SO PROUD of Connor!!!!

*WARNING: The following announcement is LONGGGG! :)

One thing I've been learning from Connor is that things are done and milestones are reached when he, himself, feels truly ready to complete or accomplish them. I know that sounds so simple but, it has been hard for me to learn and understand that I really don't have a lot of control of when he picks up on things and that's a hard thing for a control-freak, like me, to handle. With Connor and potty-training, I tried FOREVER to get him trained. I tried all the different programs, read books, etc. It wasn't until he said, "Ok Mom! I go pee-pee in the potty", and a little help from the shower (ha ha!), that he was potty trained. Well, the same thing has happened with his binky! I HATE his binky and have tried many times to get rid of it! We've tried bribing him, tried sending them to the binky-fairy, I've tried returning them to the store to give to other babies, etc. It just never worked and he always had a hidden stash. We finally got him to quit taking a binky everywhere we went and he was only allowed to have it at night or naptime. A couple weeks ago we were fed up with it so, Mike decided to cut the tips of them so that there was a crack in all of them. Connor didn't like that, when he discovered what happened. He said they were broken and we needed to go the store and get more. We didn't do that. Then, one day I said, "Connor, you know that you shouldn't have a binky anymore". I was so tired of him losing them and trying to track one down. As many of you know, Connor has a temper like me and has no patience. So, finding a binky was a fight! Well, Connor then says to me, "Mommy! I'm a big boy, I growed all up! You know Mom, big boys don't have binkies?" As if this was a new concept or something! It was so funny! So, I told him he was right and that he shouldn't go to bed with one. He agreed. So, I put him to be without a binky. We've done this before and he always ends up crying and screaming that he wants a binky. So, I left his bedroom, fully expecting him to freak out. He didn't. In fact, he never asked for it once!!!! I was in shock. Of course, he didn't go to sleep until 3:30am. I think he was used to the binky getting him to sleep. Anyway, I made a sticker chart for him. Each naptime and bedtime he goes without a binky, for that day, he gets to put a sticker on the chart. After 2 weeks we'll take him to Chuck-E-Cheese (his choice) if he's done it for 2 weeks straight. Well, I'm happy to announce it has been 5 DAYS!!!! All the binkies have been thrown away, he doesn't ask for one, doesn't look for one, and goes to sleep really fast, too! Not to mention, he saw one of his binkies the other day and brought it to me. He said, "Mommy, we need to take this to the store and give it to the man!" I am so proud of Connor!

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Yes, I know he's nearly 4 and him having a binky this long may make me one of the worst mothers out there. I feel bad about it and embarrassed. Some people have their opinions on what is best for a child, binkies being one of the issues. I know binkies weren't the best for his teeth, etc. However, I think there are worst things for a child. I just know that I am so happy that Connor decided on his own that he didn't want the binky anymore!!!! He's growing up more and more all the time! So, Chuck-E-Cheese...HERE WE COME!!!!