The Streak Continues

Well, Declan has extended the streak of dramatic tooth loss to five teeth now. To review, tooth #1 was lost via hat pull and then lost (and found) in the school cafeteria. Tooth #2 was just simply lost and maybe swallowed. Teeth #3 and #4 came out via remote control car. Tooth #5's extraction may have raised the drama bar. So perhaps a discussion about just simply losing a tooth without fanfare is in order ...

Anyway, tooth 5 has been loose for a while. But not super loose. Just enough that when he would chew wrong, he would notice it. Our kids are notorious for having loose teeth for months on end, so no one has paid much attention to it. Until Sunday night. When that tooth got a lot of attention.

Mike and Quinn were at goalie clinic, Fiona and Dec were playing with balloons in the living room, and I was cleaning up dinner. Unexpectedly, I heard Dec start to wail, so I went to check it out. He was crying really hard and Fiona was pretty upset. They had been trying to catch the balloons in the knee hockey nets and apparently she had accidentally clocked him in the face with one of them. She thought she hit him in the nose. D was holding his hand over his face, so I got him to come to me so I could see.

He took his hand down and, wow, there was so much blood. It was one of those parenting moments where you just have to clear away the blood so you can actually figure out what you are dealing with. I wasn't sure if he had split his lip or what. Fiona was very helpful, bringing me tissues and a water bottle so we could find the source. As you can probably guess, it was tooth # 5 - which was now hanging by a snaggly thread. 

I got Dec settled down with the promise that Daddy would take care of it when he got home (I do not do teeth. Gross!). By then, poor sweet Fiona was sobbing. She felt so bad, but both Dec and I knew it had been an accident. Dec gave her big hugs and assured her that he was fine. But to make everyone feel better, we FaceTimed Auntie. Because if there is one person who does teeth even less than me, it's Auntie (she's still scarred from Fiona's snaggle tooth). Auntie was sufficiently grossed out, which soothed both injured mouths and injured feelings. 

When Mike and Q got home, Dec proudly showed off his tooth. Mike and some floss made pretty quick work of it. Thankfully one of the two top teeth that he lost in October is partially in. Because holy smokes, the dude has a holey mouth! He did say he was glad it was out so it doesn't hurt when he chews anymore. Fiona responded by making a fist and asking him if he wanted any other teeth knocked out. Well played, Bugs!

Big Moments for the Three

I bet you thought last week when I was fairly timely with my Thanksgiving posts that I was on top of things ... jokes on you. I told Mike that I feel about 17 posts behind. Needless to say, it's been an eventful week in the V home. With the crazy busy schedule came some notable moments for our growing-up-too-quickly kids!

Quinn
Tuesday night, Quinn and Mike headed to S-town high school girls hockey game. It did not start until 7pm. On.a.school.night (gasp)! But Q's team was being recognized at the game after the first period. They got to stand up on the bench and each had their names announced. Quinn was sooo excited and proud. Mike said she beamed the whole time.

I had suggested that they head home after the recognition event. Q and Mike declined that suggestion and stayed for the whole game (9pm, folks. Nine P.M.). Q really enjoyed both watching the game and hanging out with her teammates. She's really enjoying all the girls on her team and is making some sweet friendships. Quinn is so inspired by watching bigger girls play and Mike enjoys taking her to watch them.

After the game, Quinn and her teammates got to go down to the locker room and meet the high school players. She was beyond pumped when they got home - and managed the late bedtime really well.

Declan
Wednesday was a really long day at work. When I got to the after school program to pick the kids up, they were really excited. Because Declan had lost his first tooth!!!!! He was super excited and had a great story for me about how it happened. Just the good news that I needed.

Apparently he and Fiona had been playing with his hat. She was swinging it around and he was trying to catch it. He couldn't catch it, so solved the problem by biting down on the hat. Bugs pulled - and out flew the tooth. They didn't even know he lost it right away ... until Bugs noticed that he was bleeding.

While Dec went to the bathroom to deal with the bleeding, the after school gang organized a search party and one of Q's friends located the missing tooth under a table. Crisis averted! My favorite part was Quinn's addition to the story - "Mom, I didn't even know Dec had lost a tooth until Morgan said 'claps for Declan Vanneste, who has lost his first tooth.' And I was like 'wait, what?'" The way she told it was so funny! Best of all, the tooth fairy left two quarters under D's pillow this time.

Fiona
Fiona has an eBook app on her iPad that she often uses in the morning while doing her flush. She has apparently been reading books about kids with spina bifida and decided (on her own) to write and illustrate a report about what she learned. Her report reads:

Fiona Vanneste (by Fiona Vanneste)
I am Fiona Vanneste and I was born with spina bifida or SB for short. SB effects the bodys nervous system. It can make it hard to walk too. There are many types of SB. I have had a lot of surgeries. Some people with SB have trouble with memory. If you have any questions, you can ask me.

She was going to share it with her class, but ultimately decided not to. However, she shared it with Gma and Gpa this weekend and agreed that we could put in her special keepsake folder for third grade. She did such a good job researching, and we will continue to encourage her to both learn more and share what she wants about life with SB.

My Guys

Look closely - the tooth is in

It was a big weekend for the men of the family! Declan celebrated his first Thanksgiving with Gma and Gpa J and Auntie Emmy. We made dinner here and had a wonderful time. The day after Thanksgiving - in addition to going to the zoo, his first tooth popped through the bottom gums. The second bottom tooth is right behind it and he is super proud of sporting some new smile accessories! The sisters are really proud of his new teeth and are convinced that he can now eat everything - just like them! We are also super excited about the "two-fer" tooth popping. The girls were notorious for getting teeth one at a time - except for Q's four molars at once. And no one would describe that as a picnic!

Skating at the Xcel

Mike also had a noteworthy weekend. Through his hockey team connections, he was invited to do a scrimmage at the Xcel Energy Center - on the NHL ice where the Wild play. They had an hour of ice time and really enjoyed it. Sounds like a couple other guys on the team may also have a hook up for ice time, so he could get another chance to play there. But even if he doesn't, what a cool opportunity and one that we are so glad he could take advantage of! He says I definitely need to bring the kiddos if he gets to do it again. They'll have pretty much free reign of the arena ... oh, the fun they could have.

Holy Molars!

We are not big fans of teeth these days. Fiona's teeth especially. They are just plain mean, man!

She cut two teeth last spring and that was it ... until now. She's cut four in the last two months and is working on somewhere between six and sixty right now. I got a glimpse at her top gums and can see the top two molars poking through up there. Sigh ... On top of that, she's developed a sinus cold. So the little sleep her teeth will allow is interrupted by coughing. Our day care provider told us that she was an emotional wreck today. Poor Little Bug!!

Mike braved the teething child as a single parent earlier this week. I was in Nashville from Sunday-Wednesday for work, so it was Dad/Bug time. Her teeth kept her a little on edge, but overall, they had a really fun time together. I even got to video chat with them while I was gone! We are all glad that I'm home. Couple weeks to enjoy ... and then I'm off to the Philippines. I will be glad when both these trips are over - and the teeth are in.

But things are not all traveling and teething around here. We are still sneaking in fun and fall festivities. In fact, here are the promised pumpkin patch pictures. Big thanks to Ellie's parents for taking them!