Smith Family Weblog

Bry spotted this hot air balloon outside yesterday afternoon. Ava was thrilled, and she watched it until we lost it behind the trees. As we were walking in, Olivia dropped a toy. In response to the noise, Ava exclaimed, “Oh, the balloon popped!”

Ava has been grousing about getting her hair cut lately, “just like Ginger’s,” a playmate from preschool. I’ve been dragging my feet on the matter for roughly two and half years, but I finally relented and agreed to take her to a walk-in shop this afternoon.

Here’s the before:

One of the reasons I finally decided to allow this is that Ava’s hair is long enough to donate to Locks of Love.  The stylist measured it to ensure it was at least 10 inches–it was 11.5.

I told Ava we’d be sharing it with a child who doesn’t have hair. Ava thought about this for a very long time, then said, “I think we should give it to Liv; she doesn’t have enough.”

Ava was nonplussed by all of this, but I admit to being a tad teary-eyed.

Once the length was gone, the stylist shaped it to look like a photo Ava had selected during our wait. She wanted to be sure that I had the book open to the correct page the entire time the stylist worked.

By the end of the afternoon, Ava was done being photographed, but here’s the final result. She is quite pleased, and even I’ll say it’s pretty darn cute.

I really wonder what Ava’s going to do with the time she usually spends pitching a fit about having her hair fixed in the morning. We’ll see!

I took Ava to the dentist for the first time last week. It used to be that you could wait until kids were five to have their first dental appointment; now, it’s three. Of course, they want to see Olivia at one. I see how this works.

Anyway, we’ve been following a very rigorous routine of dental care the last few years. Our plan includes allowing Ava to suck hot pink princess toothpaste off a Hello Kitty brush twice a day, then assuring our doctor that we hold her down and tend to each tooth individually with a power toothbrush while she screams and flails about. Needless to say, I was a little concerned about what her first X-Rays would belie, but somehow she was cavity free.

This butterfly-themed dentist office caters to kids, so flat screen TVs are mounted to the ceiling above reclining chairs. Pop in a Dora DVD, add headphones, and the jaw automatically slackens just enough to allow for a thorough exam.

Ava was surprisingly well behaved throughout the entire exam…

Though she refused to sit in the special butterfly chair to have her photo taken by the hygienist. Everyone has their limits.

You can’t believe the loot they send home. Play dough, tattoos, balloons, a t-shirt, gum, stickers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, princess-themed floss…

She can’t wait to go back.