First dentist visit

Ellie had her first visit with the dentist this week. She politely declined when the dental hygienist invited her to brush her teeth at their sink, explaining that she wanted to use her own "Dumbo" toothbrush. But she answered the dentist's questions and opened her mouth for his examination with no fuss or resistance. He gave her a clean bill of health, but laughed about her thumb-sucking habit. He asked her, "Is your thumb delicious? Does it taste like chocolate?" and Ellie thought about this very seriously for a moment. Then she replied, "No, strawberry." My literal three-year-old! We'd had strawberries with breakfast, and she still had some of the juice under her nail.

On the way out, I stopped to speak with an acquaintance in the waiting room. Ellie settled down happily with a toy. I thought this was wonderful, until I tried to get her out of the office.

"Ellie, let's go out and look at the fountain!"
"No, I'm still playing."
"Ellie, it's time to leave. Remember? We're going to the eye doctor and we have to do Mommy's allergy shots."
"No, I'm still playing."
"I'm counting to three, Elena, and then we have to leave."
"Noooooooo! NOOOOOOO!"

In the end, I had to peel her off the toy, throw her over my shoulder, and haul her out of there. She screamed at the top of her lungs all the way out. Once outside the door, she proceeded to treat me to a full-on tantrum, lying on the ground and kicking and screaming. A father in the waiting room gave me a sympathetic grin and said, "I never thought I'd see a parent dragging a kid OUT of the dentist's office kicking and screaming!"