Our Little Toothless Wonder....

Georgia's new smile

Knock on wood, but for a family of 5 we've been very lucky over the past 5 years with our "lack of" trips to the emergency room.  We've only had one and it was due to Georgia's fascination with putting small objects in little places.  She decided to stick a tictac up her nose and by the time we got her to the hospital, it had already traveled up her nose and down her throat...making it's safe journey into her tummy.  At the end of the day, it was a lesson learned for all of us including daddy (don't give a 2 year old a tictac -ha!).  Our next incident, although much bigger in comparison was a slightly different kind of emergency - rather than rushing her to the hospital, we ended up at the nearest dental office...

It was our second last day at the cottage and all of our guests had now come and gone.  The weather was perfect and we were just beginning to settle in and enjoy some family time with the kids.  After breakfast we headed down to the water for our usual morning swim.  Hudson decided to take a break from swimming that day and practice his batting.  All week he had his baseball tee set up at the edge of the dock.  He would hit the ball into water and someone (usually grandma) would swim to fetch it.  That particular morning Georgia and I were the ones doing the fetching.  After countless successful attempts at retrieving the ball, Georgia was ready for a well deserved break.

Looking back there are so many things that I could have done differently in that moment...any of which would have prevented the accident.  Georgia had just climbed up onto the dock when Hudson lined up and took one final swing.  In a matter of seconds our vacation was turned upside down - the bat came around and hit Georgia perfectly on the back swing.  To be honest my initial reaction was anger towards Hudson, then Georgia turned around and I realized how badly she had been hit.  Her entire mouth was covered in blood.  I grabbed her in my arms and rushed her up to the cottage. 

Within minutes we had contacted the nearest dentist and were instructed to bring her there immediately.  We packed everyone into the car and set out for Gravenhurst.  Upon arrival, Georgia was treated almost immediately.  The poor girl had never even been to the dentist but 3 needles later, 2 chipped teeth and a missing front tooth (they had to pull it out), Georgia walked out of there as our little hero.  The dentist told us to expect a tired and lethargic little girl - really??  For once, I thought it might be true.  However, within a few hours our brave girl was smiling again (despite all the swelling) and begging to go swimming.  My hubby and I were just happy to be back at the cottage...and ready to enjoy our last couple days in Muskoka.  Then it hit us...we had some big decisions to make - It was Tooth Fairy Time!

I seriously wasn't ready for her visit...I mean I'm someone who likes to plan, have everything organized and ready to go.  In my mind I still had at least another year before the tooth fairy was supposed to arrive - our oldest son is only 4 and he's shown absolutely no sign of any loose teeth.  My hubby and I discussed the obvious option...leave a couple dollars under her pillow and call it a day.  Simple enough, especially when you consider how many times the tooth fairy will be visiting our home over the next 10 years (3 kids and loads of teeth!).  It's definitely going to add up -ha!  But anyone who knows me (including my husband), knows I like to go a little above and beyond.  I love how creative parents can been these days when it comes to special family traditions...so even though it happened a little earlier than I anticipated, the tooth fairy would soon be visiting our home and I was excited to start planning her arrival!

We explained to Georgia that our family back home was eager and excited to see her new smile and of course, her first lost tooth.  We told her it would still be a little while before the tooth fairy would be arriving...which really meant mommy just needed some more time to get ready.  Back home I started doing a little research , spoke with some friends and managed to gather some really great ideas.  Here are some of my favourites...

And here's what we've decided to go with...

• I instantly fell in love with the fairy door!  For a few reasons...I knew Georgia would absolutely love it as well, I thought it could be fitting for a boy or a girl (depending on the colour) and my favourite part...it can be used during the Holidays too when our Elf on the Shelf decides to visit.  I ordered our fairy door from this website: http://believefairydesigns.ca/ ...and we got the red one!

• My hubby and I have also decided to leave a toonie in exchange for each tooth, as well as a tiny note from the tooth fairy including words of congratulations and encouragement for keeping their teeth clean and healthy!  The dental office in Gravenhurst gave us a special little container to put her tooth in.  We plan on leaving this container next to the little door.
• Finally, we'll be leaving a little gift too...either a new tooth brush, tooth paste or floss. 

I'll be honest, when Georgia first lost her tooth, I wanted to spoil her with gifts from the tooth fairy (in other words...the toy store).  She didn't just lose a tooth, she was whacked in the face with an aluminum bat, required minor dental surgery and had her front tooth pulled out!  An experience such as that deserves more than a couple dollars, right?!?  My hubby was quick to put a stop to that -ha!  Set the bar low he explained, or the tooth fairy visits are going to become bigger than Christmas!  Now that I've had a few weeks to let it set in, I completely agree.  I can hardly wait to start using our new fairy door when it arrives! ...and beginning some new family traditions in our home!

Have a great weekend!