Brave boy.

Antonio did great. He got to lay back, put some headphones on, watch a movie and breathe in the "good oxygen". They did the whole thing in a matter of maybe 2 min; I was impressed. The dentist said, " you might feel a little pull but it's ok" and about 15sec later Antonio said, "owe" and that was it. No tears, no fuss, nothing. He was so brave. I was so glad to have it done. They applied gauze to stop the bleeding and then handed him an otter pop. He was content.

I, on the hand, was not. As soon as I saw the blood it was over. I became very dizzy, nauseous, shaky and sweaty. It was awful. They turned the ac up in the room me, we had a private room, and told me we (Antonio and I) could stay as long as needed. Antonio happily, was content with where he was so I could "recover". What am I going to do if he breaks an arm or leg? Or falls and gets cut? Or something worse? I told Albert he is in charge if anything other than Antonio falling and skinning his knee or arm happens. I've now learned I may not do so well.

Maybe having just one kid is good.

For 24hours he was restricted to a "soft" diet. No seeds (strawberries, blackberries, etc), crackers, chips or anything he'd have to "bite" into and no sucking through a straw or sippycup type cup. So he had a bunch of watermelon, 2 banana's, scrambled egg, bread and 2 popsicles the rest of the day. Then the next day, oatmeal, more banana, french toast, scrambled egg, string cheese (cut into bite sized pieces), spinach leaves, more watermelon, blueberries, and apples (cut into bite sized pieces). Today, Rosemary (daycare) wasn't sure what he could or couldn't eat so she planned to have, waffles, applesauce, mac n cheese, yogurt, pudding and another popsicle. He's had the best foods the past few days.

He's got a pretty big lisp right now and I am really hoping as he gets used to talking without 1 front tooth it will gradually lessen. It makes me sad to see him smile with a missing tooth. :/  Today on the way home from swimming he said to me, "my grown-up tooth is taking a really long time to come".  Poor guy. I pray he gets used to it because Dr. Lugo warned it could be a couple years before it grows in. Imagine not having one of your front teeth, and trying to talk and eat like "normal". Thats what he has to deal with for a couple years. My poor sweet boy.  I know its better that it's gone so his "grown-up" tooth can grow in properly and the infection (from when he fell and the tooth was pushed up) is gone but it still makes me sad for him.

A pulled tooth

When Antonio was still a baby (he still is in my mind but back when he was 1ish) he would put his blankie in his mouth, managed to get one of the strings that was also looped, all of them were, around his front tooth and pull on it. He did it all the time, I guess it was an alternative to sucking his thumb. Once all his teeth were in, I noticed that one of his front teeth was out further than the other. No big deal but I brought it up every time we went to the dentist, it bothered me. I was always worried that it meant when it fell out, the permeant tooth would grow in crooked. The dentist, Dr. Lugo, always said not to worry because the permeant one most likely would grow in fine. Then we got his X-rays done once he was old enough and sure enough, it looked like it was growing in the right spot, phew.

A couple weeks ago Antonio slipped on some sand that was on the floor of his classroom and fell. They said he fell and bit his lip, they gave him ice and he claimed he didn't cry. Well of course that was a Wednesday and Albert picked him up took him to daycare and I didn't see him until much later and well, he looked fine when I saw him. He had a little bump/red spot on his lip but that was all; I wasn't worried. Well last week he complained because his lip was hurting, turned out he had a nasty canker sore between his bottom lip and gums. That went away yet he was still complaining of pain on top of his mouth. He pointed to the roof of his mouth behind where his left tooth was. I looked and saw nothing. I assumed he was just making it up. :(  He kept complaining about it every time we brushed his teeth so last Thursday I looked closer and saw this:

It looks more like a long lump on his gums. Not so much round as it looks here. He said it hurt when I touched it and yet still pointed to the roof of his mouth behind the tooth. Then he started mentioning certain foods hurt to eat but never ever really complained about it. I had to cut up apples into bite size pieces because biting big ones hurt. He had his regularly scheduled cleaning next month so I was just going to wait until then.  I didn't think to much of it until I showed my Mom Saturday evening when she was over for Mothers day dinner. She calmly, yet sternly, you should call his dentist about it. She mentioned it looked like the permanent tooth was maybe growing in over it. 

ACK!

