Growing up...

My baby is growing up. I can hardly believe that it has been a whole year since Wesley joined our family. He isn't a baby anymore! During the second day of the cruise, we lost his pacie. That was ok, I had a spare. On the 4th day of the cruise, we lost his spare pacie. Grandpa bought him a new one in Mexico, but it wasn't the right brand and Wes didn't want it. After almost 2 days without his dear little pacie, I bought him one at a WAlMart on the way home. He was offended. He DID. NOT. WANT. IT. I offered it to him a couple of more times but he wasn't interested. I suppose my baby is weaned off the pacie. That was easier than expected. I don't think getting rid of the bottle is going to be quite as easy. He is very attached to it.

I never had a true "lovey" as a child. I had toys I liked and even loved, but nothing like the bond a kid has with his lovey that I have heard about. Ella never took to anything either, she did have a couple of stuffed animals that she loved for a while, but nothing necessary for survival. Wes is the first baby in my family that I know of to take a lovey. When he was just a few months old I purchased a fisher price ocean wonders Seahorse for his Easter gift. I stared putting it in his crib and turning on the music when it was bed time. Wes LOVES his seahorse. So much that Nana and Grandpa bought him one for their house for when he naps there. It has made it much much easier to get him to sleep over there. When it is time for nap or bed, I just lay Wes in the crib, hand him is seahorse with the music running and put the covers on. He goes right to sleep. If he wakes up in the night and isn't hungry, you can hear him turn the seahorse on and cuddle it back to sleep. It is so cute! I don't let seahorse come out of bed, because of an experience I had when nannying, we could never find the darn lovey when bedtime came around and it made for quiet a few fits. So seahorse stays in bed, and Wesley has a cute lovey to help him sleep. I think it has definitely helped us create an easy stress-free bedtime. We love seahorse around here. Even if he is starting to look scruffy.