She is almost one!

Juliette is growing up- she really started walking this week. Here is a funny story about her and her pacifier.

George is now typing.

I am sick of the stupid pacifiers. They don't help a baby after they are old enough to pick it up and put it in their mouth. I have all sorts of other opinions and theories about pacifiers, but that is not the point of the story. I have always maintained that babies/children are smarter than people give them credit for. When you have babies whose genetic material was contributed by Amy, they are way smarter than most people give them credit for.

Even though Juliette is not talking, I think she understands fully everything we say. So I told her it was time to throw away the pacifiers. I said "You are a big girl now, you are walking and you don't need your pacifiers any more. It is time to throw them away. You can do it, or I can do it for you if it will be too difficult." The two pacifiers were on the table, and I took her over to them. Gideon was right there, too and said she would put it in her mouth. I expected that, too, and she did.

She picked up the other one and I walked her over to the trash can. I told her to throw it away, and she put it in the trash right away. Then she looked over at me and reached for it. I pulled her back and told her that "...it is in the garbage, and once we put things in the garbage we don't take them out." She didn't reach for it again. Then I tapped the one in her mouth and said, "Throw this pacifier away now." She took it out of her mouth and put it toward the garbage, then flicked it back in her mouth. I asked her again and she moved it closer then put it back in her mouth. I asked her one more time to throw it away, she looked at me, then at the garbage, then at the pacifier and slowly put it in the opening of the garbage can, but did not let go. She held it close to her, but did not put it back in her mouth.

"Throw it away, Juliette. If it is too difficult for you, I can throw it away for you." She sat there for a second and very very slowly reached for the garbage and gently placed the pacifier in. She looked at it for a second, then looked over to me and Gideon and smiled very big. She knew what she had done and she was very pleased with herself. I was pleased too. She hasn't had a problem without it since, she has gone to sleep fine without it and I think she sleeps better. With Sarah and Kate, we just threw them away and had a rough couple of days. I like this apprach better. By my tenth kid, I am going to have this parenting thing down solid!

George is now done typing.