Grand-Papa a 75 Ans

Three cheers for my dad, who turned 75 last weekend!

We love you Grand-Papa ♥

Snowy February

It took a while for winter to come, but there's no question that it's here now! Temperatures are ranging between -15°C and -25°C and we have plenty of snow. We're already dreaming of warmer days.

Our Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day was marked by illness: a cold for Jessi and a cough for me. Warm drinks, reading, and resting were the main events, topped off with chocolate lava cakes that even the sickest could enjoy. Emily was at school all day -- lucky girl is the only one left who hasn't been hit by a bug (Steve caught Jessi's flu/pneumonia back in January)*.

We had to cancel most of our plans for the long weekend (that includes Family Day Monday), so we have three full days to recover. It's a good thing we took the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to go on a family hike at Little Cataraqui Creek -- that can be our substitute Family Day activity.

* I jinxed it. Emily started feeling sick about 4 hours after I published this post. :(

Jessi Gets Braces:: Step 5: Expander Out, Retainer In

Jessi has officially begun the second stage of her orthodontic treatment: a Clark Twin Block appliance to fix her overbite. First, a week prior she had her palatal expander removed and dental impressions done. She was feeling really anxious about this part, but the hygienist was very supportive, gentle, and understanding. What a relief when it was over!

Then last week Jessi went to pick up her new orthodontic appliance. After seeing Emily go through this step, Jessi was very uncertain about it and we even asked if there were any alternatives to fixing her overbite. Dr. Smith said the only other option would be to extract two top teeth and draw the upper teeth in (with braces) to line up with the bottom ones. That sounded worse to Jessi, so Clark Twin Block appliance it was!

It took a few days for Jessi to get used to wearing her retainer and for some tooth/jaw soreness to go away. She sometimes needed a break from it or pain killers in the middle of the night. But overall it hasn't been as bad as she expected and she's determined to wear it consistently to speed up the results.

Meanwhile I'm progressing with my orthodontics too -- my second tightening is in the books!

For a few days after this tightening I had a spot at my gum line that was super sensitive to cold drinks -- yeowch! That was some intense pain that radiated from the tooth to the gums. I sure hope that doesn't happen too often over the next year and a half!