ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Almost caught up to big brother (this was #7 for her and he's lost 8)

8TH AT 8-YEARS-OLD

James lost his 8th tooth today, after multiple weeks of wiggling and grossing us out...

SUNDAY BUSYNESS

6TH TOOTH

He's been wiggling that bottom tooth for weeks (and totally grossing us out), so we threatened him that if he didn't just pull it out by the time we sat down for dinner (it was literally hanging on by a thread for a full week), we'd take matters into our own hands...

Now if that upper tooth would just grow in... He lost that one back in April and there's still no sign of emergence (though this new loss has a permanent tooth coming right in behind it!)

5TH TOOTH

James earned some gold for his 5th lost tooth last night!

TOOTH FAIRY PHASE-OUT?...

Cora lost her 4th tooth over 2 weeks ago while we were camping. Mama found the tooth in the little pocket of the hiking backpack while we were camping again this past weekend. And tonight we finally remembered to take it out and put it in her Tooth Beary Bear before bed... She doesn't look super excited and she sure wasn't that worried about the fact we had forgotten about it, so perhaps the tooth fairy is phasing herself out at our house?

The bigger concern here is that Cora's top teeth (both of them) were not truly ready to come out when she wiggled them loose and pulled them. She just wants to be like her big brother. So, now she'll likely be toothless for a couple months (since there is no hint of a new tooth new in either spot).

THE CAMP AND A NATCHEZ SUNSET

If you're down in Natchez anytime soon and haven't yet been to The Camp, try it out. The food was wonderful and well priced, and they had a great selection of craft beer!

 We paused in the middle of dinner to step outside for some sunset photos because it was too pretty not to. These kids... I promise I'm counting my blessings...

 While the boys hiked up the hill to get the van, Cora kept her crippled mama company (a full day on my feet at parades plus the 3-mile hike meant that my knee was swollen and down for the count by this point). I couldn't resist getting a better picture of her new smile.

 The sunset lighting was so gorgeous. So is my girl. While she may make me crazy sometimes (and yes mom, I know I had it coming), she really can flip a 180 and make my heart melt the next second. I'm so thankful for her spunk and adventurous spirit. She's a wonderful balance to James' calm and sweet demeanor. What a lucky mama I am.

CAMP MORNINGS

Camp mornings are just some of the best mornings... Waking up to the sound of the birds and the wind in the leaves, sitting around a campfire with coffee, playing games, and just being with each other without other distractions. Yup, the best.

 Somebody lost her 4th tooth this morning. It had been super loose for a long time, but she definitely caused that looseness herself (trying to keep up with big brother...)

 Rollerz is pretty fun (and easy to set up and play).

 Just a little pier walk to check out the lake at Lake Chicot and use the monoculars they got for Christmas in their fort building kit.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

TWO FRONT TEEF

He didn't get that second front tooth out before Christmas, but at least it finally stopped dangling before we made it back to the house today!

NOT AS FUN AS THE TOOTH FAIRY

One more dentist visit to go on Monday and all those pesky cavities will be filled!

TOOTH FAIRIES DON'T GET VACATIONS

 James lost his 2nd tooth tonight (about 20 minutes AFTER we had put him to bed), making this the second tooth lost on this vacation, and the second time a tooth fairy had to navigate a room with multiple kids sleeping...

CORA'S TOOTH FAIRY VISITS THE BEACH

 Cora lost her second tooth (bottom right incisor), so her Tooth Fairy made a flight to the beach and left her another sparkly dollar. Lucky for her, daddy had made a deal with all the kids (since all have loose teeth at the same time) that whoever lost their tooth first would win $5 from him (because daddy was worried that the tooth fairies would have a hard time visiting 4 kids sharing a room at the beach house...), AND, after nobody was willing to pull a tooth during the first few days of vacation, Grambot upped the ante with a matching $5 - so Cora earned $11 for just one little tooth...

WHEN SCORING A 10 IS BAD...

Boo on cavities... 4 for James and 6 for Cora, all flossing casualties

 Cora still has 2 appointments to go, but James is done. Waving happily from the other room.

