This was a treat that was supposed to wait until her 16th birthday. We're a few weeks short of that. But the grandparents are still in town, and our friend GG was with us for a week, so we decided to give her her birthday present early so everyone could watch.
We offered to pierce her ears the biblical way -- standing her at a doorpost and punching her lobes with an awl -- but she would have none of that. So instead we went into Coeur d'Alene, to a place called Claire's. This store is unabashedly dedicated to a single purpose: selling bling.
And let me tell you, it sells bling.
I was probably more nervous about this procedure than Older Daughter was. I guess that's a mom's prerogative. (And yes, I have my ears pierced too.)
Before...
Here are the options for studs. Older Daughter chose stainless steel 4 mm rounds (right hand column, fourth from the top).
Here's the sterilized piercer...
...and the sterilized earrings.
The woman who did the piercing did a careful and clean job. Here she's sterilizing Older Daughter's lobes.
Next she made a tiny dot on each lobe with a removable marker, to mark where the lobes would be pierced.
She looked carefully to make sure the dots were even on both sides...
...and then made sure Older Daughter was satisfied about the location and evenness.
Then came the big moment. PINCH!
Ta da!
Examining the results. Lovely!
Older Daughter was shown how to keep the piercings clean, how to twirl the earring for the first few days, etc.
Then came the fun part: choosing a few blings for when she can wear them (toward the end of the year).
As Older Daughter puts it, having pierced ears opens up a whole new opportunity for jewelry! (I remember thinking the exact same thing when I got my ears pierced when I was 20). What a fun time in one's life.
She went home with a tidy ear cleaning package.
However went I went to pay for everything, it turns out Grandpa quietly paid for everything behind our backs, the sneak. (Ah, the privilege of being a grandparent.)
On the way out of the mall, we passed a clean, wholesome-looking store that offered additional piercing services. Well darn. We could have gone there.
Older Daughter has been meticulous in caring for her newly pierced ears. The earrings make her look more mature, in my opinion. My baby is growing up!
