Little (Big) Girl

Our little girl now refers to herself as a "big girl". A major milestone was met yesterday afternoon. One that might just be up there with crawling and learning how to walk....

Our sweet little girl......gave up......her most prized possession..........her binky!

She loves her binky. It is a comfort to her when she is sleepy, when she falls down, when she just wants to rest her head on a pillow and watch a cartoon. We have to keep them everywhere because a binky is something that she depends on. Well as of lately, she has been depending on them a bit too much. The binky has taken the place of conversation. The binky is called for immediately when she gets into her car seat. The binky is even causing some of her little baby teeth to shift. We have known that the time has been approaching......to get rid of THE NEED for the binky.

Yesterday, we took our little girl to "Build A Bear". We told her that she would no longer be needing her binky because she's a big girl. And because she is a big girl now, she would get to pick out a new baby. We explained that her new baby would need her binky. She seemed very interested in what we were saying and was very excited about getting a new baby. So she gladly brought her binky with her to "Bulld a Bear".

When we walked inside, a wonderful gal greeted us and we told her that our daughter wanted to give her binky to a new baby (idea from a friend). The woman told our daughter that lots and lots of little boys and girls have given their binkies to new friends here at her store. It took our daughter just seconds to pick out her new baby. Hello Kitty. As soon as we saw it, we knew that it would be our daughter's first choice.

The woman talked to us about the kitty and explained that the binky would be placed inside so that our little girl always knew where it was. She then asked for the binky and our little girl willingly put it inside of the kitty. She also kissed a little heart and placed it inside as well. Oh, it was adorable and I was able to get some really cute video footage of the sweet little moment when she said goodbye to binky. She then got to push the button to begin stuffing Kitty and proceeded to give Kitty a bath with air hoses. Again, one of the cutest things ever.

Kitty was then put inside of her kitty house and my daughter insisted on carrying it all the way to the car. She basically dragged it behind her the whole way prompting several, "oh how cute", from people passing by. Kitty then got to ride in the cart with our daughter at the store and the whole time, we kept referring to her as "a big girl". Because she was a "big girl" now, she got to hold the card, she gave the receipt to the man on the way out, she got to click her own buckle on her car seat. Because she was a "big girl" now.

We are now on day two without binky. There has been no screaming or tears over binky, but a lot of stalling at bed time. Lots of "dah-dur" (water), many trips to the "dotty" (potty) because she has never had to settle herself down to sleep without her binky. She even went so far as to request lotion and that is when we knew we had to just say goodnight and let her try to figure it out. It took a little fussing, some rocking from my husband, and then she finally fell asleep in her bed. She slept all night, with Kitty by her side.

For now, we can solidly say, SO FAR SO GOOD! The binky is gone because that is the message that we have set, but hopefully it will soon just become a nice little memory for her. It kind of tugged at our heart to actually make the decision to say goodbye to the binky because that is a pretty big milestone in the little life of a "binky fanatic" and it also means that she is not a little baby anymore. She is still very little but also growing up to be a "big girl".

Today's blip was taken out on the boardwalk today. We were downtown for my daughter's 1st haircut and because it was such a GORGEOUS day, she and I stopped and enjoyed the views of the river and the warm sun on our skin. Because my daughter is a "big girl" now, I let her put on some of my lip gloss and she looked so adorable as she was concentrating to get the gloss on her lips. She is a precious little girl and we are enjoying each and every second we have with both of our children. They continue to be true gifts from God that have made our lives full and complete.

This blip is a quick little snapshot of my little girl enjoying a beautiful and sunny day.