Earrings!!!!!

I finally gave in. Grace has been asking to have her ears pierced for at least a year now. She knows a handful of people, including one baby, that have their ears pierced. Because one of the them is a baby, cousin Brianna, I couldn't use the argument that it is only for big girls with her. I didn't really have a solid leg to stand on. Until now, when she would ask I would just talk about how it feels to have it done and say we would think about it. Then she wouldn't ask again for a long time. But since school started the asking picked up considerably. She was very serious this time. We talked about it for several weeks. We even looked at a video on Claire's Boutique website on how to care for your newly pierced ears. Eric said he didn't see what the big deal was. I couldn't put my finger on it but I just wasn't comfortable with it. Finally I realized that I didn't think she should do it because, quite selfishly, I didn't want her to be grown up. I told Eric one night that I felt like if I let her pierce her ears that she was going to be a preteen now. He thought I was being silly.

If anyone remembers my post last January about Grace's 5 year old shots, you'll remember that it was an extremely unpleasant experience. So, I talked to her about how it would feel. I didn't lie and say she wouldn't feel it. I told her the truth, that it would be a quick pinch and it might feel hot or burn a little after that. I told her that if she cried or threw a fit that we would leave and that I wasn't going to hold her down like I had to for her shots.

She decided she could do it. So, I called several places, including our pediatrician (yes, I'm crazy). Everyone charged about the same price. I called a dermatologist (yes, I know I'm really crazy) to find out what kind of posts to make sure she got. After all of my "research" we ended up going to Sweet 'N Sassy, a hair salon for girls. It's a very fun place for little girls and I had a $5 off coupon. Joni, Reesi and Lyla went with us. When we got there Grace started to get quiet and I was getting nervous she was going to back out. When the stylist came to help us she got nervous and we had to have a moment to talk about it. She said she didn't want to do it. I asked her a few times if she was sure. I told her that this was her chance and if she wanted to wait, we were going to wait until her birthday, in January, to try again. I gave her some time to think about it. After that she didn't say she didn't want to. I was trying to reassure her that she could do it. I told her that if she could survive a hornet sting (that was a couple weeks ago) then she could do this without any problem. She just kept asking me how I knew that she could do it. The stylist and a couple other girls in the salon were very sweet with Grace. They kept coming over every few minutes to check on her and try to reassure her that it wasn't that bad. After about 25 minutes she finally decided she would do it. It's a good thing too, because Joni and I were about to give up on her and leave at that point. But once she decided to do it she was fine.

The stylists came over and we picked out her earrings. She looked very nervous but she didn't freak out. The other girls, Lyla and Reesi, were very interested in watching. They both said they didn't want to do it themselves though. I thought Grace would cry once it was done, but she didn't! Once it was done she just got a big smile on her face. She's been great about cleaning them, or letting me clean them. She loves them and says they're "really cute", which they are.

I keep telling her she's beautiful with or without earrings. I think she's tired of hearing that though. She tells me, "I know, Mom" when I say it now.

My little girl is growing up soooooo fast. Those baby days felt so slow but now that they're gone, they seem like they flew by.