As if kindergarten wasn't enough to push me over the edge, this latest milestone will surely do the job - Lily has her first loose tooth. I was in the shower this morning and she came running in the bathroom shouting, I have a loose tooth...for real! The for real was important because Lily has been claiming to have loose teeth off and on for months now, she's been anxious to reach this milestone. I wasn't concerned when she first made the dramatic annoucement, but after peeking out of the shower and seeing the wobbly tooth myself, I was certain that some type of blunt force trauma to her mouth had occurred. Surely she isn't old enough for this to be natural, so I screamed at her to go find her grandma, while I quickly rinsed my hair and jumped out of the shower. Was an ER visit on the horizon? I exited the bathroom to find both my mom and Lily smiling...apparently, it is time for this weird phenomenom of losing teeth to begin.

I so clearly remember watching that all-gum smile for her first shiny white tooth to appear. The first finally arrived at 7 months, I started expecting one around 5 months and was becoming concerned she may forever be toothless. But once they started, she popped in new ones daily it seemed, until she had a mouth full of pearly whites. Then along comes the toothbrush. Around age 2, she loved her toothbrush. She brushed her teeth 8 times a day and the toothbrush could be found anywhere in the house, from behind the toilet to by the dog's dish. I began washing it in the dishwasher. Then somewhere between age 3-4 brushing teeth began to slow her down, and so I began to sound like a broken record...Brush your teeth...Did you brush your teeth...Did you really brush your teeth? Now a sink full of toothpaste calls to me every time I pass their bathroom. I have no idea how or why such a mess is made during a seemingly simple task but the mess assures me some dental care is taking place.

So now we move into the snaggle tooth era of large adult teeth intermingled with baby teeth, creating awkward smiles and weird school pictures. I am not ashamed to say, I was not ready for this step. Not only is it gross to see those wobbly teeth hanging by a fleshy thread, but it also means those tiny teeth I anxiously watched for 5 years ago are soon to be forever gone, replaced by the teeth that will cost a fortune to straighten, gleam in her high school senior pictures and one day delicately chew the wedding cake fed to her by her handsome groom. Those same teeth.

Lily has also informed me the Tooth Fairy leaves $100 for a tooth. She will be disappointed.