not a baby...

Hope is having a very proud day today!  Little Miss Independence has let go of something which has been very important to her... her binky.  See, she has been very attached to her pacifier, and we have been patiently waiting for her to be ready... ready to not need it anymore.  We knew she would arrive at the moment on her own, and purposely did not rush her.  Though she was only allowed to use the binky at bedtime, she was always insistent each night that she have it.  She wouldn't go to sleep without it, and some nights she would wake up and cry when she could not find it.

See this happy girl?  This is Hope getting ready for bed tonight, knowing that (for the 3rd night running) she would be going to bed without her binky.  She was so proud!

Hope's fun idea was to leave out her binky for the "Binky Fairy," who she hopes will take the binky and, in exchange, leave her a surprise.  :)

Here's Hope's "Bye-bye Binky" song:

Inspired by Elmo of Sesame Street:

So, you may wonder why this moment has made it onto this blog... after all, it may not seem to be a very big deal to anyone else.  That's okay.  It's a big deal to us.  Hope is really growing up, and this is just one more step in that journey.  For whatever reason, this binky was important to Hope.  So, now that she is ready to let it go we're just reminded of how she really is not a baby anymore.  

But like I told Hope today, she will always by my baby girl.  Love you, Hope!