My first baby, now over 5 1/2 years old, lost her first tooth today.
The precious little pink-clad munchkin that you see above hit a milestone that, at least to her and her mama, is a big one. I suppose it hits me in a profound way because Caroline is experiencing so much of life right now that I have vivid memories of - my kindergarten teacher, that classroom at Westminster Elementary, playing with friends in the backyard, and most especially today, losing that first tooth. I can close my eyes right now and remember being on the swing, pumping my legs to go as high as those little five-year old legs could get me while wiggling my very lose tooth with my tongue. And in a startling moment, it came out! I can still remember the taste of blood in my mouth and the strange feeling of my gums where that tooth once lived.
Caroline and I talked about it tonight as she was going to sleep; what a big day this was for her, a day that she will be able to close her own mama-eyes, twenty-five or thirty years from now and recall like it was yesterday. She will remember sitting in the living room waiting for her mom to pull that first tooth out of her mouth. And I hope she'll remember the joy she felt when it was out, how she marveled at how tiny that baby tooth was. And for me her intrigue with the size of that little tooth triggered the emotional connection that as my first baby is losing her teeth, my youngest baby is getting her teeth. Those same teeth that are cutting through Camille's gums are the ones that I'll pull out of her mouth and help her place under her pillow five years from now. It's really amazing to think about time and growth and connections and memories.
So, tonight I'm under strict instructions to get to bed early so that the Tooth Fairy can come take that little baby tooth from under Caroline's pillow and hopefully leave a little money in its place.
Monday, note the full set of teeth.
Another shot just for good measure.
And it's out!
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