Jessi Gets Braces:: Step 6: Full Braces (& Math Camp!)

Jessi just had a very big week! First she said goodbye to her family since she was off to Math Quest: an overnight math camp for girls at Queen's University. Then partway through camp she happily said goodbye to her Clark Twin Block appliance after wearing it full time for seven months and said hello to braces. It wasn't ideal that both events happened at the same time, but it was better than having to wait until September for braces.

I took a few comparison pictures with her retainer before she left. Here was her progress to date:

Before vs. Expander vs. Retainer
(September 16th, 2024 - August 10th, 2025)

Her retainer smile

Steve dropped Jessi off at camp on Sunday afternoon. We got plenty of texts and updates from her throughout the week; she was having a great time!

Then on Thursday afternoon, Emily and I whisked Jessi away from camp for just under 2 hours to bring her to her appointment. It was a treat to see Jessi and thankfully the entire appointment went smoothly.

Removing her retainer for the last time

Choosing a bracket colour (silver vs. gold)

How are you feeling?

Choosing an elastic colour (light pink)

Naturally I was booked in for a tightening at the same time as Jessi's appointment, so I was sitting in the chair next to her. I received a new plan for my elastics: top-front to bottom-back on the left side, but top-back to bottom-front on the right. Sounds strange, but it's definitely helping to fix the alignment of my top and bottom teeth.

My view

Jessi did well with her long appointment of stretched lips, bitter glue, and a new smile. Emily and I enjoyed being there for her and taking pictures.

Learning how to care for her braces

You did it!

Back to camp

We brought Jessi right back to camp so she could finish the week. Fortunately the dining hall had a few soft-food options for her sore teeth! And she didn't have to suffer away from home for too long: pickup was the following afternoon.

I'll post more about her braces next month!

4Cats Art Camp

Last month as we were driving past 4Cats Art Studio, Emily asked if she could do a summer class, just like she and Jessi did a couple years ago. We jumped at the opportunity since the girls rarely express interest in leaving the house. We signed the girls up for a 5-day morning camp, as per their request.

The girls were pretty excited about it, up until the day before the camp started. Emily was feeling anxious, Jessi wasn't sure. Emily shed a few tears over it. Steve and I had no idea what to expect when we picked them up after the first day, but the girls were all smiles! They showed us their projects and told us that they liked the camp (what a relief!).

The funny thing is, for the rest of the week, no matter how much they enjoyed their morning at camp, they were never really thrilled to go the next day. Drop offs almost always involved tears (or at least sad faces). Oh well. Everyone is happy that camp is over now. It's time for a nice and quiet summer break!

Sadness

"I don't want to go"

When we picked the girls up on the last day, they had their arms full with the week's projects, minus their clay sculptures that still need to dry/bake. And smiles on their faces, of course!

The girls each earned badges

I sure wonder if the girls will want to do a camp again next year!

Jessica & Art

It's time for Jessica to enjoy the wonders of making art: we signed her up for a 4-day summer camp at 4Cats Art Studio, much like what Emily did in April.

This is Jessica's first-ever "school" drop-off experience! It's just for 2 hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week. I picked her up from her third class today and it's safe to say that it's going great! No tears were shed for drop-offs, and she seems to really enjoy the classes.

This week's theme is Birdwatchers, so she's been making all kinds of bird-related crafts and paintings. They've worked on clay bird feeders, papier-mâché birds, acrylic and water paintings of peacocks, as well as a few other small crafts.

3rd-day progress on her acrylic peacock painting

Emily enjoys picking Jessi up from art class ♥

If the girls are interested we might sign them up for a session together in August. Time will tell!

Jessica's masterpiece:

Watercolour painting of a peacock, 8.5"x11.5"