Dentist

The kids and I want to the dentist yesterday for our six month cleaning. (Rescheduled from earlier in the month when we had the flu.) Leah and I went in the morning while the big kids were at school, and then I picked Amelie and James up at the end of the day and went back.

Leah had her first visit at nearly 3, and she did so amazingly wonderfully unbelievably great! First, She sat patiently and quietly in the chair in the corner of the room while I had my appointment and cleaning. She came over for a minute to watch me, and then went back to her chair to color, and just charmed the pants off the hygienist and the dentist. Then, when it came time for her appointment, she hopped up in the chair, slapped those glasses on her face (upside down), and opened her mouth wide. She followed every single instruction and was so cooperative. Praise from the hygienist was effusive. Like a unicorn. Or a miracle. I wouldn’t believe it except that I saw it in person.

Which makes it all the more sad that our insurance is changed and after 12 years with this practice, we need to look for another dentist!

Here are some pictures:

Edited to add (and I can't believe I forgot to put this!) but while I was busy with paperwork, Leah asked not one but two random folks in the waiting room to read her a picture book, and they obliged!

No pictures of James, but he wound up with two cavities, the first ones the kids have had. We’ve redoubled efforts to get him up in the AM to make sure he’s brushing before school. He was mortally offended that he didn’t get to pick a prize at the end. (Possibly because the prizes are for the no cavity club, and possibly because they just forgot since Amelie and Leah weren’t offered one either.)

City Museum

Way delayed post from Sam's photos this summer. 

Super Dad took the big kids to the City Museum in St Louis. Sam remembered to bring knee and elbow pads, and they made it a much more enjoyable experience!

There was a mirror where we could get a picture before starting in the caves.

We had to wait until the afternoon to go outside because it was raining in the morning.

Amelie and James enjoyed the color-changing crystals.

James spent some time walking on the Lily pads on the roof.

Amelie went down the 10 story slide.

Amelie poses with a dragon carving (dragons are one of her favorite things).

I think James enjoyed posing outside.

Amelie has fun spinning in the human-sized tops.

Here's the link to last year's trip.

Lost Tooth

At the ripe old age of 7 years and 4 months, James finally lost his second baby tooth. He was I think the oldest kid in his class to lose a tooth when he lost the first one.

We're pretty sure he just hoarded his first $1 until he eventually lost it, but this time, I took him to the Dollar Tree so that he could pick something out. He spent a long, long time in the candy aisle with dreams of picking something out for himself and not sharing with his sisters, but he eventually made his way over to the toys and picked out this cool boomerang.

Sam got it to come back to him and everything.

Here's a link to Amelie picking out a $1 toy for her lost tooth, too.

Professional Photos

Rhiannon Trask of Lollipop Photography has been doing our family photos for the past 8+ years, and she does a wonderful, wonderful job. We'd scheduled an evergreen shoot in November, thinking that we'd use the photos for holiday cards, but there was a disease going through the evergreens this year that made the location not work out. She asked us to meet her by this fence at the side of the parking lot, we picked up the litter, and they turned out so wonderfully.

The pictures of the kids together are my favorite.

And this is my favorite picture of all. You can that the kids are sitting on the curb that separated the road/parking lot from the place we were doing the photos. Sam's work was impressed about the stripes, but I just wanted them all to wear sweaters and I guess I like striped sweaters. Leah did have on a different one (non-striped!) that we decided was too small at the last minute.

Amelie is 9.5 and got transition lenses this year, which are awesome except maybe for outdoor photos.

Another with glasses: 

No glasses:

I think she got sassier.

James is 7.

Leah is 2.5 and just look at that head of hair!

And that face!

I don't remember Leah being so grumpy, but she has a grumpy face in nearly all of the pictures. I think she was just not quite sure what to think about what was going on.

I was going to whittle it down some and just post the best ones for the blog, but I couldn't decide.

Here's a link to last year: Professional Photos Christmas 2018