"THE TOOTH FAIRY IS STRONG"

 Cora has had a pair of wiggly front teeth since the day after James lost his first tooth (she told us in the hotel on our way to Florida and we were like "No way", but sure enough, LOOSE, both of the bottom front teeth, and we were terrified that she'd just suddenly been pushing on them because James was getting attention for his loose tooth...) After a mere 4 weeks (gosh it takes a long time!), that tooth was hanging by a thread. For days. By 4.5 weeks, she was pushing it back and forth so far none of us could understand how it was still attached. So Gramma "tricked" her in the car on the way home from the Girl Scout party and kept telling her to "push it down more, no more, I can't see it" until she panicked and said through near-tears "My tooth feels weird!" I told her to relax, that it would move back up into place, but Gramma told her to just give it a little tug instead and out it came, just 2 seconds from the driveway. Oh she was so thrilled!

Showing off her new smile, her very own Bubs Bears Tooth Beary, and her note to the Tooth Fairy ("Love Cora, To the Tooth Fairy" - both kids always write who it's from first and we think it's the cutest thing). The tiny tooth is in the Ziploc bag (just out of frame - oops).

Making sure we can all see that missing tooth...

Placing the tooth into her Tooth Beary's pocket, with a pair of onlookers

She folded up her little note and stuck it into the bear's pocket along with the tooth, then carefully placed it beneath her pillow before bed. She was super excited to try and see the Tooth Fairy last night and get a prize!

Cora's Tooth Fairy leaves fairy dust covered dollars instead of gold coins

 The Tooth Fairy had some trouble sneaking in to visit Cora last night... She is sleeping in the extra twin bed in James' room because Gramma is visiting, plus she needs a 10pm bathroom break to help her get through the night dry, so there were added challenges and potential wake-ups... Mama was on potty duty, but Cora was in such a deep sleep that she wouldn't go. Mama thought all was thus clear, since rag doll Cora seemed to settle right back into bed. However, in the few minutes it took the Tooth Fairy to get organized and fly into the room, Cora's level of awareness skyrocketed. She jumped up, speedily crawled in two circles around the bed, all while mumbling something like "I have to check, I have to look, I have to see" (and all with her eyes closed). The Tooth Fairy nearly had a heart attack, tried to retreat, but ended up on potty duty (after tossing her note and the prize under the bed in a hurry). Luckily, the second trip to the bathroom was successful. But then the Tooth Fairy had to wait an hour (long past her bedtime) to revisit the Tooth Beary under the pillow... The next morning, Cora told Gramma that the Tooth Fairy is "very strong" because she carried her to the bathroom. She couldn't remember what she looked like though, much to James' disappointment...

GUESS WHAT DADA?

 When I picked the kids up from school today, James had a surprise for me! Cora and I congratulated him all the way home (including a quick stop for a celebratory ice cream treat) and he was so proud to be called "super cool" and told he is "growing up". He couldn't wait to tell his daddy, so we sent Jay a quick video:

 Once their treats were finished, we retreated inside to do chores and homework, then James got to work writing a letter (and drawing a picture) for the tooth fairy:

 "Deer tooth phary. you are welckom fore giving you the tooth. from James."

(The drawing depicts him sleeping with the pink-winged tooth fairy reaching under his pillow to grab the yellow tooth. There's a blue moon and a blue squiggly line to depict night time.)

He loved placing his tiny tooth into the pocket of the "Tooth Beary" I got him years ago (back when I ordered the Bub Bears made from their baby clothes, I picked up a couple of tooth fairy pillow bears at the same time) and putting both the bear and his letter under his pillow before bed.

 The tooth fairy brought him a gold coin and a Certificate of Collection in exchange for the little tooth, and he was very pleased when he awoke to find them this morning (he was expecting "probably money, but maybe a toy, or even a sucker!") When asked what the tooth fairy would do with his tooth he told us "either the hallway or the dungeon, but probably the hallway because I don't have nasty donkey teeth". (I think those are references to one of The Santa Clause movies and a trip to a pumpkin patch a few years ago where the tractor driver told the kids to brush their teeth so that they didn't look like the donkey's teeth...)