Lost

Big news around here, folks. We've lost our first tooth.

About two weeks ago Hazel told me her tooth hurt when she bit down. She was pointing to her front bottom right tooth so I asked to take a look. One touch and it moved. I told her, "Hazel, you've got a loose tooth!"

Well. You should have seen her. Jumping around, giggling and gasping in disbelief. It was obvious she immediately viewed her place in the universe differently. Loose tooth = big kid. She now joined the ranks of other loose toothers in her class, and for about a week that's all anyone heard about from her. Here she is pointing to the loose tooth (but really just covering it up.)
At church she mentioned it to Brother Z, who was subbing in her class. He's got 10-yr-old twin girls and told Hazel he is a tooth-pulling expert. He gave hers a wiggle and said it's not ready yet.

Then last weekend we had a ward campout at Burke Lake Park. In the morning we tested her tooth and it was getting really loose so we checked with Brother Z again. He smiled and told her to go get him a napkin. And in a flick of the wrist, before anyone could say boo or be scared or go get my camera, he'd knocked it out and Hazel was holding a bloody napkin in her mouth with a look of happy shock on her face. Let me tell you, we will be going to him with all our loose teeth.
In general, we don't condone the belief in fictional gift-givers such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Mostly because they too often overshadow the religious holidays they're associated with, and as a family we prefer to focus solely on Jesus Christ at Christmas and Easter, explaining that the gifts we give each other at those times are in reference to the gift of salvation Christ gave to us.

However. There's no religious foundation in losing teeth. The Tooth Fairy is a purely cultural phenomenon (um, I guess. Didn't do my research on this. I'm lucky to get a post written.) So, we figured, why not? It's a fun thing to believe it and frankly I'm still not totally sure she doesn't exist.

Hazel put her tooth in this fantastic little pillow we got from Posie and Me, and put it under her own pillow. A few hours later when I snuck in, the tooth was gone. Most likely it fell behind the bed or slipped out, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so maybe the Tooth Fairy came. But she is stingy because the pocket was empty. I slipped in two quarters and a pretty eraser from the dollar bin at Michael's. What does the Tooth Fairy leave for your kids?

On a bit of a tangent, the tooth she lost was her first tooth to come in. Is that how it usually goes? I remember when it came in because she was only four months old and since she was my first baby I was totally shocked. We were in New York and had gone to the beach with my friend Shirley and her son (Hazel's boyfriend) Bruce. We were sitting there talking and letting Hazel chew on my fingers, just like Poppy does now. And suddenly there was something hard and sharp and I remember Shirley so kindly getting excited with me as I cried because my baby had a tooth. In fact, I took pictures that day at the beach and now I am going into the archives to go find one for you. Yes, Hazel and Poppy are clearly from the same gene pool. Poppy is definitely teething and I thought it would be fun if she cut a tooth the same time Hazel lost one and then this post would be "Lost and Found" or something punny, but if there's one thing I've learned about parenting, it's that each girl is different and does her own thing.

Congratulations, Hazel!