It is never too early to start doing chores!

John and I are so surprised each day when we see Dean doing something new! Last night we watched him try to get to a toy that was out of his reach. He just kept rolling over again and again until he was close enough to reach out and touch it. We had no idea that he could do that!

He is also sitting up so much better. In just a few days he has almost mastered sitting. We no longer have to put pillows around him, he eventually gets tired and falls but never cries about it.

It is amazing how fast he is growing! He'll be driving the car in no time!

This cutie pie has started sitting when we prop him up. Without the pillows he crashes, but every day he gets a little less wobbly! He enjoys a little light reading occasionally.

Well, the day has come. It only took Dean seven months and three days to finally earn his first swat on the hand. It was a sad day for both of us! He is moving from the sweet, innocent baby stage into the more child-like stage where understanding (and his sin nature!) are more apparent. He has become extremely annoying at meals because he has learned to spew his food (all over himself AND me) and he thinks it is fun! Of course, he has no idea what the word "No" means so when I say it, he just grins at me. He also just grinned at me when I swatted his hand with a wooden spoon. After a few times, I guess I did it hard enough for him to actually feel it because it broke his heart and the tears flowed! I wanted to cry too! That was a hard step for me as a mom and I know it will only get worse from here! He will soon be deliberately disobeying and pushing the limit! But all the discipline is worth the joy that he brings to us. We have a wonderful time just watching him learn and laughing at the new things he does daily. What a blessing! We are so thankful to have him in our lives...even if that means we get baby food spit in our face sometimes, have to change nasty diapers, and have to be the disciplinarian!

Dean's picture was included in this ad for the photographer that came out in this month's Denton Connection magazine. We are pretty proud of him for smiling so cute!

We went to visit Nanamaw (Dean's great-grandmother), Fama (Dean's great-great aunt), and all the rest of the Hannabas crew this week. John stayed home to work so we missed being away from him. This was Dean's second trip to west Texas and he was the perfect traveler (other than making us stop to change his dirty diapers!). Nanamaw crocheted Dean a small yellow blankie to travel with while we were there. She made it in a day...she is a wonder with that hook and yarn! He LOVES it...it is just his size! He had so much fun watching his cousin Abigail play. She loved "trading" toys with Dean or sometimes not trading. She is so cute and is learning to say so many things. We hope to visit everyone again soon!