Another step

...further away from my baby. Sob!....
...closer to a big kid. You know he is going to go to college in only 15 years...I will never survive...
...bravely forward in our beautiful crazy life. Oh how sweet it is!



I swear, once I get them into a good groove for several weeks, I feel a burning need to mess with it. To keep things moving - ever changing. So, I took on the next hurdle in my mommy journey. Nine months later than I intended due to the arrival of baby brother, we made a major change in Mack's day to day. He is still so little, and yet, there is really nothing cute about a 4 year old that is still holding on. (No offense to any 4 year olds or mom's of 4 year old's that may be reading this.) So a couple of days ago, Mack and I discussed it brutally, honestly in 2 year old terms and at length and he decided to do this...



to these...



and he did it willingly...



and he was so proud and so excited to use the forbidden "big" scissors...and put the remnants in the trash himself...even though I had heard from some mom's that they may want to hold the cut version for a while. But not him! Once cut, in the trash they went! He was D.O.N.E.



Now, we did "find" a hidden one that we had to snip off later. And he has been known to steal a drag of one of Radley's paci's if he stumbles upon one laying around (which he shouldn't since R's have been relegated to sleep time only). And he has not napped one. freaking. single. time. since we made this decision - ugh! What have I done!?!?!? This results in a not-too-fun-to-hang-with cranky toddler about 5:30 every evening, but he really is having trouble settling in for a day time rest now that the paci's are gone. He has asked a couple of times, but when reminded that he cut them and threw them away, he does not look too pleased, but acknowledges that yes, he did do that. But we keep trying...even if it just gets him an hour or so of quiet time.

And while I am not sure how to solve the Case of the Missing Naps we now deal with, I am happy that this end of the paci era has not been too traumatic for either of us. Now, if we could just get a full lock on potty training, we would be on toddler development fire. But that is a battle for another day. For today, I am so blasted proud of you Mack. So proud of your willingness to "let go". It is such an important skill when used correctly. And you seem to have a pretty good handle on it. I am inspired by you to do a little "letting go" myself. Thanks for teaching me too, baby. More than you could ever possibly know. I love you. I am always proud of you and all you do.

All My Love Always and Forever,
Mama