thumbody is growing up

During our 4th of July festivities, Avery burned her thumb on a sparkler.

And yes, if you're keeping score, I've definitely racked up enough points to qualify for Mom of the Year. And it's only July.

I have to admit that when it happened, I thought to myself, "Hmmm... this could be the thing that keeps her from sucking her thumb long enough to break the habit." Because a true Mom of the Year looks at her child's injury as a opportunity to make her life easier.

Alright, alright, let me 'splain myself a bit:

After 3 1/2 years of observing Avery's intense affection for her thumb, I've become a little concerned; Concerned that breaking her of the habit would be horribly horrible.

Beyond horribly horrible.

Detoxing a Crack-Addict horrible.

In an effort to prepare myself for the inevitable, I talked with Dentists, consulted with other Mom of the Year Candidates, and conducted my own online investigation.

The options aren't even close to appealing.

First, there's the $68.00 thumb-guard. Which looks like a medieval torture device of some sort.

Pricey.

Scary.

And let's be honest: a little embarrassing.

Am I right?

I'll let my kid wear p.j.s to Wal-mart, but I draw the line at the thumb guard.

I've got standards, people.

Next option: Horrible-tasting sprays and/or ointments

I weighed the options.

I considered the possibilities.

They all stunk (stanked? stunked? stinked?).

Every one of them.

They all spelled t-o-r-t-u-r-e for Avery AND Mommy.

So when Avery's sparkler injury started to heal a bit, I took a look at her bandaged finger and discovered that her while the burned part of her finger had healed, the entire area that the band-aid covered was infected.

I'll be honest, I freaked out a little bit.

Warning: the following picture is not for the weak of heart.

And definitely don't enlarge it.

Unless you are a glutton for punishment.

It was time to visit Dr. Catherine.

Avery was not pleased.

She loves to visit Dr. Catherine when Charlie has an appointment. In fact, she thinks it's pretty fun.

She does not, however, think it's fun to visit Dr. Catherine when she has an appointment.

There was a lot of screaming.

Followed by more screaming.

And a little wailing.

So - Mommy of the Year brought out the bribery tools: a.k.a. a promised trip to the ice cream store.

And a trip to the Teacher Store for some stickers and a chart - so that I could prolong the bribery and attempt to break her of her habit for good.

The deal: fill up the chart and get a super-cool prize.

A Big Girl prize.

A prize worthy of a truly momentous occasion:

(photo from American Girl website)

So far, so good. I think we're almost half-way through the chart now.

Looks like a visit to the American Girl store may be in our future!

And a big 'ol trophy for Mommy of the Year.