And just like that....

She's done...she stopped all by herself. If you know our Abbie you know she has a mind and a will of her own. She is a force to be reckoned with most days. She is loving and fun and silly but she is a Force.

So a few days ago she was having trouble going to sleep. She was recovering from a bad case of the Croup, including a visit to the ER to help her breathe. She hasn't slept well since....we haven't slept well since. If you know our Abbie you know she has her lovey "B" as well as putting her two middle fingers in her mouth in the I love you sign. This is her soothing. So as she was struggling to settle down I finally just encouraged her to put her fingers in her mouth to help. I've never encouraged or discouraged this habit as I've always envisioned trying to "break" a 5yr old of this habit. But I was tired. She was tired. Her response completely caught me off guard. She said no that she didn't want to. I told her it was okay and she just repeated that she didn't want to do that anymore and hasn't done it since. In some ways I miss it. It was sweet. Cuddly. A sign she was still my baby. Yet at 2 yrs and almost 5 months old she just stopped. It's like she threw her paci away all by herself. Don't worry, we still have "B."

My baby girl is growing up. The Force inside her is growing stronger by the day. She teaches me so much and I have so much to learn. I pray that this strength inside her is used for good, for love.