Kicking the Habit

She insisted on the brightest, "most beautiful" pink there was!

About a year and a half ago, Abby became a nail biter. We weren't really sure why, but it didn't take long for it to become a bad habit. As a result, I stopped painting her little fingernails, because I didn't want her to eat off her nail polish.

Abby loves having her nails and toes painted, so this year I challenged her to try not biting her nails for a month. I told her if she didn't bite her nails until her birthday, I would take her to get a big girl manicure at the nail salon. Sweet girl doesn't take challenges lightly. She is also quite the perfectionist and can be really hard on herself (even when others aren't), so I had to talk her through her own devastated tears the few times she slipped and started to nibble.

Besides those few instances, she really didn't bite her nails for a month. Her nails had actually grown so long that they needed to be clipped (that never happens), which was total cause for celebration. We are so proud of Abby for overcoming something that wasn't easy for her. I think they say it takes three weeks to break a habit and I believe it. She is still not biting!

Abby informed me that she loves getting manicures, but does not love the part when they push her cuticles back. 

Hamming it up and chatting away with everyone at the salon.

excited about the final product...

...and really proud of herself. 

As we were driving home from the salon, Abby let me know how excited she was to choose another color next week when we come to get another manicure. I gently let little girlfriend down and told her we would not be getting professional manicures every week like she was hoping, but we'd be sticking to special occasions or a summertime treat.  Until then, we will start doing manicures at home again....because when you are four, manicures at home with Mommy are even more fun....right? {wink wink}