PINT SIZED PREDATOR

~REWIND, REVIEW, REPLAY~

Half-filled coffee cups, sleeping dogs, the TV, the dogs' water bowl, iPhones, wallets, my makeup drawer, laptops, all fall victim to my son, the Pint Sized Predator.  Warnings of "No, no", "Off-limits", "No thank you", "Uh-Oh", "Please stop!!!!", "HOT" fall on stubborn little ears.  Well intended advice I've received from friends, family and the internet to steer my son in the direction of righteousness cover a full spectrum of actions;

• Spank
• Time out
• Do to him what he does to you (pull hair, bite)
• Redirection
• Smack/flick hand
• No disciplining a 1 year old
• Blowing in face
• Ignore because a 1 year old doesn't know any better

I have dabbled in all of the above.  Most resulted in tiny tantrums; covering the face and sobbing, hiding his face in the wall and screaming.   I've found that ignoring the indiscretion leads to total destruction and no lesson learned.  I'm not ready to "raise my hand" to Tanner regularly.  I'm not ready to just throw my hands up in the air and say "boys will be boys".  I am saying that Tanner is busy exploring his world and is going to do things he isn't supposed to. No good can come from yelling and "trying" to discipline him in a way that he isn't responding positively too.  Redirection and patience are going to be the name of the game... until the game changes again.

~Brandon lost his wedding band a month or so ago.  I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring last summer.  Bad luck, huh?  I fell upon an awesome deal on a new diamond before we left Montana and we bought Brandon a band for a great price.  Good luck, huh?

~I absolutely adore taking pictures of Tanner eating.  Maybe it's the mess he makes.  The pleasure I get out of creating healthy meals for my son and witnessing him enjoy them.  How they are real and unposed.  Whatever it may be, the nosh pics are my fave.  

~ Duckie running is funny.  Duckie running in the snow is funnier.  She likes to try to race Maggie and always has to be the leader of the pack.  If she happens to get distracted and fall behind, she hauls butt to catch up and pass us by. 

~I want to eat them. I want to put those chubby little hands and thighs in my mouth and just gobble them up.  He's always on the go and I'm starting to see the legs thin.  I want him to slow down, sit more often. I don't want him to lose those rolls.  I think I'm fighting a losing battle.

~ We went to our friend Sean's third birthday party at Gymnastics Inc. I have to say this is the most fun I've ever had a birthday party, for kid or adult. It was a relaxed environment, lots of laughing, running, screaming by everyone!

~First fort of Tanner's life!  Best fort of Brandon's life!

~Cuddle time is hard to come by these days.  Since discovering that a few cartoons on the web will hold his attention for a few minutes I find myself wanting to play those cartoons over and over again.

~ Matching daddy and son!  So much better than matching momma and son or matching momma and daddy.

~Oh Maggie.  She used to be the baby.  The one we doted on.  Our one and only.  Then we got Duckie.  Duckie is a little tyrant who doesn't let Maggie show any emotion. Then we had Tanner and Maggie got pushed back out of the limelight just a little more.  

Recently Tanner has started loving on Maggie.  He hugs her, pushes his head under her chin, tries to ride her like a pony. Tanner shows our Mag-Pie more attention that Brandon and I put together. 

~I finally caught a smile. I can't seem to catch those little buggers on camera these days.  He's turning into a little boy who despises the camera.  When I do catch those pearly whites it's like sunshine.

My goals are going great... loving the down dog of my sun salutation! Time spent in the bible is rewarding.  Logging every morsel of food  I eat is tedious!

My Aunt Kathy found out a few weeks ago that she has colon cancer. Surgery is February 16 at 12:00pm EST. My thoughts and prayers are with her.