Dental Check-Up for Jasper - 4 1/2 years old

I've been a little slack on Jasper's dental check-ups.  The irony is that I took Jasper in for a 1 year check-up and 2 year check-up.

The fact that we don't have him signed up on our dental insurance has not helped in me getting him in.  I did the math to add him to our policy, and it is cheaper to just do cash pay visits for him.

Our dentist moved, and that's when I went downhill on my diligent efforts.

Jasper did have a 3  1/2 year check-up, but the dentist decided he probably wasn't going to sit still for x-rays, so he just got a cleaning.  Everything looked fine then.

 We are now going to Dr. Brandon Grieve.  His practice is called Tiny Little Chompers.  Dr. Brandon is a great dentist and is great with kids.

He told Jasper that he was going to count his teeth, and asked Jasper to guess how many teeth he had.

Of course Dr. Brandon knew the answer already -- 20.  Jasper has been walking around all day saying, "I have 20 teeth."

At this 4  1/2 year check-up Jasper had front x-rays but wasn't too keen on getting the films way in the back of his mouth, so they just said we'd try again next time.
 
He was a bit fidgety for the cleaning, but did okay.  He does not like the suction or water spray.  Jasper did bring 2 of his baby puppies with him to the dental visit.

It had been over a year, so I was a bit worried about my sweet-tooth boy having cavities.

I was right.  He has two tiny cavities.  So we're going back in two weeks to get them fixed.

And we are getting on the 6 month check-up schedule. :)

All Lined Up

Yesterday Jasper had his 4  1/2 year dental check-up at Tiny Little Chompers with Dr. Brandon.

They were showing the movie HOP, and promised Jasper that if he was good during his cleaning he could take the movie home and borrow it.  Jasper's favorite line from the movie is, "What about China?"

He lined up his three Hot Wheels cars and three Transformers cars that Grandma Sharon gave him in an Easter basket and got settled in to watch HOP.

We don't have TV and rarely watch movies, so he was so excited to get to watch a movie with his cars.

RECIPE: Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad

Last night our ward recipe group theme was "summer salads" at Tenille Strode's home.  

Her mom made a Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad  that I am still swooning over.

I'm trying hard to cook with quinoa more, so I am always thrilled for a new quinoa recipe. 

This recipe and the above photo comes from VeggieBelly.com. 

Here's the link for the recipe, instructions and photos.

 Blueberry Mango Quinoa Salad

Cook 1/2 cup quinoa and let cool.

Fruits and veggies
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup cubed ripe mangoes (can substitute or add fresh pineapple)
½ cup cubed cucumbers
1/2 tablespoon dried cranberries

Lemon basil dressing
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
10 Basil leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the fruits in a bowl and refrigerate till you are ready to serve the salad.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped basil. Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. Chop and add the basil to the dressing just before serving. If you add it earlier, it will go black.

Add half the dressing to the quinoa and mix gently.

Assemble the salad just before serving – toss the quinoa, fruits and cucumbers together. Serve other half of the dressing on the side. Serve  immediately.