Last week I began the annual recap of my Top 10 Moments in Mothering of 2012 with nos. 10-6. This week I give you the top five.

5. Smile!: Finally, we returned to the dentist and he wiggled the tooth free. Once my son realized his adult tooth could already be seen poking through his gum, he decided he wouldn’t “look silly” for long.

He couldn’t wait to show GG (Great-Grandpa), who — as he did when I was a kid — comically showed my son how easy it is to “pull teeth” by removing his dentures.

“Wow!” said my son. “Can I put those under my pillow, too?”

4. Priceless: The phone call from the teacher came almost a month into the school year this time: “I need to tell you something funny about your son.”

“She said ‘funny,’ ” my brain reminded me. “She did not say ‘heathen-child.’ ”

“Did you know he brought money to school today?” she asked.

“Nnnooo …” I replied.

“Yes, he brought it in to pay for the treats,” the teacher said. “He is so sweet.”

Surprise again: She referred to my son and said “sweet” in the same sentence.

And yes, my heart was overjoyed, “Aaawww, I can’t believe he did that.”

“The funny part …,” she continued, “was the money was foreign!”

So, he tried to pay the teacher with pesos my husband brought home from a business trip. At least his heart was in the right place.

3. Brotherly love: It wasn’t a minute later and my oldest son came flying in the door again, breathless, “Mom! I pulled out his tooth!”

“What? Where is he?” My younger son was still outside. Bleeding.

I quickly processed what my son had said, “… pulled his tooth.” Hmm. Interesting. Because my 7-year-old son will not let anyone within 10 feet of him when he has a loose tooth. He’s terrified having a tooth pulled will be as painful as childbirth.

Then he appeared in the doorway, his toothless grin stretched from ear-to-ear, blood dribbling down his chin.

“Mom! He knocked my tooth out!” he said pointing at his big brother.

2. Trick-or-Tax: The conversation at school this time was about trunk-or-treat (trick-or-treating from car-to-car). Some participants at trunk-or-treat events decorate their car and people vote for the best car-costume.

Why do some people choose not to decorate their car for a chance to win a surely fabulous prize? According to my son, “Because they will just have to pay taxes on it anyways!”

1. Why kids aren’t welcome on business trips: “Let’s all go to the conference trade-show with Daddy!” we decided the next day.

This was like trick-or-treat for the boys, who paraded around the event with shopping bags loading up on free loot: ink pens, stress balls, key chains, candy, but it was the end-of-the-line for our exhausted toddler. She collapsed onto the floor, screaming her protests. I scooped up my flailing child and headed toward the car.

On our way out she targeted an innocent businessman and with all of her remaining tantrum-fueled strength, hurled her binky at him. He stared at me in horror, as I gasped, apologized profusely, gathered my child — and myself — and bolted from the building.