Introducing my "tween" girls

It's official. We have entered the tween stage. This was a big week here in the peapod. My little sweet peas are growing up. No longer little girls. They now understand what it means to suffer for beauty (well not just for beauty for the betterment of their mouth's health).

Tally got braces and Tissy got a retainer. We knew this was coming. It wasn't a surprise, but yet I am not sure I was ready for this. Not just financially, but emotionally. My girls look so mature and grown up. I am not ready for them to grow up. I have enjoyed every stage and I am determined to enjoy this tween stage too. I think if I embrace it with positivity, it will help them adjust to all the changes that are going on.
Here is Tally's sweet little mouth. Not only are we dealing with an "over jet" but lots of crazy positioning of teeth. Most of that is from a mouth injury from when she fell as a 3 year old. Talk about consequences.
One of the things for me that has been hard to accept, is her smile will never bee the same. I have loved that front tooth that has it's own special way of presenting itself. I love her just how she is. She has been so excited about getting braces. She understands it is a big deal and costs a lot of money and that she must be very responsible. She will get the head gear to go with it in a few weeks. I bet that will be another adjustment for her. =(Here she is afterward. She got a free ice cream from Baskin Robins as a special treat from the orthodontist. Only soft foods for a few days. That and lots of pain meds. Click on the picture to see it larger to see those beautiful teeth. Her bands are orange and pink.
Here is Tissy with her new retainer. She recently had a baby tooth removed (the filling fell out and it wasn't worth replacing) and in order to maintain the open space for the adult tooth we decided to go with the retainer. It will not only hold that space open (her mouth is tiny and has significant crowding) it will also prevent her from digging her teeth up into the roof of her mouth. She too has the over jet that Tally has. She sounds just adorable with her retainer. All lispy and cute. Not to mention she looks as cute as can be.

So there you have it. My two tween girls. And I guess that means I am not the young mom anymore with little kids. We are all learning to cope with this in our own ways. And I am learning to let them grow up.