First, lets talk about pacifiers. In our house, they're called Binkies and they are VERY important! Meghan can not go to sleep without her pink Bunny and her Binky. There are only 2 Binkies left in the world and I told her months ago that the store doesn't sell them anymore so we can't get anymore if these ever get lost or broken. In a perfect world, I never wanted my kids to use binkies at all. But perfection is a goal I gave up long ago so Meghan has used one from the very beginning. Originally, I wanted it gone by her first birthday. When she still wasn't sleeping through the night at that milestone, I decided that her second birthday was soon enough for her to give it up. But that was about the time her little brother arrived on the scene and it didn't seem fair to upset her world even more by taking away her beloved Binky. I came up with one excuse after another. The underlying truth of it is that I needed her to have that Binky. I NEEDED her to go to bed willingly and sleep through the night. The quality of MY sleep depends on the quality of my kids' sleep and I will do anything to get them to sleep more, longer and better if that means I get to sleep too. But, here it is, September again. Meghan is turning 3 and still using a Binky. It's kind of our dirty little secret. She only gets it at nap time and bed time.....and sometimes to calm a tantrum when I just can't take the screaming anymore.....no one outside of family and daycare knows she still uses it and we try to keep it that way. After all, Binkies are for babies and she's a big girl now and shouldn't need it anymore. At this point, I have to wonder if it's for her comfort or for mine? Should I force the issue or just let her give it up on her own when she's ready? Will she EVER be ready?
As I was in the middle of this dilemma, the problem was solved for me. As luck would have it, both Binkies got lost at the same time. One here in the house somewhere and the other disappeared at daycare. When Julie tried to put her down for her nap at daycare last Thursday, Binky was no where to be found. DISASTER! Julie said it took a very long time to convince Meghan to even lay down without it, then she just lay there and whimpered. Finally, one of the other little girls took pity on her and offered up her own favorite blankie to comfort Meghan. Accepting the poor substitute, Meghan finally took a short, fitful nap.
Somehow, we survived the weekend with no Binkies. Every nap and every bed time has been a battle of wills. She hasn't actually asked for her Binky very often. When she does, we remind her that they're lost and she seems to accept it. There have been tantrums and there have been tears and there has been lost sleep. But, all in all, it has been easier than I was afraid it would be. Both Binkies miraculously re-appeared yesterday. One in the diaper bag and the other in it's hiding spot in the kitchen. We haven't let Meghan in on that little secret yet. All of this makes me very glad that Ethan never liked a Binky so we won't have to go through this again.
Now, the Parties! On Friday, Meghan's actual 3rd birthday, we went to GG and Papa's for pizza and cake.
They gave Meghan a card with $20 for her college fund and a bag of Circus Peanuts....one of her favorite candies.
Then, on Saturday, we threw Meghan's very first "kid" birthday party. We invited all her neighborhood "frienzez" over to share in the fun. It was a blast. I may have went a little overboard in the planning and there was some last minute stress and chaos when I didn't think I was going to get everything done. But it turned out good. Just about everyone we invited was able to come and Meghan was quite the gracious hostess. As each "frienz" arrived she took them by the hand and showed them all the decorations and food. Then offered them a drink! (okay, there was a little coaching from Mom & Dad beforehand, but not a lot)
Once everyone arrived, we went downstairs to play for a while. Then all the kids got to make their own party hats with foam visors and stickers. This was a big hit, but didn't take nearly as long as I had expected.
After some more playtime and general craziness.....
there was food...
then presents...
then cake and ice cream.
Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of the party after this. I laid the camera down somewhere "safe" and lost it! But, after loading all the kids up on sugar, there was general chaos and running around like maniacs having all sorts of fun. I hope one of the other parents got pictures of the kids rolling down our hill and blowing bubbles in the back yard. It was a good day.
And....on to the subject of pets. We've had the pet conversation and agreed that there wouldn't be any pets of any kind for at least several years. I don't know what came over me at Wal-Mart on Sunday. We stopped to look at the fish for a minute and somehow Miss Meghan hypnotized me into buying her a Beta fish. She picked out a pretty pink-ish red one and decided to name it Lion. That name didn't stick though. By the time we got home it changed to Princess Aurora then a few hours later changed to Horsie. That one seems to be sticking. Poor Horsie has been moved around the house several times as Meghan wants to be close to her at all times. And last night was almost the end of Horsie when Ethan grabbed her off of the dining table and dumped her on the kitchen floor before Shon or I even knew what was happening. Luckily there was a lid on her bowl so she didn't hit the floor. Today I moved Horsie into her very own 1 gallon aquarium, complete with bubbles to keep her healthy and a snap-on lid to keep her safe. Hopefully Meghan will start to understand that fish are just to look at and don't like to be carried around like toys.
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