before and after...

i am not the type of mom who is comfortable piercing my infants ears. my mom said i had to wait until i was 8. i knew i wasn't going to "torture" (i felt tortured!) my own daughter to wait that long...if she wanted to get her ears pierced sooner.

we'd kind of talked with mari about it a few times before - even went into the store to check it out but she never would even consider it. when i told her that her aunt was coming to visit, it seemed like a renewed courage welled up inside and she claimed she would get her ears pierced when auntie tanya came to visit.

we loaded up all the kiddos, and headed off to the mall. the kids were playing on the indoor playground. i asked mari if she was ready to get her ears done and she said no. about 20 minutes later, she walked up and said, "ok, i'm ready now mom." i was not going to be upset if she changed her mind. it's a scary thing to have your ears pierced!

she went right into the store, picked her earrings (little pink jeweled daisies), sat down in the chair and didn't even shed a tear. i was so impressed. ever since she has been so girlie (if that is possible for her) and i love it. she's so excited to wear new earrings to her uncle's wedding in may.

here are a few pics...



before...



after...



i said, "don't they look so cute?" she replied, "i can't tell...i need my glasses!" she looks teary here, but she didn't actually do any crying. she jumped right up and we went and picked out a new pair for her to wear when her 6-week healing period is up.