I love the tooth fairy!!

Cate lost another baby tooth yesterday - her 5th so far.  This one is on the bottom, to the left of her front teeth so its not nearly as noticeably cute as front tooth gaps from last time!  It was also a big bugger - the new tooth is coming in way to the back, so it only loosened the baby tooth in the back not the front.  That tooth was wiggly for at least two months.  The last week it was so loose in the back you could pull it completely forward until it was parallel to the other teeth - gross I know.  But as much as we wiggled it just refused to come out.  I had warned her teacher on Monday that I thought it was close and it turns out that was a good thing because she finally wiggled it out yesterday in class.  At least Ms. B was shocked to see Cate with a bloody mouth holding a tooth!  Ms. B sweetly sent it home on an index card in a baggie so there was no chance it would get lost.

There is something so perfectly childhood about the tooth fairy.  It different than Christmas or Birthdays, I guess, because it comes somewhat randomly and unexpectedly without the anticipation that precedes an holiday.  Also it is uniquely individual - no sharing the fun with friends or family.  We talked about the tooth fairy coming on the way home from school and Cate was happily explaining the process to me.  She would put her tooth in the tooth fairy pillow, then put it under her pillow, while she was sleeping the tooth fairy would bring a treasure and a book.  ((me:  mmm a book huh - glad I asked ))

Cate was so excited last night as she put her tiny tooth in the little tooth fairy pillow and tightly put down the Velcro.  She put it under her pillow directly under her head for safe keeping.  We read her favorite bedtime story - "Birdie's Big Girl Dress" (she thought she was taking advantage of me as the reader because her daddy has read it so many nights in a row that he refused on Weds night!) and afterward I might have said "I wonder if there are more Birdie books?" <which I knew was true thanks to Becca!!>.  Cate responded on cue - "I wish I had another Birdie book".

The tooth fairy started a tradition at our house.  She brings a gold dollar coin and a little gift for each tooth.  This tooth was no exception, Cate was jumping up and down to find that the tooth had been replaced with a gold dollar and there was a new book "Birdie's Big Girl Shoes" under her pillow.   Cate told me "the tooth fairy heard my wish!!!".  I think this will be the next book to get read to shreads!  Cate is so proud of the coins which she keeps as treasure in a little glass piggy bank that was a gift from one of my mother's friends when she was just a baby.  I even stayed home a little while and was ten minutes late so I could see Cate after she found her prizes.  It was worth every minute to see that shinning face!  You just can't beat the excitement of the tooth fairy before and after the delivery!

No more wiggly teeth so I think we'll have a bit of a wait until the next one so it should be just as much fun!

sorry no pictures yet - I'll try to get one tonight and add it later!