Christina's got some bling!

Today Christina got her ears pierced! She has been asking for months to have this done. We told her we would have them pierced if she became potty trained. This bit of "bribery" helped with this milestone immensely, but even after a couple months of no accidents, I  stalled, like I did with her older sisters, to make sure she really wanted to go through with it. And she liked to remind us every time she sat on the potty that she was potty trained so she wanted to get her ears pierced. She has been persistent. So, while her sisters were at our church attending a summer educational program, Christina and I spent the day together, which included a stop at the pediatrician's office to have the piercings done. And here she is:

She was incredibly brave. She was excited even though I warned her it would pinch and hurt a little. After the first piercing she didn't make a peep but big crocodile tears formed in her eyes. The nurse quickly held up the mirror so Christina could see the sparkling earring. I gave her a big hug and then she sat still for the other ear's piercing. Then we had her glance in the mirror at her new look. She loved it but still had tears forming. It was bittersweet for her.

I treated her to an ice cream sandwich and candy from the pharmacy on the ground level for being such a brave girl. I'm going to admit that I cried, too, for 3 reasons 1) It hurt me to see her surprised by the pain even though I had been warning her for months that it would be uncomfortable 2) She was brave. She tried to hold back the tears and did that silent cry that gets me every time. She didn't resist the second piercing for one second. She knew she committed to this and she had to follow through. It didn't take any convincing from me or the nurse. That is big girl stuff 3) She is my baby and there's a very likely chance that was my last first ear piercing experience with one of my daughters.  I am so blessed I have 3 daughters I got to experience this with. All 3 were brave and beautiful. My heart is full.