So long "gink"!

Ok so I'm a little behind with this one but, figured I better share the story with those of you who haven't heard it yet! By the time Brody was a year old I had him off the bottle and his binky. Well, after the accident we kind of went backwards with him and put him back on both, it was totally necessary then! He always took a binky but was never really attached to it but, after we gave it back to him he loved it!!!! He lovingly called it his "gink". It was a must have at all nap and bed times and even when he got upset.

I dreaded the day that we had to get rid of it! So as his second birthday slowly approached I started getting anxious at the mere thought of taking it away from him! We were going to make him throw it in the garbage since he has a thing about throwing things away (including his toys) but, I had a better idea! Since we had talked about going to Disney while we were in Florida I figured we'd take advantage of the characters that Brody has become so infatuated with and find one to give his "gink" to! For about 2 weeks before our trip we'd been telling him that since he was a big boy now he was going to give his "gink" away and we'd ask him who he was going to give it to and he said someone new every time..."Mickey", "Donoold", "Puto", "Goofy"!

Once we got there we waited for the perfect time to get rid of it and with some hesitation from both me and Brandon (and my mom) we finally had the opportunity that we'd been waiting for! While standing in line for Pirates of the Caribbean we spotted Goofy and ran over, "gink" and Brody in hand! We gave Brody his "gink" one last time and told him to give it to Goofy. Surprisingly, he handed it right over, I think he was a little overwhelmed because this was the first character he had actually seen up close! It was very bitter sweet for me and tears swelled up in my eyes, my baby was losing a part of his baby-ness and I wondered if I should really go through with it or not! After the "exchange" was made and pictures were taken we walked away and congratulated Brody on being such a big boy! We told him that Goofy was going to share his "gink" with a new baby and it all worked out because a couple weeks later my friend Anne had a beautiful baby girl named Morgan! So now when asked who he gave his "gink" to he says "Goofy, baby Morgan!" with a huge smile on his face! Too cute!

So, overall it was a really great experience and I recommend it to all mommy's who are struggling with ideas on how to get rid of their child's binky or bottle! I, too, have finally gotten over it, I think...although, I don't think you ever get over your baby growing up. And on that note, he pooped on the potty this morning!!