It's All About The Inducements

So Mister Man "lost" his first tooth several weeks ago. He had another tooth that was loose, and he was working on it. I'd explained to him clearly that the needed to get a move on the wiggling of said tooth to ensure we didn't have another incidence of a permanent tooth growing behind the baby tooth. I'm really not into braces (all assurances from Karen, aside, I'm paranoid).

I noticed a week or so ago that I could feel the bump of a tooth starting to form behind it. I gave Mister Man a deadline of this Friday to get the tooth out, or Daddy would have to pull it again. He understood and continued to wiggle.

This afternoon he informed me on the way home from school that the art teacher had good eyes and had spotted a tooth growing behind his baby tooth. He was proud of her eyesight; I simply sighed.

I explained that we needed to hurry up the tooth losing. I tried to cajole him into having Daddy pull it tonight. He was pretty well convinced.

Until, of course, Daddy started feeding his mind with what needed to happen. Then he started freaking out about how he could almost taste the blood in his mouth already. *sigh*

My husband continued to try to talk him into pulling it tonight, but Mister Man was convinced that it would be better tomorrow.

After his shower, I pointed out that he has no school all next week, so if he pulls it tomorrow he won't get his name on the board or tell his friends at school. He wasn't swayed.

Then I brought up Mommy's Special Ice Cream. This would be the ice cream a friend of mine brought back for me from Columbus for my birthday. Of the ice cream from there that I've tried to date, I haven't been willing to share.

I put a deal on the table (literally). One bowl of Mommy's Special Ice Cream from Jeni's in Columbus OH (Wildberry Lavender, which is heavenly btw) if he had Daddy pull his tooth tonight. If not, that offer was off the table, and he wouldn't get Mommy's Special Ice Cream.

He dithered. He couldn't decide. He told me his brain hadn't made its decision yet. He whined a bit, trying to figure out what to do.

In the end though, Mommy knows her boy well. He chose the ice cream.

Daddy pulled the tooth, and he was happy it was done. It wasn't nearly so big a deal as he was making it out to be, he informed me. He literally couldn't sit down to eat his ice cream because he was so excited and happy that he was bouncing up and down.

He called my parents (individually, much to my amusement) and my husband's parents to inform them of the good news. And he also announced that he wasn't going to have the Tooth Fairy visit tonight because he insists on showing his tooth to his grandma and grandpa tomorrow.





But first, he finished every bit of ice cream in that bowl.

And here I thought I was the only one (in the family) where ice cream made it all better.