Addendum to Dentist Post

At some point, after the dentist has referred to me as "Mom" many many times, Larkin confided to him: "Her name is Jenny. That's what I call her so it would probably be okay if you did, too."

Prior to a conversation with the dentist about diet, Larkin and I talked about how the dentist might try to talk to me about the way she eats, rather than talking directly to her. She thought that was odd and it led into a kind of interesting discussion of parenting philosophy. She was somewhat shocked to discover that, in our culture, most kids don't have the freedom (luxury?) to eat whatever/whenever they want. After a moment's indignation, she announced: "You guys have the right way of having kids!"

It turned out to be a moot point since the dentist looked at her diet (we wrote down everything she ate for a week and when we brushed teeth) and proclaimed that any problems with her teeth must be genetic.