"Beautiful Children with Beautiful Mouths"

Hey y'all -

That's what your dentist had to say about you yesterday. Hagen had his first dental appointment; it was an easy 3-minute affair, with the dentist letting him sit on my lap while she examined his teeth and gave him a little brushing of fluoride. I wasn't surprised he sailed through; Hagen's taken to walking around the house, brushing his teeth for fun. When his turn was over, he entertained himself by taking a hundred pictures of himself with my phone.

Laney's exam was a little more extensive, but she hardly noticed, since they gave her sunglasses to keep the light out of her eyes, and Bose headphones to enjoy the episode of "Doc McStuffins" playing on the ceiling-mounted flat screen TV.

When the hygienist finished and we were waiting on the dentist to come in, Laney shattered the silence in the office by singing along with "Doc McStuffins" in that way that only someone wearing earphones can. She belted TIME FOR YOUR CHECK UP! TIME FOR YOUR CHECK UP! until everyone in the surrounding offices was giggling. 

Laney also had zero cavities, although her good report was more of a mystery. We have to beg, threaten, bribe, cajole, coax, plead and occasionally restrain her to get her teeth brushed every night. Basically, your dad and I should split the rings and bouncy balls she picked as her post-exam prizes. 

Love,

Mom

Rasslin' Cousins

Dear Laney,

The last time you saw your cousin Kya was exactly two years ago, when you looked like this:

She was a little baby, you were almost two, and I didn't know the first thing about taking pictures. Back then, you two became instant friends, but I didn't know how you'd get along now that she's 2 and you're almost 4. I needn't have worried. 

You immediately came up with nicknames for each other. You called Kya, "My New Best Friend," and Kya called you, "Hey-Hey" as in, "Hey-Hey, let's drink some lemonade," or "Hey-Hey, let's go swimming." Kya also likes to call every adult, "Mom," like when she called to me while tapping on the hot tub, "Hey Mom! Let's turn this thing on!" 

You told Kya she could be the first customer at your new lemonade stand. From a business perspective, your lemonade stand is suffering from two great flaws: 1) It's located inside our fence, so you can only sell to people who live here and 2) You've got a pretty slim profit margin. A can of lemonade concentrate costs $3.50, and you're only charging "13 units" per glass. 

Your new best friend had to go back to her house in Minnesota yesterday, so let's raise a glass (of lemonade) to Kya, and hope she comes back soon. 

Love,

Mom

The Tetz Invasion

Hey y'all - 

The last of our company leaves today, and boy has it been a busy week. First, your great-grandpa Ron arrived from Colorado. Then your great aunt Nancy flew in from Northern California. Then your dad's cousin Amanda drove in from Minnesota with her three kids: Ally, Jake and Kya. When you think of great vacation destinations, you should apparently add "Thor and Brooke's backyard" right between The Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, because the place was one big packed party house.

We went for walks in the local parks, we took the kids to the carousel, and we battled our way through the farmer's market. We drove down to the river and played in the mud until it threatened to rain. We all went to watch your dad play softball (the team is now 4-1, and probably headed to the playoffs). We all ate and played in the yard every night, and because it's Missoula, the kids all got to go to the brewery.

The Tetz clan is surprisingly low-maintenance. They demand very little in the way of entertainment and accommodations. They'd bring a bottle of wine and a sleeping bag and be perfectly happy to hang out in the yard. They clean your house when you're not looking. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from their visit:

Ally and Kya on the carousel

Amanda, laughing

Sue and Grandpa Ron and Nancy at the softball game, cheering for Thor

Hagen's first canoe ride

Hagen's first carousel ride

Backyard rides in the wagon. Laney navigating. 

Kya on the beach

Kya and the popsicle

River mud

Loving Aunt Nancy

Kisses from Aunt Nancy

Nancy and Laney, biking home from the park

Aunt Nancy finds her happy place

Looking at life through an oven door

Popcorn buddies

Popsicle cousins

Aunt Nancy and her dad.

Doing what she does best

Hot tubbing with Grandpa Ron

Laney and Ron

Tilt-A-Dad

Wheeee

Yee HAW!

Can they spend the night?

Great grandpa tickles

Hiding from the girls

Walk On the Wild Side

Dear Laney,

Aunt Nancy (Grandma Sue's sister) is here for a visit. You adore Nancy, because she's a Head Start teacher/administrator and knows every game, story and song ever loved by a preschooler. You toss out a subject, and she's got a song about it. Last time she was here, she gifted you with a set of face paint pencils. I hid them away somewhere for a future date when you might be more responsible, or I might be more patient, or... I don't know. But this move has unearthed all kinds of fun things, including the face paint set. And the program from my high school honors banquet. And six hairbrushes.

Right after we moved into the new house, you disappeared into your room and were quiet for longer than usual. Then, you came out and presented us with this:

There's something about that picture that's so sweet and touching and heartbreaking to me. You have this expression on your face like you've gone off on a limb and done something you're proud of, and you're waiting to see what I'm going to say, or if I'm going to be mad. Well, I thought it was kind of awesome, but I also said that maybe we should have it done by a professional one time, just to see if we could pick up some tips and improve our technique.

So last Sunday, we snuck away - just us girls - to the Caras Park Market, and had you turned into a butterfly princess:

Keep going out on those limbs, girl. 

Love,

Mom

P.S. Next to the face painting was an "Animal Wonders" exhibit where a local exotic animal rescue was showing off some of its critters:

There were talking birds and "Lollipop" the baby skunk, and a scorpion mama with 30+ "scorplings" on her back that gave me the heebie-jeebies to the nth degree. You didn't seem at all impressed, but that's probably because the wildest animal of all is the one that lives in your backyard: