The Quintessential 1st Grader

Does this face not just scream "I'm in the 1st grade?!"

Ryan yanked the other front tooth out this morning. Emily, the neighbor girl and Ryan's partner in crime lost her 2nd front tooth the other day and that was unacceptable to Ryan. Ryan is 3 weeks older than Emily so his teeth should be falling out first. I honestly think that tooth could have stayed in there another week or so, but Ryan twisted and pulled and pushed until it finally came out this morning--blood and all. There is no sign of his permanent teeth yet, which makes me happy. I want to look at this jack-o-lantern grin as long as I can.


This is how so many of Ryan and Emily's interactions begin. One hears the other in the back yard and they just can't resist. Ryan and Eric have a chair permanently placed along the fence and Emily brings a stepstool to her side. They giggle and chat until they convince the parents to let one of them hop the fence. We have a great relationship with the whole family and we feel so blessed to have them next door.

It just tickles me to no end that this is the kind of relationship Emily and Ryan have. These are the kinds of pictures I want to show them when they graduate from High School. I wish I had a crystal ball to see what the future holds for them. But at the same time, it is so much fun to see it all unfold. I wonder what Emily will think of me as her mother-in-law?