See Ya, Pappus!

On Sunday night Collins gave up his pappus (paci)! It kind of came out of nowhere. We'd been talking a little about how eventually pappus will get a hole in it--just like the red one did--and we'll have to throw it away. "Then you'll be a real big boy! And we'll get to buy a big boy toy!!"

Well, he stuck pappus in my mouth on Sunday night and I noticed there was a hole in it..a pretty big one. He confirmed my observation and declared, "I go throw it away." I said, "Are you sure? Because we can't buy a toy right now, all the stores are closed." That didn't matter. He marched right into the kitchen and threw that thing away like a champ. We made a huge deal about how proud we were that he was now a big boy! I jumped up and down in the kitchen and all.

Back in his room, I kissed him goodnight, tucked him in, and closed the door. As soon as the door closed:

"I want my pappus. Where's pappus?"

I went in and talked to him for a little while, then decided to just let him cry. Jake didn't like that idea. He thought Collins was feeling like he was being punished. So he went in and talked to him and prayed with him about it. How sweet is that? Jake told him he's now in the big boy club, just like Daddy and Poppa and PawPaw. Collins asked if other people didn't need a pappus, like Mommy, MawMaw, Grammy, Hank, Chloe Jean Belle (my parents' dog whose name gets added to often). After their talk, it was all okay. He did great without his pappus all night!

On Monday morning, he woke up and said, "I get a big boy toy?!" I said, "Yes! Today after preschool we'll go to the toy store!" It rained Monday morning. I guess to represent the mood ;) These are unrelated to pappus; just cute to Mommy:

I took off work an hour early. During the ride, I explained that he can pick any toy he wants, unless I say it's too expensive or too dangerous. Good thing I gave that disclaimer. Here's the first thing he went for:

The toys we saw before the big electric trucks or cars he'd say: "I don't like dat." or "Put dat down; dat's somebody else's."

He 'rode' in every one of the big cars/trucks, and I have to say he looked pretty cute in that Mini Cooper. Then he spotted a tricycle. And I was glad I had brought him to Toys R Us on a Monday at 4pm so it wasn't crowded. He took off.

Finally, we settled on a set of three Army trucks. See how pumped he was about these compared to the other toys?

As an extra surprise, I took him to McDonald's for dinner. He LOVED that of course! We had an accident in the parking lot because I failed to take him to the bathroom at Toys R Us. Silly Mama. So, we changed in the car. Then went to the bathroom for me. Then started eating. Then went to the bathroom for Collins. Then finished eating. A little tiring!

Monday night I reiterated how proud I was of him being a big boy about not needing pappus. Jake was out of town Monday night, so I had to tackle the pappus withdrawals alone. And there were, indeed, withdrawals. At first, it was all good. Then the door closed. I went in once to remind him of his new status, then stayed out while this ensued:

"Mommy? Mommy! Mommy Tiff!! I want my pappus. Mommy Tiff Doodin! Mommy David? Mommy!! Tiffany! Tiffany! Tiff-fa-NY!! Open dat door!! Dat white one! OPEN-IN IT!"

Then it got quiet and he went to sleep. Whew. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were better. He cries and yells and wants "one more hug/kiss/sleep in your bed," but it stops after about 10 minutes. He came out of his room last night and Jake walked him back in and talked to him. Hopefully, he'll get better about staying put.

It's hard to give up your pappus! But he's doing a great job. And we have an official big boy!