Dental Hygiene

Petra's always been fascinated by us brushing our teeth. I'd sometimes take the back end of my toothbrush and rub her gums with it like I was brushing, and she'd giggle. Recently the dentist gave me a baby toothbrush for her, and she loves playing with it, biting it, and sticking it into her mouth. This morning, she brought it to me, then smiled while I actually brushed her teeth with it- top and bottom! Such a good little girl. No rotted teeth for this one! Just healthy pearly white chompers. Good baby!

In other areas of hygiene though, Petra is a little less diligent. We saw a onesie at the mall that read "84% Dirty, 16% Filthy", but I don't think Petra is ever that clean! She usually has the remains of her last meal (or two) smeared on her face (along with a healthy (?) dollop of snot), and when we go out back to play she splashes in the water table just enough to make the dirt really stick when she crawls in it! We have a board book "Whose Toes are Those?" that has a line about "so brown and sweet." Despite her clearly northern european complexion, this usually is a good description of Petra's toes (though "dark brown" or "black" could often be used as well). She clearly isn't burdened by compulsive cleanliness!! We love her anyway, and she gets a bath once a week whether she needs it or not.