Matthew's loose tooth

On the Fourth of July Matthew complained of his tooth feeling funny during dinner. I took a look and gave him my expert opinion that it was loose. Oh boy! Major freak out time. He seemed to think that something was wrong with him and he decided that suddenly he was in enormous pain. We sent him upstairs to regain his composure enough to talk with him. After a few minutes, Jonathan went up and convinced him that he wouldn't swallow his tooth and that yes, he would get a new tooth. Matthew still thought he was in pain so I gave a rag with an ice cube in it to suck on. After a few ice cubes he forgot his misery and joined the fun with the fireworks. However, his tooth was BREAKING NEWS that he felt compelled to share with all the family and friends there. Every 15 minutes or so we got an update.

All was fine until 3 AM when he woke up terrified that he would swallow his tooth by accident. Regrettably he woke his sister up too. While he went back to sleep quickly after being reassured, Melissa took much longer. Around 4 I crawled back into bed. I was sorely tempted to take tooth matters into my own hands if this continued.

The following day Matthew decided having a loose tooth was very cool and very grownup. After all, only big boys lose their teeth, not little kids like Melissa. He told everyone he could on the airplane about his tooth. He told his Sunday school class. He told all his friends. He informed the midwife. At this point I believe that much of Utah is aware that Matthew is losing his tooth. He thinks his parents are a little slow and somewhat forgetful, so he tells us too on a regular basis.

"Matthew, I know you have a loose tooth. You've told me many times."

"Well, I don't want you to forget!"

It is now a week and we are still waiting for him to lose that tooth!