Open Wide

Mini-Munch's first trip to the dentist went WAAAYYYY better than expected this morning. While I already know Ethan to be the perfect patient (the kid actually wakes up extra early on dentist day, raring to go open up and say "aaahhh"), the idea of forcing Adam to sit still for longer than 30 seconds in a room with so many fun things to touch and grab....well, it made me a little uneasy to say the least. But as kids like to do, our little man surprised me, while also (not that surprisingly) charming the pants off all the hygienists and the dentist herself. Despite needing to take every. single. animal. into the chair with him, once he had them all on his lap (this required many trips off and back on the chair - these hygienists are angels) he actually sat still! And opened wide! And let them clean his teeth! Unlike his reward-driven brother, who I found head first (literally) in the no cavity prize basket (these pediatric dentists sure do know a thing or two about their market), Adam thought the whole dentist thing was adventure enough, and skipped straight back to the waiting room, flashing his even pearlier whites at anyone who happened to have missed them earlier. In case you were wondering (I was, sadly!) Adam has 16 of his 20 baby teeth and the other 4 are making their way in as we speak.

Ethan has all his baby teeth, of course, and none appear to be on their way out any time soon (thank goodness - to be honest, I am dreading the whole losing teeth situation - totally grosses me out). This was Ethan's fourth trip to the dentist, and he was happy to play the big brother role. Last night before bed, I heard Ethan telling Adam all about the dentist, what to expect, the prizes he would get if his teeth were healthy, etc. etc. Then he proudly pranced into the dentist's office this morning, ready to go all by himself (a first) into the examining room. His hygienist said he was a rock star and clearly found it all to be old hat. It won't be long before I'm sitting out in the waiting room reading People while the boys get their teeth cleaned!