Visits from the Tooth Fairy...at 4!!

I love this dress Grandma Carol bought for her and I even found bows to match!

I keep forgetting to make note of Eliza's lost teeth. She's very proud of her "lost teeth" and still remembers how she lost them. One was while eating an ice cream cone back in August (her vanilla cone had a strange red spot all of a sudden). The other one she lost at home a few weeks later while swimming. She says she has another loose tooth as well.

I wasn't expecting her to loose any teeth for a while, so I was kind of surprised. My baby is turning into a big girl already!

Teeth, toes and eyeglass woes...

Sunday after church... OK, after a week of broken glasses, and various accidents, I just want everyone to be careful for a few days! First, Kirk had an infected, in-grown toenail, which needed to be taken care of on Tuesday. Right before I went to pick him up for his appointment, he called to say he was hit by a soccer ball and his glass were in pieces. Well, I'd just been to our optometrist an hour before for my check-up and had an appointment for Zachary that afternoon, for his broken glasses, by the way. So, both Kirk and Zachary had glasses that were broken, but fortunately Kirk had a back-up pair to wear.

We got everyone back in their glasses and Kirk's toe is feeling much better. Then, Friday evening, I just packed Zach of to an overnight campout with the scouts and the rest of us were out playing in the front yard when I noticed something strange. Grace was missing the bottom third of one of her front teeth! I couldn't believe it! She was obviously not wanting to talk about how she broke her tooth at school and I tried to be patient, but what a strange thing to happen.

She told me, after much prodding, that she was sitting on the ground during recess with her friends when she hit her head against the ground and broke her tooth. Coming from most children, that would be very unlikely, but Grace has the ability to have strange things like this actually be true stories! Seriously, she can trip, bump or run into the most obvious things (like barstools, chairs, people, cats, etc.) Just getting from one side of the room to the other can be an adventure for her.

At times, it is hard to understand why she has trouble with these things, but I know it is probably because of her huge change in eyesight and that she's always had issues since she couldn't see well for the first 10 years of her life. It's just difficult to take her to new places or with people who aren't around her much. She will be so hesitant and awkward trying to find her way around that I think they assume she has a disability of some kind. (This was especially hard when her language skills were just coming along and people would treat her like she was about 5 years old.)

She is really smart and capable, but most people don't get that when they see her movements. I think when we push her to do things on her own it can look kind of tough to others, but really, she CAN do things for herself. She is a very bright and determined little girl. So many things are still new to her and each new situation brings new challenges. As parents though, we have to help her learn to do things for herself and everytime she does, she gains confidence and strength. After seeing the amazing speed that she learns things, I know it is possible for her to catch up physically to her peers. Not in physical size, but in her strength and abilities. She only has one more year after this one until jr. high, so I know she needs to learn to do things for herself. I just hope she can become more aware of her surroundings as time goes on. I guess I can also be glad she didn't break her glasses too!

Our Labor Day weekend fun...

Brian helping Olivia learn how to stop her horse

Monday,at the park with my neice Amber's adorable baby Veronica

We started off with horseback riding lessons for Olivia, Kirk and Zachary. (Grace wouldn't get on a horse but maybe next time). Mike works with Brian and I taught his girls swimming lessons this summer. Brian and his wife Carolee have quite a few horses so we did a trade. Olivia didn't want to get off her horse! Eliza got a chance to have a ride and was so cute but of course it is easier if your feet actually reach the stirrups! Kirk and Zach will be experts in no time. Zach had his horse trotting around the arena right away. Grace played on the playground with the little girls. It was fun for everyone!

Next was the sleep-over with cousins, Seth and Jesse came here and Eliza and Kirk went to their house. Eliza invited herself and how could Aunt Cheryl say no, especially since Eliza loves to brush her hair and put lotion on her feet. This actually sounds better than it feels but hey, it's still some pampering!

Then on Monday, we all met up with the extended Earl clan for a picnic in the park. A great Labor Day weekend all around.