Mack and The Farm

Around Andrew's 3rd birthday, we put “the farm” in his room. His $20 red & black piece of plastic (a.k.a. Mack, the car carrier from the movie CARS) was the BIG birthday hit. Crushing my attempt to walk down memory lane, he really didn't care much about the big wheel (the childhood rite of passage present), or the basketball hoop (aren't all little boys supposed to love hoops???), nor the sit 'n spin (which was really for Mommy). Nope. All he cared about was Mack. Then I reminded myself that his birthday wasn't about ME. It was about him. And at 3,
filling Mack with a dozen matchbox cars is what made his world go round.

He began stacking all of the cars inside and on top of Mack “just so” to be transported every night
up to his room. Then they had to be transferred to "the farm". Steve and Clare had given him the Fischer Price farm. Evidently, each car had its own particular spot in the farm. The barn doors were carefully opened and each car was methodically parked in its correct spot “to go night night”. Often in the morning, all 18 were lined up meticiously in his room. They may have been perpendicular to the wall, or on the window sill, but they were perfect.

2nd trip to the Dentist

Andrew's first trip to the dentist was a complete disaster.  That about sums it up.  It was terribly frustrating because we thought we'd done everything right.  Margaret was an infant, so that means Andrew must have been about 2.5.  We'd gotten a recommendation from our Pediatrician.  She sent us to a "wonderful" pediatric dentist.  Well, this dentist had cute GIGANTIC stuffed animals dropping from the ceiling.  Maybe some kids found them entertaining, but our toddler found the oversizing crab dangling into his personal space to be nothing but terrifying.  Once the hygienist called us back, things continued to go downhill.  She was very sweet, but she did little to accommodate Andrew's nervous demeanor.  She went through the motions of a regular dental check-up as any adult would.  I guess she gave her instruments cute little names, but he didn't care at that point.  He was afraid of them and when she tilt the chair back, it was all over.  I had made sure to find a time that Andrew's hero, Daddy, could go along with us.  Thank goodness for that!  That was the only good move of the day.  I cradled Margaret while Michael physically held Andrew down in the chair, as instructed by the hygienist, so that she could do her thing.  Screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time, I was sure that Andrew was headed for a European smile the rest of his life. 

Icing on the cake---as if we needed any?---we got a bill for the disastrous experience.  Evidently said "wonderful" pediatric dentist wasn't even in-network.  Lovely.

Michael and I both love our extremely convenient Dentist, so I called them for a rec.  They are just a general dentist, technically, but take them at 3.  So voila!  We now have a family dentist.  Six months later, we braced ourselves for Andrew's second dental visit.  Talk about night and day experiences!  The hygienist is my new hero.  She had Andrew counting his teeth for a while and wisely asked if he even wanted to sit down.  He declined (clearly, given recent events), so she just went with that.  She read his hesitation and kept it simple.  I think she even managed a cleaning while he stood there silently with his cute little hands in his precious plaid pockets:)

Look how far you can get with a child when don't freak them out in the obviously optional reclining chair!

Counting teeth - now THIS is how a little one should experience the dentist.

Reviewing the tools (love the hands in the pockets!)