Ollie’s first tooth popped through his gums this morning. He’s only 11.5 months old. What’s the rush?
Someone asked me if his milestones are especially poignant, knowing he’s our last baby. Yes.
Yes, his milestones have inspired more quiet reflection than with the other kids. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t excited or proud of my older kids’ first big moments. I was and I am because they are still having First Moments. For example, the first time you realize your teenage son might want to shave his face. There’s no place for that in a baby book. Or, the first time your junior says something about a college night at school. Those are the moments that make the needle skip off the record.
Finding Ollie’s tooth today didn’t make my universe screech to a halt, but it did propel him a few spaces forward in the big baby game. I’m thankful his toofers were content to ride it out just below the surface for so long. His toothless grin had been the same since the day we met. His hair, his eyes, his body are all radically different. From 4.5 pounder to 20 pounder, his gummy mouth was the link to the not-so-distant past. It’s plate tectonics on a small scale. Little white mountains will rise, pink plains will retreat, and I’ll embrace this new geography like an immigrant embraces her new land.
Thanks for waiting, Ollie.
~ Ollie ~
He is absolutely adorable. Gotta say, the *best* last first is potty training. WOO HOO!
That is a milestone I’m going to do backflips over.
Oh adorable… Cutest photo ever!!! And how did you have a child who waited so so long to give you a tooth!!! And I have to say Heth… with a handful of competent older siblings at hand at every moment I never noticed my youngest’s toilet training… but just lately he has been putting himself to sleep nights and that just about kills me!!!