The Stories Parents Tell...

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My daughter finally gave up the binky. It's been six weeks now, and I thought we were doing pretty well... every now and then she asks for it, but then I remind her that Sleeping Beauty if borrowing it; she accepts it and moves on.

Until last night.

We went to Disneyland to see the Fantasmic Watershow and Fireworks Display.

Both of my kids loved it, and we got to see Belle, Snow White, and the Little Mermaid. My daughter was in princess heaven.

When we left though, she suddenly screamed: "STOP MOMMA!"

Stopping abruptly -- to the people who were behind me and crashed into me, again, I'm truly sorry -- I asked what was wrong, as I was frantically checking her over for a scratch, cut, broken bone, bullet hole... whatever it was that was making her scream so loudly.

"We need to see Sleeping Beauty," she explained.

My husband and I shared a confused look. "Why?" I asked her.

"To get my binky back," she said matter of factly.

Oh, bloody hell.

"Well, she doesn't have it right now," I hedged.

"Did she give it to Prince Philip?" my daughter asked.

I grabbed onto that like a life line. "YES! Yes, she gave it to Prince Philip!"

"Well, well, well, then we need to go find Prince Philip," my daughter said.

Clearly, she would not be deterred. "Well, he's not here," my husband said.

"Where is he?"

"He went on a quest," I told her. I was quite proud of that one, sure she would let it go. Oh, not my daughter.

"How did he go?" my daughter asked.

"He went to fight the dragon," I told her.

"Will he give me my binky when he comes back?" my girlie asked.

"No, he'll give it to Sleeping Beauty," I explained.

"Okay, lets go wait for Prince Philip with Sleeping Beauty!" my daughter decreed.

How did I get outsmarted by a 3 year old?

Bye bye Bink

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We did it. No more binky. Last night was rough, but after getting to lie in bed with Momma for a few hours, my daughter finally stopped whining and crying for her binky and fell asleep.

I tucked her into bed, kissed her sweet, tear stained cheek, and went into the bathroom and cried for about an hour.

She's a big girl.

The think is, I eagerly looked forward to all of the milestones - walking, talking, playing, eating. I worried when they didn't come fast enough, bragged when she did hit them, and charted them carefully in her baby book.

It never dawned on me that I would be sad when the No-More-Binky Milestone came.

I think this is because it is not like the other milestones. The other ones, we were opening doors for her, so that she could gain her independence.

This one? I feel like I'm shutting a door.

I'm shutting the door on her babyhood, and looking at a full grown toddler, who is quickly becoming a preschooler. And I know this is life, and the way things are supposed to be.

It sucks.

How is it, that when you are a parent, the days can seem like years, but the years seem like minutes?

Binky Love

The day has finally come.

My daughter is giving up the binky.

Since there are not 12 Step Binky Anonymous programs, my husband and I had to come up with a plan that we thought would work without being completely traumatizing.

For about a week now, we have been talking about how sad Sleeping Beauty is that she has to take a nap without a binky. Last night, we asked our daughter if she would mind letting Sleeping Beauty borrow her bink for a little bit.

My daughter was all for it. And not just for Sleeping Beauty. She wanted Cinderella, Princess Tiana, Snow White, Belle, the Beast, and Prince Phillip to get to use it too. So we addressed an envelope to "The Princesses at the Castle," dropped the binky into it, and I "mailed" it this morning.

My daughter seemed fine with this. Sure, tonight will be hard, but I have it on good authority that the Princesses are going to mail her a thank you card, so I am hoping that will help smooth out any problems.

Maybe she is ready for this?

I'm not. I was the one who didn't want her to give it up. I was the one who let her have it. And I know that it is past time she gave it up. I didn't want her to have it to keep her quiet or so I wouldn't have to deal with the tantrum. I wanted her to have it because this is the last attachment she has to her babyhood.

If she lets go of the binky, that is the final step towards her growing up.

It will be official.

She will be a big girl.

Like I said, I'm not ready.