Kate's Tooth

Oh my, it really happened. Kate's front bottom baby tooth, the one that first made an appearance on March 30, 2004 when Kate was just 6 months old, has fallen out! I am looking at it right now as it rests in a ziploc baggie on my desk, awaiting the arrival of a proper tooth pillow (which has been ordered) all fancy and girly. We noticed it was quite wiggly a week prior to its falling out but Kate was a bit hesitant to pull it herself...I will miss my tooth, she whimpered. On Saturday night, the tooth was barely hanging on; Kate was able to push it completely forward with her tongue...ew! Shawn was afraid she would swallow it while sleeping, so with his persuasive Daddy ways, he convinced her to let him pull it. Oh, and there was blood which I don't think she expected. But the moment was too exciting to let a little "bleed" (as she calls it) get in the way.

Above is the first picture I could find with her little teeth popping through on the bottom; Gracie's are there too. Kate is on the right in this picture. The girls got most of their teeth within days of each other, just another reason that made me think they were most likely identical. It might seem strange to others that I would even question their zygosity, I mean look at them, but I was told they were fraternal and there were definitely subtle physical differences between the two. The order and timing that their teeth came in was not one of them though.

Here she is a couple months later....much better view of those two bottom teeth!



So farewell little baby tooth and thank you. You served your purpose well and have now made way for the permanent one we see popping through.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too too.
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

I've been singing this song to my girlies since they were just babes and they have definitely had plenty of opportunities to make the song a reality with our Phoenix zoo membership. We do renew every year but with the girls in preschool 3 days a week, and with my distaste for weekend trips there (don't like crowds) we haven't visited our animal friends in awhile. A trip was in the cards for many reasons such as: a) beautiful spring-like weather, b) a completely cleared schedule...wow...and, c) maintaining mom's sanity...yes I have two 5 year olds who have somehow managed to channel the inner 2-year old within and are thus temporarily unable to entertain themselves at home. Oh yes, a stimulating day, one in which mom didn't have to play Go Fish, or clean up or do dishes afterwards, was oh so needed!

And the day was lovely indeed. Kate saw her favorite zebras. Gracie saw the giraffes, flamingos and elephants, all of which she consistently names as her favorites...I even overheard her listing them as so to the dental hygienist at her last cleaning. I was happy to see baby Kasih, the almost 3-year old orangutan who we've visited since her birth, seem to enjoy the laughter that resulted from her silly behavior. We took the paddle boats around the lake, rode the safari train, and visited the stingray exhibit where Kate got drenched by a sea creature and had to change her clothes.

The important observations I made on this trip though did not involve the actual zoo animals but rather my own little monkeys . My two babies, the ones I used to push around the zoo in a double stroller while having to stop constantly in order to monitor snacks & sippy cups, change diapers, pacify with ba, etc., have become real little people with inquisitive minds and questions for which I don't always have the answers. As I observe the development of these rational minds, I am amazed and hopeful. I hope they will continue to question until they find answers that make sense to them. I hope they will make good choices by balancing this new intelligence with their always present intuition. And most importantly, I hope that with this developing new intelligence they never lose the magic and peace they experienced the first time they visited the zoo and looked at the animals, animals that were not all named and classified in the mind of an 18-month old, but rather experienced in the present... exactly as they were in that moment...exactly as they always will be.