Keeping the tooth fairy employed

As I have recently mentioned, I am losing teeth like they are going out of style.


During yesterday's dinner, I bit into a slice of watermelon and one of my top teeth came out. This one was not quite loose enough yet, so there was a bit more blood, pain, and trauma this time. By this afternoon, I was proud of my gap and ready to show it off.

It does feel strange in my mouth now. During today's dinner, I kept asking, "did I lose another tooth?"

Oh, and it's not just my missing tooth that makes me look so cute. Before my tooth fell out I had my hair cut yesterday.

A busy weekend for my mouth

This Friday afternoon I lost my first tooth while I was sitting in library class at school. My tongue just pushed it right out! Mrs. Wareham wrapped it up for me to take home. The tooth fairy brought me a dollar.

Mummy never had a chance to take a photo of my first missing tooth. The next morning at breakfast, my second tooth fell out. Again, my tongue just pushed it out. I popped it into my hand and said simply, "I just lost another tooth." That night the tooth fairy brought me another dollar. Mummy was sure to take a photo before I lost any more!


Saturday afternoon we went to the Ferry Building with our cousin Vicki from England. We had a great lunch in the sunshine next to the water and bought some juicy oranges at the farmer's market. While we were walking back to the car, I got distracted by the boat that was driving by. It sounded like a duck. I turned to look, and walked into a light pole. Fortunately, I had my baseball cap on, so my face didn't hit the pole as hard as it could have. Even so, my lip was bleeding and one of my top teeth is now looser than it was. Maybe the tooth fairy will have to come again soon!

Spring Break in Monterey

During Spring Break we also took a trip to Monterey to visit our friends Erika and Matt and their daughter Emily. We had last seen each other when Charlotte was a baby, so it was lovely to catch up again. Now that we live only a couple hours apart, we hope to get together more often.


We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time. They all really enjoyed sitting under the glass dome where the waves would come in, and would have happily sat there for longer. My kids both enjoyed being able to touch the bat rays, but Alexander's arms were a bit too short and he became frustrated that they were not swimming close enough for him to reach them.













I was surprised that they were a bit freaked out by the jellyfish. They could not get out of that room fast enough. But later when they were talking about what they saw, the jellyfish were suddenly very "cool".


We also enjoyed the otters, sharks, penguins, and flamingos. There was so much to see and do, that we didn't see it all. We'll just have to go back again for another visit!


After a rest, we went over to Erika's house and painted Easter eggs. Although the blue dye was spilled, necessitating a change of clothes, the children enjoyed it and the eggs turned out beautifully.













We also visited a couple parks, went swimming in the hotel pool, and enjoyed some playtime. Alexander felt left out when the girls were playing with dolls, but he still made sure he was part of the action. (Note the green sock in the photo below.)

Spring Break antics

This week is our Spring Break from school. We decided to visit the zoo today with our friends Devon and Georgia and their mom Julie. Unfortunately the day started out overcast and drizzly. We managed to have some fun anyway.


Later the sun came out and the rain stopped. By that point we were visiting the bears. They all seemed to want to dry off and warm up, so they were just laying out in the sun. I guess you can't blame them, but it wasn't all that exciting to watch. We played on the bear statue instead.

Baseball stars

Baseball season started last weekend.

Charlotte has the same coach and is playing on the same team as she did the two previous years. The biggest change for her is that they no longer hit the ball from the tee. The coach pitches them the ball. She is finding this to be quite a challenge, but she did very well at her game. Each time Charlotte was at bat she got a hit, and each time she stayed on base long enough to score a run.


She was also quite a star at third base. Four or five times in a row, she grabbed the ball, ran to the base, and tagged it to get the runner out.

Alexander has enjoyed playing baseball for a few years, but this is his first experience on a team. They are still learning the details of the game, but he is enjoying hitting the ball off the tee, throwing, and catching.

He didn't see as much action at third base, but entertained himself a bit by dancing around when things were slow. Or maybe he just couldn't contain his excitement at playing his favorite game.

Play ball!

Spring is not the only season that began this weekend. In our family it is also baseball season now. Charlotte played her first coach-pitched baseball game this weekend and Alexander played his first t-ball game. They both played very well and enjoyed themselves immensely. Stay tuned for photos and video to be posted this week!

Not always the opposite

Last night Charlotte was very upset that we decided to let Alexander take his bath first. She pouted, cried, and carried on for about half an hour. As she stormed out of the room, she said, "You are being the opposite of nice."

I was thinking about a time when she thought I was nice. I remembered this photo, taken in early January. She really wanted to surprise me by making my breakfast and insisted that I must sleep in. I was happy to oblige (or would have been if she hadn't been making so much noise in the kitchen).


I woke to find Charlotte dressed in her Christmas finest, with her hair done and wearing jewelry. Then she presented me with my gourmet breakfast of jam on toast, a slice of goat cheese, and a peeled clementine orange. It was very sweet of her, and it's good to remember that sometimes I actually am nice (and so is she).