Snaggle Tooth!

Yesterday was monumental. After months of waiting and waiting, Towns finally lost her first tooth! She so desperately wanted it to happen before the end of school so that she could add her name and a tally mark to the chart of lost teeth in her class. Last time we were at the dentist, he told us that she probably wouldn't lose it until summer. Not what Towns wanted to hear! In the last few weeks we've been able to wiggle it a little more each day. She was so ready for it to come out that she would agree to doing what anyone suggested to make it happen. Whether it be tying her tooth to the door knob with a string and slamming door (which I totally remember doing when I was a kid - it worked!), hitting her in the mouth with a baseball bat (this was a joke, but she didn't mind), and anything else you could think of. Yesterday after school, I fixed her a corn dog at home and she let out a scream when she took a bite. That's when I knew it was just a matter of time. I lost my first tooth biting into a corn dog in the cafeteria in kindergarten. She couldn't believe it when I told her and didn't understand why hers wouldn't just fall out, too. We went on to the church yesterday afternoon so I could teach my dance classes. While I teach, the girls stay with Mrs. Joyce who is like a grandmother to them. After my classes, I walked into their room to find Mrs. Joyce saying, "do you want me to pull it out?" and Towns saying, "YES"...and just like that, it was out.

This is the last picture I'll ever have of her with a mouth full of baby teeth...

I took this picture to remind me of the conversation Cate was initiating that very second...

She was slowly climbing down the railing of the steps and I could tell her wheels were turning. She tilted her head a little and asked if I could just yank one of her "toofs" out so she could be like her sister. Sometimes it's hard being the youngest!

Last night Towns tucked her tooth away...
And then the rest of the family watched her put it under her pillow...
Everyone knows that the Tooth Fairy returns teeth to sentimental mommies. I found a safe spot for it. It's the one place I know I can put it where nothing will happen to it...
In the box with my Chi O pin...that's very dirty on the outside now that I look at it! :)

Daddy and Snag this morning after she found the golden dollar the Tooth Fairy left under her pillow...
Of course, she took it to school this morning to show her friends. I'd never tell Towns this, but J called me after he left for work and told me there was $10 in the pocket of the suit he wore yesterday if I thought she needed more than just a golden dollar. He's a mess if there ever was one! She was perfectly content with what she'd gotten, and that's just the way I like it.

Can this really be happening?
Turning 6 and losing her first tooth within a week?
Somebody hit pause, please!