That tooth!

The snaggletooth is gone! Long live the snaggletooth! Seriously, I was so ready for that front tooth of Elisa's to fall out. Ever since she whacked it on our bed frame as a toddler killing the root, it seemed to stare back and taunt me. It took a while for the tooth to change colors to a greenish gray, but for the past year it has been working it's way slowly down and out. And during it's last few weeks in her mouth, it had morphed into this strange protrusion that she seemed very self conscious about. It didn't help matters that her adult tooth was already poking its way into position, moving from way back in her upper palette to front and center by last week. When she finally turned to me while sitting on the couch one night and proclaimed that it had fallen out, I wasn't sure if I should believe her. She'd been playing that game for months. But something in her tone sounded genuinely shocked. And sure enough, when she jumped up, the tooth rolled off her skirt and onto the couch behind her. It was out. But the smile didn't have a gap. Far from it. So here we go, another tooth milestone down and Elisa is almost 7. I wish I could add a footnote to my previous post to say that she's been doing so much better behavior-wise, but I can't. In fact, I think the past few days we've hit a new low. She has worn me down and I'm not sure how to turn this around. But if it's a test of wills she wants, I will give it to her. I just can't believe I'm still dealing with a child who needs to thrash and scream to subdue herself. At almost 7 years old. It's really too much. But fortunately I seem to make it through each day and find the energy to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow. For now.