The First Baby Tooth

Not too long ago I wrote about how Aden lost her very last baby tooth.  I am feeling overwhelmed by how grown up she seems lately.  In many ways she's still my snuggly little girl, but now when I catch an unexpected glimpse of her moving through a room, poised and tall, she doesn't register as a kid anymore.  I don't truly understand where that baby went, the one I used to hoist up by my shoulder who would drape her tiny arm around my neck and stroke me lightly with her hands that had dimples for knuckles.

Proud of his Longest Road card

This week Quinn lost his first baby tooth.  He is also growing up faster than I'm ready to deal with.  Quinn recently started piano lessons and has learned how to play Settlers of Catan.

He is still my little barnacle boy, but instead of being a baby glued to my hip he's a tall kindergartener who cuddles as close as he can whenever I sit down and hugs my arm with both of his as we walk.  And now all those little teeth I watched coming in six years ago are starting to come out.

Our tooth fairy tradition has been to put a little present under the pillow in exchange for the tooth.  For Aden it was mostly Pokemon toys for a long time, then we switched to Littlest Pet Shop toys, then a string of things she was disappointed with before her last tooth came out and she got a stuffed dog that she adores.  Mona hasn't lost a tooth in about a year, and I'm not sure what to put under her pillow next time it comes up.  She's appreciative of everything, so I don't stress about it particularly.

But for Quinn I wasn't sure what to do.  That first tooth sets a precedent.  If you give your kid a dollar he will always expect a dollar.  The types of toys I'd given the girls didn't seem to fit him as well.  When he showed me his tooth was loose a couple of weeks ago I started thinking about it.