My almost six-year-old lost his first tooth recently. He really didn’t want it to go and fought it the whole way. Here are his five stages of tooth grief:

1) denial
mama, my tooth isn’t loose (as it hangs literally perpendicular to the rest of his teeth)

2) self-pity
why is this happening to me? why do I have to lose this tooth? why? why? why?

3) obstinate behavior
it isn’t coming out, NO MOM you can’t touch it, don’t touch it, NO MOM don’t get near my mouth

4) fear
ouch, something’s wrong, it hurts, its bleeding (this got us an emergency trip to the dentist)

5) relief and excitement
hey, that’s my tooth! what will the tooth fairy bring me?

Now my little guy is not the only one suffering grief. I have embraced a new life for him dominated by soccer, Wii, Pokemon and t-ball. But there’s something about this particular milestone that hits me in the heart with “the baby days are done.”

I’m moving on. I’m getting over it. I’m letting go. But I get a minute to reflect. There. Done. Maybe.

One birthday down, one to go. And let me tell you the three-year-old is making sure you know he is no longer two and that his birthday is coming again next year. Here are some highlights from Liam’s big day:

favorite treat: home-made cupcakes for preschool, adorned with sprinkles as requested

favorite present: My Little Pony Rainbow Dash (okay just kidding that was mommy’s favorite); he liked them all

favorite bratty moment: he opened a card with Cars stickers in it and said “this isn’t very exciting” — I wanted to die

favorite lovable moment: a sincere “thank you for this lovely birthday” before bed

next up: Aidan’s Wii birthday. Yep. We’ve invited more than two dozen kids to our 2000 square foot house to play Wii. We’ll manage. I hope.

Our Christmas present from Nonnie and Poppy was tickets to Disney World. Guess what? The stitching on those Mickey Mouse ear hats has not changed in decades.

In fact, so much has not changed that I was nervous that the Magic Kingdom wouldn’t hold much magic for my boys. They have no idea who Donald Duck is, for example, and despite my efforts to give them non-gender specific toys they don’t care about anything princess. Despite this, they raced from ride to ride, clamoring for more and drinking in the sights. However, in the end the favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear — a contemporary ride from the more familiar Pixar Disney that my kids know.

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Wishing you happy holidays from sunny Seattle