End of an Era

We are a Blankie free house now. 

(Warning long post about nothing of relevance. But I need to write it down so I can always remember.)

When Caedmon was 1 year old he started loving his blankie or nigh night. Here is the first picture I have of him sucking his thumb and 'coodling it'

When we moved back to China in Sept 09 we bought him this big 2mx2m blue star nigh night that he slept with every night. He would also drag that big old thing around the house. So eventually it was cut down into about 2ftx2ft pieces. 

For a while when he was just two he adopted Sean's and my big brown nigh nights (thats because he was sad that his was cut down in size). 

But eventually with all the travel we do he went back to the blue star one, which was cut down again to 1x1ft

Though we owned about 20 of those blankies that were all interchangeable to C we only brought three with us when we went to Thailand and America last summer. We lost one in Thailand and another in America, so only came back with one. Unfortunately I guess that that one had developed some sort of magical smell and feel properties over those 8 weeks. So when we tried to switch it out for his other ones he would not take it. And so nigh night was split in two once again. And then he lost one. So the remaining one was split in two once again. 

On a car ride with nigh night close by. 

It was lost and split one more time. The smallest it got was about 5x7 inches. He hated having them washed. He liked the way they smelled when they were used. He would smell both of them and suck his thumb with them and choose the 'older' smelling one. 

He had two that size (last picture with blankies 4/9/2012), 

Then it happened. Last week he had them at rest time. After rest we went out (we don't let them leave the house). Later that night they were nowhere to be found. We searched high and low. We really wanted to find them especially since we were laving for KMG the next day and would be sleeping in new places. But no luck. A great mystery. Sean and I both thought that maybe the other person had hid them in an attempt to break the habit (there was talk of doing this before his 4th b-day). But that was not the case. 

So we left, blanket-less. It was sad. But C was so exhausted from playing so much that weekend that he did okay. He did wake up a few times asking for them. And when he got home he looked for them again. Now a week and a half later he still sporadically brings them up saying, "I wish I had my nigh nights back."

Yesterday I found them, on top of the fridge in a bag cooler (he must of hidden them in the cooler then I put it away up there without knowing they were in there). I am so glad that C didn't find them. I hid them away and later they will go into his 'baby box'. I am glad I didn't know where they were during that first week for I would have definately caved and given them back. But now the worst is passed and the nigh nights will be no more in our house (well at least for C). 

I was a bit sad I must admit. It was the last 'baby' thing... It was much easier becoming a diaper free house back in October- I wasn't sad about that one at all! But blankie did make me sad. I had a blankie for a long time myself, and sucked my thumb way to long! So I guess it's good that they are gone now. 

Sometimes I look at Caedmon and just stare in amazement that I get to be his mom. I am so lucky, so proud, so blessed that God has given this child to us. He is amazing.