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!