How much is a tooth worth?

If you don't have children or your children are small and all the children you know are small, then you may not know the economic value of teeth nowadays. When I was growing up (wow, that's an old person phrase), I got a quarter from the tooth fairy. Seems now it is $5.00. You may have had the same reaction I did when I found out. I'm not sure how the Tooth Fairy is staying in business these days.

Well, the Tooth Fairy gets to make his or her first visit to the Lewis household tonight. Calen lost his first tooth, via help of his friend, Wyatt's, foot while playing on the slip-n-slide. The boys were out playing in the yard, and Danny was sitting on the porch doing some work on the computer. He overheard Wyatt say, "You have to go tell your mom....but don't tell her I did it." Boys...

At first glance, Danny thought the tooth had broken in half, and his first thought (as a doctor) was that we would have to go have it abstracted. However, upon a closer look, he realized that it was the permanent tooth he saw. No wonder that tooth popped outta there.

Calen is very excited. Danny and I are a little sad. As for the five bucks, we've decided that will be the special rate for a first timer. All subsequent teeth will have the rock bottom price of $1. The kids gotta pay for college one day, and I don't believe the Tooth Fairy gives scholarships.

As for other firsts... Jax is now out of the crib and in a toddler bed. Last week I put him down for a nap and went downstairs. After a few minutes I heard, "Huun-tor, Hunn-tor." In the span of only a few seconds my mind went from thinking the monitor was loud to realizing it wasn't on, to thinking that his voice was very clear, to realizing that he was on the steps. I quickly went to the stairs to be met by an obviously proud 22 month old.

I told him back to the crib and put him in, only to have him out within seconds. After a few more attempts to keep him in I decided it was over. I had truly hoped to have another 8 months of crib use. I just wasn't ready for him to have the freedom that a bed allows. I threw the mattress on the floor, got a screwdriver and took down the crib. I could have kept him in it for those extra months, but I'm not sure CPS would appreciate me putting a lid on it.

He spent a week getting used to sleeping without the confine of the crib rails while we waited for his bed to arrive. Last night we put it together, and he very excitedly took his shoes off and ran to the bed saying, "Me bed! Me bed!"

As for RileyRoo. She is crawling right along and finding new and exciting things to get into. She has even begun to pull up. My head is spinning.