Binki fairy was here!

Can you tell who looks more excited about it?

I mentioned the binki fairy a few months ago to Avery and Presley after getting the idea from a neighbor. I explained to them how grown-up they were, and it was almost time for the fairy to come and take their binki's in exchange for a special surprise. Both of them were horrified at the idea that their binki's would someday disappear, but also curious about the surprise part. I would bring up the fairy once in a while as a reminder of what was going to happen, especially on the days when I was fed up with their addiction, but it seemed that the day would never come. In all honestly, I was putting if off because of the change it would bring to MY lifestyle.

Boy, have I had a love-hate relationship with the binki! Looking back though, I would never have done anything differently with all three of my kids, even if it does mean that quiet time in the afternoon has abruptly come to an end and early mornings are inevitable.

Anyway, we finally circled the date of the binki fairy's arrival and decorated boxes with stickers and names. I brought it up several times a day for a few days beforehand, never knowing what kind of reaction I'd get from either girls. Avery seemed uninterested most of the time and Presley asked me what the fairy looked like. When it came down to putting the binki in the box and saying goodbye, Presley was a very good sport and very proud of herself. She only woke up once that night and quickly went back to sleep! Avery was soooo sad and had to be coerced and convinced. In fact at one point after both Aaron and I had tried to reason with her (Aaron even bribed her with a piece of candy), we got Caleb out of bed to explain his goodbye binki experience to her. I finally suggested we look at some video clips I had taken at the princess birthday party that night, and she reluctantly put it in the box. She was distraught all night. She cried herself to sleep and woke up several times and wouldn't let me hug her or snuggle with her all night. Poor Avery.

After that first night though, she did better and better and now it seems as if they've both completely forgotten how important those binki's were to them. Amazing!

So, the truth is, none of us was excited about saying goodbye to the binkis...and as I put them both to bed that first night, I couldn't help but get teary-eyed because yes, it was a grand hurdle to jump over but it was also another link to babyhood that was disappearing.

Oh, by the way, "Binkibell" left a note with an illustration of herself along with a princess book and doll for each of them!