Pierced Ears!!!

Last week, while Thomas was here, we made a trip to Annapolis.  Thomas had been craving a good burger, preferably a #12 from Johnny Rockets and I was craving a trip to a good mall.  The Annapolis mall is awesome!  The only problem was that all our kids are too tall for the one play area they have open, which is really our bribing tool anytime we visit a mall.  I could have sworn there was another one last time we were there, but maybe I have it confused with the mall in Fredericksburg?  Anyway, we stumbled upon a free kid care area, we brought the kids in and they loved it!  We were able to leave them for up to 2-hours.  We left them for one, which was plenty of time for us to walk around the mall and find me some new sneakers.  When we came back to get them, Kara didn't want to leave.  That little advertisement is not really the point of this blog.  The point is that when we walked in, we saw a Claire's.  As is our custom, I asked Anna if she wanted to get her ear's pierced.  She has been asking to do this almost since she could talk.  I told her when she was 5 she could have them done (which is significantly younger than the 8 my parents made me wait for).  When her 5th birthday came, we took her to the mall and she chickened out.  Since then, every time we go to the mall, I give her the option.  It is almost more of a joke now. This time, she responded she wanted to think about it and maybe on the way out she would have them done.

So, we had our lunch at Johnny Rockets, complete with milkshakes all around and then decided to head out.  As we approached Claire's, I asked Anna if she had decided whether or not to get her ears done and she surprised us all by saying that she would.  I still didn't really expect her to go through with it.  I told her it would hurt, because that is how I remember it, but that the pain would be super quick and probably hurt less than the flu shot.  She chose her earrings and bravely sat in the chair.  The girl doing the piercing kept saying it wouldn't hurt, but Anna didn't believe her (neither did I) and kept pulling away every time the woman got near.  She was very patient and suggested that Anna sit on Thomas' lap.  Anna was still insisting she wanted to go through with it, so Thomas held her head still.  After the first ear was done, Anna reported that it didn't hurt.  After Anna was done, Kara, all smiles, jumped into the chair.  We didn't have the heart to tell her no.  Anna was excited to have Kara get hers done too, which helped our decision (we didn't want hard feelings because we made her wait and Kara didn't have to).  Kara didn't find it quite as painless as Anna, but she was still a trouper.  They were so cute admiring each other in the store that a few people even gathered around and remarked how sweet they were.

So, without further ado, the pictures:

While insisting she was ready, she kept moving away from the piercer.

It helped to have Daddy's lap to sit on.

My favorite shot.

All enthusiastic optimism.

Still feeling good.

Not quite so happy now, but proud after she was done.

The finished product.  

It was fun and the girls are still super excited about their pierced ears.  Anna has already been in my jewelry box to decide what she is going to borrow when the 8 weeks are up. I think she's going to be surprised, but I'll soften the blow by taking them to the store to pick out their very own pair or two.  It is so fun to have little girls!  (Note to Jack--little boys are awesome too!!!)