No more pacifiers (a.k.a. Baas!)

So we've been talking up the whole you're a big girl now Leila, only babies use pacifiers, when you're ready we'll pack yours all up and mail them to the babies who need them (in Africa - for some reason, I decided that babies in Africa were deserving of her baas and every time she heard something about Africa on the news or else where, she'd perk up and say "Africa is where the babies are!") then we'll go to the toy store to pick out a special big girl toy (ahhh...the powers of bribery) for a while now. She has nodded and assented, but then has not quite been ready to give them up. She has not used one at school for a nap in ages, but ALWAYS used them to sleep at home - nap and bedtime - and she had also discovered that she could stroll right into the kitchen and reach one on the drying rack any time something (like mom saying "no candy corn before dinner") frustrated her.

So last week I decided we were going cold turkey this weekend and we would talk about it every night before bed and she would agree that Saturday morning, she would go to the post office with mommie to mail the baas to the babies and then we would go pick our special toy. Even though Why Not would have done for a suitable toy, I promised her we'd go to Kinderhaus in Clarendon to make it even more of a special outing. Friday night we put all the old baas lying around in a padded envelope and wrote a note for the babies. She even took the one out of her mouth and put it in the envelope, but then she had second thoughts and took it back and I told her that was fine, we would seal it up in the morning (there is still one hidden in my spice cabinet for emergencies!) Saturday morning she had no problem giving me her last one and helping me seal the envelope, then we went to the post office (mailed them to my mom as a stand-in for the the babies) and to Kinderhaus and returned with this Melissa & Doug fold and go doll house. I consider it a starter doll house as I'd like her to have a full sized Victorian one when we ever get that house with a basement/play room, but much nicer than nasty old pacifiers, no?
I think mom's withdrawal/remorse was way worse than the resilient 2 & 1/2 year old. She was just fine w/o the baas Saturday except for boycotting her nap, but I broke down with the full realization that she's not a baby anymore as I looked at her sucking on her lower lip a bit as she slept Saturday night. Yesterday she napped (reluctantly at 3:00 for an hour & 1/2) and went to bed w/o asking after baa, and she very mater-of-factly stated this morning when we returned her sippy cup to the kitchen "we don't have baa anymore." My girl's all growed up! Now we just need to get more consistent on the potty training thing.