Where did it go?

Kiddo had her yearly visit to the doctor this week - 75th percentile for weight at 72#s and 92nd for height at 56.5" (4'8 1/2") - or at least that is what the doctor recorded, but I could swear she said 4'7 1/2".

We had a fire out back in the fire pit on Friday night and a few smores.  Kiddo is eating one and pulls some of it out of her mouth and threw it to the ground saying there was something hard.  I assumed it was a spot that got a little burned until she said "my tooth".  Yep, she lost her tooth on a smore... and then she lost lost her tooth.  We searched the grass with flashlights in the dark and tried to look again in the morning and came up empty handed.  I'm really curious if she ate it, but not that curious if you know what I mean.

Fortunately, after she left a note for the tooth fairy she receive payment based on past performance.

Jiu jitting Time Away

Last post I mentioned girl got her first red stripe... since that post she tested and was promoted to her gray and white striped belt AAAAND she got her first stripe on it.  She's locked in on some aspects and I've seen a leap forward in her skills there.  I'm very proud of her progress and persistence.

Developmental swimming has ended.  The 3rd marking period is over and we had straight As again.  First confession is in the books and her first communion is coming up soon.

Summer weather is creeping in, so the evenings are drawing us outside to play or to walk/ride bikes.

The expander sits in place still at this time, but we're getting ready for the braces to go on at the end of the month. It has given enough space that the top two teeth are finally coming (they've been missing since August/September). She's definitely had another growth spurt.  All... the... things!

Straightening Things Out

Last week we went for an orthodontist consult.  Surprising no one, kiddo will be getting an expander in January and then first stage braces.  I told her to eat up all of her chewing gum and starbursts now, while she can

Tomorrow we wrap up the developmental swim session.  I've seen tremendous strides.  She's swimming with her face in the water and mostly breathing to the side (although pulling herself upward too much, but we're getting there).

Since my last post she has gotten another Fruit of the Spirit award at school for integrity.  She was also invited to participate in an enrichment program that will expose her to more STEM activities etc.

Mom fail.

Girl lost her 8th tooth on Tuesday at school.  She promptly placed it for the tooth fairy when she got home.  I knew it was there.  I even told myself what to do and I prepared the materials.  This did not however translate to me taking care of business after she went to bed.  Nope, I played with the kittens, got a shower and zonked.  I didn't even realize until we were outside the next morning waiting for the bus.

But that's it, she hadn't said anything.  You'd think she would have been bummed and mentioned that the tooth fairy passed her over.  I was fretting, but maybe she didn't notice.  I consulted a friend and the bad mom decision was made like the icing on the bad mom move cake -- gaslight.  So I put the things out by the door off to the side and slipped the money into the tooth holder.

By the time she got home guess what?   I forgot again.  She went to change and came down with a smile and her goods in hand.  I said "what is that?"  She said "from the tooth fairy!"  I said "didn't you get it this morning?"  I swear she said "I didn't notice it this morning, I must have walked right by it."  She gaslit herself.

Success?

I can stick my tongue through!

I was right - one week later and another tooth came out (bottom left front).  She loves sticking the top of her tongue through.  I can see the buds of the first tooth coming back up through.  Nothing else is notably loose at this point.

We had a great weekend.  Friday we hunt out with the neighborhood crew in mass and had a blast.  Saturday Avery had her friend from Pre-K, Tucker, come over to play.  We also scheduled play dates for subsequent weeks to hang out with other friends.

This week and next we have swim lessons once again.  Time to get ready for the summer!

I lost a tooof

It happened! She walked into my room first thing this morning (before my alarm even much less hers) with a huge smile on her face and carrying a tooth (bottom right front).  I bet the other bottom front tooth goes within a week.

Easter Preparations

We love our neighborhood - and our neighborhood friends!  Yesterday Avery got to participate in a 4 house Easter egg hunt with our neighbors.  Each house had a ton of eggs out and we had a blast.  We also survived the long mass for palm Sunday this weekend.  I think this is the first year where Avery is really understanding what we're celebrating.

Last night she had a rare bad dream that had her up and quite distraught shortly after going to bed.  How do parents of kids with frequent nightmares or night terrors do it?  It breaks my heart to see her so upset.

Also, the teeth are still hanging tight.

Loosey Toothy

Not one, but two.  Finally, she's so excited - the bottom two front teeth are both wiggling.  Her expectations of her tooth fairy are pretty high given how friends have scored with their tooth fairies.  We'll see how that goes.

We are very much in the routine of school and the weekends blasting by.  Homework gets completed and every chance we get we head outside to play.  Fortunately there has been some pretty unseasonably pleasant weather lately, so we've had opportunities to hang out with our neighbor friends.

It also seems to be birthday season.  We've attended two parties in the past month and a half and have another two coming up in the next few weeks.

We did a spur of the moment event earlier this week when I spotted a Bubble Show going on at the fairgrounds.  The price was reasonable enough so I bought us tickets while she was at school and announced we had somewhere to go when she got home.  It was ok in my book.  She dug it, that's all that matters.  My expectations for these types of things have definitely been elevated thanks to cruising.

