One down...

The little one, after much wiggling, some fake-outs and a persistent mom who just can't resist...lost his first tooth. As with the big one, there was much fanfare, excitement and celebration. A photoshoot, a show-and-tell at school and a placement of the tooth into the special pillow where only the tooth fairy knows where to look. However, this smarty pants just took one look at the pillow, and stated, "I know it's you guys who get the tooth". Sigh...when did he stop being little? But I persisted, thinking maybe he just needs a little convincing. Then he says, "If I only get a dollar, I would rather just keep my tooth." (!) Didn't it used to be a dime?

So after he fell asleep I thought I would bulk up the payoff without making it more money (he is only 5 after all). So I put lots of dimes, nickels and quarters in the little pocket and removed the tooth. It was only a dollar, but it looked like more, right? In the morning he was very excited to find the money. Then he came running into my bedroom saying, "Where's my tooth, where's my tooth?" I said, "What do you mean? The tooth fairy took it." And he burst into tears. Threw the money on my bed and started to sob. "I want my tooth. I don't want the money." These were real tears. He was so upset that I picked up the money, put it in his hand and reached to the hiding spot on my dresser and handed him his tooth. "Aha, I knew it was you," he said. Outsmarted by a 5 year old. Boy am I in big trouble.