Calling the tooth fairy!

FINALLY!  Thomas was starting to feel like he was the last kid in the entire first grade to lose a tooth. 

About a week ago, the tooth was getting very loose and I thought it was going to come out at any moment.

That tooth had other plans.  It had plans to hang on for dear life.

But tonight was the night.  Finally, his grin has changed.

I must first confess that we still brush our kids’ teeth every night.  Their dentist told me once that he brushed his own kids’ teeth until they were 8 or something because he figured there were some lessons that were just too costly to teach (ie. wasn’t worth letting them get cavities to realize they needed to brush teeth better).  We are trying to move Thomas into doing this completely by himself (and he is fine with that, by the way), but I still help a little. 

So tonight I was using his electric toothbrush and gently going over the bottom teeth.  That one tooth seemed to move all the way back and I thought it may have popped but I wasn’t sure.  He immediately said “OUCH!”  There was lots of toothpaste froth, so I told him to spit.  And there it was in the sink.  His little tooth.  He was so very happy!

My camera was acting up and I was trying to rush to capture the moment, so excuse the less than stellar pictures.  In this next one I focused on the wrong thing (I mean to focus on his reflection in the mirror), but you get the point.  He couldn’t stop looking at himself.

 

 

He was positively giddy before bed.  He said he heard the tooth fairy pays $5 for the first tooth.  As happy as he was, I guess I hope she doesn’t disappoint!

By the way, I pulled out his baby book to record the momentous occasion and noticed that was the first tooth that came in (well, it and the one next to it came in simultaneously, just before Christmas in 2006).  Six years and one month later…first in, first out!

The reader

Thomas loves to read.  It’s a shame I can’t have the house filled with an endless supply of books because I swear, he’d not sleep until he could read them all (if it was up to him, of course).  As it is, he reads the same books over and over again (beginner chapter books that are usually about 60-80 pages long). Don't get me wrong, we check out books from the library as often as we can and we have bought a gracious plenty for his own library.  But there are never enough!

At school they had to come up with New Year’s Resolutions/Promises.  His said, “I promise to read Charlotte’s Web more often.”  Later he added that he also resolved to clean his room more.  I think he's doing better with the first promise.

Today when he got in the car from school, he found the book he had been looking for this morning was waiting for him on the seat.  He immediately started reading.  When we got home he told me he was going to ride his Powerwing and read.  I suggested that might be a bit tricky, but he said he had a plan. 

A few minutes later, there he was in the cul-de-sac alongside the road:

We may have to beg him to do homework, and it’s often like pulling teeth to get him to do more than the minimum…but when it comes to reading, there is never enough time in the day for him to read as much as he would like.  I really hope and pray he can keep that love of books!

And not to be left out, Parker wanted me to take a picture of him riding the 360 (his brother’s 360 since we are still waiting on the warranty part to repair his…broken less than two weeks after Christmas!).

Those boys of mine….!

Fifth Disease

After five years of the preschool experience, I’ve seen a letter a year (at least, it seems) warning of the presence of Fifth Disease in one classroom or another.  We managed to escape it’s rashy glare until now. 

On Sunday, while in church I noticed this horrible rash on Thomas’ cheeks.  I thought maybe he was having a reaction to the detergent still in his shirt since he was wearing a collared shirt and it was rubbing on his cheeks.  It would be an odd occurrence, but Thomas has been known to have sensitive skin, so I just never say never.

It didn’t really get better when he got home and changed, but he had no other symptoms so we didn’t worry about it.  This is what he looked like a day or two later (and yes, in need of a trim!)

That night I went to check on him before I went to bed (as I do every night) and since he had removed his shirt, I could see he had welts and a rash over his entire torso.  I immediately consulted Dr. Google and decided it must be Fifth Disease.  With Fifths, the child has the symptoms of a cold and maybe a mild fever and headache and then they get better.  Then a week or two after the first onset of “cold” symptoms, the rash appears.  They are no longer contagious, but man, it is alarming!  Oh, and yes, they had the cold symptoms sometime between Christmas and New Year’s and Thomas complained of a headache once or twice during that time (which isn’t completely abnormal for him).

You can’t see well from this picture, but the rash now covers his entire torso and down his arms and legs. 

Craziness. It should go away within a week. Let’s hope!

Oh, and of course the day after Thomas’ rash first appeared, our little Doodlebug didn’t want to be left out.

So far his rash on the rest of his body isn’t as bad, but man…it’s sad looking at these two this week!