New Trains

So we had an interesting experience last night. We have been agonizing over an upcoming milestone for quite a while - the Gremlin relinquishing that age-old item of comfort and security: the pacifier.

These fonts of power had been a cornerstone to both the general comfort, and sleep cycle of the Gremlin - they worked overtime as an all-purpose tool. Won't stop crying when you put him to bed? Pacifier. Scrapes his knees and won't calm down after Mommy kisses it better? Pacifier. Want him to be quiet in the car? Pacifier. Want to know how crayon got on the ceiling? So do we.

So two days ago we began telling the Gremlin that because he was such a big boy, he was going to have to give his pacifiers to the Pacifier Fairy who would come and leave him a toy in exchange. We were planning on doing this sometime in early to mid-October, and began telling him last week in preparation for the monumental task that we felt we were about to face.

So last night he looks at his mother and says, "I ready. Here are ba-ba's (pacifiers). Ba-ba Fairy going to bring me a TRAIN!" This was news to the Ba-ba Fairy who hadn't even been able to go look at what trains were available yet. The Ba-ba Fairy made it to Timeless Toys just before closing time while Daddy stayed home and watched the Gremlin (aka played Fallout 3 and tried to keep a running dialogue to ensure consciousness as the Gremlin isn't allowed in the room while Fallout is on due to language. Both mine and the game's). The people at Timeless Toys were so gracious about keeping the store open just a few minutes later and helping the Ba-ba Fairy pick out a train that she purchased a track set as well. (And though it is doubtful this will ever be read by them, thank you so much again!)

And then, at bed time, the ritual occurred. The pacifiers were put in a bag (he insisted on "Lisa's Bag" from the Blue Sky Bakery across the street), and left right outside the front door. After bedtime there was a bit of trepidation from the Ba-ba Fairy about leaving a Thomas set right outside our door until it was pointed out that the only other person who might even see it was our 30-ish neighbor, and even that was doubtful because he usually uses the back door.

The Gremlin went to bed without any pacifier-related issues and he awoke early and content in the morning. He had been playing with his toys until both parents were up, and finally, when both were awake enough to process where the coffee grounds went and get that started, we reminded the Gremlin that the Ba-ba Fairy leaves treats when things like pacifiers are given up. He excitedly ran to the door and tore open the package.

"Oh, I'm not sad anymore!"

And His Life of Crime Begins

So there was a rash of disappearing items in the infant ward of the child care. Bottles would be gone out of cubbyholes, with only their labels remaining. The rash of items continues for several weeks, and included several pacifiers, bottles, and even a cell phone. Before the phone was lost all the items could be written off, but once the phone went missing, an investigation of the employees began. When all the employees turned out to be clean, there was a massive effort to search the entire infant section.

That's when they found "The Drawer". It was gruesome: the shells of discarded bottles and husks of used pacifiers filled the drawer, with the missing cell phone in the middle of it all.

After discovering "the drawer," the investigation turned internal - watching to see which of the infants knew of the drawer. Next time the Mother of the Gremlin went to pick up the little jewel thief she was greeted by the building's handyman who was installing a locking latch on the gate to the cubbies. Now all he has to do is learn to use keys...