trip to the dentist x 2....

i took the girls to the dentist last week and i have to ask forgiveness for the great amount of lying i did beforehand. well, lying sounds a little harsh. let's just say i was greatly exaggerating for their benefit. i have an intense fear of the dentist. like crazy, over the top, would rather have my toenails pulled off one by one than have my teeth cleaned, fear of the dentist. but i definitely don't want to pass along this dental anxiety to my girls, so i have to "pretend" like going to the dentist is like going on a mini vacation. "it's going to be so much fun!" "you'll love having your teeth cleaned!" and "you'll love it!" are all little fiblets that passed through my lips leading up to the appointment. but, i couldn't very well tell them "it will be a nightmare" now could i? i think not. so in this case, little white lies aka fiblets were the way to go. :)

i have to say that laney was my main concern. she's got a bit of an independent streak in her. these days it comes out more often than not. and she has yet to master the art of an "inside voice" so there is really never any doubt as to how she's feeling about a particular situation. i had visions of screaming, thrashing, and gnashing of teeth. i was a nervous wreck before the appointment ever began.

i don't know why i get so stressed about these kinds of things (wait, yes i do. been there. done that.) because usually (and i stress usually - definitely not always) i end up pleasantly surprised at how well my girls handle themselves. this just so happened to be one of those times. libbi did everything they asked of her and behaved like a dream. laney ran wild (as expected) during libbi's turn, but thankfully our pediatric dentist is VERY kid friendly (as they should be, right?!) and had plenty of toys for laney to play with in every room we went in to. she colored, cooked, raced cars, and kissed baby dolls all while libbi was getting her teeth cleaned. she even stopped to take a peek at big sister. very impressive! :)

when it was finally laney's turn, we did what they call a "lap exam" meaning i held her facing me and laid her head back into the dentist's lap while he checked her teeth. she didn't have a cleaning, just a quick checkup to make sure all of her teeth were coming in as they should and that there were no major concerns. he scraped a little plaque off, applied a bit of fluoride to her teeth, and we were done! and laney didn't make a peep the entire time. apparently diaper changes by her mother are much more traumatic to her than having her teeth cleaned by a total stranger. go figure.

while laney was having her exam, libbi got to color an ornament for the christmas tree in the waiting room. she was so proud to hang it up when we left! and she was even prouder of the prize that she chose from the treasure box.

she referred to it as a "toot cushion." how she even knew what a whoopee cushion was is completely beyond me. and i'm embarrassed to say that her "toot cushion" has been put to good use. if she brushed her teeth with half as much gusto as she sits on that cushion, she'd having a sparkling smile 24/7. i have never been prouder. ;-)

laney is admiring the tree, libbi is blowing up the whoopee cushion. 

trying to convince sister to sit on it.

i'm just really hoping that six months from now when we return for our next cleaning, they'll have a different selection of prizes - ha!