Crocodile

Theo's got one of those loose teeth right now- the kind that is just dangling by some kind of thread, but refuses to come out. I've tried to pull it. But I am admittedly a bit wimpy about that. I feel its slipperly little mass start to give in my hand and I utter a little screach and then retreat. I don't know why I have this reaction. I think it's a deep-seated repugnance at seeing these guys grow up. Eli is such a lanky near-teen right now that I'm holding hard to anything that is still soft and smells sweet. This would not be Theo's feet. Somehow he got the stinker gene when it comes to feet- don't think Eli has ever actually broken a sweat nor produced an odor in his life. Anyway- back to the tooth. It's front and center and the kid can not let it be. His tongue is constantly swinging it back and forth- which is fine unless you are laying down next to him trying to read him a book. It can make a lot of distracting noise. So we were reading last night, Theo swinging the tooth, me shushing him, Eli in the top bunk shushing us both so he can keep tearing through The Return of the King. Then Theo figures out that if he pushes the tooth as far forward as possible and then kind of jabs his bottom lip up under it the tooth will remain on the outside of his closed-lipped smile. I didn't know about this new trick until it hit me that I wasn't hearing any of the tongue-tooth noise. I looked to the left and there he was, one inch from my face with his tooth overhanging his lip and the largest crocodilian smile I have ever seen. I was so close to his face that when he looked at me he went a little cross-eyed. It took me quite a while to get my giggles back under control so we could continue on with the Magic Tree House.
This morning he woke up and while still stretching and stumbling toward my bed in quite the stupor he deftly maneuvered the tooth back to the crocodile position and gave me the grin. I am quite sure that he spent much of the night unknowingly practicing this procedure. I lifted the comforter and pulled his warm little bony elbowed body in for a snuggle.