So Much to Say

My fears were all in vain. Owen did swimmingly well at the dentist's office, hardly even wiggled while the dentist cleaned his teeth. They used bubble gum-flavored toothpaste, and while Owen's never had any bubble gum, he is now in love with both the flavor and the word (or words, I guess). He hopped around our living room yelling, "Bubble gum! Bubble gum! Bubble gum! I like bubble gum!" all night on Tuesday. The funniest part was while the dentist was cleaning his teeth - Owen kept licking the paste and licking his teeth and licking the doctor's hands. I had to keep reminding him to keep his tongue in, but the delicious flavor of bubble gum toothpaste was too much for him to resist. The end result is shiny little perfect teeth. We did finally get an answer for why his bottom teeth were staining (which cleaned right off, by the way). The dentist told us that because of Owen's ear tubes and abnormally large adnoids and tonsils, he breathes through his mouth a lot (which he definitely does - my boy is a mouthbreather, fark!). Breathing through the mouth causes calculus (or, calcium buildup on the teeth), and that calculus is stained anytime he drinks any colored drink (i.e. watered-down grapejuice). Once he has his adnoids and tonsils removed, which will probably happen this year, the mouthbreathing will cease. He cleaned the teeth, and said they are healthy, so that's the best part. He checked Owen's 2-year molars and they are most of the way in. I didn't even know he was getting any teeth! Both boys are teething, hee. As we were leaving, the dentist said, "Mom, you ought to write a book! He was so good!" I'll take that compliment! My little monster, being good in public.

We are leaving tomorrow afternoon for a weekend in Pigeon Forge. It's only a few hours from us, and while we will not be going to DollyWood, we will be visiting other kitschy places, such as Boyd's Bear Country. We're also taking the boys to a big fancy aquarium and a little ski resort in the mountains. We're just going to ride the aerial tram up there, aren't planning on doing any actual skiing. Especially since it's supposed to be 60 degrees all weekend. We are also going to take the trolley ride through the WinterFest of lights, all 5 million of them (really, 5 million). I know Owen is going to love all of it. I'm a little nervous about (Ari x hotel x pumping = baby-sized meltdown). But I think we'll be fine. We traveled a lot with Owen when he was a baby, and Ari is even more agreeable than Owen, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good time.

Speaking of Owen as a baby, I've been thinking lately about how different the boys are. Owen was so high maintenance, not that he cried a lot, but he required constant attention and entertainment, and was mildly cranky most of the time. Ari is so laid back and happy. I think this is a combination of a couple of things. First, Ari has Owen to watch. He gets glazed-over eyes when he's watching Owen, and he smiles and laughs and reaches out to his big brother. Owen didn't have this benefit. Secondly, don't discount Second Child Syndrome. With two little ones, we don't have the time to hold Ari like we did with Owen. Owen was always in our arms, being catered to and soothed and played with. Ari is much more independent, in a way he's had to become thanks to being born second to a 2-year old. He's learned to entertain himself, and to just chill out while I spend a few minutes with Owen. Also, Second Child Syndrome affects the way we parent, in that we are so much more relaxed with Ari than with Owen. I'm sure Ari senses this. And thirdly, his personality in general is more laid back, more personable, more social, and light years less cranky. My boys, I never dreamed how different they'd be. It's so fun getting to know them.

And for the best news of all, Ari slept last night from 7PM to 630AM straight, with no wakings. Unbelievable. So it is possible, after all. Little sneak.