big boy bed & other transitions

Sam is officially sleeping in a big boy bed!

...and he's very excited!

I was shocked at how easy a transition it was for him.
I'm finding that the best way to transition your kids into anything is to let them in on the process. The whole day of the big boy set up, we were pumping him up saying things like "can you believe you're getting a big boy bed?!" and "do you love this bed or what?!!" It totally worked. So when he got in the bed he felt like it was a cool reward for being a big boy instead of something scary and different.

With the pacifier, instead of just snatching it from him one day, I told him ahead of time "on your second birthday you'll be too big a boy for a pacifier." Then on his birthday I handed it to him and told him it was time to tell it bye bye. He kissed it, threw it in the trash, and waved to it. He never asked for it again.

With Bottles, we made him feel like getting rid of them in lieu of plastic drinking cups was something really cool that he had achieved from being careful. He started drinking out of regular cups at about 15 months old. It makes him feel good that we trust him with cups, which transfers confidence into other new experiences.

I really believe in getting your kids involved in things so they feel like they have a say in the household, and wont develop control issues later in life.
I'm planning to do the same when we have another baby; we've already been talking to him about it and asking if he wants a baby sister or baby brother. When we're out at stores we make a really big deal about him blowing kisses to the babies he sees, and we ask him his opinions on names. Now he's really excited for a baby to come in the house and I know he wont have any dethronement issues when that happens.

So what tricks to you have for successful transitions?