12/18/2011 ~ Sunday

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Chillin' in their jammies this morning.

Griffin and Dad playing Angry Birds on Lily's Ipod

Oh the important lessons to be handed down to our sons.

Lily's device, getting removed tomorrow and replaced with a new variation.  (Ignore the pizza dough!)

Paul assembled a few things so the kids can use it right away on Christmas morning.

This puppy is surprisingly tricky to assemble.  Definitely a two parent job when it comes time to pull the elastic rope around.

12/01/2011 ~ Gifts from Jangles

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Our Elf on the Shelf Jangles was pleased to find a few pictures from the kids last night.  That crazy little fella set up our false Christmas tree while most of us were asleep and then he left a few gifts for the kids.  We found him riding the Reindeer!  What a nut.

As an aside, Lily got a free waterpik from her dentist this morning.  Yippee!

11/19/2011 ~ Lily's Orthodontic Device

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Lily had her first orthodontic device installed yesterday morning before school.  I had to pick her up early from school because she was experiencing pain and couldn't find the tylenol in her school bag (side pocket).  The orthodontist forgot to mention that we should apply wax to the exposed screws that would inevitably poke her cheeks until they were scraped and painful.  They didn't provide us with any either and although Paul had braces many years ago, apparently he forgot about the wax.  Poor Lily.  We made a quick call to Paul's dentist cousin after a facebook status led to suggestions of applying wax to relieve her pain and he suggested we give her sugarfree gum to top the screws with until we make it to the dentist for wax supplies.  Here is a little peek into her mouth.

On another note, Lily made pancakes this morning.

10/14/2011 ~ Fitted for a Retainer

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Lily has an underbite.  It's not that her teeth are crooked, it's that her jaw is misaligned.  The long term plan is to have her fitted with braces but we are waiting for Paul's work to adopt a better dental plan before we embark on that journey. In the meantime, she is being fitted with a retainer that will help to reposition her jaw so that her top teeth will fall over the bottom teeth.  This morning was her first orthodontist appointment.  She gagged all the way through the top fitting but was a trooper through the bottom.  She is very excited about the prospect of a retainer or braces.  It's the cool thing at school.  Bye Bye Two Thousand Dollars!