The Tooth Fairy and a Glacier-Climbing Grandma...

Times I don't feel mature enough as a parent: 

-When giving instructions to babysitters (I always think in my head... I barely have a clue what I'm doing, why am I telling you what you should do?).

-When people mistake me as the nanny (The worst was when I was approached to join a teen mom support group after I had Summer. I didn't want to offend the poor girl but I somehow stammered out that I was married and in my twenties, but thank you. I swear my entire pregnancies I would awkwardly rub my belly with my left hand to show my rings and randomly bring up my husband. You have no idea the judgemental stares from people).

-When my oldest daughter LOSES HER FIRST TOOTH!!! I seriously can't get a handle on this, for whatever reason. I just don't feel old enough to have a child losing teeth. I mean, part of it freaks me out because I so distinctly remember losing teeth... which means that Summer remembers everything these days (actually, had no chance with her... she still reminds me of the time I went running around the house searching for the diaper bag when it was on my shoulder the whole time. She had just turned two. Elephant's brain, I tell you). It means that all the times I screw up, get mad, totally fail as a parent... she will actually remember it. And that sucks. You have a cushion for a while, because all those times you think to yourself, "Wow, I'm so glad nobody saw that" are actually okay because they are too little. 

Now I will stop being Negative Nancy, because the plus side to all of this is she will remember memories we make together. I was in complete and utter shock when she showed me one of her bottom teeth was wiggling. I just couldn't accept it. A nice accidental headbutt from Layla a few weeks later moved things along a little quicker. Last Saturday, I was running around the house cleaning and getting ready for my grandma's 89th birthday party I was hosting. Sidenote... while I was cleaning, I discovered something in our receipt drawer that doesn't belong. Hmmm:

Anyways, Summer would stop me every 7 seconds to show me how wiggly her tooth was and she was messing with it all day. In the middle of the party, my sister went downstairs to check on the kids and found them all locked in the bathroom... not usually a great sign. Well, it turns out, my little Summer was doing a show for all the little kids to see... and SHE pulled out her OWN tooth. I mean, who pulls out their own tooth?!?! She came running upstairs with a bloody mouth to show me, and I seriously just couldn't believe it. I saved you the grossness of the bloody mouth, but here she is: 

Obviously the tooth fairy is the first thing on her mind, so she ran to find her special box (given by dear friends Danny and Dawn): 

Since it was her first tooth, it needed to be a little more special. Apparently the going rate is $5 (which is so steep... I swear I got like a dime) and we decided to go with a pretty letter as well. My sister (who is a ridic artist... I will post pics of her work another time) was conveniently still at my house so she could do cute, swirly handwriting. I got her favorite colors to work with and we wrote it (and added glitter. Obvi). Very long sidenote: Summer has a bit of a hard time staying in her own bed (understatement of the year)... aka as a toddler she would make herself vomit from crying so hard when she was by herself. I asked the pediatrician years ago if they had any tricks and they told me to have her sleep on the floor next to our bed and she would get over that really quick and move to her own bed. Welp, after a year of her sleeping on the floor, I decided that didn't work for us. She now always starts in her own bed but usually finds her way to ours super early in the morning. I did the same thing until my brother was born when I was five... I may or may not be still bitter that he booted me. 

I managed to successfully get the tooth out of the box and the $5 in the box without her waking up (I was seriously nervous). The next morning she was THRILLED and even made a comment about how the tooth fairy somehow knew her favorite colors. 

As I said before, I just don't feel mature enough for this. I don't know why this specific life event is hitting me so hard, but it is. I mean, she is starting kindergarten next month, but this freaked me out far more. I don't have a toddler anymore, I have a legit little girl. I have been shopping for school clothes in the girls section (not toddler... which they have ridic cute stuff btw). BUT, the fact that attitudes and teenage years are looming make me nauseous. 

So, I threw my grandma's 89th birthday party this past weekend. Now if you know me on any type of personal level, you have heard about my grandmother. She is quite positively one of the most awesome people on this planet. I grew up with her living a block away, so seeing her multiple times a week was the norm. If I got into a fight with my mom as a teenager, I would just walk over to Ooma's. She took me on a three week Mediterranean cruise from London all the way down to Athens when I was 19 (just the two of us).  She has been to all seven continents (she waded to shore to make it to Antarctica in thigh-high boots just a few years ago). This past Christmas, I bought her waterproof hiking boots because she was climbing a glacier in Patagonia. 

She is always the last one off the dance floor at EVERY wedding she goes to, including mine: 

She went on an African safari, slept in tents on the ground, played with wild lion cubs and rode an ATV for three hours: 

And of course, she makes friends wherever she goes: 

She recently went through some major, super scary health issues and it was very touch-and-go for a while. The problem with being a nurse when family is sick is that not only does everyone ask you a million questions, but you really just know TOO much and essentially the worst that can happen. I wasn't prepared to face the reality of what all of her labs and numbers were showing... but somehow, against all odds, she bounced back like a champ. All of her doctors can't quite believe it. She is "taking it easy" on her next trip and doing a cruise. Nothing can stop this woman.  Everyone who knows her is amazed by her. I feel fortunate to actually be related to her (most people call her "mom" but I sometimes get territorial). She is truly the person I aspire to be like. 

Happy Wednesday! 

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