yesterday and today

Yesterday

Yesterday we all ventured (ha, in a Chevy Venture) off to Sioux Falls to look at new used vehicles because our van (mentioned above) is not feeling so good these days and to take our six loving children to the dentist.

Dental appointments went as well as can be expected considering the future teeth/mouth/dental/orthodontic problems will start experiencing in the future. On a great note, our children have No/None/Zero cavities. Yay for that!

Shaylee and Devin had a perfect appointment. No issues. They have great teeth.

Dalton has a very small mouth and is having terrible crowding problems. At his next appointment, he will need to have two baby teeth pulled on the bottom to make room for other teeth that are trying to come in. We asked the question, if his teeth are having troubles now, what will it be like when his permanent teeth come in? The dentist told us he will need to have permanent teeth pulled to make room. Dalton also has a permanent moler coming in that is absorbing the tooth next to it. That one might have to be pulled to let the permanent tooth come in. Yikes.

Shawndra will likely be referred to the orthodonist after her next visit in 6 months. Her permanent teeth on top beside her two front teeth did not develop. She does not have those teeth, nor will she have them in the future. The orthodontist will give us options whether we want to add teeth to her mouth or use braces to pull the teeth together and then reshape them.

Joseph is trying to maintain some space for a permanent tooth to come in. His spacer fell out weeks after his last appointment and insurance wouldn't cover it, so we didn't put it back in. So far it's doing ok. He also has a chip on his front tooth, but the dentist isn't concerned about it unless it bothers Joseph. Since it's cosmetic, we're not going to fix it right now. And it doesn't bother Joseph.

And finally, we get to Jayden. He has been sprouting out a bunch of teeth lately the last few months. Quite delayed and about 8 teeth started coming in at once. Right now, it appears he has an extra tooth on the bottom, which can be pulled if it gets in the way. It's ok now because he has tiny teeth and lots of spaces. Well they also took x-rays of his teeth and it looks like he does not have his permanent teeth up top beside his front teeth. Those would be the same teeth that Shawndra is missing. The dentist said it's possible he could develop them later, but it's highly unusual to not see them in the x-rays right now. So years down the road, Jayden will also have to have teeth added or pulled together.

So FINALLY, after the dentist appointments we were able to go see a Suburban at the dealership. It was quite nice, well, really nice compared to our crappy van. We made offers and counter-offered, and I think did one more offer. After deciding we needed something more reliable, we finally bought the Suburban. Our van was starting to cost lots of money in repairs, plus the A/C had quit working and the transmission was going out. It was time.

Here is a picture of our new ride. Yes, it's a bit of a gas hog compared to our van, but it is fully loaded and offers much more room for everyone inside. Definitely a step up for us. Yay!