Dentist Appointment

AJ had a dentist appointment this morning so yesterday I started preparing her for it.  I find that if I talk about how things will go and prepare her for what to expect, everything goes more smoothly.  I warned her that the nice lady was going to brush her teeth and then the dentist would come in and look at her teeth and count them all.

I also told her that if she was well-behaved she would get a goodie bag at the end of the appointment.  Our dentist office gives the kids a little baggie with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, stickers, etc. to take home.  This was the goodie bag to which I was referring.  After I told her this, she asked me if there would be candy in the goodie bag.  Now, I'm not sure what kind of dentist AJ thought we were going to, but I'm almost positive that most dentists don't give out candy.

So this morning we got up and I was tired (someone decided to wake up at 12:23 am and apparently I was sleep-conversing with D only 20 minutes before this), so we were rushed to get dressed, fed, teeth brushed, etc. before leaving the house.  We made it to the dentist with time to spare (thank goodness its right outside our neighborhood) and the whole way there I was talking to AJ about how she could sit in my lap if she wanted to, if she got scared, etc.

She insisted that she is a big girl and could do it herself.

If you don't know AJ personally, let me tell you that this girl can talk a mean game.  I mean, she will tell me exactly what I want to hear, when I want to hear it, but oftentimes it doesn't exactly work out that way.  So when she was insisting that she'd sit alone in the chair I figured I'd go along with it until the time came to hoist her up on my lap for the cleaning.

Imagine my surprise when we went into the exam room and she climbed right up on the chair and told me she was fine without me.  She proceeded to got through the entire cleaning bossing people around and acting like a big girl!  The dentist even commented that two-year-olds never sit in the chair alone and he was VERY impressed.

She was so well-behaved and looked so tiny in the chair by herself that I had tears in my eyes (darn horomones).  When the hygienist asked her if she wanted an orange flower balloon and she replied with "yes, ma'am," I about lost it.  I mean, she is (usually) well-behaved at home, but when we go to unfamiliar places she tends to be shy and reserved, so to see and hear her little well-manned voice made me so proud!