The Paci Fairy

I want to start by saying how proud I am of my little “big” girl. It’s seems like the day she turned three she really blossomed into a little girl and grew out of the toddler stage. She is talking in more complete sentences, I mean she did before but now there is more description and explanation in them. We have real conversations now, she asks great questions and I just love watching her learn. She is working on the days of the week and uses "today", "yesterday" and "tomorrow" correctly. She knows it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer (that's all she needs to know in FL) and knows that when it's "summa time" we don't have to go to school and get to be together ALL day!!! We both love SUMMA TIME!!!

She surprises me everyday…and the biggest surprise was giving up her beloved paci. I know, I know…we should have done this way before three but we didn’t. She did many other things early and this was her one thing she was hanging on to, her comfort and I wasn’t ready to take it until she was ready to give it.

So to prepare for giving up the paci, I started talking to her about the “Paci Fairy”. Yes I created an imaginary fairy that comes and takes pacis to babies and gives the child giving them up a big surprise. What surprise you ask??? Well you get anything you ask for. We walked the toy isles looking at toys that where worth giving the paci for, she found many she liked but none worth the paci. I let it go, talking about it often, but not pushing the matter. At her three year check up her doctor suggested lollypops! That sounded good for a while, but then that too wasn’t worth the paci.

Well in the mean time, for her birthday my family and I pitched in together to but her a playset for the backyard. The one she got from her uncles for her first birthday was just way too small this year (but still perfect for little man). So it arrived the week before her birthday and we were just waiting for everyone to have a day off (at the same time...that never happens) to get it put together. Well E’s brother surprised her and came down from NC for her party (May 2nd) and would be here for the weekend. So Sunday her Daddy, Grampa, Uncle Jassan, Uncle Nick and daddy’s friend Nick spent the afternoon putting the beloved playset together.

While this was happening Aunt Lisa and I did all we could to keep her from looking out back. When we ran out of things to do inside we decided to go to Walmart. As we walked in Jill saw a playset outside. “Momma,” she said, “if I give my pacis to the Paci Fairy will she bring me a big girl slide and big girl swing?” OMG I couldn’t believe my ears…she was actually suggesting own her own to give them up. “YES, YES, YES Jill she can bring a slide and swing” (little did she know they are already in the backyard!!!). She got so excited and couldn’t wait to get home.

When we got there I gave her a baggie and she went around collecting all her pacis. We took them to the mailbox, she put them in (another shock) and pushed the flag up and yelled “Paci Fairy come get my pacis and bring me a big girl slide and big girl swing!!!”.

Here she is with the bag of pacis she collected, so excited to give them to the paci fairy.

She put them in the mailbox with a smile on her face.

Gotta put the flag up and yell "Paci Fairy come get my pacis!!!!"


TA-DA!!!!!!

We went back in to eat lunch and while Aunt Lisa kept her occupied I went and got the pacis and put the flag down. After lunch she went to check and saw the flag was down and got so excited (yet another shock…I expected a breakdown) and wanted to go look in the backyard.

She ran in and to the back window to find everyone hard at work on ht playset. Man I wish I had a picture of the look on her face…it was priceless. It was dark when it was finally finished but she waited paitentialy with her My size Barbie she named “Me” that she got from Miss Josie for her birthday ready to try out her new slide. Uncle Nick caught her and ‘Me” as they came down the slide, he helped them both cross the monkey bars and pushed them in the swing (after we tied the ropes around “Me’s” arms). She came in so tuckerd out, she showered and cried less then ten minutes for the paci and was out. Somewhere during that time she told the paci fairy to come get her slide and swing and bring back the pacis, but come morning she was relived to see her playset still there. She said “I no want paci fairy to come get my slide and swing, she can have my pacis!” Another shock to me and another proud moment!!! I have told her so many times lately how proud I am of her, she is such a big girl!

She did ask for it the next few days in her car seat but I gave her a peppermint or lollypop and she was good as gold. The 2nd night she asked for the paci a few times, but there were no tears and by the 3rd night she asked once and then remembered the paci fairy had them and laid right down. It’s been so much easier then I could have ever imagined, I’m a proud momma!!!