No pictures to post tonight, although I should've taken a picture of Hampton's first little sunburn. It really isn't bad at all, but he has a little pink face from sitting outside today (and we were in the shade). He is not in any pain, thankfully!
So Clint and I have been talking a lot about discipline lately. Wow, is it ever hard to know what to do with this topic. Hampton is starting to express himself a lot lately and is exploring everything all the time. This gets him into things he shouldn't be exploring sometimes.
I have to say, first of all, that we are SO grateful to our Lord - the Father and Creator of all and Giver of every good and perfect gift (like our little Hampton) - that Hampton is a healthy, normal baby. So this adventurous spirit of exploration and the new desire to test our limits as parents is all normal. There are many babies with developmental problems and disabilities that keep them from going through this phase, so again, I'm not complaining at all!
With that said, we are still trying to find that balance of discipline methods. I mean, he is only 11 months old, but there are undesirable behaviors already manifesting themselves that we cannot ignore. When we tell him "no" if he is doing something unsafe, for example, we are doing that for his protection. If he really wants to do that particular thing, he really gets a bad attitude and kicks and screams. You cannot let that go unpunished, right?
Even as I write this, I had to take a break. He is in bed now, but I heard him crying histerically upstairs. Yet another example of a decision...let him cry it out, or go in and console him? He sounded very afraid, so this time, I went in and held him until he fell asleep again. See, the dilemma continues.
I have tears in my eyes also as I write because of the overwhelming love I have for that baby. It's a love only God can give because it's just too big and too unexplainable! When he laid his little head on my shoulder and snubbed from crying so hard, he instantly relaxed and fell asleep again. Isn't that how we are with God when He wraps us in His arms as we feel His presence in our lives? We let out a long, quiet "ahhhh" as we lay our head on His strong shoulder as He cradles our head in His hand.
So, I still have no conclusion on discipline except this - I know I will try my very best to do whatever it takes to protect him from what will hurt him, teach him all about a Father who loves him, and let him figure out on his own that his mommy and daddy love him more than he can ever understand...until he has a child of his own.
Dr. Jeffrey Simon, our pediatrician in Montgomery, told me that the reason we have children is to draw us closer to Jesus. It's true. I must stay on my knees.
Oops...He's crying again...
This morning, Hampton and I went for a walk with his new red wagon he got for his birthday this weekend. He loves it. I was finally able to get him to see the benefit of wearing sunglasses! It was so bright outside, so he actually kept them on. This was a first! He was still in his PJ's too, so that made it even cuter. When we got back, it was time to eat breakfast, and he kept them on while he ate most of his breakfast! It was so cute. So maybe now, he'll wear them when the sun is in his eyes...
We had Hampton's first birthday party yesterday. It was so much fun! He was pretty cautious about eating his birthday cake. He mostly just smeared icing on his face. I finally cut the cake so he could actually get into the cake itself. He really had fun opening his presents. Well, the children at the party opened them for him, but he loved playing with them. Although, I felt like the worst mom ever because I bumped his head on a box while opening it. He got a red wagon from his MawMaw & PawPaw in Montgomery, and when I was buckling him in it, I clipped his skin from his belly into the clip. I really felt horrible!! Poor guy! He has a little bruise this morning, but I think he'll be fine. He played and played all day, so I guess he forgot about it.
My Nana & PawPaw are here for a visit from North Florida. MaMaw and Tobie also came too! They got here yesterday, and we have had so much fun since they got here! Yesterday, we just stayed around the house and walked around the back yard. I had so much fun sitting on the patio and picking grass and pointing at airplanes! 
Since Hampton is into everything these days, I spend most of my day chasing him and trying to keep him out of things that he can either break or will hurt him. I thought the "baby-proofing" thing would be easy, but it's one of those things you have to just do all along the way as you notice things that are problems. Of course, we've covered outlets and latched cabinets that have dangerous items in them. But, we're seeing that an avalanche of pots and pans may be dangerous too! So we're going to have to latch ALL cabinets, I'm afraid. 
Look at my new outfit! Don't I look sharp in my new pants, shoes, sweater vest, shirt & tie? You can barely see my tie because my vest is a little big. I wore this to church this morning! Mommy and Daddy says I'm the "most handsomest" boy ever! Mommy even put hairspray on my hair to keep it looking nice (it lasted a few minutes, anyway).
at the CNN interview supporting Sarah Palin. We were not able to stay on the set long because Hampton decided he wanted to "talk" too, but overall, the interview went well. It aired tonight. Hampton and I got a total of 2 seconds air time. Oh well.