That kinda freaked me out. I definitely don't want that to happen. So I told Antonio I would call Dr. Lugo Monday. I did and got him in this afternoon. They took an x-ray and asked if he had had any trauma to it. I said no, then remembered the fall at school. Dr. Lugo said that was probably it. The tooth bit his lip and was pushed up into his mouth just far enough to cause movement. They could also see a small infection starting which was why it was hurting him so much. Dr. Lugo said they would have to pull the tooth, top right (Antonio's top left). That way the other could grow in right and to get rid of the infection/pain. He said he couldn't do his regular cleaning because of the infection so sooner than later. We decided for tomorrow instead of waiting two weeks (after school is out). He suggested tomorrow so we could get it out before the infection got any worse and began to really bother Antonio. :( 

Once the tooth is out he will have a hole there; for maybe 2 or 3 years.  The other tooth should grow in like normal but now be delayed a bit more than normal because it will have to grow through bone instead of the hole of the baby one. The "hole" of the baby one will be long closed. Dr. Lugo did say it looks like Antonio has (hopefully now, had) a slight under bite, his lower jar is out farther than his upper one. However, the blankie thing when he was younger may have corrected that with the other tooth. Yay!? I think. So maybe, just maybe, both upper permanent teeth will come in perfectly after all this! *Fingers crossed*

Antonio will miss school tomorrow but seems ok with it because Dr. Lugo will "fix" his tooth. ;) An hour before we go in I will give him a very small about of liquid valium to relax him. I asked if I could have some too or at least have some laughing gas during the appointment but sadly I was turned down.  Anyways. Once there, we will go in and have the tooth pulled in about 5 mins. Apparently the actual pulling out of the tooth is super fast and easy. Antonio might feel a little discomfort or pressure but thats it. 

Side note: Thats also what they told me I would feel when they pulled Antonio out of me during my c-section. The only little that was involved was Antonio and we all know he was not little. :/ So I'm a bit nervous for him.

Moving forward. They said that he should be fine afterwards, maybe a little drowsy from the valium but fine. In fact they said he would be able to go to swimming later in the day with no problems. Crazy. I imagine a little sore from it too but they didn't think much if any. We will play it by ear and hope thats true. I'm kinda freaking out about it. I know its just a tooth that wouldn't have fallen out in a year or two anyways but still. There will be valium and pulling involved...on my baby boy. 

Yes, I am grateful and thankful that this is the worst that has happened to him in his little life so far. My cousin's youngest just got his cast off after falling off his brothers bed (while playing calmly on it) and breaking his arm. We're lucky its just a tooth but for a year or two there will be a hole in his smile. :(  He's never been big on smiling good in pictures anyways but still...  Please pray for him tomorrow (Tuesday) morning around 10:30. Pray it is fast and painless and that there is no "recovery" needed! :) Also pray that I don't pass out. Lol. I'll be sure to update FB once we are done and home. 

Here are a couple last min full of teeth pictures from this afternoon! Tomorrow's smile will be a little different...

Kindergarten

Next year my baby boy will go to Kindergarten!

Am I ready?

HECK NO!!!!!

Surprisingly, it was a hard decision. First, it was whether he was ready for Kindergarten since he is a Summer birthday (he will only be 5 in July). Then it was weather to send him to the local public school or keep him at the private school he goes to now. We love, love, LOVE where he goes now. The school is amazing. He is learning so much about letters, numbers, shapes, colors, patterns and most importantly GOD. I think one of my favorite things he is learning is about is God/Jesus. He doesn't learn any of that from us, especially since we don't go to church, but I do want him to know God. Now any far away place is now Bethlehem (or Disneyland since we've now been there). Sadly he won't get any of that at public school. 

Backing up to the original concern, whether he was ready or not. After talking to his current Pre-K teachers he seems to be ready. When I asked if they thought he was ready, without hesitation, they confidently said yes. In fact, they said some things he is one of the best in class on the others he was doing fine on. I asked if they thought he would be mentally/emotionally ready since he is a Summer birthday (boy) and they thought so. Since he is so "even keel" they thought he would do fine.  I've heard from a few people, my Mom in particular, that sometimes boys who have Summer birthdays (ones who have just turned 5) going into Kindergarten have trouble at first, no matter how smart they are; they just aren't mature enough. So of course I was concerned. Both Antonio's Pre-K teachers and Ms. Rosemary (daycare) think he is ready so we are trusting them. 

It will be hard for me since, whether we/I admit it or not, we judge our own kid in one way or another (against other kids and other people judge kids against kids, subconsciously) no matter how hard we try not to. One of Antonio's cousin's is in Kindergarten now and reading; full on reading books. It amazes me. Then I worry, in a year Antonio should be reading?!?! No way! Then I remind myself, he (the cousin) is 6 as of January and this time next year Antonio will barely be 5 1/2.  His other cousin will be in Kindergarten next year too but she turned 5 last October, so 9 months older than Antonio. Antonio will be a young Kindergartener and next year when other Kindergarteners are "ahead" of him  I will have to remind myself, "It's ok, he is a young Kindergartener.".  We all want our kids to be at the top of the class but there will be a chance Antonio may not be at the top, and that is ok. :) (Remind me this next year!)

As far as public or private. I was able to sit in on a Kinder class at his current school and I was not nearly as impressed with the class as I was/am with the Pre-K class. There were so many other factors involved with our decision (transportation, money, my stress level, etc) but we decided to send him to the public school down the road from us. I think/hope he will be just fine there. Antonio would end up there in a year anyways so it was really just one year he would have gone to the private school. He will be able to be picked up and dropped off at daycare by the bus which will be so helpful. The school recently hired a new principle who apparently is improving the school a lot. I won't be 100% confident in our decision until after we have the first conference in the Fall. ;) 

Phew, one more decision done (thanks to my cousin Suzanne and Renae and my Mom) and is in the books. 

