Secrets

Today our baby girl learned to ride. It was as sweet as when her brother learned. I knew she would ride sooner than her brother did but I didn't think it would be over a year sooner! 4 years 1 month and 16 days...wow.



Tonight after dinner we were telling each other secrets (whispering in each other's ear):

Me: "You rode your bike SO well tonight! I am SO proud of you!"
Giana: "I rode my bike REALLY far! I am SO proud of me!"

How sweet is that?

Can a Fat Man Pass???

Last weekend we decided to take the kids on a hike on South Mountain. It's been almost a year since we did this and we were curious how much progress they had made in terms of endurance and interest. Last year we made it to the end of the fire road and back (which is about 2 miles).

As we headed out I knew right away this year was going to be different. The kids were excited and moving along at a fast pace. I said to Amy that our days of being stronger than them were quickly drawing to an end. They hopped, skipped and ran all the way to the end of the fire road ahead of us.

I was happy because I had National Trail on my mind and the skip in their step was confirmation to me that we were going UP!

Hidden just slightly off the start of the trail is a petroglyph wall. We stopped to take a few pictures before attacking National. Once on the trail, the kids delighted in tackling what to them was more like "boldering" than hiking. Every big slab they had to climb was met with an even bigger smile. Amy & I enjoyed watching them problem solve together and encourage each other at each obstacle. We also appreciated the congratulations they gave each other. It's a pattern we hope they continue to share for the rest of their lives. It's nice to see them interacting in such a positive way.
Once we neared the ridgeline, we stopped for a snack near the Bermuda Triangle. It was funny to tell the kids that their parents ride their bikes on this "trail". They both couldn't believe WE could do that. :)

As we continued on I kept wondering when they would hit the wall and was watchful for any signs of them getting tired (since we'd still have to hike back out). They just kept on moving and laughing and exploring. As we neared Hidden Valley I thought they'd get a kick out of going through the tunnel and so we turned off National. As predicted they thought it was "cool". They wanted to explore the walls so up we went!
We let them lead since we were enjoying their antics and wanted to see how they would do as the problem-solving got a little more difficult. With a little direction in regards to avoiding serious exposure, they managed pretty well.

We were now close to 3 miles in and they were as excited as when we started off. I was glad we were nearing Fat Man's Pass since that would be a good turn around point. We had originally planned on an hour or 2 hike and this was starting to look like A LOT more already.
We squeezed through Fat Man's Pass and started our return. We looped back on National and headed down.
As the sun began to set, we enjoyed the views of the city and chatted about all things "nature". It's pretty cool when your kids start asking intelligent and inquisitive questions and follow up questions. This feels like the time in their lives that you as a parent can have the most impact. It's a wonderful feeling when you get moments like this to connect with them.

As dinner time neared, we had eaten through everything I had in my pack. I hadn't planned on enough food for 4+ hours of hiking. We reached the fire road and the kids were no longer "skipping". They were ready to be DONE. We coaxed them along the last mile with promises of dinner but they were cooked. Fortunately we could see our car in the parking lot and that got them motivated enough to finish the hike.

Yeah, we overdid it a bit. A guestimate of the distance would be between 6 & 7 miles with a significant amout of elevation change. That's a lot for a 4 & 5 year old. I'm glad that overall, they enjoyed the adventure though. I know their parents sure did. We all slept pretty good that night though.

It's all fun and games until somebody loses a tooth!

Well it was bound to happen. Another one of those milestones comes along. In the last week or so we noticed Aran has been, for lack of a better description, fingering and tongue-ing his bottom teeth. All this attention (along with further inspection) lead to the discovery of a couple loose teeth.

He knows from preschool and from his cousins that this is a normal step in losing his "baby teeth". He is however pretty anxious about it. Will it hurt? Will it bleed? When will it happen?

After a lot of re-assurances and a few days, Sunday morning arrives and one of his teeth is barely hanging on. The family heads to the bathroom for further inspection. Mom is armed with her camera while Dad & Giana form a surgical unit at the bathroom sink.

As I investigate, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. The tooth is probably 95% out but that last 5% seems attached pretty well. I'm worried that if we don't take it out, he might end up swallowing it while eating or drinking, etc. I'm pretty sure if I attempt to remove it, it could hurt and/or bleed. The only reason I'm able to inspect it so closely is because I promised Aran I wouldn't hurt him.

So I'm in a quandary over my concern for his safety (how bad could swallowing a tooth really be?) with my promise to him that I wouldn't hurt him. There is no way I can violate his trust or break the promise.

What to do...

Then it hits me...

His sister has been sitting on the bathroom counter right next to me watching my every move like a hawk. As we're BOTH staring into Aran's mouth I say to her: "Do you want to see if you can pull Aran's tooth out?"

You would've thought I just asked the Grasshopper to snatch the pebble from my hand...

With cat-like reflexes (and before her brother could process what I had just said to her,) she reached into his mouth and gave the tooth a good YANK!

Her precision and speed was WAY better than I could've ever attempted. But the tooth was still in his mouth. What she HAD done was get it to about 99% out...

...and here comes the blood....

Aran is in shock now. He lets out a little "ouch" that seems more like it's in disbelief than it is from pain.

Giana, while still staring into Aran's mouth, calmly states: "Boy, there's a lot of blood in there."

Aran turns white. I've seen this "look" on his Mom's face before...

Right before she faints...

I decide it's time to tell a little white lie (while dabbing his teeth with a paper towel.)

I say: "It's just bleeding a TINY little bit" in a VERY suggestive way as to try and let his sister know it's time to tone it down with the "blood talk"...(of course it is just a little bit of blood but it looks like a lot to his little sister's eyes)

Giana responds in a matter of fact tone with: "Well it sure is red in there."

I love that girl.

As I'm dabbing up the blood, I'm suddenly holding his tooth!

Out it came.



The color now returns to Aran's face and in an instant he's transformed into the proud owner of bartering material for the tooth fairy.



And his big smile returns...

...minus one tooth.



The neighboring tooth is already a wet noodle in his mouth.

He has made it abundantly clear however:

"Giana will NOT be pulling out this one!"

:)