a week of firsts

It's been a long while since we had so many first experiences in such a short period of time!  Since last weekend Elias has experienced, for starters, his first drama-free haircut:

In addition to the orange car-chair, the great thing about this new place is that it's just a couple of blocks away and so inexpensive I felt a little guilty afterward.  The cut itself needs a little fine-tuning but, just as you have to pick your battles with your kids, the pros of this place outweigh the cons and we'll definitely be back.

After his haircut we went out to dinner, taking Elias to his first sushi restaurant:

The sushi itself didn't go over too well but his kid's plate, including chicken teryaki, gyoza, and tempura, did. 

Monday, being Easter Monday, was a bonus "mommy day" and I decided to take the plunge and treat myself - I mean, Elias - to his first movie theater movie.

Instead of our usual afternoon quiet time, we caught a matinee of Rio, complete with popcorn and blue icee.  As I suspected he might be, Elias was pretty antsy during the last half hour or so of the 96 minute long feature and had a little bit of a hard time keeping the seat down, but overall he did really well.  So begins our official weekend matinee training!

The grand finale in this week of firsts was Eli's visit to the dentist yesterday, including his first cleaning (they seemed surprised that I was up for exam plus cleaning during the first visit...Why not kill two birds with one stone?).

It took some research to find a pediatric dentist that would take our insurance.  I even made an appointment with the dentist Neal and I go to and started to question the necessity of this whole pediatric specialty, but in the end I'm glad we trekked out to San Francisco to go here.

The place is completely decked out for kids, with, I think, slightly smaller chairs, and TV monitors attached to the ceiling above each station.  So while Elias's teeth were examined and polished, he got to watch a scene or two from The Little Mermaid, one of his favorites. 

Cheese!

I wasn't sure how he would react.  On the one hand, he has no reason to fear the dentist, having never been.  And of course we've only spoken positively of the experience.  Maybe it helped that Neal and I had just been to our dentist the week before - the first dentist I've had that I actually want to visit twice a year.  But oddly enough he did seem to get that this was something to be somewhat apprehensive about, saying things in the days leading up to our visit like "I don't want to go, I don't like the dentist," or "I don't like it there."  In the end he did really well - he was a total champ about it and very cooperative.  On the other hand, I take this first visit with a grain of salt since, historically, Elias has almost always done suspiciously well the first time at something new.  It's the subsequent visit(s) that will tell the true story of Elias at the dentist.  Either way, I'm happy to have this under our belt since I'd been a little concerned about what turned out to be just some staining on his upper, front teeth, likely from all the fruit this kid likes to eat.

And he ought to want to return since the day was packed with positive reinforcement.  In addition to the balloon, sugar-free lollipop, toy, and goody bag he got at the dentist's office, afterward we walked to nearby Dolores Park for a picnic lunch and then lucked out and found a second parking spot as we cruised past Mission Pie on the recommendation of a friend. 

Yum! We shared slices of banana cream and strawberry rhubarb and brought a piece of apple huckleberry home for Neal.  Great coffee, too.  I don't know about Elias, but I can't wait until his next dentist appointment!