go somewhere where I couldn't hear her cry if she cried or screamed.  I ended up staying out there with them.  It was distracting, which was good, and they were SO nice - coming up to me and hugging me and encouraging  me.  I did feel like such a weenie.  But most of them were moms and I think they understood how much moms don't want their children to feel scared or pain.

It only took about 20 minutes and they were done.  They said she did great!  Hallelujah! They didn't have to restrain her.  Praise Jesus!  Although Septtro did say she got upset when the dental assistant blocked her view of the tv and of Daddy when she was putting the medicine in her gum and she had a hard time calming down after that. But, no restraining!!
she did great keeping her "band aid" on
 Of course, we got ice cream afterwards.  There was very minimal bleeding, which was great.

 She went back to playing almost as soon as we got home.  I actually had to slow her down a bit.  She never once acted like she was in pain, although I did keep Tylenol in her for the rest of the day, just in case.

I'm still getting used to her new smile and I still get sad when I think about what happened - especially because it was such a shock.  I have nightmares about losing my teeth so it's gonna take some getting used to.

I know it's just cosmetic.  But it still makes me sad she had to have it removed prematurely.  She could get a fake one but she couldn't eat with it in...and I think it'd be more for me than her.  Honestly, I don't think she has the slightest clue that her missing a tooth is a big deal; much less how serious the situation could have been if we didn't get rid of the infected tooth.
She earned those stickers!

I'm so thankful to the Lord that she's ok - that we caught it when we did and that she didn't appear to be in any pain at all...before or after.   

poor tooth - in a coffin
They said the other tooth could become infected in the future because usually when kids fall, they hit more than just one tooth so we'll have to keep an eye on that one.  

Maybe we should get her a helmet....or a mouth guard.  :)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Right Now

My right foot is asleep.  I have only one hand free to type.

I had several things on my to-do list for this afternoon.

But then a young girl - who, just yesterday wasn't it? - was learning to crawl, form words, and wave goodbye had a major breakdown over being asked to clean up some dried beans she'd asked to play with.  

After helping her calm down and work through her emotions, she picked up the beans and then grabbed her blanket, and snuck up onto my lap.  

I could feel her head bob a bit.  She kept saying she wasn't tired.  I told her "it's ok, just rest".

Then, very quickly, I felt her body melt into mine; arms and legs twitching as she fell deeper and deeper into sleep. 

So, change of plans; I'll sit here and hold her as long as she'll let me (or as long as her sister naps - whichever comes first).  

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Ok I Confess...

We skipped church today.  This was a little hard for me.  We didn't go a couple weeks ago because I fell back asleep after feeding Kaylee and my sweet hubs let me sleep in.  Growing up, the only reason you skipped church was because you were out of town (sometimes not even then) or were running a fever or otherwise horribly sick.  So, it's sorta weird not going to church on Sunday.  So I feel like I have to confess...

We did it.  We skipped.

And it was fabulous!

We headed to Caesar's Head State Park.  On the way, we stopped at Bald Rock - Septtro and I hadn't been there since we were dating so that was quite neat to take our girls.

Bald Rock
There was plenty of exploring, rock throwing, and lizard chasing involved.



goin down to "Devil's Kitchen" at Caesar's Head
believe it or not this is the best picture we could get at this point

At lunch, we stopped at a small, non-chain restaurant (cause those are the best kind, right??) that served sandwiches, fudge, and ice cream.  We were pretty hungry by this time so food was, well, inhaled.

loved how cute the restaurant was!
Ri wanted to play in some water so we stopped off Highway 11 at a roadside waterfall.  There was a nice wading area at the bottom where the girls could splash.  The water was freezing but they didn't seem to care.

Kay fell asleep on our way and was cuddly for a short while.  A very short while - until she saw the water.  

 We really did have a great time.  But I promise, I'll be back at church next week!!  

Thursday, September 13, 2012

My Day Today

I introduced Ri to The Sound of Music today.  We'd watched a few clips on YouTube and she seemed very intrigued.  We only got through about 45 minutes due to time constraints but she sat through the entire thing - talking and singing parts.  And, she decided a pink leotard and white dress up heels were appropriate for the occasion.  That's my girl!  
How is Ri turning into such a big girl?  How does she know how to count and sort and say words I never knew she understood??!

We were invited to our friend's house (aka small farm) :) to make homemade hand soap and homemade laundry detergent this afternoon.  It turned out great and I'm so excited to have a cheaper alternative AND know exactly what's in my products!
hand soap - has to sit a while to gel

laundry detergent
The Kaisers have a lot of animals...and one day - hopefully soon - hope to run their own farm.  I can't wait to buy fresh farm food and support local farmers!!  
Ri and her friend Graycie!
Contrary to what some may believe about me, I'm really not a huge fan of getting dirty.  My friend Chris is such a good encouragement to me to live simply and not sweat the small stuff.  Plus, she loves to save in as many ways as possible - right up my ally!!

We had a fun and busy day making memories!!
Ri loved the bunny!!  Mommy loves it too and that it sleeps at someone else's house.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Fire Station Visit

I've been wanting to take Ri to a local fire station for a while now.  I finally called to see when we could come by and they said to come any time.  So we went the next day, which happened to be September 11th.  So the night before, we made them some cookies to say "thanks for serving"!  :)
I decorated these - the American flag was the only creative one that turned out fairly cute.  I'm no artist
 The guy who showed us around was really nice.  He let the girls do and see pretty much anything they wanted. 

Our friends came - Kenli and Lily!

Look how HUGE those tires are!


The helmet was almost as big as her!  And it probably weighed just as much or more!
I think the favorite was the water hose.  We also got on top of the ladder truck, saw the lights (skipped the siren for fear of crying), and asked LOTS of questions.  It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience!  I hope to find other places in our community that we can visit soon!!
If you have served, are serving, or have a family member serving in our military, thank you!  I wish I could send you all cookies!!!