What was lost, now is found! Well, sort of...

So, I couldn't let this memory fade, and even though some of you may question my husband's judgement by the end of this post - I assure you that he is a wonderful man and if I had it to do over again - to pick the man of my dreams, the father of my children, the love of my life...I'd pick him. Knowing what I know, knowing all the good and bad, has given me greater confidence in my choice. That being said...

We'd written off the pacifier. Or so I thought. We'd gotten through 1 night and 2 naps without it, and were well on our way to "weaning". Ella, being the very observant girl that she is - found it in the leaves, next to where we park our car each day when we go to school. It was in the state you see above, crushed by a car, presumably our own. She was so delighted that she'd found it. As I squealed in excitement for her, I promptly hid it in one of our car cup holders before Levi could see it. We'd gotten this far, and I wasn't going back. AND - what kind of parent would give a child a pacifier in that state?? I went off to work before Steve got home that night, and had forgotten all about the pacifier.

Fast forward to the next morning. I awoke to Steve rattling around in the wee hours as he headed off to work (via a long run). I shushed him stating "Please be quiet - Levi is waking up more easily since he doesn't have the pacifier." At this point, my husband's exact words are a blur because it was around 5:30 in the morning and I wasn't thinking very clearly. However, he informs me of the good news that Ella found the pacifier and he had gone down very easily the night before. It took me a minute to realize that those things were related. "YOU GAVE IT TO HIM??" I could hardly believe what I was hearing....Yep. Steve gave him the pacifier. When I asked if he'd noticed that it had been run over by a car he said, (and this is a direct quote) "Levi didn't care."

All I have to say - it's a good thing our adoption is final as I post this for the world to see. Our finalization could have gone something like this..."Levi, you're now a Gerrard. Best of luck, kid."