Erin's Firsts

Erin is turning into quite the big girl these days. Her sixth birthday is just around the corner, as is the first day of Kindergarten! She is very excited about this, and just a bit apprehensive. She seems to be in a pattern of "growing up" lately, as I was informed that she was too big for splashy baths, and preferred to shower by herself, and she could take care of the hair/body washing, as long as I was close by in case she got soap in her eyes. I secretly suspect that she really was just tired of Avery's little habit of sticking her little hand into butt cracks - this is actually quite unpleasant! However, we have tried to respect her wishes, and as time allows, she is showering like a big girl.

Another first is her transition away from training wheels on her bike! In under a week she and daddy mastered the tricks of balancing, pedaling, and steering simultaneously, and now they are bike-riding buddies. She LOVES to go fast, especially down hills (as does her daddy!), and asks David to go out riding from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until bedtime, it seems! This mostly pleases him, except when he is hot and tired :)

The last "first" I have to share is the loss of her first two teeth! According to her, one day, she was chewing on a tumble weed stem that had a little "notch" in it. When she pulled it out of her mouth, her bottom left tooth caught on the notch, causing some initial looseness. Later that evening, we went to Pizza Street, and while biting into a soft cheese stick, the tooth wrenched more loose. She cried as it hurt some, and thankfully she didn't have a mirror, because there was some bleeding. Mommy has a bit of an issue with teeth, so lucky for me, while I went up to refill my drink, Erin reached in and just pulled the tooth out, wrapped it in a napkin, and shared her "surprise" with me when I returned to the table. She was so pleased, and shared her joy with anyone who would listen at Pizza Street. The tooth fairy visited that night, and left a quarter, which I have been informed by another adult, is a very low tooth price, but we have a book about the tooth fairy that says she leaves "a coin" under the pillow of her tooth donors, so I think we're okay for now. The second tooth came out two days later, after Erin twisted it out. I fear she views losing teeth as a lucrative situation, and I hope she doesn't try to pull them out before they are ready! Quarters are pretty valuable around here, because they work in the arcade games at CiCi's and Pizza Street! Fun times, fun times!