The party was a success!

The “Dry Bed and Bye Bye KiKi” party was a success.

We had a pretty good turn out. Aside from a traffic jam on the way there, things went without a hitch. Emma was in all her glory–she was the center of attention with all her friends.

She absolutely couldn’t wait for the party. She asked “How many more days until my party?” at least a million times. I think we were as excited as she was that the day had finally come

The big slide and the air hockey game were big hits.

The nights since the party have been a bit of a struggle. Emma was really excited about the party, but I don’t think she really thought about the fact that she would be saying goodbye to her blanket forever. When we got home from the party, I gave her the blankie for one last snuggle session. I took some pictures of her with it. Then she helped me pack it up into a mailing box. I told her that we were going to mail it off to a new baby that needed a blankie. I could tell she was sad, but she acted pretty brave. She didn’t really ask about it until she got into bed that night.

The first night without it wasn’t too bad. She was exhausted after the party, and she pretty much just collapsed into bed. The next night, I went on my bike ride, and Garrett watched the kids. He called me about 8:30pm because Emma was crying and said she couldn’t go to bed without her kiki. I told her to get her stuffed animal that she calls “Little Darling” and snuggle with that.

Last night was the hardest night for her. I put her to bed and a little while later I heard her sobbing in her room. I went in, and she was just laying in her bed crying for her kiki. I felt so sad for her, I wanted to give it back to her. But I knew that I couldn’t. I just laid in there with her and cuddled her, and told her I knew how sad she was and how much she missed her blankie. I told her that each night would get easier, and soon she would fall asleep without even thinking about her kiki.