Houdini

We knew that once Dexter was in his big boy bed he would be free to roam around in and leave his room. We not looking forward to this new turn of events but knew it was inevitable. While Dexter did roam around in his room while waiting for one of us to get him up in the morning or after nap, and while he would open his door for us when we knocked, he never took it upon himself to actually leave his room on his own. Ben and I were so relieved - sleeping until 7 and afternoon naps seemed to safely remain a part of our daily lives. Until two days ago when I went out to a cafe to work for a couple of hours while Dexy was "napping" and came home to find Dexter and My Bologna playing quietly in the living room and Daddy napping soundly in bed about ten feet away. Little Houdini had figured out he could just leave his room at will. Bye-bye nap-time for Mommy and Daddy. It was fun while it lasted.

Dexter Unplugged

About six months ago, Ben and I thought it would be best to wean Dexter off of his pacifier. We tried the, "you're a big boy now and there are little babies who need pacis - wouldn't you like to help those little babies?" approach. Dexter was totally receptive, helped box up the pacis for the Paci Fairy to give to the little babies, and was proud of himself for being such a big boy. Until it was bedtime and he lost his mind. Ben and I panicked, brought back his pacis, and Dexter clutched them all in fear that they would disappear. When Dexy moved to a big boy bed, we tried the same song and dance again but let him keep one paci for himself. That worked - we were successfully down to one plug. Over the past month, Dexter has chewed on this paci until it sprouted so many holes even he didn't want it anymore. As I was putting Dexter down for bed on Friday, he handed me the paci and asked me to take it. "This plug is broken. I don't like broken plugs." And he slept the night without it! Last night there was some back and forth about the plug so I kept bringing it back to him and taking it away at his request. It was clear he was having some trouble falling asleep without it (he kept sucking his cheeks in and putting his hand to his mouth like he used to do to feel the paci) but he did it. I don't want to jinx it but I think he's finally kicked his paci habit!