"Do clams have teeth?" asked Sal.

We have been watching very anxiously here for loose teeth for a loooooooooong time. Molly's baby teeth are terrible -- there's something wrong with the enamel, and she's had one cavity after another since toddlerhood. We are hoping that the adult teeth are stronger, and in any case it's also possible to get adult teeth sealed, which we're planning to do ASAP.

Last week, I thought I spotted a new cavity in one of her top teeth. The next day, before calling the dentist, I re-checked the tooth, and discovered that while it might indeed have a new cavity, it no longer mattered, because the tooth was loose. So was the other front tooth. Her bottom teeth did not seem to be loose, which surprised me, because usually the two bottom front teeth are both the first to appear and the first to fall out. Anyway, we celebrated the wiggly tooth and I took a bunch of pictures of Molly with a big grin so that we could have Before and After pictures.

This afternoon, I wiped Molly's face after she'd drunk some hot cocoa, and then I had her open her mouth so I could check on her teeth. The top ones were about the same as before, but now one of the bottom ones was loose. Really loose. It was like it got a memo saying, "dude, get a move on or one of the top teeth is going to get to be Lost Tooth Numero Uno."

She wiggled it all afternoon and it popped out at the end of dinner. Which was somewhat inconvenient -- we were eating out -- but fortunately, I had tucked an envelope into my backpack before we left the house just in case she lost the tooth today.

Molly was so pleased and proud. She wanted me to take pictures as soon as we got home, and then she got out this little pink plastic purse she's been saving as a Tooth Pouch, zipped up the tooth, and stuck it under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy.

"Now I'm a big girl," she informed me as she started getting ready for bed. "Because now I've lost a tooth."