My Sweet Mason

Mason is one funny kid. At just two years old, he really cracks me up. He has a terrific sense of humor that I have a feeling will blossom with age. He says things on a daily basis that really crack us up. He is all boy too. He has started having anatomy discussions with Ellie in the tub. I can honestly say, HE is the first to notice any differences in their "anatomy". I expected Ellie to ask questions but she has never brought it up. Leave it to a boy!
Mason is friendly. When we are out, he will pretty much always talk to people who say hello to him. And he is so fearless. When we are out, he will wander off with no concern for where we are. He loves to be outside and I am starting to notice that the only place he is truly able to entertain himself is when he is outside. He can always find a pile of dirt to climb or rocks to collect and put in a bucket. He is really a carefree guy. He is BUSY, but things don't get him very upset very often. Not much bothers Mason.
Mason's only real vice is his paci. He LOVES that thing. A few months ago, we decided we had to decrease his use of the paci so we put it away except for bedtime. It went pretty well. He sometimes finds a paci under his bed and he will come into the kitchen with it in his mouth and a big grin. {see above re: his sense of humor}. I will snatch it out of his mouth and tease him and say "We DO NOT have pacis unless we are sleeping! Let's put that thing away!" Most of the time, he laughs with me and we put it away. But sometimes it doesn't go so well.
On Thanksgiving Day, Mason was T I R E D. He had a MAJOR meltdown over wanting his paci. We decided it was time for the paci to go away for good after that fit. I really haven't been sure how to get rid of it. With Ellie, I just took it away cold turkey and she honestly NEVER cried at all. She asked for it at school when she saw other kids with it, but other than that, she was fine. I guess I have had a sense that Mason is a bit more infatuated with his paci than Ellie was. So hte problem has been: HOW to get rid of it. Nana, who I sometimes think should replace "Nanny Jo" as Super Nanny, had the idea to get rid of all the pacis but one. You see, we had been putting no less than 4 pacis in Mason's bed at night so that if he woke up he didn't have to look far to find one. So, we took Nana's advice on that. The other day, I gathered them all up but one and told him that Callie {the dog most likely to do something so mischevious} took all of his pacis and now we only have one. He really didn't care as long as there was still one. {Ellie however had lots of questions about HOW ON EARTH Callie got in the house and was able to get Mason's pacis??? I had to come clean with Ellie on our plan. Yes, seriously. I have included my 4 year old on my plan to fool my 2 year old out of his paci. I told her it's best for Mason!}
Today, PHASE 2 of the plan went into place: cut the end off the paci. While the kids were eating lunch, I snipped the end off of the one and only paci. When it was nap time, I handed him the damaged crack, I mean Paci. He put it in and took it right out. He looked at it and I said "Awe, it's broken." But I let him keep it. He messed with it, played with it, tried turning it upside down, but in the end he decided a snipped paci was better than no paci so he kept it for naptime.
My plan is to keep snipping it until he can't hold onto it anymore in his mouth and HOPEFULLY, he will give it up. Is this a copout??? Is lying to your 2 year old ok if it's for his own good? I like to think so! Wish us luck. Everything I have googled says this will work like a charm. But my kids are often sooo outside the "norm". Oh well, I hardly ever see college kids with pacis!