The Dentist

      Jessica got her first tooth around 11 months old. I looked into when I should start taking her to the dentist, because I wanted to make sure to take care of my little one's teeth, while she couldn't do so for herself. They said about 6 months after she got her first tooth, so beginning of April. Well, that was right in the middle of the last month of school, so go figure I didn't get it done then. Then with the funerals for the 2 weeks after school got done, I've been recovering, and just plain forgetting to set up the appointment. So Jessica finally had her first dentist appointment at 19 months rather than 17. Oh well. My sister-in-law Sarah (yes, my sister-in-law has my same name) recommended Stonehaven Dental as a good childrens dentist, so we went there. It wasn't too bad, though there were a couple mishaps. (sorry, no pictures at the dentists office)
       We got there, and waited in the "Candyland Room". That was (obviously) the child's play room. The walls were painted as a candy land, complete with the colored pathway (that the pieces would land on). There weren't a lot of toys, but there were books, so Jessica was more than happy to stay there. The funny thing was, they had "Mickey's Clubhouse" on the TV, and though Jessica watched it for a little (maybe a minute), she was far more interested in the books. I thought that was even more hilarious because we don't watch TV or movies with her. So it was something new and different, but she didn't care for it at all. They came and got us, and took us on a tour. Apparently, they do sedation dentistry for kids, (so that if it HAS to get done, and they are freaking out, it isn't as traumatic.) But only ages 3 and up. If it REALLY needs to be done before then, they do have an anesthesiologist they can call in. I though that was pretty cool. So we continued the tour, and came to the central station where the hygenists were gathered. Jessica was NOT a fan. She started to wind up (crying) and started backing away from them. With the scrubs and the face masks, they looked a lot like the nurses at the doctor's office. You know, the ones that poke her with needles. She didn't like that very much. I finally had to pick her up and carry her to the room for her appointment.
      They allowed me to hold her on my lap, and they let her go for a ride (the chair went up and down). Then they let her hold the little mirror that the dentist would put in her mouth, and then touch the toothbrush they use and see that it had a soft tip. Then they let her watch them turn it on, but she wasn't a huge fan, so they didn't try the suction tool. We also got to see and touch the x-ray tool, but Jessica wouldn't open her mouth up wide, so we didn't get any pictures (x-rays)  taken. We then needed to wait for the dentist to come and do a visual exam of her teeth. So we let her get down and wander around the room. Unfortunately the hard floor was very slippery to her little sandals. She kept slipping and having a hard time getting up. Most of the time it was fine, she just landed on her bum. However, one time, she was trying to start running, and her feet slipped out behind her, causing a full on face plant. It looked to me like she had whacked her nose good, but luckily not. That would have been even worse. It was still bad with a big ole' bruise and goose-egg on her forehead. So back onto my lap she came, but this time for comfort purposes.
      Then (finally) Dr. Eric came in. The dentists there all go by their first names. (More kid-friendly) She actually would open her mouth for him, so he was able to get a good look at her teeth, and said they are doing fine. Apparently the first couple years, the appointments are less about cleaning the teeth and checking for cavities, and more about getting the child used to the dentist, so they aren't so scared. So the appointment ended, we got a prescription for a fluoride supplement (because apparently there isn't enough in Orem's water) and then Jessica was able to pick out her prize. No surprise that she picked the coloring BOOK.  Of course, then when another boy tried to pick a prize, she started freaking out at him. So I had to make sure she knew that he was allowed to get a prize too.
       So that was our first experience at the dentist office. We went from there to my Mom's house, and on the way, when I looked in the mirror, Jessica was holding her head where she had smacked it on the floor. I felt so bad for her. After naptime at Mom's we went outside to play in the nice, warm, sunny weather (rare in the past 2 weeks, and apparently (according to the forecast) the next week as well. We had so much fun playing on the hills, and with the balls. So here are a couple pictures from that (as a reward for reading the LONG post).

 Playing with the big beachball (at least big for her)

 Debating on what the rocks were, and what to do with them.

 Back to the beachball

And my personal favorite, so very excited about her flippy sundress, and the wind. I just think this is an adorable picture. 

And then one more, just for good measure, because I thought it was so darn cute. Here is Jessica with Nathaniel reading Alice in Wonderland.  (its in a contest, go vote for it here, last I saw, it was on page 40)