Day One Hundred and Twenty Seven.

Jacob is my middle child through and through. He is always a character and keeps me on my toes. I must say "Jacob be careful!' 20 times a day (hour?). He is busy and active and fearless. On this particular night however he wasn't swinging a stick through the air, jumping from shelf to bed or tediously balancing across a rock wall...he was simply walking across the living room. Unfortunately there was a blanket on the floor that caught his feet and in an instant he went down, hitting his face full force on the wooden coffee table that is usually in the basement but was left after we brought it up for company. There is a certain kind of "crack" that you just know as soon as you hear it, is not good. I braced myself when I picked up screaming Jake for what I might find. It was as bad as I expected...blood...and teeth not positioned where theywere a moment earlier. A trip to the ER confirmed that his lip, while bitten did not need stitched and his teeth were going to need further treatment. The next morning I brought him to the dental surgeon who had him in his office and under anesthetic within ten minutes. I barely had time to digest the news...his four front teeth could not be saved. They were damaged down to the root. He got my reluctant permission to pull them all.
Poor Jake. He was so swollen and bruised and sore but he was back at the park the next morning sliding head first down the slide like nothing had happened at all. He has mastered the art of side chewing and still looks awfully cute with his new gummy grin. An early visit from the tooth fairy sealed the deal (and she even brought a little something for the almost 6 year old in our home who has been counting down the days until a loose tooth and was a little disappointed to find out that his 3 year old brother beat him to it by 4 teeth!).