Dentist

Oops! I forgot to post after the check-up! I ended up with some surprise editing work that ended up taking more time than I expected, which wiped me out and so forgot about blogging for a while.

The dentist is completely wonderful. I heard many tales of her awesomeness on a local mailing list, so the choice wasn't hard. Even better, it's just a short bus or train ride from our new place. There was much praise for how well we brush her teeth, and Dr. T. told Gaz that she needs to let us help her with her toothbrushing until she's eight. I'm sure she'll really love that as the years progress. Her molars are a little close together, so we can go ahead and start flossing, or at least getting used to floss, but her front teeth are nice and spacious--lots of room for the permanents. And because Gaz started cutting teeth so early, she'll probably lose her first tooth early too. Like, maybe around five. We've got time yet for that milestone.

The spot I was worried about is, thankfully, not a cavity! It is a little pit, but it's "hard as a rock" says Dr. T, so we'll watch it and make sure that area gets brushed extra well. ::insert massive sigh of relief here::

Agatha got all kinds of goodies (Dora toothbrush, SpongeBob toothpaste, a purple dental mirror of her very own, crayons with pictures of toothbrushes on them, and a little sand timer to make sure we're brushing for long enough) and I got the lecture about the Horrors of Fruit Snacks. Which are only Gaz's favorite thing in the world. Dr. T says she'd rather see us give her ice cream for a treat than any kind of gummy anything, so I guess the fruit snack issue is pretty serious. Did we even have vast quantities of fruit snacks on the market when I was a kid? We're going to have to rethink our treat plans.

I've taken the opportunity of the dentist visit to push the "spitty toothpaste." Gaz is a very stubborn creature, and it makes life easier for everyone if I find a creative way to make things seem like they're really her idea. Getting her in the bathtub? We say that we're going to take her bath for her, which plays into her competitive spirit and gets her into the tub quite cheerfully most nights. Switching toothpaste wasn't too hard given it's novelty (and it's sparkliness), but it takes some doing to get all the way through the brushing without Gaz freaking out a bit about the volume of foam generated by spitty toothpaste versus the training toothpaste she's so fond of.

Apart from teeth, not much else is going on. There's been a lot of grumpiness the past couple of weeks, so we've not been as social as I'd like. We've been painting many pictures, working on writing letters and numbers, doing all sorts of drawing and putting stickers on paper and things. Oh, and cards. Making lots of cards. I finally found my giant stapler, so I made some little books that she can decorate, and that's been lots of fun.

Yesterday we opened up the "Mummies and More" kit my mom got me a while back, and Gaz painted the pyramid bank from that. Today we're still decorating it, but we ran out of My Little Pony stickers.

Gaz stuck a big crescent-shaped sticker on her forehead yesterday and is refusing to take it off, I think because it's stuck to her eyebrows. I figure if I can get her to run around enough, the sweat will loosen it up and make it easier to yank off when she's distracted. And it's not like I have to fight with her to get her to run around.

The Scooby-Doo obsession rages on. We just discovered the Netflix movies you can watch on the computer, so our SD library has expanded greatly. At least we don't have to watch those horrible old movies with Don Knotts anymore. She's probably the only three-year-old who even knows who Don Kotts is.

Such is life around these parts. One of these days it won't be so horribly cold and we'll be able to go out and run around. Come on, spring!