Clear back in June, when summer was fresh and there were no school supplies being pushed at Walmart, Thing 2 had a dentist appointment.  He got his teeth cleaned, and he had X-rays, and he earned himself a new toothbrush and a giant balloon that he popped four minutes after we got home.

But… before the balloon-popping happened… the dentist came to visit with me.  He said, “Thing 2 has the mouth of a kindergartner.”

I won’t lie.  The adrenaline sort of shot through all of my limbs and nearly exploded the top of my head off in horrid EMBARRASSMENT, because I THOUGHT that beloved pediatric dentist was going to finish his sentence by saying, “Thing 2 has the mouth of a sailor.”

Bless our younger son and his ability to throw down some smack talk.

Apparently, Little Man already has permanent teeth that are pushing against the baby teeth, which have caused the roots of the baby teeth to dissolve, in preparation for them to fall out.  I was shocked.  Our boy is only four years old.  The dentist told me that this sometimes happens… that it’s not unheard of for preschoolers to start dropping their baby teeth and having those giant, adult teeth come right in.

That dentist told us, “Expect to lose a tooth… or two… this summer!”

This summer?!

I went home in denial.  Suddenly, those baby teeth were so precious!  I wasn’t emotionally ready for them to fall out and mark our move into being a big kid.  We kept plugging through the weeks of summer, hanging on tightly to those little tiny teeth, until two nights ago, when Thing 2 yelled from his bedroom, “MY TEETH WIGGLE!!”

And there, like a slap across the face, was the grim reality that the baby of our family is growing up.  I gently wiggled those front teeth, and yes… they were very, VERY wiggly.  Wiggly enough that the Tooth Fairy was probably in her miniature castle, polishing her coins and flexing her wings, in anticipation of braving the mean cat at our house.

So, I did what any mama with a camera would do.

I took Thing 2 out for a little photo shoot, before those baby teeth are gone.  And, because the boy was awake at 9:00 in the morning and getting ready to head to work at 10:00, I told him, “Get in the Suburban!  You’re having your pictures taken, too!”

THAT was met with a grim stare of, “Seriously, Ma?  SERIOUSLY?!”

Teenage boys are ridiculous when it comes to taking pictures, but I’ve found that bribing them with Taco Bell treats works wonders.  Thing 2 accepts bribes of bubble gum.

With the bribes in place, we were in business for a quick photo shoot to capture those baby teeth one more time.  I know I’m biased, because… well… these boys are MINE… but I THINK these snapshots turned out STINKING CUTE.

Like… stinking, STINKING cute!