it's your lucky day ...

that's probably not what jack was thinking when we informed him he would be going to the dentist for the first time this morning ...

and that's *definitely* not what mommy was thinking when roxana called in sick and we had to scramble to get spaces in the back-up day care.

but ... lucky or not ... the day turned out okay.

daddy took annie straight to day care while an intrepid jack and a prayerful mommy set out for the office of dr. kuwabara, dds.

it was actually fortuitous that jack's first-ever dental appointment was scheduled for today -- after the age of 3, a dentist must provide a certificate of oral health before a kid is allowed into a licensed child care facility in dc. but we *did* have to make it through the appointment.

we needn't have worried. jack was calm and happy through the entire thing. he watched a video screen with ocean fish swimming lazily by while the dentist counted his teeth, examined his tongue and finally cleaned his pearly whites even whiter and pearlier.



jack enjoyed strawberry toothpaste and banana split foam flouride treatment -- sure beats the nasty stuff we had as kids. and he was enthralled by the water pik and "mr. thirsty" -- a.k.a. the spit sucker.

after our successful visit, we beat feet to day care where jack was reunited with annie. although he was reluctant to stay ... and is now in a different room than he's previously used because he's three years old ... he found annie and decided to be the brave older sibling for her.

of course she would be happy in a russian gulag, as her father points out, but i'm sure she didn't mind some sweet attention from her big brother.



lucky indeed. maybe we'll buy some lotto tickets while we're at it ...