Annalie got her ears pierced!
August 8th, 2009
Annalie’s been begging for a long time to get her ears pierced. I didn’t get mine done till I was ten, partly because that’s when my parents allowed it and partly because I was too scared to get it done before then. I thought once I explained to Annalie in detail exactly how ears are pierced, that it involves pain and feels like getting a shot, that she would lose interest. But no. She persisted.
She started asking again a few weeks ago, and I suggested we wait till Gramaw was here, thinking she might lose interest by then. But as soon as we headed to the airport to pick up my mom, Annalie asked, “Since Gramaw is here, can I get my ears pierced now?”
Troy and I had talked about it and decided if she really wanted to get her ears pierced, it was okay with us. Annalie asked again today. I surprised her by saying, “Sure, let’s go get your ears pierced.”
Annalie chose emerald-colored crystal flowers for her first pair of earrings. I expected her to choose something blue, or possibly something girly like pink hearts. Nope, she wanted to have earrings with her birthstone, which is actually pretty cool if you ask me. I loved the whole idea of birthstones when I was her age.
I was very proud of how brave and nonchalant Annalie was about the whole thing. She went behind the counter and sat in the chair all by herself. I could have held her in my lap but she wanted to sit by herself. I could tell she was excited and a little nervous, but she stayed very calm as the salespeople put on gloves, opened the sterile package with her earrings in it, and loaded the piercing guns.
When children are getting their ears pierced, they very wisely pierce both ears at the same time, else there’d probably be a lot of kids running around with only one ear pierced because they refused to do that again. I’m sure it’s a bit of overload, though, to have that happen to both ears at the same time.
Annalie did cry a little bit, just at first. I picked her up and thanked the two women who’d done the piercing, taking their advice to fan Annalie’s earlobes with my hands till the stinging subsided. We walked a little ways down the mall as Annalie calmed herself. When I spied the candy store I distracted her by asking if she’d like to buy some candy to celebrate. That perked her right up.
The teenage girl working in the candy store overheard us talking and asked Annalie if she’d just gotten her ears pierced. Annalie said yes, she had. The salesgirl expressed admiration, saying that she was too scared to get her ears pierced till she was much older. Annalie smiled and stood a bit taller at such praise. Then the girl gave Annalie a free gummy butterfly, which was quite nice of her.
Annalie chose a candy ring for her celebratory sweet. Then we went shoe shopping, and Annalie and I both found shoes on sale. It was a good day for everyone. And in case anyone’s wondering what to get Annalie for Christmas, I’d say post earrings would be a good bet.
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I was such a wimp when I got my ears pierced. Good for Annalie! I also went for my birthstone when getting my ears pierced, excellent choice : )
My daughter had a “thumb sucking” habit when she was little. She too kept asking to have her ears pierced. So, we made a deal that when she had gone a month without sucking her thumb, that would prove she was old enough to get her ears pierced. The summer before kindergarten, sure enough, she finally broke the habit, and we made a trip to the mall just like you and Annalie. She was so proud of both the earrings, and having overcome a bad habit. Congratulations, Annalie – you look gorgeous!
Yay for Annalie! When we took Lydia at age 5, they only pierced one at a time. She got one done and then wanted to leave because it hurt! I told her it was either both or none. She did get them both done but not without a lot of coaxing from two teenagers who stopped to encourage her.
She looks lovely! I love the earrings she chose.
I had them pierced when I was really little (not my choice of course. My mom got fed up with fighting with me to clean and change them and let them grow. When I was 5, I had them pierced (my choice). They did one at a time, and it took 2 hours for me to calm down and sit still for them to pierce the other one.
Poor Bella has had her’s pierced 2 times as well. Apparently her ears think they need to absorb her earrings, and I decree no more for a while. Taking her to the doctor to have them removed was too traumatic, especially the second time.
oh yeah, AND YAY Annalie! They are gorgeous!
So proud of Annalie! She was so mature about the whole thing and those earrings look great on her, love the birthstone choice.
Yay, that’s great! I’m so proud of her! And my choice was easy when I got my ears pierced — my favorite color is purple and my birthstone is an amethyst, so naturally, that’s what I chose for mine!
I didn’t know they pierced both kids’ ears at once, but that’s really smart. She looks so proud of her earrings! She’s going to really be something when she starts adding different earrings to her awesome Annalie-special outfits :)
Oh! So cute! I want to get Emily’s done…
How fabulous and so brave. I’m still haven’t plucked up the courage to go get my done.
They look great!
And wow what a good idea to do two ears at once. I didn’t know they did that.
Oooh, how fun…I forgot how exciting it was to get my ears pierced as a kid; reading this brought all those small thrills back.
I got my first holes pierced when I was 5… I was so excited. I remember waiting for my dad to get home from work and running out to great him. He said, “Who’s this girl with the red ears?!”
Funny little memories…
She’s cute, I love the last picture of her admiring the earrings, that’s just perfect!
I love the earrings Annalie chose – they’re so pretty! I’m impressed with her bravery, too. I got my ears pierced when I was eight and way back then, they did them one by one but I was so busy thinking about the sting on the first ear that I didn’t even notice they’d done the second side! I had a second set of holes done in college and it didn’t hurt at all but I’d had a beer or two beforehand to anesthetize…probably not an option you want to offer Annalie just yet. :)
Congrats to Annalie for being so brave! She looks lovely in her earrings.
that last photo is so cute! her earrings are lovely, and suit her – sometimes i’m not sure about earrings on younger girls, but they look so great. my mum and dad also made me and my sisters wait until we were 10 before we were allowed our ears pierced. it sounds tough that they did both ears at the same time – makes sense i guess, not sure if i could have handled that though!
How exciting! Go Annalie!! She looks ADORABLE!!
I loved getting my ears pierced when i was her age as well. Maybe a little too much – i had 5 in each ear before i got to high school :)
How neat! I remember what a big deal this was. She must be so proud. She looks so cute in them! I also chose birthstones as my first earrings. Sweet that this idea lives on in little girls today.
Wow, she IS brave! And it is smart that the salespeople do both ears at the same time! I will remember to find a place that does that here when my daughter(s) get to that point. I know for me, I didn’t get mine pierced till I was 9.
Yay Annalie! I love her choice in earrings too! Love the shoes you bought!
My parents pierced my first holes when I was an infant, so I don’t remember that, but I had second holes done in my tween years. The lady that did mine tricked me, by saying she was going to count to three and then pierce. She actually went, One, two, PUNCH, three…so I didn’t have time to tense up. Good trick, it was. Although I don’t have those holes anymore. Not the point.
Annalie looks adorable, especially admiring her new earrings. The birthstone was a great choice. Brave girl, she is.
It’s so funny that you should post this because my little girl was asking again, just this past weekend, if she could get her ears pierced. I finally told her we could do it this Saturday on her 6th birthday. EEK! I hope she changes her mind because I really don’t want to do it!! I’m afraid for her!!!
Congratulations Annalie!! Your earrings are beautiful! You were so brave!! Way to go!
Super cute. Tell Annalie I got my (first) ear piercing with my birthstone, too (aquamarine). My father refused to look at me all through dinner.
Whoo Hoo!, tell her congrats from Joe and Kassie and that they look sooooo cute!
I used to pierce ears when I was in college and worked at an accessories shop. I liked doing kids that were Annalie’s age because they were excited about it. I hated, hated doing babies because NEWSFLASH, their little earlobes grow and sometimes the earrings end up in a weird position.