An Extra Hole in Her Head, or Maybe Not (or Maybe Two).

Two weeks ago, on April 14th, Ally finally lost her first tooth. I say finally because the poor girl had been impatiently waiting for this to happen-- ever since the dental hygienist told her over a year ago, "I think this bottom tooth is starting to loosen. It will definitely be out by Christmas!" She was a little overzealous in her enthusiastic prediction.

Last known pic showing all her teeth.

Loosey-Goosey

Although the famed tooth was noticeably loose for about two weeks total, it only spent a day or two in the "just-pull-it-out-already-'cause-it's-only-hanging-on-by-that-last-bit-of-tissue" stage. (I'm very grateful for that. I have a hard time looking at dangling teeth.)




Ally had told me she was ready for me to pull it the night before, at Uncle Paul's wedding reception, but she chickened out during the process. So we stopped. The tooth came out on its own when we got home the following night and were eating dinner. A couple of soft, cheese raviolis did the trick!

Because this was her first tooth, Ally wanted to keep it. She asked us if we thought the tooth fairy would allow such an exemption. Ally told me that, although getting money would be nice, it was more important to her that she keep that tooth. We suggested that she write the tooth fairy a letter with her request and then see what happens.

Always curious, Ally added an important question on the back:

Ally put the tooth and the note in a jar, placed the jar under her pillow, and went to bed.

We weren't prepared with a special pillow or fancy tooth treasure chest, and we didn't want the fairy having any trouble finding the tooth or note. Maybe a tooth jar will be our family tradition by default?




Ally was very happy and surprised the next morning. Not only did the fairy let her keep the tooth, but she left a 2 dollar bill and a personal note, too.

A related story: Ally's 6-year molars came in about a month ago. She had been complaining that something felt "different" in the back of her mouth, describing it like "rough craters" that were hurting. I looked, and three of the four molars and completely erupted through and one was halfway there.

Someone asked her about her missing front tooth the other day. Ally acknowledged that she lost a tooth, but told them that she's not missing any teeth. She went on to explain: "I lost one, but I also grew four new ones, so I actually have three extra and not one missing."

The pumpkin stage begins!

P.S.-- For some reason, this original entry ("An Extra Hole in Her Head, or Maybe Not") didn't post this morning. The computer must have had a premonition that I'd need to add something more.

Ally only had one hole in her gumline when I picked her up from school this afternoon, but she had two by the time she was hopping out of the car at home. All Ally and I can figure is that she must have swallowed her 2nd loose tooth while munching on her Fritos. Now she gets to write another note to the tooth fairy. It's a good thing her fairy knows how to read and seems to be quite accommodating. 

Eating is dangerous.

Sassy Leprechauns 2013

Saint Patrick's Day was a little over a month ago, so I'm not too far behind in posting this, right? Here are some cute pictures of our leprechaun girls to start things off:

We met up with some of the Hoffmans at the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Raleigh. We hung out with Colleen, Nate, Maddie, Grandma, and Grampy while watching all the floats, dancers, animals, clowns, and cars go by. Here's my favorite snapshot of our little group. Can you tell who took it?

Normie tried really hard.

Thankfully she was able to redeem herself with this shot:


We watched the colorful street party while we ate our snacks and collected candy. The girls enjoyed all the Irish dancers and other groups of kids that participated. Cora is still petrified of anyone wearing a full costume and dogs, but she managed to hang in there. We were happily surprised to see Elena and little Zac marching along with a group of baby-wearing mommas. My only complaint was hearing the unedited version of "Thrift Shop" blaring from an adult dancing float; otherwise, fun was had by all.


Nate strutted around in his new-found bling and our big hat. Cora and Ally sported the new scarves Grammy had made for them. And Maddie was content observing the chaos. Aren't they all cute?


After the parade, we walked over to the museum to use the potty and ended up walking through the main exhibit on North Carolina's history. Ally and Cora pretended to work on a farm, walked through an old house, learned a little about the civil war, and contemplated what life used to be like a century as well as decades ago. Here's a pic of Cora ready to serve in the war; all I can think of is shrunken heads at the end of Beetlejuice.



The thing that left the biggest impression on Ally was a doorway labeled "Colored" next to a doorway labeled "Whites". Her basic comment was "Why would anyone tell me I can't go through the Colored door just because I'm not dark-skinned? That's just silly." We talked about how people thought differently back then (and that some, unfortunately, still do) and how grateful we are that we live now. And then she purposely passed under the "Colored" door. Way to be defiant for a good cause, Ally!

Cora and Ally both fell asleep on the way home. I guess it was too much excitement for one day.