Teef

Yesterday Avery had her first dentist appointment.  All looks well, but they did suggest that I start flossing her and using fluoride toothpaste.  I just don't feel comfortable with the fluoride until she is able to spit it out.  But I am going to try and take the floss suggestion.  It's good advice for me too, so I ordered some of those pieces of floss on plastic sticks.

She did pretty well there.  She did cry, but that helped to open her mouth up for us to all get a view.  The view was good enough that I caught a glimpse of the last 4 baby teeth which have broken the gums!  She is such a big girl.

From take a bite to no bite!

Once again Avery got bit at daycare, this time on her back.  I understand she was going for a book and someone behind her didn't want her to have it.  They got her good.  I don't think it broke the skin, but darn near.  I am sure she was too busy squealing and crying to tell them "no bite" like she does with us when we're pretend/play biting at or near her.

Today was also great progress as she ate ALL of her salisbury steak, 2 servings of mashed potatoes, two servings of fruit cocktail, and some of the veggies (mixed in with the mashed potatoes).  She also woofed down some breakfast w/ me before I dropped her off this morning (a rare treat).  For dinner she ate some banana and orange on her own with her fancy new fork while I finished making pancakes - she ate two of those too.  I think someone is getting ready for a growth spurt.

The forks are actually metal, smaller versions of what an adult would use with a slightly rounded tip.  The kiddie forks couldn't spear anything when I tried to use them, she definitely wasn't successful with them.  I'm quite pleased with this Amazon purchase.  Hopefully they'll hold up.  I might need to go ahead and order her a set of spoons and knives!

Gnap Gnap

Have you ever watched the episode of the Smurfs where a purple fly bites one and then they start biting, saying "gnap"?  Yep.  Avery is all "gnap gnap".  She's been a bit bitey the past week when she isn't happy with us for constraining her (picking her up when she needs to go do something).  I guess it was inevitable, but I was hoping to have skipped that phase since we're to 20 months and they say that starts around 18 months.

While we were away on vacation she also popped out the two lower cuspids.  Now we're down to 6 more to go.  This at least explained a few bouts of diaper rash we've had lately.  I do wonder if it encourages the biting, but her instances of biting all seem to be frustration-based.

We did have a nice cruise vacation together.  Avery did well sleeping and we managed to eat in the dining room.  She wasn't much of an eater onboard, but we did pretty well without needing a ton of outside food brought on.  While in Bermuda we took Avery to a pink sand beach where she played with her bucket and shovel in the sand.  She still is not a fan of cool water lapping up at her feet - be it ocean water or the 'beach' pool onboard.  In Boston we took Avery to the aquarium.  Despite the obscene crowd we had a good time and she enjoyed watching the penguins, fish, sharks, and other critters.

We have lots of great photos once again of her, and the whole family.  Sunday was Easter, so we put even more miles in heading to two get togethers.  All of these miles in the past week and a half and it was the last couple miles that scared me.  Last night we were very lucky on the highway coming home from a bit of shopping.  Ben's car is a bit banged up as a result, but we are all well.  To my knowledge the folks in the other vehicles were also ok.  Long story short a dog ran across the highway.  Ben was in the left lane.  He and the driver to our right slammed on their breaks.  Unfortunately, the guy to our right had another car behind him, and a tractor trailer behind that.  The truck didn't get stopped fast enough and crunched the car in the middle, which we believe popped out and came into our lane, hitting us.  I believe the dog also was safe and ran up the hillside.  Thank you God for watching over us all.

Tomorrow is off to college

We had a great weekend.  Avery continued wanting to sleep in, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow morning, since we need to get up and get moving a bit earlier than we did for our previous care plans.  I did get her down for bed a bit early tonight, so that should help some.  I feel like I am taking her for her first day of school tomorrow.  I know I'll survive the change, but I need to get through the first day or two to settle myself.

She also enjoyed her bath again tonight! Lately baths = tears.  I'm glad she was laughing and splashing again with only a few tears when her hair was getting rinsed.

We're also starting to fight a little bit of diaper rash again.  She's had her finger in her mouth a good bit so maybe a tooth is pushing upward, but I cannot see anything just yet.

I decided the other day I needed to start an inventory of Avery's words, signs, and the things she clearly understands.  I was trying to get a real grasp of where she was.  Here's where we are, I have to say, I am quite impressed with her - once again.

Words:
Mama
Daddy
Baby
Gigi - dog?
Saffy
Neen
Elmo
Eat
Up
Please
Thank you
Huh-uh - no
Apple
I love you
Moo (for cow)
Oops
Uh-oh
All done
Sock
Help
Shoe
Bubble

Signs:
Eat
Drink
Water
Milk
Please
Thank you
Cookie
I love you
Finished
More

Other things she understands:
Shapes in the shape sorter - if she gets the wrong one she shakes her head no
Sheepie
Book
Waves hi/bye
Holds phone to ear

A full dozen

The matching lateral incisor on the bottom is finally doing its thing.  We're now up to 12 teeth, unless there are others working their way up that I wasn't able to spot just yet.  She has been a bit drooly but not too much in the way of diaper rash (thank goodness) with this one.  She was pretty unhappy last night too - enough that I gave her a bit of Tylenol to dull the ache for her.

