Surprise!

So Elsa came walking into the kitchen for lunch today, and I thought I noticed something strange. I said, "Wait a second, Elsa—let me look in your mouth." Sure enough—her middle bottom tooth was gone! What?

Not only did I not even know it was loose, we have no idea when or where she lost it. I brushed her teeth for her last night, and it was definitely there then (although I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't even notice it wiggling). This morning after breakfast, she brushed her teeth herself with me in the bathroom with her, and neither of us noticed anything amiss at that point. My first thought was that she lost it overnight and swallowed it. But I noticed it immediately when she walked into the kitchen for lunch, and I certainly wasn't looking closely at her mouth or teeth—I was in the middle of making peanut butter sandwiches. So if it was overnight, wouldn't I have noticed it earlier? Maybe it happened somewhere in between the a.m. tooth-brushing and lunch? I quizzed her on whether she felt anything weird in her mouth at any point recently, and she said no!

So it's a bit of a mystery. And Elsa was quite concerned about having something to leave for the tooth fairy. Bob suggested that she draw a picture of a tooth for the tooth fairy, since we all know Elsa's pictures are often even better than the real thing. : ) She seemed satisfied with that plan, so we'll be leaving a picture under her pillow tonight at bedtime.

The new tooth is clearly visible—and as you can see from the picture, it's a bit in back of where it should be. That is EXACTLY what my bottom teeth look like. Hopefully she'll learn from my mistake and wear her retainer until she's 90 and gets dentures. : )

What a big girl she is! I can hardly believe it!