It's Not Mr. Chocolate Tooth

the shirt hole
the search party
There are some very special first moments in our children's lives that we mothers insist on being there for: the first smile, the first step, the first word, the first time they clap, the first haircut. I was there for ALL of them and am proud of it as the experience is priceless. I will never get those back. I have my boys' first lock of hair in an envelope and every other moment filmed and documented in their baby book. Keeping that in mind, Sunday night I was very innocently sipping a margarita with my girls on book club night when my phone did a little "You have a message" dance. I click on READ and up pops a picture of Mason with his mouth in a big O with a note at the bottom, "where's my tooth?". hee hee I chuckle. What a funny husband sending me pictures of the kids being goofy. My friends and I agree that they must have been eating brownies and his teeth are hiding in the chocolate. We turn back to our book and drinks and forget about Mr. Chocolate Tooth. When we get in the car and are searching, in vain mind you, for a store that is open at 7pm on a Sunday night just so we can prolong our one night out a month a wee bit longer, Jackie gets a call from Rick who tells her to tell me that Matt wants me to check my messages. So imagine how my gut must have felt when I think back to Mr. Chocolate Tooth. I pull over into the mall parking lot so I can take a closer look at the pictures and call that husband of mine. He proceeds to tell me, while laughing, that all the husbands and kids (yep all 9 of them) got together for dinner and playtime.Rick was swinging Mason and then put him down, but Mason didn't want to stop so apparently he figured if he sunk his incisors into Rick's shirt he could keep swinging. Didn't work that way. Rick went around, Mason sort of stayed, his teeth went with Rick's shirt where a hole was ripped and the tooth next to the two front teeth was catapulted into a 1/4 acre yard of grass. Thankfully it was a clean ejection, roots and all and not a break else we'd all be crying. Mason didn't know what happened. He claimed it didn't hurt but a little but as soon as he saw the blood...he's a baby. He doesn't like blood. Anyway, I'm listening to this account on speaker meanwhile changing my direction to go home. I was not happy to say the least. Why couldn't he just call me? Why is this funny? OK-it is a little funny now. The way Matt was telling the story I was picturing Mason's teeth stuck in Rick's back and wondering why my son is acting like a werewolf and biting people! Jackie's daughter Emma was the most diligent of the search party since she just lost her first 2 teeth about 2 weeks ago. she was adamant about finding that tooth as the tooth fairy had to come and there had to be a tooth. Thank you Emma!! They all searched for about an hour and then some. When we got home I went to the backyard and searched a few minutes before Matt came out. "Babe, it's getting dark. We've looked forever with 5 of us out here. Just put a rock in the box and tell him it's his tooth." OK- for normal people that would suffice. But I'm not normal. I have to have it. For him and for me. I have all his firsts. I wasn't here for this first and so I have to have something tangible to show and remind me that it happened. After 20 minutes I got up off my knees and started to go into the house. I glanced back down at the ground and HALLELUJAH! There is the tooth! I run back inside and Matt is on his knees worshipping me. "How on earth did you find that?" he asked. "I'm his mom," I answered with a very proud and maybe somewhat smug smile.