When Ava asked to have her ears pierced when she was barely six, I agreed immediately. Her father, on the other hand, insisted she wait until she was seven. As it worked out (due to party schedules and spring break), she was actually still six—she had her ears pierced on St. Patrick’s Day, just before her birthday. So, after listening to Olivia grouse for two years about having to WAIT SO LONG for her own piercing, I told her that she just needed to wait until the St. Patrick’s day before her seventh birthday. (Ava, of course, takes issue with this technicality).
However (due to party schedules and spring break), it wasn’t until this weekend that we made the trip downtown to Claire’s. Olivia was excited, but obviously so nervous. I told her several times she didn’t have to go through with it, but she insisted. Ava was much help, assuring her it wouldn’t hurt but for a second.
The process only took a few minutes, but something makes me think it felt much longer than for poor Livie Lou.
Good thing two piercers worked simultaneously—given how she winced, I’m not sure she would have made it through the second ear.
She reported, “That hurt a lot more than it was supposed to.”
But a split second later, all smiles.
Smith Family Weblog 
Posted by Rebecca's Mom on March 30, 2014 at 9:18 am
I love that “sleeping bunny” came along. These girlies are growing up much too fast!
Posted by Karyl on March 30, 2014 at 11:12 am
She just melts my heart!
Posted by Doug Smith on March 30, 2014 at 12:37 pm
What a sweet little photo essay about a rite of passage. You help us experience things first-hand that we would otherwise miss, Rebecca. We are there for all the worry, the pain, and the quick recovery. The bunny is priceless. She’s still a little girl, only with pierced ears.