dentist

Sayan had his first trip to the dentist on Thursday. He did so well! We found a pediatric dentist who came highly recommended and turns out she is right down the street from us which worked nicely.

Sayan was excited (after having watched Berenstain Bears go to the dentist he had an idea of what to expect-- though did ask me as we were driving if the dentist had "yankers").

They were wonderful with him. The dental assistant showed him all the tools, the spinning toothbrush, the water gun and Mr. Thirsty and let him play with the controls on the chair so he could adjust it. It was so cute the chairs are mini-people sized!!

Here he is all geared up for the cleaning:

He had his choice of like 9 flavors for the toothpaste part and chose mint "because Nana eats mints and I like mint ice cream". 2/3 of the way through the cleaning he revised his opinion that mint was NOT a good choice, and next time he would opt for cherry, watermelon or strawberry. But he toughed it out. The dental assistant was very impressed this was his first time as he was such a pro at following directions:

At the end of the cleaning the dentist came and ... he does have two cavities. Though she called them "weaknesses" which I thought was very tactful for kids. We had noticed decay on those two teeth which prompted the trip. Even though we have been pretty good with brushing since he was 18 months (or even younger!) I realized a few months ago that I never really got the top teeth between the front teeth and the back ones as his mouth was so small and I didn't force his lip up. I guess I should have as those were the teeth that had the cavities. But does go to show that good brushing habits do work as the rest of his teeth were strong and healthy! Sorry Sayan, I will do better! So now we need to use a fluoride toothpaste and go in for filling.

He got a "goodie bag" at the end with toothbrush, timer and little mirror that he is fascinated with. Overall was a great experience and now Jai and I just need to step up with the brushing...

Lillian

We went to Dallas a couple weekends ago for Lillian's birthday party. Lillian (Sayan's God-sister) turned 4 and Sayan was soooooooo excited to go and visit her and go to her party. When we arrived in Dallas, before we even made it to their house, Sayan picked this flower "cause I want to bring it to Lillian".

It was fantastic to spend time with Genevra, Avery, Lillian and Madelyn. Sayan and Lillian hit it off again-- though her outgoing, engaging personality was occasionally more than our quiet, inward boy was used to. In general they played really well together, sharing and talking and getting into joint mischief. They especially loved their tubby times together.

The highlight of the weekend was Lillian's party at Pump it Up, a bounce-house haven-- Sayan went berserk he loved it so much. Room after room of super-sized inflatable slides, mazes and bouncers. Below was a group shot of all the kids, Lillian is to the right of Sayan.

Lunch for 25 kids plus parents followed-- Genevra outdid herself with and Sayan is spoiled for life as to what to expect at a birthday party from now on. He got to sit across from the birthday girl and chose a pink balloon (what else!) as his party favor to take home.

Driving back to Austin Sayan was pretty quiet for awhile. I asked how he was doing and he said, "Mommy, I'm gonna miss my Dallas sisters (what we called Lillian and baby Maddie)."

I asked if he enjoyed his time and he replied: "Yes, Lillian is such a good friend to me, I like her a lot. I want to go back and play with her every day."

So we talked about friends and getting to see Lillian more in the future and making new friends like Lillian in Austin. To which he replied:

"No I want to go back to Dallas. That's where Lillian --- and the bounce house is!"

Girls and jumbo slides, what more could a boy want?

My Heart

Valentine's Breakfast

We made chocolate chip pancakes for Valentine breakfast. When we were growing up my mom would always make us this treat on Valentine's Day. She usually made them in the shape of hearts and I offered that option to Sayan but he said "no, just circles mom".

So circles they were:

Sadly, at the advanced age of 35, I opted for a slightly less dense breakfast:

Sayan though ate every last bite. With maple syrup and butter of course.

Green Pastures

On Sunday we went to Green Pastures for my birthday brunch. I probably haven't been in twenty-five years (oh wait that's how old I am, right?), but what I remember most from our numerous trips there in my childhood was chasing the peacocks under the magnificent live oak trees. So when my mom suggested we go for my birthday I was most excited about Sayan getting to run and play on the beautiful lawns with the peacocks.

As it turned out the peacocks were not the highlight of the lunch -- though this beautiful albino one below greeted us and we discovered a flock hiding from the snow (yes it snowed on Sunday, fifteen flakes that thrilled me and insulted my husband) amidst the machinery "back of house".

What was the highlight of our day was this boy:

I have to admit I was a little nervous going to a "fancy restaurant" with our three year old, whose attention span has been shortened considerably since his recent illness. So I packed my purse full of drawing equipment, letters flashcards, even the DVD player, Just In Case. My purse sat unopened the entire meal.

Sayan was such a ball of light. He was so excited to choose his foods and quietly sat eating or talking with us for almost two hours. AMAZING. Only toward the end did we pull him onto our laps, not so much for him as for us!!

Love you my little man!!

(When next we go back I will teach you how to terrorize the peacocks properly.)

nite nite

though mostly recovered (10 days later!) sayan still needs more sleep than he thinks he does. his little body will fight the concept and then collapse in a heap when i least expect it. pretty cute actually.

a valentine: composed and typed entirely by Sayan

happy whole family and the whole world