Thursday, September 1, 2011

You Know It's Really Kindergarten When...

...the teacher hands Daddy a tooth at pickup time and says, "I think Samantha lost this tooth today!"

Daddy, knowing that Samantha lost one last week on vacation and has another wiggly little buddy being forced out of its space by its replacement, takes a thorough look in Samantha's mouth and replies, "Nope, it's not hers." 

Hahaha, I never really thought about it, but I bet Kindergarten teachers are dealing with lost teeth all the time.  It's the nature of the age and all of it's wondrous, if not inconvenient, changes.

I hope that tooth found its way back to its owner so the Tooth Fairy can do a fair exchange!

Speaking of the Tooth Fairy...

Yes, you heard me right, Samantha lost one of her teeth on vacation.  We had gone out in the morning to visit a neighboring island.  When we returned, we took a walk around some of the shops in our island's village.  Samantha promptly flopped down in front of a full-length mirror of a vintage clothing store, telling stories and singing songs, and looking at her teeth (nothing new, as she's been fascinated by their wiggly state) while Steve and I took a look around.  She even told the person working in the store about her teeth, opening her mouth and pointing to them.  Suddenly, I got a good look. 

One was gone.




Gone?  Gone?  Where would it have gone?  Asking Samantha what she did with it was futile, and I began to backtrack in my mind to when the last time was that I could verify they were all there.  She could have swallowed it at breakfast, but wouldn't I have seen one missing when she was posing for photos on the other island just an hour earlier? 

Photos. Right! That's where the key would lie. I scrolled back on my camera, zooming in on the photos of my smiling girl, zooming right into her mouth. The tooth was definitely still there. When we got back into the car to go back to the house, I took a quick look on the floor, and was instantly rewarded. There it was, just a teeny, tiny little thing, easily mistaken for a piece of trash or a crumb.

Proof that the tooth was still there on the other island...

Feeling the empty space after the "discovery."

So we made a big deal about the Tooth Fairy coming to visit that night, which she was pretty excited about.

Until that night. 

"Mommy, I scared a Tooth Fairy," she told me, looking worried, as I tried to put the tooth under her pillow.  She reached under and removed it.  Repeatedly, despite my reassurances.  I was reminded of her reaction two Christmas Mornings ago, when she cried upon discovering that Santa had drunk the milk and eaten the cookies so lovingly left out for him the night before.  Who can blame her, really?  A strange man in a red suit coming down the chimney and hanging out in the house?  Or a lady in a pink tutu coming into her room in the middle of the night to reach under her pillow and take a piece of her?  It's all the same. 

So we settled on leaving the tooth on the night stand, where the Tooth Fairy had no problem leaving her gift and a little note to Sammi. 

Toothlessly cheesing for the camera in Savannah the next day.

15 comments:

Denise Mom of 4 Amazing Kids said...

Such a doll! She looks soooo proud!
Thanks for the comment about the thyroid, I didn't know!! :)

Meriah said...

Oh, that is too, too...rich! THE TEACHER HANDED STEVE SOMEONE ELSE"S TOOTH?!!!

Love your sleuthing - photos, found the tooth! And the solution. If Micah's still scared of the Tooth Fairy when his time comes, I'm going to take a page from your book and set it up on a stand. :)

alicia said...

lol Elias had to wiggly teeth too! and i also was worried that he will loose it at school, but thank God it was at home and both teeth were on sunday morning (3 weeks apart) while we were getting ready for church, HA! he just came screaming MOM MOM!! (well actually was MAMAAAA MAMAAAA) with the tooth in hand... what im really sad about is that he didnt had a toothless pic since the new ones were already out!

glad you find the tooth and what did Sammi thought about the note that the fairy left? by the way here in mexico is not a fairy is a mouse who brings the reward. im not sure what to think about a mouse going under my pillow.

Anna said...

I love your story.... trying to return a tooth to the wrong owner! that is great! She is just so adorable......

Than4Keeps said...

So precious! I don't blame her at all for not wanting some strangers taking her things. Ethan does not like it when we are out to dinner and the table is cleared...he starts to babble & points at the waiters/waitresses for taking our plates away. That first tooth...priceless! I still have my daughters tucked away but I'm sure that she now knows that who her tooth fairies were :~)

Teachers are amazing...don't know how they do it but they are truly heroes!

Tricia said...

My 5 year old just lost her first tooth too. Very exciting!

Rochelle said...

At 8 Aidan still wants his tooth left in his tooth box, he doesn't want the fairy (that he doesn't believe in) to take it with her. LOL
Super cute Sammi!

JC said...

Awww, this was the sweetest post! I love Sammi :)

Michelle said...

Good thing you had been taking all those pics so you could look back and figure out when/where she lost the tooth! Glad you were able to find it. Love the missing tooth smile :)

Education: Exploring Online Learning said...

I am cracking up at my mental image of you zooming in on every shot analyzing teeth.

wendy said...

Glad you were able to find it! When Claire lost hers I had to also backtrack and finally found it in her room. Cute pictures!!

Kelli said...

Love this last picture! So cute! :)

Renee said...

Too funny about the teacher and the lost tooth. Can you imagine her saying in front of the class, "Who lost a tooth today?"

Samantha is so pretty!

On our cruise there was a young lady with DS. I saw her in the gym one morning working out and thought of Steve.

Crazy Beautiful Love said...

Emma cried the first night at the thought of the tooth fairy coming. She let me put it under her pillow anyway. The next morning she cried again and was scared to look under her pillow. She even had a dream about the tooth fairy. :)
Just so you know...the next tooth was much smoother. We are now on tooth four. Old pros!
Sammi is so cute. Even cuter missing a tooth if that's possible.
-erin

Anne and Whitney: Up, Down and All Around said...

that comment, "i scared a tooth fairy" is too cute! love the last pic of you two with samantha's sunglasses and missing tooth :)