Yeah for Tanner!!

Exciting news in our house today. Tanner slept without his binkie last night!! Now I must preface this by saying that I never dreamed that I would have an almost 3 year old who still slept with a binkie...but it happened! We have been wanting to wean him from it for some time, but it was like a security blanket to him and he has been VERY attached to it! Anyways, on with the story...I came home from bible study last night around 9:30 and Chris told me that he had talked to Tanner at bedtime and told him he was a big boy and could sleep without his binkie. Now mind you when I have tried this same thing on numerous occasions it did not go very well! But Chris always seems to have the touch! Apparently Chris told him he was very proud of him and Tanner just grinned real big and went to bed...no crying or anything. I have to admit I felt a little inadequate after hearing how easy this whole experience was for Chris :) Why do things never go that smoothly for me??

But the good news is that with a little trepidation I tried the same speech with Tanner at naptime and it worked! Now I have to be honest and say that Tanner did shed a few tears for me...of course he couldn't make it too easy! He did finally go to bed though.

Now I am just hoping I have not jinxed our progress by posting about it here! It does make me laugh to think such a small thing could be so exciting...but such is the world of parenting. Hmmm...maybe I should have Chris do the potty-training too!!!

Counting our blessings

A friend sent me this youtube video this week and it really made me stop and count my blessings. Our brother-in-law is being deployed to Iraq in November and that definitely gives you a new perspective on the sacrifice so many young men and women are making for us. I'm not even sure what I think about this war anymore, but one thing I do know is that a lot of people are making huge sacrifices so that I can live in a country with incredible freedom to live the way I want and to worship God freely. We are so incredibly blessed and I know I take it for granted most of the time. In fact, just today while I was working out in the yard, I started thinking about all the blessings in my life. It is so easy sometimes to focus on the things you don't have. I know that Satan pulls me into that mindset more than I would like to admit. But when I stop and think about all the things God has given me, it makes all my "wants" seem so petty.

I hope you enjoy this video. And a big thank you to all our military families out there who are sacrificing in so many ways for us!!

Happy Father's Day

Tanner is incredibly blessed to have such a great father! Chris is such a devoted dad and it always warms my heart to watch him and Tanner interact. Tanner adores him and rightfully so! We didn't do anything extra special today because Chris wasn't feeling well. Poor thing is coming down with the cold that I have been fighting for 2 weeks. But I wanted to make sure that I recognized what an awesome father he is! I love you babe and am so thankful for you!!

Swim Lessons

Tanner had his first swim lessons last week. Talk about no fear! He just jumped right in and went under the water with no problem. We have a friend from church who gives private lessons, so it was Tanner and three of his friends from church that took the lesson together. They had a great time! Of course, we went every morning last week so now Tanner thinks that going to the pool is just a regular part of our routine. I have a feeling we will have to make some trips to the neighborhood pool this week!

I remember being petrified of water as a child, and I really don't want Tanner to experience that. Chris on the other hand loved the water, and so far it looks like Tanner is taking after him!

Here are a few pics from our lessons:

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The Zoo...and a lesson in obedience

We went to the zoo today with some of Tanner's friends...Makalee & Reighanne. It was a great day for it since it was a little overcast this morning and not blazing hot. It was humid though so it was a little sticky...but what else can you expect in South Texas? We told Tanner last night that we would be going to the zoo...so he woke up at 6:30 this morning ready to go!! And he must have been dreaming about it, because the first thing he was talking about this morning was the alligators and how daddy was swimming with them. And we talked about the alligators all the way in the car...and then of course we never saw them once we got there! But we did see a lot of other animals and the lions even put on a roaring display for us.

Whenever I do outings like this with Tanner, it just shows me that I have some work to do in the obedience department. Tanner does not respond to "Stop" near as quickly as I would like. In fact, he is displaying selective hearing loss at a very early age! I find myself having to say his name several times before he acknowledges me. Of course, when I pull him aside and we talk about listening to Mommy, he very sweetly responds with "yes mommy". But then five minutes later, we go through it all over again. UUUGGGHHH!! There are days when I feel like a horrible mother, but I know that consistency is the key and I need to really work with him every day in every situation. It is so easy to just get lazy sometimes and not want to address bad behavior...the classic "ignore it and it will go away" mentality. But as we all know, that does not work. In fact during one of those moments today when I was getting very frustrated with how slowly Tanner was obeying me...I felt like God gently reminded me of how often I am slow to obey Him. I look for every excuse in the book to rationalize away what I feel God is telling me to do. Or I keep myself so busy that I don't have to stop and actually listen to what God is trying to tell me. Apparently, immediate obedience is hard for 2 year olds and 32 year olds!! :) However, the big picture is that I am trying to teach Tanner obedience because I love him and want what is best for him. I am not simply trying to torture him and keep him from having any fun. And the same is true for God...He knows what is best for us even when we don't understand! And we don't need to understand...we just need to obey! Did you hear that Tanner???!!!