Jaws

Tooth #11 was confirmed tonight.  Her top right lateral incisor.  I got a good look when she was throwing herself backwards and laughing while I brushed her teeth.  I'm not surprised as she hasn't wanted me brushing her top front teeth for the past week.

Today she took a mega nap - 3 hours.  On one hand this is good as I want her rested up for the holidays and her vaccine on Monday.  On the other hand it meant she was awake for an extra half hour this evening.

To report back on the food saga, I stuck to my guns for most of today.  She didn't scream, only glared at me when I presented her carrots first thing this morning.  By evening (after the mega nap) she resisted the carrots more stringently.  I caved and made her some oatmeal mixed with fruit and snuck a few bites of carrots in with that.

The horsey says...

That 10th tooth seems to have finished popping through.  While Avery doesn't want me brushing her front teeth, which hints that it may still be tender, her rash has 99% subsided.

Early this week we met with our photographer for a milk and cookies photo session, so I have some photos ready for Christmas now.  They turned out pretty decent.  Once again she was crying as soon as we got there.  Fortunately, she seemed contented pretty fast after being handed a cookie.

Tonight we practiced animals and noises while putting our puzzle together.  I'm pretty sure she's understanding the horse and duck.  It sure sounds, and repeatedly at that, like she tries to say quack quack when I ask what the duck says and she whinnies back when I say horse and whinny at her.  I think I've reported previously that she can find her belly and belly button quite consistently.  This of course means you have to lift up your shirt you know.

Most definitely teething

A week and a half fighting diaper rash, this is definitely the longest struggle we've had thus far.  This time we're seeing distinct wound spots.  I firmly blame the desitin at this point for amplifying things when we first noticed the rash starting - the rest of it is headed to the garbage.  I seem to get things tamed down and then she has a day with 5 or 6 poops, which makes it pretty hard to not flare it back up.

We can now see her first upper lateral incisor trying to push through and her molars on the bottom are still in progress.  Regardless, that incisor makes #10, we're half way home.

Avery's Halloween costume was a big hit at daycare and with neighborhood folks, many commenting it was the most creative they've seen in a while.  She sure made for one cute little Cabbage Patch Kid and she did look a good bit like Trixie in her red sweat suit and eyeliner freckles.  She did score her first candy from the neighbor which her Dad and I ate, but I did share a twix with her today and she really liked it - look out world.

Groomed to Achieve

I'm pretty sure there is an upper molar in too, that would make 8 teeth, but I can't get a good look.  We've shifted to a 'normal' toothbrush, so I can't feel through the rubber nub like I did before to try and seek out the new teeth.  I guess I could take a pass with the old brush to try and feel around and help ensure that we're getting a thorough brushing.

The other thing Avery has taken to lately is trying to brush her own hair.  She will pick up both the hairbrush and comb and put them to her head.  Of course her coordination isn't quite there, so sometimes she's moreso patting her head with them, that is, at least when they're facing the right way so she's not smacking herself in the head with the plastic part.

I was pretty excited yesterday, I managed to take an hour nap while she went down in the morning.  She woke us just in time to hurry out the door to Little Gym.  If she hadn't woken we wouldn't have gone - I was out!  That's definitely a first and record achievement for "sleep when they sleep".

I may have neglected to mention that we've fully shifted to the 18 month clothing at this point.  There are a few of those items that hang like sacks on her, but for the most part it was very necessary to avoid bellies sticking out and floods.

and another!

Tooth #7 for sure is up, another molar.  I've bought the more adult style of toothbrush now for Avery.  It's quite surprising how difficult it is to use them instead of the little rubber nub ones that go over your finger.  She only gives you a limited time in there before her mouth clamps shut, so I'm going to have to get faster and more efficient.

Avery has become more consistent about wanting to go to bed before 8 and I'm often waking her in the morning, not even a stir before I go in, perhaps this is due to the change in seasons and it taking longer for the sun to come up.

6 from West Virginia

Well there are definitely six teeth through.  I caught a glimpse of the sixth one when she put her head back to play with the wind chime tonight.

We now have the top and bottom front two (central incisors), the bottom left lateral incisor, and what is either a top right canine or first molar.

Her hair also seems to be in a growth spurt.  It easily gets in her eyes, so I have been trying to get decent looking piggie-making skills honed.

I spent some time this evening going through her closet, pulling many 12 month items and putting the 18 month ones into play.  I t always makes me so sad, but at least she won't look like the person clinging to their two-sizes too small wardrobe while bulging out of it.

Chompers

I may not have mentioned that a 5th tooth popped through.  It's on the bottom, which feels odd compared to the order they tend to tell you to expect them (tooth 5 and 6 should be up top - lateral incisors).  Yesterday daycare noted that they spotted several other teeth.  Of course, I can't get the girl to open her mouth on demand, so I can't see anything back further.  I shouldn't worry everyone is different, but I do.  She's just too pretty to end up with jacked up teeth.