V Day and Teeth Day

Valentine's Day was our third and final class party for the year. Our last kindergarten class party. Sniff.



At the Halloween party we played a little game of sorts, "Going On a Ghost Hunt." And at the Christmas party we went on a Santa hunt. The kids really wanted to hunt again. So I came up with a completely cheesy hunt for the Valentine's party.





Here we are catching pretending to catch candy hearts in our mouths. We swam in a river of chocolate and marched through a field of flowers. Complete cheese. But apparently kindergartners kind of like cheesy.


We played a couple of fun games. Another mom lent me a game with a stack of hearts, each with silly tasks to complete: sing your favorite song, do your favorite dance, make a silly face, etc. They kids drew a heart, performed the task, and got a chocolate kiss. Big hit.



Then to fill a little time I modified a game we played at the Christmas party. I blindfolded one student and then had another child say "Happy Valentine's Day," trying to disguise his/her voice. Then the blindfolded child guessed who said spoke. They LOVED this super simple game.




Daddy was able to come to the party too. Yeah!



Several weeks ago I made Luke's first dental appointment. I should have taken him before age 6. But there are so many reasons I didn't attempt a dentist visit at a younger age. I suspect you faithful 3 readers can list all those reasons too. Anxiety and super sensitive gag reflex are just a couple.



And in the last few weeks Luke had his first loose tooth. He's wiggled and wiggled, but progress was slow. And then I noticed the permanent tooth coming in behind the wiggly baby tooth. Exactly what happened with my teeth as a child. And I had many baby teeth pulled by the dentist because of it. I certainly didn't want Luke to have a tooth pulled on his first dental visit. I was praying the tooth would come out before our appointment.



Monday night, Valentine's Day, the three of us headed to the little meat 'n three just across from our neighborhood. So romantic. When we arrived I noticed Luke's mouth was bleeding a little. The tooth was just barely hanging on. After a couple of tries Lamar was able to pull the tooth. Yeah for always having napkins in the car! Luke was SO excited. I was SO thankful.



Rockin the missing tooth look.

I had no idea the going rate for teeth these days, and since it was late in the day when the tooth came out, I didn't have much time to compare notes with fellow tooth fairies. Lamar had a five in his wallet, so we went with that and a note that said, "Congratulations Luke! Love, The Tooth Fairy." Tuesday morning I had to remind him to go check for his money. He was equally as excited about the money and the note.

And about 16 hours late we headed to Luke's first dentist appointment. I was thrilled the tooth was out, but still nervous for him. He was super calm. We arrived early because it's a good little drive from our house and I didn't know what rush hour traffic would be like. Luke patiently waited in the lobby. He didn't even play with ipad I'd brought. He did ask me which is the best: the doctor, the hospital, or the dentist. I explained when you would go to each place and that one was not better than another. He said, "Yes, but you have to pick your favorite." His favorite was the dentist. Already his favorite, before he even saw him.



Dr. McNutt is well thought of in the special needs community. I now understand why. I went back with Luke and watched from chairs across the room. He got to select a movie from about 200 titles. He had his own television for viewing his chosen Toy Story. The hygienist asked what type of toothpaste he used and she used the same to clean his teeth so the taste would be familiar. She patiently explained everything to Luke. Luke was a real champ and he had a full cleaning!



After his cleaning Dr. McNutt checked out his teeth. And they took this photo of Luke demonstrating his dental hygiene techniques on the dragon. Luke got a great report. I was so pleased with Dr. McNutt and his staff.

I took Luke to school after his appointment and he shared all his big news with his friends. He was kind of a rock star, at least for a few minutes. They all wanted to know how much he got for the tooth. Judging from their reaction, this tooth fairy overpaid. One little guy said, "What! I just got a penny!" Seriously doubt that.

What a week for Luke! Some days it seems we just chip away at our remaining obstacles and progress is kind of slow. And then some days he just makes a giant leap forward. Glory!