Great White Shark

Our sleep was abruptly interrupted at 5:00 am by Collin's screams, "DAD...DAD...guess what? DAAAAADDDDD, I LOST MY TOOTH!!!"

Exactly three weeks earlier, on August 10, Collin nonchalantly announced that his grown-up tooth had finally made an appearance. He was one of the only kids in his peer group that hadn't yet lost a tooth, and I had previously overheard him telling "stories" about how many teeth he had lost.

I subsequently called our dental office and was informally encouraged to have the tooth extracted. Collin wouldn't hear of it, reassuring us, "my tooth will come out when it is ready." After about a half hour of what can only be described as panic, he went into the bathroom and closed the door. When he emerged, he announced a solution:

"Mom, I've looked in my mouth, and there's plenty of room in there for all my grown-up teeth behind my baby teeth."

"Collin, that's great...but you aren't a great white shark!"

He had been reluctant to even wiggle his baby tooth, informing us that because it was so close to his new grown-up tooth, the recommended "wiggling" was making his permanent tooth loose too. Janie must have finally provided him with the encouragement he needed at daycare with Aaron and Nolan, ensuring him that once a baby tooth had been loose for as long as his had been, there would be no blood when it finally came out. Without telling us, he went to bed with an extraction plan that involved "pushing the tooth forward and laying on his face". Whatever he did, it worked.

He's now preoccupied with thoughts of the tooth fairy, contemplating how much money she will leave and hoping it's enough for him to buy two Hex Bugs, one for himself and another for Aaron.