Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Milestones


On Sunday Niels lost his first baby tooth. After days of being wiggly and having him poke it with his tongue and fingers, umpteen assurances of yes I will be careful brushing your teeth, no I’m not going to poke it, and yes another one will grow back in it’s place, the tiny little nipper came out early yesterday morning. He marched into our bedroom at about 6 am and announced dramatically “My tooth fell out!”
Once again hopes of a sleep-in were dashed, but on the bright side at least he didn’t swallow the tooth.
Niels had been a bit apprehensive about losing the tooth, and to be fair, it is the first piece of his anatomy that he has witnessed falling off. God knows we all have to get used to it as we get older, but the first time is a bit of a shock. He’s never been one to let go of his personal property easily. He HATED having his hair cut until he was about four years old. At the local hairdresser they still remember the day I eventually gave up and carried him, rigid and screaming, out of the salon with half of his hair trimmed. We were both red and drenched with sweat by then and I couldn’t take the glares of passers-by any longer who were obviously thinking “what is that woman doing that poor child in there?” I called it quits, bought hand clippers and did it myself from then on. He’s grown out of that phase thank goodness and now loves going to our hairdresser in Singapore – a Kiwi girl from Auckland who works from home. And no wonder – with three kids her house is full of toys and she plies the kids with lollies and ice blocks.
Toilet training also took ages with Niels, perhaps another sign that he doesn’t like to part with what he sees as his personal property. So I was very careful to explain to him why baby teeth fall out, how new ones grow in their place, etc. Then there is the tooth fairy! In exchange for your precious tooth she will leave some money which you can spend how you like, isn’t that great!
Carefully digesting this news, Niels thought about the implications for a while, then looked at me with a mercenary glint in his eye and asked “Is there a hair fairy too?”

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