Look who got her ears pierced today......

.....our Starr, yes Katie got her ears pierced today!!

When Katie Starr first came home from China, we decided against getting her ears pierced because Marc was against it and I respected his feelings on the subject. He felt that an earring could come loose and fall off and since she was a baby she could easily put an earring into her mouth and swallow it. He was also worried about her touching it and it getting infected. His thought was that it was unnecessary and that as she understood more that he would be OK if she wanted it. Since I am a big believer in the team method of parenting (we both agree or it is a no go!) I was fine with that decision.

As she has gotten older and in the past few months Katie has noticed earrings and asked about them. I have explained how it works and asked her if she would like to have her ears pierced and she has always said "No!" All of the sudden, a couple of days ago, she began asking us if she could get her ears pierced and we decided to see if the request persisted.....it did! Today, Marc asked her if she understood that when she got her ears pierced it would hurt (like a shot, just for a few seconds) and then it would be over and she would have earrings in her ears that she could not take out for a long time. She said that she understood. Then I took it a step further and told her that I would have to clean the ears twice a day and turn the earrings and it may bother her a bit and was that OK? She not only said yes but she was insistent that she wanted to go get it done immediately, so off we all went to the Mall to have the deed done. I told her that she could bring her treasured friend, Snotty Baby with her so that she could hold her tight while she was having it done. Snotty baby was the soft stuffed baby that we sent to China in her care package. Katie came to her forever day clutching Snotty baby and has slept with her every night since (except for one night when we forgot to bring her on an overnight trip...bad mommy and daddy!) Snotty Baby was named that because as Katie Starr transitioned into our family she cried and grieved for a very long time and she would always wipe the baby against her nose and face as the tears flowed and her nose ran :( It became our pet name for her baby and it stuck.

Once we got to the store, Katie happily picked the style that she likes (14K Rose colored stone in a flower shape) and we paid. There was a young woman having a cartilage piercing and Katie watched intently and when they pierced her ear, Katie got a scared look on her face. Now it was her turn and I brought her in. I told the ladies that ran the store that I wanted them to do both ears at the same time because I knew that if they did one they may not get the chance to do the other, unless under major duress.....I was not chancing it. When I was a teenager, I worked in the same store piercing ears, so I know from what I speak.

At this point, Katie told me that she was scared. I actually think that I was more nervous than she was, as I knew that it hurts a lot for the first 10 seconds. I told her that she had said that she really wanted to do it and that it is important to do things that you really want to do even if it means that you are scared. I told her that she would have a moment of pain for a lifetime of beauty...LOL. Here she is waiting for the piercing. Such a sad and thoughtful face.

She seemed better and then the wonderful women cleaned her ears, marked the spot that they would pierce, checked with me and as she clutched Snotty Baby and my hand, they double teamed her...

Here is the moment the ears were both pierced.

She howled in pain and then in about a minute with the help of a lollipop and a look in the mirror, to see how beautiful they looked she was just fine. Then she smiled coyly and talked about how much she loved them. Ethan then looked at her and asked her, "Katie, are you happy now?" When she said yes, he then asked if he could get his done.....uh no Ethan...that will have to be a decision made much much later, like when you are 18!....LOL Here is the lead person who pierced her ears. She and her partner were so enamored with Katie and were wonderful to her.

We left with a happy and glowing little girl who stopped to tell anyone and everyone that we came into contact with that she had gotten her ears pierced and that she just loved her new earrings. I think that deep down she was quite pleased that she did what she had set out to do......job well done Katie Starr!