Losing a Tooth

My little boy has entered the next stage of his life. He has lost his first tooth! This was quite a surprise for us, as we did not even know that his tooth was loose. Thinking back on it, I have to laugh, because how he lost it is so like my son.

On Friday, when we were leaving his classroom I noticed that he had something red in his mouth. I got scared when I had him open his mouth and there was blood and a missing tooth! He had never said anything to us about his tooth being loose so I was thinking the worse. I asked him what happened and he looked at me with big eyes and wouldn't tell me. I asked him if he had fallen and hit his tooth; had someone hit him in the mouth; did he eat something hard, and did you tell your teacher? Again no response. I am starting to panic and thinking, "Is there a dentist open on Friday afternoon?" I told him that I was not mad and that he was not in trouble, but please tell me what happened. He then tells me that he was playing with it in the classroom that afternoon and it just came out. I asked him where it was and again he doesn't want to tell me. I again tried to get it out of him and he finally says it is in the classroom by his desk. When I want to go and get it, it is after all his very first tooth to come out, he says we can get it tomorrow. "No way," I said, "It will be gone tomorrow."

Off we go across the street, to try and find the tooth. I am thinking that it will be like a needle in a haystack to find this little tooth. But when we get there, he shows me exactly where it is, on the floor right next to the leg of his desk! When I pick it up, the teacher walks in. I told her that he had lost his tooth, and she knew nothing about it. She went and got a cute little tooth box for him to put it in so he wouldn't lose it. She told him that she had those just in case anyone lost their teeth, but they had to tell her when it happened.

When we left I started to explain the whole tooth fairy thing. We had never had that discussion before, because we never knew the tooth was loose. When I explained he would get some money from her for his tooth, he was pretty excited.

That night I asked him why he never told me that his tooth was loose. He said that he thought he would have to go to the dentist if he told me. When I asked why he didn't keep his tooth he told me, "I wanted to lose it Mommy." I guess that is what he was doing, losing the tooth! He is such a literal child.

Even with his missing tooth, he still is pretty darn cute! Here he is with two of his Uncles on his birthday party day on Saturday. I guess good looks run in the family.