Evie has been using baby toothpaste, which is pretty expensive, given how small the tube is. So instead we went out and bought some semi-expensive (though still waay cheaper than the baby toothpaste) toothpaste with out any chemicals or fluoride in it, that she could use. Now, we’ve learned long ago that you don’t just go changing something like that, or you’re going to have a fit on your hands. So for probably a month, we’ve been talking up this new toothpaste and how exciting it’s going to be. Finally the big day arrived; time to use the new “big girl” toothpaste.

Evie was so excited about this toothpaste. We’ve gotten pretty good about talking things up. She was practically dancing to get a hold of this stuff. So I put some toothpaste on the brush and handed it to her. As soon as it hit her mouth, she got a really sad look on her face, and tears sprung into her eyes. She shouted, “This toothpaste is hot! I need some water!” She looked so miserable.

I didn’t really think about the fact that she’s never tasted peppermint before. Peppermint does do something strange in your mouth, where it kind of feels hot and cold at the same time, or maybe a little numb or something. You know what I mean? I expect that would be a little shocking if you had never experienced it before and you didn’t expect it. She was so sad that she didn’t like the toothpaste and I felt so bad for her.

Eventually we got some new, berry flavored big girl toothpaste and all is fine. Skip ahead a few weeks. My mom sent an advent calendar, containing a few of those tiny candy canes. Of course she picked one and of course it was too “hot” and she didn’t like it. Now the strange thing was that she proceeded to pick a candy cane every single day after that, until they were gone. Each time she would be really excited, unwrap it, lick it once, and then say, “I don’t like this!” and throw it in the trash. It’s not like she didn’t know what she was getting. One time, after I had helped her unwrap the thing, she told me, “I’m going to need some water, I don’t like these.” Then she popped it in her mouth.

She is a strange girl.

Evie: “I am not impressed by this diaper!” (She’s getting sick of wearing them to bed)

Evie likes you to make up stories and tell them to her. She likes it so much that after you do it once, you’re forced to do it again and again for all eternity. Lately, she has discovered a way to force me to keep telling her a story after I’m done. It goes like this: I tell her I’m only going to tell her one more story. After some hemming and hawing, she agrees. Finally I finish the story, but rather than being content with the story, she asks, “Does this story have an epilogue?” I obviously can’t resist that, and end up telling a little more story than I intended to. I think I’m winning the war though, because now I always save a little bit of story in case she asks.