Beloved.

My son loves his paci.  In fact, they go waaaayyyyyy back.  I think we first had that paci when we checked ourselves into the hospital to induce labor.  It was ready for him the moment he was ready for it.  You see, Nora was not a paci baby.  She didn't want a pacifier or her thumb or her finger or anything!  Nothing could make that girl happy for a while, so when Liam took to a paci, we were very thankful.  Granted, pacis do come with their own issues....you can't go to college with a pacifier, you know.  So, at some point, we are going to have to take the paci away. 

I dread that day.

But for now, Liam and the paci are very good friends.  We try to limit Liam's paci interaction to naptime and bedtime.  However, we are always quick to have one on hand for things like dinner out, grocery shopping, church, long car rides, etc.  Anytime we need to "plug him up," we hand him his paci and he seems most pleased.  I like to think of it as a muzzle sometimes!

When Liam wakes up in the morning or from his nap, we get him to throw his pacis back in his crib, and on good days, he won't ask for it or need again until he goes back to sleep.  However, lately Liam has gotten smart.  Tricky even.  When he wakes up from a nap, he has started to throw his pacis out of the crib, trying to land them in the toy box next to his bed or even underneath his crib.  We will get him out of bed, take him into the den or to our bedroom, and it never fails, about 2-3 minutes he will wander off on his own back to his room only to re-emerge with one or two pacis in his hand and mouth.

He doesn't like it so much when I pick him and bring him back to his room to throw the pacis back in his crib.  But, I typically allow he and the paci to have a few moments before I do that.  He's a sweet boy!  And, honestly, I think he's funny that he thinks to do that.  Smarty pants.