Link had 4 fillings, some sealants, a cleaning, and x-rays done by a pediatric dentist. He went under for the treatment. The appointment was at 6:30am and because I needed to be home to feed Claire, Miles took him in. Luckily everything went well. Unfortunately, this kid is destined to have dental troubles. It’s likely that the integrity of his teeth was compromised during the first 3 months of his life when he was jaundiced. That compounded with the fact that he most likely inherited bad teeth—his dad had to pay $9000 for dental work before his mission—this little guy is out of luck.

We’re committed to doing everything we can to keep his teeth in the best condition possible. But why does all dental insurance suck? I mean, even the best of the best coverage isn’t near enough. Grrrr!

Because Link’s teeth are in the condition they’re in, I’ve learned a few special treatments in addition to our normal, faithful brushing:

Use a fluorinated toothpaste. Kids can safely swallow small amounts of fluoride after 18 months.

We got a prescription for a medication we are supposed to swab on Link’s teeth each night for one week each month. The dentist recommended Miles use it too. Don’t remember what it’s called. They supposedly use it on Chemo patients’ teeth.

Also, you can use a Q-tip to swab mouthwash on the teeth. Swabbing prevents swallowing too much of the stuff.

Anyone else out there have kids with teeth problems?

We blessed our little Claire Michelle Pomeroy yesterday. Miles did a wonderful job blessing her. She was perfectly content before and after, but cried during the blessing. I couldn’t help but smile when Miles blessed her with a “kind and happy disposition.”

Both of our families were in town for the event. Miles’ family drove all the way from Mesa, AZ and stayed with us for three nights. My family got a hotel nearby. We had so much fun with both families. On Saturday we took the Trax to Temple Square. It was a bit of a challenge herding our big crowd around, but it was great just being together. My favorite time was spent just hanging out and chatting with everybody. It’s awesome that our families get along so well! It’s too bad it only happens every few years.

We feel so blessed to have so much love and support!

After:

Two things I learned repainting this dresser:

1. Ask the paint guy at Home Depot to add primer to the paint.
2. Drawer pulls are not standardized. I wanted to replace the original pulls, but couldn’t find any that fit appropriately.

I printed my photos with Fotoworks. It’s a company in California that does professional printing. I highly recommend them. They do great quality work, and they’ll send your prints to you in the mail.

I bought the foam board from Hobby Lobby, the local craft store. I think I paid around $6 for a 36×40″ board. I cut the board with a rotary cutter and self healing mat. I’m pretty sure an exacto knife would work fine however. Just be careful and use a straight edge. You might ask if the store would cut the board for you.

Like I mentioned in the previous post, I used a spray adhesive to mount the pictures. But here’s where I’d do something differently. I recommend using an adhesive like 3M’s Photo Mount Spray Adhesive. I didn’t use an adhesive that was specifically for photos, and I had some bubbling. No good. I think using the photo adhesive would have solved the problem.

Also, when you use the spray, use a light, even coat. Too much adhesive will make the photos bubble as well.

Hope these tips help. Let me know if you have any other questions!

I’ve finally printed a few of my many, many pictures to display in our home.

I’m personally not a big fan of the traditional family picture galleries, with crooked, mis-matched frames. I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on 12 matching frames. Instead I had 8×8 prints made, cut a sheet of foam board, and mounted the photos with a spray adhesive. Because they are so lightweight, I was able to hang the mounted pictures with poster putty rather than nails.

It’s nice to actually have a few family photos displayed!

I bought this wallpaper in the clearance section at Wallpaper Warehouse. I thought the middle section needed a little oomph, so I stenciled the vine on the side.

Some tips:

Use thick dowels.
Cut dowels longer than the width of the wallpaper, then tie the cord to the ends of the dowels. Stapling the cord to the dowel was a pain.

So here was my first project. We recently purchased a new sectional (because our couch and love seat wouldn’t fit in our tiny new living room) which inspired me to start decorating. One of the hardest things to work around is the fact that we aren’t allowed to paint. So I decided to make some art to cover our bare walls. It was a fun and easy project.

I followed this tutorial. I bought the large canvas frame from the craft store, and the small frames and fabric from Ikea. In all I spent about $25. A good deal for a much needed improvement.

Check out these adorable folds and rolls!

I can’t believe how fast she is growing. Again it’s just such a contrast with Link. Lincoln wore newborn clothes until he was 3 months. Claire is fitting perfectly into 3 month clothes already.

Claire has been a real delight the last couple days. We had a few weeks of fussiness, and hope that’s coming to an end. She smiles more and more and has just started cooing. It’s wonderful to hear other baby noises besides crying!

Lincoln now surprises us daily with all the new things he knows and does. His imagination is flourishing. He and I seriously have a blast together! Recently he got up the courage to lay down on his back in the tub. He’s never really liked water, so this was a real accomplishment.

Also, we’ve been working on our monster faces. But somehow I don’t think this cute boy could ever look scary.

I’m doing great. I can honestly say I’ve never enjoyed being a mother more.