I Feel Pretty....and Witty and Brave

So far, Frodo Seven version 2-0-1-2 has not included many updates about family hilarity or hyjinx.  Not that there haven't been any.  I have a lot to catch up on.  

Today's post is about a brave little girl who had two teeth pulled and lived to tell about it.  The back story--when Grace was a baby, she did a face plant on the cement behind our house in Beaumont.  Her right front tooth was so deeply chipped that she had to have a baby root canal in order to keep it.  I can still picture the periodontist's office.  It was your basic nightmare.  Fast forward two years and the root of the same tooth was infected.  Pulling it was an option but she was only three and her mommy wanted her to keep her baby smile awhile longer.  Another baby root canal.  Since then, Grace hasn't had any real problem with the tooth other than discoloration but while her other front tooth is long gone, her semi-fake one was holding on strong.

I took her and Mia to the dentist the other day for a check up.  Here she is:

See the pretty boots in the dentist's chair....whose could those attractive boots be?.....

The dentist offered to pull her tooth and the one next to it that also needed to come out and explained his procedure very carefully.  Grace listened and when she heard the part about a "little stick" decided that she wanted nothing to with that.  The dentist then very unhelpfully suggested we try the "Now & Later" method of tooth extraction*.  Grace was thrilled with that idea but the store I tried did not have them.

So this morning, back Grace went to the dentist with Chris.  She had told me she really wanted Daddy to take her.  On the one hand, that made me sort of sad.  On the other, I am so glad our girls know they can trust their dad to be there for them and protect them.
Chris called and told me Grace held her mouth open and cooperated like a champ.  He was very proud.  And Grace was proud of herself.  Her sisters were impressed by the holes in her mouth--and of course, the blood.  They will also be impressed by any tooth fairy loot that appears under G's pillow.  I am not surprised by any of it.  Grace marched into the dentist's office and faced her fear with grace.  She is truly pretty and witty and very, very brave.  All things I already knew because I am her mama.

*The dentist suggested I warm up a Now & Later, wrap it around the tooth, let it harden and then pull it out.  Hardly a fool-proof idea if you ask me.

good patients, sweet sisters

(photographer's note:  the first version of this picture is technically a better picture.  The exposure is right and the color is good.  I like the second version better though.  It was overexposed but when I enhanced it, the girls literally popped out of the picture.  I like how this photo draws the eye right to them--and away from the disgusting photos of mouth cancer to the left.  Which just goes to show--a lot of photography is in the eye of the beholder and depends on some fortunate accidents--at least in my experience.)

Monday morning--BEFORE

Monday afternoon--AFTER

(photographer's note:  I really like how this photo turned out.  You are seeing it as I shot it.  I did no editing but I did have to take about six shots to get this one. It was the winner because of the color and Grace's hand on her hip to the right.  That was deliberate.  Which goes to show: paying attention to everything that's in the frame can really pay off.)

Another "brave" girl:

Mia is sewing more than a skirt these days.  The mom in me screams "yuck", but somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember doing the same thing when I was Mia's age--with a safety pin I think.