*side note. Antonio's currently doing a fundraiser for his school (mixed bags. reusable grocery, totes, etc.) through Friday, the 7th. His school gets 40% from every online purchase.  If you are at all interested go here. His fundraiser ID # is 89635. No pressure. Really. 

Disneyland

As you know Albert, Antonio and I went to Dinseyland recently and had so much fun! In fact Antonio is asking when we can go back. We also were joined by his Mom, Eva, Nelly & John, Kiana, Abel & Elise (Antonio's cousin) and then the second day Robert and Cammie! It was fun! I've decided 4 (1/2) was a good age. Atleast Antonio was a good age to go. He was tall enough (43") to ride rides he wanted to (& didn't want to) go on.  Turns out 40" is the minimun for rides that require a certain height, some didn't require a height at all, and then 42" was the next step up then 44" and up. We were there 2 days and 2 nights; one night at the Disney Grand Californian and one up the road. The Disney Grand was amazing. If you are going to do it right and have kids it is perfect. It has it's own entrance into California Adventure and another one into Downtown Disney. It was so convenient.  We had an awesome view of California Adventure (CA) so we were able to watch the World of Color (or whatever it is called) after were were in our jammies from our balcony. If you have small kids that may need to nap it is evern better. The other Disney hotels are great too, I assume, but the location of the Disney Grand was ideal. In my opinion, if you are going to spend the amount of money for a Disney hotel spend the extra few for the location. We didn't have to carry a crying, overtired 4 year old (happily we never ran in to this problem, yet he was beyond tired at the end of both days) more than a few hundred feet. Also, if you get to the hotel before you can check in they will hold all your luggage (for free) until you come back to check in. If you happen to buy a bunch of things you can go back and add to your luggage at any time. So nice. We didn't check in until we were done at CA (about 8:30pm). The next morning after breakfast we packed up our stuff and checked out before going to Disneyland, again they hold all of your belongings until midnight the night that you check out. We didn't go back for our stuff until about 9:30 that night! It was so nice!

 I wish we could have had more time at CA because there was so much we didn't see/do. Some people talk down CA because it is not classic Disney, which is true, however it has all the characters that Antonio knew now. Toy Sory, A Bugs Life, Cars, Monsters Inc and I heard a rumor, but never saw, that it had UP too! Anotonio loved it because it had characters that he was familiar with! He spent most of the time walking around with his head up looking at everything! In my opinion, if going with younger kids CA is a MUST. They have a ride there called Tower of Terror, well you have to be 40" to ride on it (an example of just because you are tall enough doesn't mean you should ride) and I knew I wasn't going and offered to stay back with Antonio. But Albert said he'd take Antonio (with everyone else including Elise) I had anxiety the whole time, it is not a little kid ride. Sure enough, Antonio came out in Albert's arms crying because he was scared. :(  To this day, (even before getting into bed tonight) he still talks about how it was a creepy hotel and how it scared him. Poor kiddo.


Disneyland was well, Disneyland (DL). It had all the magic and fun I had remembered. We started DL off with a character breakfast at The Disney Grand hotel, which Antonio had a blast with. It was just another thing that was way over priced but a must! You pay for the fun as well as the food I guess. After checking out we went straight into DL (about a 2 min walk). We first took the train up above DL before actually getting out and checking everything out. Antonio loved that and took convincing there was more to do. After that, he lead the way. We went straight down Main Street to the Castle which if we had only walked in and then out all day he would have been happy! His favorite ride by far was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. We went on it at least 4 times! There were manny rides he went on and he loved. Sadly, Its a Small World was closed for refurbishment but he went on Dumbo! We wended up having strollers for both kids and I am so glad we did. By about 6 both were starting to break down, Antonio more than Elise. Just when we thought we would be done Antonio decided to stay for the fireworks and I am so glad we did. Antonio thought they were to loud but he's never been a fan of fireworks let alone loud noises. It was by far the best fireworks I've seen! After the fireworks show we were done; it was time to go home (back to a different hotel where everyone else was staying).

Antonio made out with good Disney gear though. He got his Mickey ears from Grandma, a Mickey shirt (from us, it was more of an emotional buy for me), a Bullseye (from toy story) from Grammy & Grandpa (they sent us with some cash for a souvenir) and a Buzz Lightyear hoodie from Uncle and Auntie, which he wears EVERYWHERE! Next time we go we plan on being there 3 days, we easily could have used another day. It was so much fun and Antonio was so good, much better than I expected him to be! He's already talking about the next time!

 All of us in front of the Disney Castle

 My emotional Mickey shirt purchase.

Elise and Antonio with their "ears".

 Elise and Antonio decided where to go next.

A sleepy Antonio with his new friend. 

Check out my FB two photo albums (Disneyland via my iPhone and California Adventure/Disneyland) for more pics if you haven't already!