"Paci Gone"

Aidan loves his paci.

Mommy has begun to hate his paci - especially after a trip to Fairmont on Sunday.

He threw his paci on the floor of the car about 10 times.

Each time, Mommy had to unbuckle in the front seat, turn around, find the paci, and give it back.

In addition, I've recently been embarrassed by the fact that Aidan is two and still has a paci.  So Brian and I discussed it and, for the last few weeks, I've been casually mentioning to Aidan the possibility of giving away his pacis to the cows (cows are his favorite - and I saw this idea on another "mommy blog").

Yesterday the opportunity arose.  Kathy, a farmer from church, invited us out to pick up some cucumbers.  I asked Aidan if he'd be up for being all done with his pacis and giving them to the cows at Ms. Kathy's farm.  He was super excited about the idea; he went around the house with a bag and collected the pacis.

"Paci cows, paci cows."

Darryl and Kathy were very sweet about helping us give away the pacis.  Aidan set them in their feeding trough.

I'd wrapped up a stuffed dog for Aidan as a gift from the cows to replace the pacis.

 Aidan calls him Roy.

Roy is his favorite color and matches his blankie perfectly.

Aidan even rode the Gator (& ate two whole cucumbers) before we headed home.

Thanks, Darryl & Kathy, for your help and generosity!

Last night, I went out with a friend and left my husband to put Aidan to bed (thanks, Brian!).  Brian said he cried on & off for about two hours, asking for his paci.  Thankfully, today was much better.  He asked for it at naptime, but didn't shed a tear.  "Paci gone; paci cows," was all he said.  Our morning was more peaceful; we weren't always looking for paci, I wasn't constantly asking him to remove it while we chatted, and I wasn't always picking it up off the floor to keep Leo from chewing it.

I was surprised, though, by the response from my parents and Brian's grandparents when we told them that Aidan's pacis are gone.  "But isn't he just a baby?" was their response.  I'm hoping we didn't make the wrong decision or traumatize our son in any way.  I've been praying for him a lot, asking the LORD to comfort him and help him to soon forget his paci.  Please pray for him tonight as he goes to bed - thanks!