Andrea's 4th Birthday

We started off Andrea's birthday morning by having her open her birthday presents from us!

Dora plug-n-play TV game, and Dora pj's

box of dress-up clothes and accessories

modeling her new look :))





There were also some press-on nails in the box. She wanted them on so badly, but they kept falling off. They lasted about 5 minutes!



Well, it was easier to play her Dora game without the press-on nails, anyway. :))

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First Visit to the Dentist

On the morning of Andrea's first birthday, she also went for her first official dentist appointment and teeth cleaning. I was so worried she would be scared and cry because she hates it when I try to brush her teeth, or put anything in her mouth. Surprisingly, she did great! Daddy stood by her side, and the hygienist and dentist were extremely patient and kind. They explained everything and made sure she wasn't too scared by it all. I only heard a few whimpers when they were cleaning her teeth. She even got her first x-ray of her teeth. We got great news: no cavities! Yay, Andrea! The doctor had a little chat with Andrea about letting Mommy and Daddy help her brush the hard-to-reach places, and she's been much better about us helping her since then. She was very impressed when the doctor gave her a goody bag with a new toothbrush, fruity floss, sugarless gum, and a few other little things. Overall, it turned out to be a good experience for her. :))

Kevin also got his first check-up that day, too. He wasn't too happy about being there, and stayed in my arms the whole time. We decided he wasn't ready for a cleaning yet, but had to get a tooth checked out. About 4 weeks before, if you remember, he had tripped on a chair at daycare and hit his mouth on a desk. Well, we have noticed that one of his front teeth has slowly been turning grey! The dentist said the tooth is probably dying, and will eventually go dark grey, but there's nothing to do for it but wait. The best thing is just to let this tooth fall out naturally when it's time for his permanent teeth to come in. So, he'll have to live with an unsightly front tooth for a few more years. I was a bit more relieved about it when the dentist said his own little guy has the same thing right now, but even worse--his tooth is chipped, too! We'll keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected or anything, but for now, we just have to wait for this baby tooth to fall out.

Geez, these kids and their injuries--sometimes I wonder if people think we abuse or neglect them, with all their bruises and scrapes, and now, a dying tooth! ;)