Two weeks ago, Mikayla decided she was ready to get her ears pierced and since she’s done playing sports for a few weeks, we decided it was a good time to do it. So, after getting herself up to 10 on her chart, we scheduled an appointment with Carissa, at Rituals Salon, to get them done.

At Rituals, Mikayla was pretty excited about the idea of having pierced ears…and then it came time to actually stab a hole into her ear. This, obviously, made her terrified. When Carissa was done marking the exact location of each hole and Juli double checked their superior placement, it was time to do the deed.

With fear and excitement all wrapped up into one overwhelming emotion, Mikayla grasped Juli’s hand and took it like an 8 year-old. A few minutes (and several tears) later, Mikayla grinning ear-to-ear and looking at her new studs in the mirror.