To All Our Friends and Family

We hope that you have a magical Christmas!
We miss and love you all!

Save the Last Dance for Me

We are down to just over a week before we leave for Chicago and are just starting our "official" good-bye's. Kelsie had her last ballet class tonight and I was lucky enough to get there in time to take some pictures and video tape a little bit of it. (She is the one next to the girl in the blue shirt.) She is going to miss her friends that she made in her dance class and especially Miss Lyn, her teacher.

I should be packing, but....

I couldn't resist. There are just too many fun things to share! Not only did Kelsie get some teeth pulled, but Caleb started clapping! In this new world of technology, we thought we'd share that with all of you.

Also, Brandon is into sneaking anything and everything right now. It ranges from candy, video games (a story for another time) and even the camera. This time he was caught, red handed! The best part is how quiet he is. He knows he's doing something that he doesn't want to get caught doing. Sneaky little thing!

We've hit a milestone

When Kelsie was in kindergarten, it wasn't too long into the school year when she began noticing that some of her friends were losing their teeth. She often asked us when she was going to lose her teeth. The same thing happened again in first grade. "Soon" was the regular answer and expected response each time she asked. Finally, half-way through SECOND grade, she finally lost not one, not two, not three, but FOUR teeth.

Here is how it happened.

A couple of months ago the exciting announcement was made that Kelsie's two bottom adult teeth were growing in. We looked in her mouth and saw the pearly whites just starting to break through her gums. We were all excited for the much anticipated loose tooth process to begin (including Brandon who suddenly told us that he was getting his teeth too).

We waited.

We waited a little longer.

We waited until both teeth had grown in behind her baby teeth but still no loose teeth. She tried and tried to make them move, but they were just stubborn (hmmm, apple doesn't fall to far from the tree on that one). A couple months later when she went in to the dentist for her cleaning, they got a good look at those stubborn baby teeth that would still not budge.

"I think we're going to need to extract these two baby teeth to let those adult teeth grow in where they are supposed to," said the dentist. "Extract" is the secret code word for "yank" so as to not scare small children. Didn't work.

So, we set the appointment. And wouldn't you know that the day before the scheduled extraction, Kelsie came home with a BIG surprise. One of those little stubborn teeth finally gave in and started to wiggle. I think she secretly was hoping that this meant that she wouldn't have to go to the dentist and have them yanked out. No such luck. We went to the appointment where they "extracted" her two baby teeth. After looking at the damage, the dentist then said "I think we're going to have to pull two more teeth." Apparently her mouth is a little narrow and we will be referred to an orthodontist in the near future. So, after half an hour in the dentist chair and enjoying a little "happy gas", Kelsie came out of the office with 4 teeth missing across her lower jaw.

After waiting for so long for a visit from the tooth fairy, she finally came to our house last night and left a certificate and a nice little chunk of change. Kelsie is all smiles now and loves to show everyone the long-anticipated holes in her mouth!

Like Father, Like Son

Enough said.