"Quick Shut the Doors!!"

Yesterday was the big day - Walker's first trip to the dentist. We went to the Tooth Zone - a recommendation from a friend. One thing I can say for certain - the dentist has surely changed since I was a kid... We arrived there and were instantly overwhelmed with the bells and whistles. In the front of the building is a gigantic system of tunnels, climbing equipment and slides - just like McDonald's. There were little kid cars and a movie playing below. In the back - old style video games that were all free, and a WII of course. Walker thought it was fantastic. They had a plush waiting area for parents with gourmet coffee and magazines. As it was his first visit, they took him back to the area where he gets his teeth cleaned, while I got a tour of the place and then the chance to sit through a power point presentation on their practice. During the presentation I could hear Walker talking to the hygeniest in the other room almost the whole time. At one point, I thought I heard him crying pretty hard but I couldn't be sure. As soon as the power point was over, the Dentist came in - "Dr. Kent". He said, "Well Walker has 4 cavities - why do you think that is?" Wow - good question. If I knew - perhaps I would have tried to avoid them?!?! You can be sure we'll be cutting back on sugar and brushing away as much as we can. Particularly because now he has to get them filled!!

He seemed to like the dentist however and because I couldn't go back with him, of course I interviewed him about it afterwards. He said, "It was good Mom". Later in the day he told me that the dentist had taken pictures of his teeth. I asked him how it went and he said, "Not good. It hurt". I asked him what he did when they were taking the pictures and he told me he'd cried. Of course, I realized that this was the time that I heard him crying back there, and I was hopeful that they had comforted him. I asked him, "What did they do when you cried?" He said, "They yelled, 'Quick everybody shut the doors!'" OH!!!!! Horrible!!!! Hopefully this isn't what he remembers about the dentist. We'll be getting those 4 cavities filled soon, and the dentist wants to give him laughing gas. This was so not what I was hoping for.

Is there survival with no nap??

We've entered a new era in our home. At our 3 year old doctor appointment, the doctor asked if he was taking naps still. I said that he did take 2 hour naps, but we were sometimes having trouble getting him to bed at night. So we discussed how to make it all better for awhile at which point Walker was playing with some sort of vent on the floor - it didn't appear he was even listening...

A couple weeks ago I heard him up in his room while he was "napping" banging around in there. I figured he'd figure it out and go back to sleep - because he's always LOVED his sleep. A little while later he poked his head out of the room and said, "Hey Mom, I'm done napping." When I asked him why he didn't nap today he said, "The doctor said I just needed to spend an hour in my room having quiet time." How in the world did he catch that part of the conversation? How did he know that an hour had passed?? Unbelievable I tell you!! I figured it was just that day, but actually it appears that this is a permanent situation. A few days later I kept hearing his door open and close, and then other rooms upstairs open and close. I finally called his name and he came to the bridge wearing only a pirate shirt and hat.

Today he had gymnastics and then we went with Emilee and Aleks to the park and on an impromptu visit to the fire department. They played hard. I was sure there would be a nap today as he was barely keeping himself awake in the car on the way home. He wanted Caleigh to sleep in his bed, so I let him. It sounded like he actually went to sleep. A little while later I heard him talking and singing. It didn't even last 45 minutes today. He got up and did fine all day until the witching hours. At about 6 pm he started saying he couldn't stay awake any longer. Jay gets home late, so with dinner and time with him he finally ended up in bed at 8 pm. Close, but we made it. Here's to hoping for another day of naps tomorrow.