Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

I have not done a good job of keeping this blog current.  The last few months of 2011 flew by and I didn't share what happened.  I won't be able to do them all justice, but here is a little re-cap of our holiday season.

1-Thankful turkey

2-Christmases--we celebrated Christmas twice.  On December 16-17th we had Christmas with all the Erickson clan that lived in Virginia.  Nina was only home for a short time and we wanted to be able to celebrate with her, so we hung stockings, had a sleepover, woke up early and all opened presents!  Then the next week--the real Christmas we celebrated Christmas eve with just the seven of us.  Christmas morning we opened presents and ate breakfast and went to church to sing in the choir.  We were still busy with family after church with a visit to the Ehlers and the Ericksons.

3-rounds of stomach flu--Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  don't ask.

4-elves help set up the tree

5 pills taken every 8 hours to calm the pain in my mouth. (3 Advil, 2 acetaminophen)

6 months old when Erica learns to crawl, climb, and gets her first 2 teeth7 days off school (not including weekends). that's not a very big Christmas vacation. 

11 Grandchildren together on the Ehlers' side for Thanksgiving

12 years old is how old you had to be to go the John Schmidt fireside the same night as the ward trunk-or-treat.  So Elizabeth went to the fireside and sacrificed getting lots of candy, but she got a photo, an autograph and  LOVED it.

Halloween 2012: golden princess, Daisy from Mario, Athena, and Hippie

17 piece dollhouse furniture set that Maire got for Christmas.  the girls painted it different pretty colors.

37 people gathered together for Thanksgiving and to visit with Great-Grandma Alley

20 of us got the stomach flu

a visit from the Tooth Fairy

Well, we are having a lot of happenings revolving around teeth these days!

Erica now has 6 teeth, two on bottom, four on top!  It looks like there are more ready to burst and she is gnawing on everything, but especially loves metal.  Her diet is varied, which is normal for her age I understand, but somedays she doesn't eat much more than Cheerios and formula, while other days she feasts on pears, corn, vegetable soup, chicken, mac and cheese, and banana bread.  




Maire lost her first tooth on Tuesday!  Boy that was a long run.  It has been loose for at least a month, along with the one next to it.  They have both been bothering her.  They were loose enough to give her discomfort and stop her from eating even the foods she likes (which are not many) but not loose enough to get out of her mouth.  We tried and tried.  Then yesterday before school she accidentally twisted her tooth! It caught her off guard and Rachael yells, "Pull it out Maire!"  And she did.  So glad the trauma of that tooth is over.  Because it came out with very little pain and no blood, I hope all her nervousness of loosing a tooth is gone and the other loose teeth won't be as dramatic.  Having a tooth bother you is really a pain in and of itself.  It affects how you eat and talk.  You can feel the abnormality of it all the time.  It has happened with all our girls that with certain loose teeth, they become distracted and drawn into themselves while either wiggling it with their tongue or testing how far it can go.  In those moments they aren't very attentive in school or to friends or to their mother.

And on the other end of the spectrum, I have been experiencing severe mouth pain centered around a specific tooth for over 3 months.  I had been to the doctor four of five times since October and told him a specific tooth that was bothering me but x-rays and visual exams showed nothing, just some recession that floride and a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth should fix.  But it didn't.
--I started going into a very long story.  But the short version is that finally, last week an x-ray showed a 'dark area' that could be a root canal.  HURRAY!!  if it is a root canal then it is fixable.  I got the root canal today.  I will still be sore for at least 3 days, maybe as many at 7 because it was so inflamed, but hopefully, by next week the sensitivity to hot, cold, and air will be gone.  By next week perhaps i will stop clentching my teeth so much because the pain is gone. I hope that all will be well.  I am so DONE with the dentist!