Bye Bye Bobby

It was like losing a member of the family. It was almost as hard on Chris and me as it was on Wyatt. Bobby and Rawrs go together like birds of a feather. We knew this day would come. Our pediatrician told us to go on and do it sooner than later. Wyatt's dearly beloved Bobby needed to go visit another little boy. Oh yeah, you're probably wondering who Bobby is. He is Wyatt's pacifier. Well, he WAS Wyatt's pacifier until this past Sunday afternoon. We had been telling him that when he turns three, Bobby needs to go to the garbage man. It seemed to work for my folks when I was little, so we thought we would try it. Honestly, we dreaded this day. As parents, we knew it was probably past time for him to have a pacifier, and granted, he only used it during naptime and at night, but still.... So when we came home from church on Sunday, after the actual birthday, and after the birthday party, we decided to have the farewell ceremony for Bobby. We kindly explained to Wyatt that now that he was three years old, there was another little boy who needed a Bobby to help him sleep. He said, "That little boy does not need a Bobby. He just needs his Rawrs." Chris and I looked at each other like, "OK...here goes nothing!" After we all gave Bobby a kiss goodbye,Wyatt helped me wrap Bobby up in some tissue paper and place him in a box. I thought, wow...this is going pretty well. It was only after I started wrapping up the box that he lost it. I mean, it was honestly the saddest thing I've ever seen. His lips quivered and you could tell he was trying to not cry. But then the tears poured. "I need Bobby. I want him. But I NEEEEEEED him Mommy." So I pulled him close to me and just hugged him. I didn't know what to say. So I just cried too. Meanwhile, Bradford starts crying, probably in sympathy or just confusion, and all along, Chris is taping the whole thing. So...finally...we all walked outside, Wyatt crying the whole way to the mailbox, and we gently put Bobby on the mailbox. I don't remember much afterward, but we tried to get Wyatt to take a nap and of course he did not take one. The good thing about all of this is that we told Wyatt that if he would give Bobby to the garbage man, then he would get a surprise in return. When we got him out of his room, we all walked outside and there was a present on the mailbox for Wyatt. He received a cool flashlight that projects different animals on the wall, and a Twilight Turtle that projects an array of stars on his ceiling. Thankfully he thinks both are really cool!
The funny things about this are: 1 - He has not napped two days in a row (really not "funny"), 2 - When he has played with the flashlight for about 10 or so minutes, he will open his door and hurl it out onto the floor, 3- He will sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" every night, at the top of his lungs, every single word. On pitch too.
It's definitely been an adjustment for us this week. Without him napping, and waking up in the middle of the night confused as to where Bobby is, he has been a little sleep deprived. But knock on wood, we are starting to see improvement.