Open Wide

Avery was a super star today at the dentist! She went off by herself & did it. I was in the room beside her, and she watched me in the chair for 10 minutes before they came for her, so I think that helped. She put on her shades, opened up, and let them do their cleaning & fluoride thing. Then she picked playdough out of the treasure chest. I thought it would be a wimpy mini-can, but it was a whole box of 4!!! That's way better than a sticker or pencil.

And this was the regular family dentist. Last year we went to the pediatric dentist all the way in Tigard, it was 5 minutes of screaming and kicking, literally. I know she's a year older, but I really wonder if it would have been the same if we had gone to the peds place again. It's too much like romper room there, I think, whereas a regular dentist office is quiet and serious.

And on that note, Avery's about had it with me: Last week was the opthamologist (all okay), this week was the dentist (all okay), and next week is her flu shot (she doesn't know about that yet, I'll wait until the night before to start preparing her for it). She was so good at her last shot Grandma Linda didn't even know she'd had it, and she was standing right there. She doesn't like drops in her eyes (or cream, or hair, or fingernails), but she's pretty amazing with the rest of it.

So today was election day. I'm thrilled that Washington state does it by mail now -- you get the ballot & a voter pamphlet a month or so before the election, then you can sit there, read all you want, and vote in the leisure of your own home. I guess it's more cost effective than finding people and places for polling stations, and hopefully more people will take time out of their busy schedules to vote if they can do it on their own time.

So, for all of you not in the Pacific northwest US or southern B.C. Canada, it's flooding out there. Cats & dogs, buckets, pouring, drenching, whatever you want to call it, it's flooding places in Clark County (where we live), and in the Chilliwack valley (where grandma Linda & grandpa Earl live). Luckily, both of our houses are high enough to avoid flooding. But boy is it wet out there, and has been for days. Our paint will hardly dry from the humidity. I haven't heard of power outtages, but I do know that phone lines are out all over, and salmon are swimming across flooded streets. That doesn't happen everyday, but it seems to happen ever year during a good rainy spell.

Here's a candle in preparation for our lights going out. Obviously I was just playing with the camera during dinner, but I liked this one, with a candle and a pendant light in the reflection.

Avery was also a big helper today. She went with me to buy carpet for the play room, and also to buy a new entry door handle. She insisted on carrying it out of Home Depot, even though it was about 2/3 as big as she was. And she carried it most of the way to the car, after making it to the checkout, telling everyone she passed how heavy it was and what a big girl she is. She is!