Bikes, dentists & Luke Bryan

Reese has been asking for a new bike for a few weeks. All of the neighbors ride their bikes around often and she only has a crossover version of a trike/bike. We wanted to get her a bike during the spring/summer so that she could practice while she is watching all of her little friends riding around and so that we could pass her trike/bike down to Ella to use. We feel like they are always getting new things and we want them to appreciate the things that they have. We have been having typical 3 year old behavior issues lately so we decided to try out a behavior based sticker chart for a week and have the bike be the reward for this. She got a sicker for getting ready without issue in the morning, having a good report when we picked her up from school and having a good evening, 3 stickers a day. It didn’t work without a snag here and there but it was one of the most effective things we have tried so far. So after about a week and a half she got her new bike! She loves it and it is even has a baby doll seat on the back.

Last week we took Reese to the dentist and found out that she had 3 cavities that needed to be filled. Apparently she has inherited deeply grooved teeth that will be hard to keep cavity free. They told us that we could not be in the room during the filling and that she would be mildly sedated. This was scary to me but I knew sedation would be needed for her to cooperate with this and not to be terribly scared. I was most nervous about her anxiety levels in all of this and didn’t want her to be ruined for the dentist for life. She was a superstar and did so well. She was not scared at all and the dentist office is amazing with preschool children. She ended up having 4 cavities that needed filling and had the other molars sealed so hopefully we won’t have further problems with her baby teeth. Sadly, I failed to take any pictures. If anyone is looking for a dentist I would highly recommend Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Dental Clinic, we see Dr. Rhodes.

I am very thankful to have a job and to have a job that I enjoy (it frustrates me often but I work on interesting and meaningful things). I am also really thankful for the company that I work for. They have been so good to me over the 6 years that I have been with them and have supported multiple life events in a way that I never expected (IVF twice, bed rest, maternity leave, kids sicknesses). There aren’t a lot of glamorous perks but one perk is shareholders each year and all of the celebrities involved. We decided to take Reese and Ella to their first concert this week since it was offered free to associates. They got to see Lee Brice and Luke Bryan. It was really fun, challenging to keep up with them but fun. I love this picture that I got of the 4 of us as we were waiting for the concert to start.