Baby Teeth and Growing Up

Carley went to the dentist last week.  They did x-rays on her, and afterward, I sat next to her while the dentist looked at her x-rays on a big screen by her chair.  And I almost cried.
Call me sappy. Call me over-emotional.  Call me what you will.  But let me explain.
Carley has not lost any teeth yet.  Much to her dismay, she still has all of her baby teeth, and seemingly, no loose teeth.  She so desperately wants to get a loose tooth, and have the Tooth Fairy visit her and leave $1 under her pillow.  It's happened to her friends, but it hasn't happened to her yet.
I am also a mom that is not a huge fan of my kids growing up.  I know, I know.  You told me it would happen.  When I was pregnant, you said, "it goes by so fast! Cherish every moment!"  But, I, like so many other moms, didn't totally believe you.  After all, my pregnancy stretched on for what seemed an eternity.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, of a stretching belly that I am pretty sure almost popped right open before I could even go into labor.  And then she was born, and as precious as she was, and as in love as I was, I kinda wanted her to grow up.  I loved her sleeping on my chest, I loved feeding her bottles. I can't say that I loved panicking that she wasn't breathing in the bassinet or worrying that I was ruining her by letting her sleep on her belly after she turned 2 weeks old (gasp!).  So, I kinda wanted her to grow up...I was excited to see her crawl, for her to eat baby food, to see her toddle around the house and play with toys.  All of that happened quicker than I thought.  You kept telling me how fast it would go by, and I was starting to maybe believe you.  At least a little.
Pretty soon, we added another little girl to the mix, and I will say I was less anxious about her growing up than I was with Carley.  I had learned my lesson.  Kinda. Sorta.
And then I blinked.
Carley turned four. She started and finished VPK.
Then I blinked again.  She started and finished Kindergarten.
Which brings me to (almost) crying at the dentist.
Have you ever seen a child's mouth in an x-ray right before they start losing their baby teeth?  Well, I hadn't.  It turns out that you can see all of their grown up teeth up in the gums just waiting to come in.  All of them. Perfectly aligned.  Waiting to come in. To Carley's mouth. Grown. Up. Teeth.
So there it is.  A symbol of her grown up life, sitting right there in her mouth.  But wait!  I was just pregnant with her for (what seemed) 52 months!  And I was just lying next to her staring at her new born face, making sure she was still breathing! And we just went to the big sister class where they taught her how to get ready for a new little sister!  And I just took her to her first day of kindergarten!
Where did my baby go?
She's starting first grade in less than a week.
In five years, she will be in youth group.
Then she'll drive.
Then she'll move away.
And get married.
And have kids.
And I'll be a grandmother.  And I will tell Carley to cherish every moment, because it goes by so fast.
...and she won't believe me.