Ellie thought that the tooth might have wanted to get out of her mouth because she was talking so much.
We put the tooth into her special "tooth fairy pouch" embroidered with her initial. Ellie drew a picture of her building a snowman with the tooth fairy flying overhead as an additional offering. Brendan suggested that she leave some money for the tooth fairy as an inducement. Ellie thought that sounded sensible so they put a penny in a plastic baggie and added it to the growing collection under her pillow.
This morning, Brendan ran into my room and declared that the tooth fairy hadn't come. He hadn't heard anything. He woke Ellie and she checked under her pillow to discover that the penny and artwork were gone and the pouch contained $3 instead of her tooth.
Both of them were appropriately wowed and amazed. Brendan has officially begun the countdown to when he loses his first tooth -- maybe when he is four years-old, he hopes.