Let the Parenting Begin!

The first year of a child's life is a whirlwind! You desperately try to meet their every need and keep them growing strong and healthy.  Of course that is still the goal as they move into the second year, but a new aspect of nurturing your child enters the picture.  All of the sudden the parenting aspect comes into play. It's not that you don't "parent" the first year, you most certainly do, but all the sudden your job expands from meeting basic survival needs to molding a person.  This dawned on me the other day.  All the sudden Reese figured out that if someone wasn't doing what she wanted that biting made a whole lot of sense. I must confess that the first couple times she tried to do this (to her cousin to be specific), I had to try not to laugh.  There is something comical in this little angelic creature deciding to try and bite her cousin since he took away the toy she was playing with.  Each time she tried to do this I gave her a stern no, and tried to give her another toy or explain sharing (good luck explaining sharing to a 1 year old!).  As she kept doing this behavior it struck me, I was in full blown parent mode.  I had to decide how I was going to direct her behavior and  mold her into a respectful, non biting individual.  It really made me think about all the challenges that are upon us as parents. To spank or not to spank? To address each problematic behavior or pick your battles? How do you set boundaries without sounding like you are the "no" lady?  I am finding that this is a hard line to walk.  For now I am trying to do what feels right.  I try and direct her attention to something else and give her choices. "You can't have this, but you can have that".  "Let's let Luke play with this toy and you can play with this other one".  I know these decisions will get more are more difficult as more parenting comes into play. This is just the tip of the iceberg!  Parenting is such a marathon and I have just finished the first mile. I've got a long way to go with a lot of hills to tackle! It is definitely the most difficult, yet most rewarding job there is!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.  We went camping with friends and family a few weekends ago and had a great time! Last weekend Chris and I went wine tasting in the Yakima Valley with some great friends! It was a blast and once again we feel so fortunate that we have such wonderful parents who we can fully trust with our daughter.  Reese stayed with her Nana and Papa Holcomb in Spokane and had a great time! We were informed that she didn't cry for us at all. Go figure! Miss Reese is such an independent lady!  She is insisting on spoon feeding herself at dinner now and does not want help.  This girl keeps me on my toes! Enjoy the pics.

Helping daddy drive the boat!

A boat ride is a great time for a nap!

Still asleep!

Reese having fun with her water table!

She is obsessed with floaties!

Relaxing at camp

Colt and Austyn

Xander and Sheena

Sareh helps Darby get her feet wet!

This water was FREEZING! You couldn't tell based on Reese's reaction. She loved it!

Beautiful sunset for a glass of wine!

Chris and Mike

Fidelitas was one of our favorites!

8 wineries later...

Reese found some of my pumps

Of course she wanted to walk in them!

Feeding herself! Please ignore the janitorial staff on the right (aka. Cody)

She LOVES fudgcicles!