All She Wants for Christmas...

So Ella's been missing her two front teeth... her two front teeth... her two front teeth for a good month and a half now.  She did not come by this scenario naturally, either.  I can't believe I haven't written about it yet.  I think that could be because it just went so well... remarkably well for our girl who cries painful tears when her big brother merely brushes up against her when he walks by her.

I remember the blood vividly.  We had just arrived at the site of a softball tournament where we were planning to catch a couple of my dad's girls' softball games.  The Leatherkids had quickly found a playground on which they could step, climb and slide. They couldn't have been on there five minutes when, from the center of the playset, Dan heard Cal say, "You'll be okay."  Shortly after hearing that, he saw Ella emerge from the playset, crying, blood spewing from her mouth and soiling her prized "flamingo dress."  He grabbed and held her.

And then I saw her.  It really was a lot of blood.  I remember not being scared or panicky.  To be honest, that we had made it 6+ years with two kids with no broken limbs and very little bleeding, I felt like we were due; and that must have been our day to cash in.

Dan and I and a couple of strangers immediately went into stop-the-bleeding mode. Napkins, paper towels, ice and water -- we used it all on our little girl and her bloody mouth.  Ella cried, of course, more from fear of losing her teeth than the pain from falling and landing on her mouth.

Once the bleeding was done, Dan and I assessed the damage.  Her lip was swollen and cut; and at first glance, it didn't look like her teeth had been affected at all.  Her flamingo dress was bloodied but cleanable.  As this was our first experience with unexpected trauma, we weren't sure what we should do next -- take her to a doctor or just continue to ice and see how it plays out.  Dan looked again and noticed that one of her front teeth was pushed in a bit, so we decided to take her to immediate care, which happened to be conveniently located just down the road.  How in the world did my parents handle this stuff? These conveniences that we have today were not around when I was growing up!

So I took her to immediate care, where I was told (and to Ella's relief) there was nothing that they could do -- they don't pull teeth and they don't do stiches.  She really needed to go to the emergency room.  Whaaaaa?  She had a small cut in her lip and a slightly pushed-in tooth.  I challenged the nurse's suggestion; and, together, she and I concluded that I should just call our pediatrician and get her advice.  So I did, and we ended our conversation with a plan to get her in to see a dentist the next day.

We spent the rest of the day watching softball games, feeding Ella frozen treats (slushies, ice cream, fruit bars), playing whiffle ball with Cal and baking in the heat of summer sun. That she... strike that, we made it through the rest of the tournament with Ella in the broken, fragile state that she was is nothing sort of remarkable (and maybe a little dumb).  My dad's team ended up winning the tournament; and afterward, we went to dinner with my dad before heading home.  Ella, of course, had a strawberry shake for dinner.

We sent Ella to school the next day, swollen lip and wearing a now de-bloodied flamingo dress. Dan picked her up early and took her to the dentist where, by looking at x-rays, they learned that there had, in fact, been some shifting of her teeth (x-rays revealed shadows indicating this).  The dentist recommended pulling both teeth.

Say what?!?!?!!... to borrow a line from "Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet."

So Ella had been to the dentist before... for a simple check-up and cleaning.  It didn't go well -- no x-rays were taken; and I don't even remember that the hygienist was actually able to put fluoride on her teeth, and not for lack of effort.  Ella would just not let it happen.  That she went from that state of mind to cooperating in getting her two front teeth... her two front teeth... her two front teeth pulled is nothing short of remarkable. I wasn't there to witness it, but I really credit both the dentist and Dan for that.  My guess is that they simply said the right words, gave the right explanation and provided the right amount of comfort that Ella knew everything would be okay.

On my way home from work that day, I stopped to get Ella a shake.  When I arrived home, Dan and Ella were in a reclined position on the couch watching the movie, "Frozen."  If I could have captured the whole conversation that I had with her, I would have.  She was so matter-of-fact about her experience at the dentist, describing all of the steps without emotion.  She was so positive and just so darn cute, talking with a new, heavy lisp through the gaping hole left my her now missing two front teeth... her two front teeth... her two front teeth.

And I'll never forget this thing that she said, "I'm still Ella and I'm still beautiful."  She is.

Since the dentist had to keep her teeth, she didn't have any teeth to leave for the tooth fairy, something with which our tooth fairy has become very familiar due to Cal's tendency to swallow his when he loses them.  The night of the tooth extraction, I was with Cal at his swimming lesson and received a text with this picture attached:

Toothless Ella and her note to the tooth fairy

She left that note next to her pillow for the tooth fairy -- she was a little afraid of the tooth fairy getting too close to her if it were left under her pillow, so this was a compromise.  Of course, this was fine with the tooth fairy, making it so much easier to pay a visit without waking the kid.  And, what do you know, the tooth fairy did visit her and left her 8 quarters.

Ella's look for a few years

We learned from a follow-up visit to the dentist that it might actually end up taking longer for Ella's top two front permanent teeth to come in than it would have had she not had to have her baby teeth pulled.  So we're looking at cute lisp and a few years of school pictures with Ella missing her two front teeth... her two front teeth... her two front teeth.  Oooohhhh... these next few Christmases are going to be fun! All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth... her two front teeth... her two front teeth... so Ella can wish you Merry Christhmas!"

Yes, she is still Ella and she is still beautiful.