Luke's second birthday marked the end of the Bubba Era. Somewhere along the way, "bubba" is the word that he started using in place of "pacifier." We thought it was a pretty funny/weird word-choice, so we encouraged it. "Luke, time for bed. Do you need your bubbas?"

Bubbas were only allowed during naps and bedtime, but they became a vital piece of his bedtime routine (over the last year, his coordination has narrowed the selection to one bubba for the mouth and one for each hand).

Luke's handled the bubba removal efforts well. He'll still occasionally ask for them, and he's not as deft at returning to sleep from an accidental awakening -- but I think he's come to accept that his longtime security blanket is more for babies than big boys.

Picture taken July 25, 2005.