Katie goes to the Dentist with Much Objection. (To put it lightly. Like, the lightness of a feather as opposed to the not lightness of a very heavy, very dense rock. A rock surrounded by cement and further weighted down with chains...)

So the last time we talked, I went on and on about our Farmer's Market field trip.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Katie had decided that she didn't want to walk anymore.  She got down and sat on the ground.  *Cringe*  She got up pretty quickly when I told her that people pee on the sidewalk downtown.  It's (probably) not true but it got her moving.

She still managed to pull out a smile for me...

We were all pretty tired by this point.

And after posting about the walking and the eating and the shopping, I was tired out and I just couldn't bring myself to rehash the terror that was Katie's dentist appointment.

But it's time.  I'm ready...

So, we were leaving grammy and grampy's house and I jumped the gun.

I made the mistake of telling Katie that she was going to get to go to the dentist (!!!) right now! and how exciting is that!?  In retrospect I maybe should have waited till we were in the parking lot of the dentist office and I should have distracted her with something shiny and maybe some candy so she wouldn't see any teeth related pictures there.  But I didn't.

In my defense, I figured I was golden.  I figured that since Katie had listened to Donovan tell her about his dentist visits - he's 5 and has already been to the dentist more than once! - and she seemed interested, and when I asked her if she thought she would like to go to the dentist, she said yes, that there was nothing to be worried about.  (And I was a little relieved she seemed so okay with this when Donovan was talking about it because, well, um... I had already scheduled an appointment for her a couple of weeks ago.)

Turns out that Katie was not interested in coming within a million feet of a dentist office.

She started to cry.  And scream.  And yell at me.  The Whole.Way.There.  At least 20 minutes of non-stop, ear-splitting shrieks and screams.

It was not a stellar experience.

At one point she even said she didn't want to go to the dentist, she would go to the doctor instead.  (Totally shocked me.  She never wants to go to the doctor either but she's got good reason... shots and strep tests and more shots are never fun for kids.  But no reason to be afraid of the dentist!  She's gone with me and her grandma and been fine watching everyone.)

We finally got there and I had to carry her in.  Gave her name to the receptionist over the sound of her cries and sat down in a far corner of the waiting room.  (Not that it spared anyone from hearing her.)

The dental hygienist came in and sat down next to us.  Katie cried some more.  The hygienist was really nice but no match for a 4-year-old's fears.  We did go into the room and she was able to count Katie's teeth while Katie sat on my lap, but no cleaning took place.  Katie still scored a new toothbrush, floss (that will end up in mommy's bathroom drawer - it was good stuff!), and a sticker.  And she didn't even have to get her teeth cleaned for it all!

We headed home.  Me with a sigh of regret that I'll need to take more time off of work to take her back (after today's reaction I would much rather be at work than at the dentist) and Katie with her loot.  And my assurance that we wouldn't go back for "a whole week"*.

* For Katie, "a whole week" can mean an hour from now, a month from now, or a year from now.  I'm not sure if she realizes that we do, indeed, need to get this done.  I don't think she'll be ready even if we did wait a year.  *Sigh*

Next up?  Jake's well check where I'm sure there will be shots.  Arg.