"Snaggle-Tooth" Ballerina

“My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”

Psalm 28:7

Mary Hayes is not really interested in ballet, but I encouraged her to give it a try.  (She'd much rather be playing soccer or digging for bugs, but in January/February here in Philly those are not an option.)  Some friends from church and school were in this class which made it a little more appealing.

As I was filling out the registration form for the class, I read the teacher's bio.  She "holds a BFA in Dance from Belhaven College."  I read this and thought, "Oh, there must be another Belhaven College somewhere."  I read further down on the bio, and it says, "Mrs. Goodman held the position of International Dance School Administrator for the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS."  No way!!!  I could not believe what a small world it is!  After the class, I introduced myself.  Once I let her know we had moved here from Mississippi, she said, "Now that I think about it, Mary Hayes is definitely a Mississippi name."  :)

In March and at the age of 6 1/2, Mary Hayes, FINALLY lost her first tooth.... I was beginning to worry she'd be off for college still losing teeth. (Ha!)  She was wanting to lose a tooth soooo badly.  It magnifies the desire when you're watching others in your class lose them.  In kindergarten, losing teeth is SUCH a big deal!  Her class has a "tooth" poster, so after the loss of a tooth, that child's name is written on the poster.  There is cheering and celebration during this moment.  Mary Hayes is the oldest in her class, so it was hard for her to understand why she wouldn't be the first to lose teeth.  

Both her bottom front teeth became extremely lose, but it took her a couple of days before she actually let me try to pull.... I LOVE pulling teeth!!!  (I did it a LOT in my days as a kindergarten teacher.)  Once the first tooth was out, the second came just days after.  

You can tell the second tooth is extremely lose!

She wanted the Tooth Fairy to leave her tooth, so she could show it off at school the next day.  (Thanks, DeeDee, for giving her that idea!)  When she woke up to find the Tooth Fairy had granted her wish of leaving the tooth, MH was thrilled.  Somehow before leaving for school that morning she dropped the tooth on our shag rug... still to this day, the tooth is lost!  I even vacuumed and picked through the vacuum gunk to search for it.... the things you do!

This is after the second tooth came out.  The Tooth Fairy left $5 for the first tooth and $1 for the second. After the first tooth was pulled, I texted Chase to make sure the Tooth Fairy had cash.  He asked how much, so I texted him "$5."  His response:  "Yep, don't break the bank...we have 3 kids with 28 teeth, or $420."  :)  It made me laugh!  I let him know the first lost tooth is just a bigger deal, and our Tooth Fairy bank account wouldn't be in as much trouble as he was thinking.