Actually, it's an expander, but Anna can't say that very well. In fact, she's having a little trouble saying quite a few things! She got her expander put in on Wednesday morning. She was prepared and excited to get to the dentist that morning. She was very brave. She even got pink rubber bands on her front brackets. I've been pleasantly surprised with how very well she's handled the whole ordeal. Instead of getting frustrated at not being able to pronounce words correctly, she's having a blast with it! She likes to say things that sound the funniest over and over again. S and T seem to be the toughest for her, though the x in expander is also a challenge :)
After researching the appliance, I fully expected Anna to be experiencing some discomfort at the very least. But, when I spoke with the dentist he said that she shouldn't really feel anything. Maybe just a little pressure when we turn the key once a day. This morning she didn't make a sound when I turned the key. She said it felt a little weird, but that was it. I suppose getting all of this handled at a very young age cuts down on the difficulty and pain of expanding the palate.
The one frustrating experience she has had was eating for the very first time after having the expander inserted. We treated her to pizza and A LOT of it got stuck between the roof of her mouth and her expander. She wanted me to clean it out after every bite. When I tried to convince her to wait, she got irritated and decided to eat only yogurt. Of course, Justin's old saying "She'll eat when she's hungry" proved once more to be very true. By dinner time she was eating like a pro. Of course, she wants the food cleaned out the very second the meal is over, or she'll walk around making a sucking sound trying to rid herself of the pesky pieces.
God has been faithful to answer our prayers on this matter, and He's done so in spades! As Henry Blackaby said, "Oh, God, if I ever give You a request and You have more to give me than I am asking, cancel my request." We asked that she not be afraid. She was excited. We asked that she be able to handle the pain. There is not pain. We asked that she not get too frustrated by speech impairments. She's having fun with them! God certainly had more in mind than what we asked. Consider our previous requests canceled :)
Dalton and Diana play the Wii
Anna looks on
"These aren't the colors I picked out."
You can stop looking. The kids "found Nemo."
"Crikey, it's a croc!" No. It's actually an alligator.
This actually started out as a neat picture. The cougar's face was right next to Anna's. I suppose she didn't want her pic taken and this was her silent protest.
Buzzards on top of the Mexican Eagle exhibit. They were everywhere, actually. I guess the zoo just threw them in free of charge.
Psychedelic: I like how this pic turned out. Anna was trying to interact with the otters, but they were napping and wanted no part of it.
This is what we saw as soon as we entered this particular exhibit. Anna said "Mommy, that's a paddlefish. You can use it to spank our bottom." What kind of mother must I be?
Laura Kate's new friend
He whispers in her ear and she replies: "Uh huh. I see. Hmmm. I'll need to think on that one."
Here is Anna's new friend. As soon as we walked up to the glass, this guy sauntered over and cozied up to the glass. I couldn't decided if he wanted a hug or a snack.
Anna was willing to lend an ear and figure it out.
The following week we got together with our friends Tena for a picnic in Poage Park. After lunch and some quality time with the big slide, we headed to McDonald's for ice cream. Ms. Tena is a brave woman to sit next to a 3 year-old with an ice cream cone!
One afternoon the girls and I decided it was too hot to play outside without water being involved. Eventually, a run through water turned into a full-on war between Anna and the water sprinkler.
On the 21st, the girls and I attended our very first motorcycle rally with Justin. He set some trikes out in the park to promote Mitchell Family Motor Trikes. The girls played games, taking 2nd and 3rd out of 8 in their age group. We had awesome (though entirely overpriced) food. Laura Kate got stung by a bee. We got to see motorcycle riders play games on their bikes, like seeing how slow one could go without touching the ground. That had to be the best one. And we were crispy at the end of the day. All in all, I'd say we had a full day! 
