Redeemed: The Lost Tooth, a Celebration, and a NY Getaway

The Lost Tooth
With a 5 year old and a 22 month old, one would assume the first tooth loss would come from Benjamin. Alas, Ben is still waiting for that exciting day when he can hide a lost tooth under his pillow. Nolan beat him to the punch. It was a typical Tuesday evening in early May, I was getting ready for my small group gathering and Eddie had ran to the hardware store for a few items. Ben decided to run out the back door without my permission or knowledge, and unfortunately, Nolan is always quick to follow in his big brother's footsteps. Before I could get outside, Ben ran in yelling that Nolan had fallen and was bleeding very badly. I was already running out the back door onto the deck and down the stairs because I heard the wailing. I saw Nolan sitting at the bottom of the deck stairs on the concrete patio with blood running out of his mouth. At first glance it appeared he'd busted his top and bottom lip. I took him inside and was cleaning him up as Eddie was coming through the front door. After several minutes of compression on his lips, I noticed he was also bleeding from inside his mouth. I told Eddie we needed to take a look inside because something wasn't right. Before I could lean Nolan all the way back, Eddie gasped, "Oh my gosh, he lost a tooth!" WHAT?! All of my calm control immediately went out the window and my hormonal emotions took over. I was bawling. Crying out about what a horrible mother I am, and how awful this was for Nolan. He saw my reaction, and started to cry harder. Thankfully, Eddie took Nolan from me while I wondered out loud, what do we do? Do we take him to Urgent Care? Do we call the doctor? I decided to start with my mom. I'm sure a hysterical phone call from your daughter about the welfare of one of your grandsons is frightening to say the least, and once she got me to spit it all out, she started doing what mom's do best. She told me to pull myself together, and that it would all be OK. While I was talking to her on the phone, Nolan had stopped crying and the bleeding had slowed down. Realizing that he WILL survive, and that DFS probably won't be coming to take my children away, I agreed to call the doctor's office and speak with a pediatric nurse. The nurse reassured me that based on what I told her, Nolan would be fine and that I'd just need to take him to the dentist the following morning. Thankfully, Nolan slept all night and was acting like himself with the exception of not being able to eat solid foods. Eddie and I had searched the patio several times and could not locate the tooth which led us to believe Nolan swallowed it. The next morning when Ashtyn showed up I was explaining to her grandma, Jeanette, what had happened when Ashtyn bent down and said,

It's huge!

"I found the tooth." It was in the living room the whole time. It was honestly a blessing that we didn't find it the night before because the sight of this ginormous tooth made Eddie and Jeanette both ill. I was just happy to have it so that I could show it to the dentist, and because I knew I wouldn't be searching diapers for the tooth! After a checkup and X-ray the dentist informed me the good news is that it appears there was no damage to the permanent tooth and it was knocked out clean, no remnants left to pull out. The bad news: Nolan probably won't have a front right tooth until he's 7 or 8:( He's a tough little guy and it hasn't slowed him down at all, although I kind of wish it would in some ways. I was more traumatized by the event than he was, and every single day I'm praying that God will protect him from his adventurous little spirit.

A Celebration
On May 21 we celebrated Ben's preschool graduation, he is officially a kindergartner! For the last two years, Ben attended a small, private preschool at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South St. Louis. The name of the preschool is Holy Tots. At the end of the school year the teachers organize a "graduation program", where the children sing, dance and then the teachers read a little information about each child. This year, when asked a series of questions, Ben said he wants to be a fireman when he grows up, his favorite food is candy (oh great), and his favorite part of school is playing with his friends. Afterwards, there was a little gathering with refreshments and light snacks. This year, I made graduation cupcakes, inspired by Pinterest:)

NY Getaway
In April we found out Eddie would have to attend a 17 day training in upstate NY for a new certification his job requires. Since we were unable to take our California trip, we decided this would be my only chance for a vacation before baby #3 arrives. On May 29 I flew with Eddie to Rochester, NY and we stayed in a beautiful little town just outside called the Village of Fairport. 5 nights of uninterrupted sleep, along with beautiful sight seeing, pampering at a spa, reading and lounging by a pool, and quality time with my husband is exactly what I needed. Since my mom was taking caring of the boys for us, I was able to relax and enjoy the trip, and come home refreshed and rejuvenated. Eddie returns home on Friday, June 14. The boys and I are more than ready to see him, it's been too long. Eddie is just as eager, if not more so, to get home and be with his family. Thankfully, Skype has at least enabled us to chat "live" while allowing Eddie to see the boys. Ben LOVES to "call Daddy on the computer". Each day he says multiple times how much he misses his daddy. Below are a few pictures from our sightseeing in NY and Canada. Enjoy!