I spent the holiday weekend with my sisters in Kansas City so we could celebrate my niece Megan’s 21st birthday together.  My sister Lori and brother in-law Steve left their Christmas tree and decorations up for the occasion, giving me a magical time-machine evening with my family.  Nearly two year old Sadie Starr was truly the star of the weekend, charming us with her adorable face, personality and red hair.  Highlights include my nearly 70 year old mother dancing quite wonderfully to the Wii with her very young daughters, surprising Megan on her special birthday by wearing matching $8 Target sweaters and magenta fingernail polish with my sister Jeni (because we’re those kinds of aunts), listening to Johnny Mathis on January 14th with my dad while sitting next to an actual fireplace, being pampered in every way possible by my amazing hostess of a sister Lori, and having wonderful conversations with nearly 15 year old niece Lauren who is wise beyond her years (and never has a cell phone in her hands).

And as suspected, Huck lost his tooth while I was gone!  Literally.  He went to bed Saturday night with a tooth and woke up Sunday morning without one.  We’re assuming it’s going through his digestive tract as I write.  After the tooth fairy left a dollar coin in his special tooth fairy pillowcase that he’s been sleeping with for the past 3 years, he deduced that she took the tooth out of his head the first night and left money the following night.  (This from a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus.)   I sent him off to school this morning with a little sign taped to a large popsicle stick that says “Guess What I Lost Over Night?” to show his friends, because he’s a sweet little toothless nerd.