Lost at Last

Delaney achieved the major milestone of losing her first tooth today. She had been anxious to lose a tooth ever since her best friend starting losing teeth like crazy back in kindergarten. In fact, she's had several "loose teeth" over the past year--all false alarms, or more likely, wishful thinking. But this was the real thing. She discovered it Sunday night at bedtime, and was so excited she could hardly sleep!

I have to admit, I was quite surprised by the enthusiastic way she approached her loss. (I thought she'd be a bit sqeuamish!) It had only been loose for less than a week, but tonight after dinner, it was barely hanging on, and I told her if she felt ready she could give it a little tug whenever she wanted and it would probably come out. Earlier in the day, she had resisted such suggestions, saying she'd just "wait for the roots to dissolve." But before I knew it, she had mustered up her courage and pulled it right out. She was so excited to finally join the "lost tooth club" (she gets a star by her name at school) and to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.

Sunday Best

The kids looked so darn cute today when they were all ready for church that I naively thought I could actually get a decent picture of at least some of them together. I managed to get the big kids to stand still for a few seconds, even if they were a bit goofy, before they ran off.

Addy was especially proud of her new "Shirley Temple" hairdo. Last time I cut Delaney's hair, she begged me for a haircut, too, and it ended up really emphasizing her curls. So now, every Sunday, she wants Shirley Temple curls. I'm proud to say Delaney combed her hair today (believe me, that is no small thing--she's got major sensory issues that make basic grooming nightmarish, hence the short haircut). She sure looks cute! And I am thrilled that Keaton's hair looks presentable enough for public. He insists on fixing it himself, and he usually fixes it one of several ways: "the road" style, where he makes a road down the middle of his head by slicking back the middle only, and letting the sides stick up; "the faux-hawk", where he combs the middle section straight up to a point; or "the Jack-Jack" 'do, where he brings the very front section of hair into a sharp point right above his forehead, a la Jack-Jack from the Incredibles. He's got a few other signatures ("wings", "the curve," etc.) but these are by far the favored styles. And I'm not making up these names, either. Keaton takes care of that, too. The sad thing is, if I ever try to "fix" it (a.k.a., comb it in any normal way), he gets hysterical, and will not leave the house until he's had the chance to redo it the way he wants. Some things just aren't worth the fight! But I've got it in writing for future proof: I am not responsible for the crazy styles!

Daddy's Little Babies

What happens when Mom is away during the bedtime routine? All kinds of fun, apparently. Last night I was gone when Brent put the kids to bed. Somehow, the kids got digging around in Mason's closet and pulled out a bunch of baby stuff: blankets, hats, and the jackpot, a couple of pacificers. Seeing no harm in it, Brent let Keaton and Addy play around with them all evening, and apparently thought it was okay that they went to bed with them as well. "It's not like they're going to get attached to them, or anything?" was his defense when I asked him later why he had allowed it.

Oh, really? He wasn't hear to endure the half hour of crying and whining that I had to endure when the kids woke up--binkies still plugged in--and I took them away. They screamed and screamed for their binkies. They're four years old, mind you. And weren't even attached to binkies as babies, for crying out loud. But they had a hard time forgiving me for taking them away. How come Moms always have to be the bad guy? (Don't you just love Addison's self-portrait?)

Mason's First Tantrum

I discovered today that Mason has quite the temper. He had his first offical fit today when I brought him in from the back yard. The kid loves to swing, and loves to be outside any chance he can get. Now that it's warmed up slightly, we've been taking advantage and having fun on our playground. But Mason was not happy when we had to come inside for dinner. Not happy at all. In fact, his tantrum--which really looks quite mild on video compared to how loud it seemed in real life--lasted for over twenty minutes, and would not be appeased by food, drink, song, dance, what have you. Just what we need--more emotion. And they say boys are supposed to be easier than girls. My boys can hold their own in the emotional department, I tell you.