Dentists and Dinosaurs

Today was Jack's first dentist appointment. My good friend, Ashley, is Jack's dentist, and I've been saying for a week now how we would be going to the dentist soon. The dentist, Dr. Ashley, would look at Jack's teeth and make sure they were healthy. We would sit in the big chair and have a bright light. Jack seemed excited to be going, probably due to my cheery tone every time I spoke if it, but I knew what to really expect.

My expectations were right on the mark. Even though Jack woke up excited to go today, and even said Ashley's name, Jack was a screaming mess for the 10 minutes (give or take) that Ashley had him lying on the table with her fingers in his mouth. They brushed his teeth, she took a quick peek at the molars with her mirror, and they put on some fluoride. Very quick - I was impressed! Jack got a toy, new tooth brushes and we got tooth brushes for Eli, which Jack was very excited about. I have no photos from the dentist office, as I was either carrying Jack or holding him down, no time to break out the phone.

I told him we would go to the park afterward, and found a park really close by (the appointment was in Evergreen, as that was where we went for his x-ray when he previously lost his tooth). We showed up and the park was big. Aside from there still being quite a bit of snow on the ground, which made it difficult for Jack to walk around steadily, we had a good time on the slides and stairs. We took turns sending his new toy car (from the dentist office) down the slides, and Jack rode on many slides himself. But the highlight was this big dinosaur statue that was located nearby. He got to sit on its back and tail, look at its toes, and even get up high to touch its mouth. We had a nice little picnic lunch in the back of my car, visited the dinosaur one last time, and then headed home.

When I asked Jack how his visit to the dentist was, he replied "again," meaning he wanted to go back. I'm sure he meant back to the park, but at least the day was remembered fondly, which I hope means the next trip to the dentist won't be doomed from the start. And better yet, when we told daddy about the park, I asked Jack to tell daddy what we saw there. He replied "dinosaur". This is the first time I have witnessed him recall something from memory totally on his own, without being nudged to give a particular response. It seemed like a developmental leap. So fun!!