Virginia Looses Her First Tooth

A couple of weeks ago John and I arrived a little early to pick the kids up from their half-day at preschool. They were both still eating lunch. I sat down with Virginia and John hung out with Horatio.

While Virginia was eating she said, "Momma, my tooth feels funny."

"Did anything happen to it?" I asked.

"I don't know."

And then, because once you have been parenting long enough you are over the whole germ thing, I reached inside her mouth and felt her tooth. It was loose!

I was shocked. She didn't get her teeth in a hurry. I figured I had at least until she was 6 before they would start falling out.

Virginia started playing with the tooth, and it quickly became very loose.

Snaggletooth.

The next day there was a little more than the usual amount of drama at meal times. Virginia insisted on using her tooth to bite, probably to make it more loose, but then complained about the pain most piteously, and ate at the pace of the slowest snail. 

That afternoon the kids built a fort in the living room and asked to sleep in it that night. John and I agreed to this. We set them up with blankets and pillows and then went up to our room and watched Hulu on John's laptop (because the kids were in the room with the television). 

There were some noises from downstairs. We figured the kids would wind down and fall asleep on their own in a few minutes. But then, wailing. From both of them. Utterly heartbroken wailing. 

We went downstairs. Virginia cried, "Horatio cut my tooth out with his sharpest nail and it's gone FOREVER."

She hadn't just lost her tooth. She had LOST her tooth. And, you know, without the tooth, how can you trade the tooth fairy for coins?

After some snuggles and calming conversation we figured out that Horatio had run into Virginia's mouth by accident (with his sharpest nail, apparently) while they were playing in the fort. John lifted up blankets and pillows and found the tooth (not lost forever after all).

The tooth went in a plastic bag under the pillow and Virginia did receive 4 quarters from the very stealthy tooth fairy who even makes calls to living room forts. 

Gaptooth.

Now when you ask Virginia about loosing her first tooth, if Horatio is present he will proudly announce, "I helped!"