Loose Tooth Talk

"Mommy!" Hannah whined as she ran into my office yesterday afternoon. "I bit this really hard piece of rice that was in my rice pudding and now my tooth really hurts!"

I pried open her reluctant mouth and spied a tiny trickle of blood around one of her bottom, front teeth. It wiggled easily. "Congratulations, Hannah," I announced, "you have a loose tooth!"

She quickly reached her finger up and wiggled. "It really is loose!" she concluded happily.

Last night, when Matt came home, the first thing he had to hear about was Hannah's loose tooth. And it was the first thing on her mind this morning. She snuck into my room just after Elijah had stood up in his crib and announced, "Nah Nuh!" (which I think means, "All done.")

"Good morning, Hannah," I said, sitting up and holding out my arms for a hug.

She gave a shy smile, slipped into my lap, and informed me, "My tooth's still loose."

At breakfast she could talk about nothing else, so I kept a little log of her conversation while I poured cups of juice and bowls of Rice Chex. The following is an actual transcript of our breakfast conversation.

Hannah: "Daddy said my tooth is so loose it might just fall out any time while I'm eating."

Me: "I think it might take a few weeks still, darling."

Hannah: "Oh don't say that, Mommy!  I've been waiting sooo long already! I've been waiting 14 years for my tooth to fall out!"

Me: "Honey, you've only been alive for six and a half years."

Hannah: "Well, I've been waiting six and a half years, then, and that's still a long time."

Emma: "I don't understand."

Me: "Hannah's pretending she's been waiting for her teeth to fall out since the day she was first born. Do you think she's really been waiting that long?"

Emma, giggling now: "Nope."

Hannah: "Well I've really been waiting since I was three, which is when I first found out you could lose teeth, and that's the truth! When I was three I was like, 'When I grow up, I'm going to lose all my teeth all at once,' like, 'Cccccrrrrrraaaahhh' and they all just fall out! And then the tooth fairy would have to give me 20 things because I have 20 teeth. I know I do because I counted them in the mirror. I think everyone has 20 , except for people with health problems. I can't chew with my loose tooth, Emma, because it hurts...Mama! I just got a big crunch on my loose tooth and now it hurts really bad! And now I have another loose tooth and I don't want another loose tooth! I only want one!"

Me: "I thought you wanted to lose all your teeth at once."

Hannah at Emma's preschool b-day party last month

Hannah: "That was when I was three! ... I'm glad I have a loose tooth. Make sure you give me enough money to buy a stuffed animal, Tooth Fairy Mama."

Me: "I'll be sure to tell the tooth fairy that's what you want."

Hannah: "You are the tooth fairy, Mama! And since I stay up all night I can catch you! I'll just pretend I'm fast asleep, and I'll put my thumb in my mouth too, so you won't know I'm awake!"

Me: "Well you can try to catch her, but I hear she's pretty sneaky. Now it's time to get dressed and start your schoolwork."

Hannah is sitting at the table now, absentmindedly wiggling her tooth while she works math problems. Actually, let's be honest, she's probably absentmindedly working math problems while she wiggles her tooth.