Tooth Fairy Tales

Our web of parental lies has now expanded to include the Tooth Fairy.

Nolan lost his first tooth (one of his top front teeth) on February 20 of this year.  He had waited a looong time to lose his first tooth, considering he's nearly 7 years old and wrapping up first grade.

We knew this tooth was super close to coming out, and he ended up losing it at school.  Kids who lose teeth at school get to go see the nurse and get a special necklace to hold their tooth.  He ran out to me after school, and I could see the tooth necklace around his neck.

It's been so much fun admiring my baby boy with his adorable hole in his mouth whenever he talks to me.  I told him I remember when he first got that tooth, and now I can't believe he lost it! 

Nolan wrote a note for the tooth fairy and put his note and tooth under his pillow that night.  He had a hard time falling asleep, and he ended up sleeping with his hand on the note!

Here's what he wrote to the tooth fairy:

Dear Tooth Fairy, I lost my first tooth and waited e-x-t-r-a long so can I [have] at least 5 bucks if not can I have a mini nerf gun.  Love, Nolan  {Oh and can you tell me your name, how old you are, and if you are a boy or girl.}

That boy makes me smile.

So we carefully removed the tooth and note from under Nolan's protective grip, and we left this note along with $1:

Dear Nolan, You sure did wait a l-o-n-g time to lose that tooth!  I am so proud of you for waiting patiently!  Since you will be losing lots of teeth, and your brother and sister will eventually lose lots of teeth, I will be paying you $1.00 per tooth.  Maybe you can earn more money or a mini Nerf gun by doing chores for your parents.  Love, Tooth Fairy {P.S. You can just call me Tooth Fairy.  I am very old, and I am a girl.}

Nolan begged us to tell him whether we had written the note, but we managed to be vague and give diplomatic answers. 

Well, Nolan waited a long time to start losing teeth, but now he's on a roll.  He has lost two teeth in the last week!

Luckily, I had three crisp snail dollars on hand for these unexpected lost teeth.

Nolan's second tooth lost was one of his bottom front teeth.

You can see that his adult tooth had already poked through before he lost the baby tooth.  The adult tooth was growing in behind the baby tooth, and we are hoping it'll straighten out now that the baby tooth is gone.

Nolan lost the other bottom front tooth yesterday after school.  He was very nervous about losing his first tooth, but he pulled out Tooth #2 and Tooth #3 by himself with no hesitation.  Yesterday's tooth was the only one that really bled.

The letters between Nolan and the Tooth Fairy continued with each of these two teeth lost.  And he had a hard time falling asleep both nights. :)

Dear Tooth Fairy, I have lost my 2nd tooth but this time I had to be REALLY brave because I pulled it out and here are some questions at the bottom.  What's your name?  What's your favorite meal?  What do you use teeth for?  Love, Nolan (Yes, that is his tooth in the baggie.)

We decided to start typing our replies since I'm not very good at disguising my handwriting.

Sorry this one is hard to read.  I think you'll find it entertaining if you do manage to read it though!

And here are the letters from last night:

Dear Tooth Fairy, Hi I lost my third tooth and I pulled it out all by myself again and sorry it was not long ago when I lost my 2nd tooth and use my tooth wisely!  from Nolan

Griffin had asked Nolan to ask the Tooth Fairy for a new tooth brush (for Griffin).  Jared overheard the conversation, so we included a new toothbrush for Griffin along with Nolan's note and $1.

It's crazy to see the holes in Nolan's mouth when he talks.  He loves seeing what he can eat and drink through the holes.  It's like a new game.  Seeing that bottom adult tooth peaking through reminds me that Nolan is growing and changing.  It makes me happy and sad.

So there you have it.  We've relegated Santa to his place behind Jesus, we've managed to dodge the Easter Bunny altogether, and we have spun a web of lies as the Tooth Fairy.  At least typing the letters lets us say, "No, we didn't write that letter."

It's all part of the parenting experience!

Jessica