Mr. Independent

Tanner by far is my most active child...(with Molly closely following suit). From the time he popped out he has always been my most wiggly, squirmy, always on the go boy. I just love his energy, even if it does leave me exhausted most days.

The past couple of days at randomly odd times Tanner has decided he wants to take a bath. Sometimes two or three or four times a day. This is how I usually find him before I can even tell him "no"....he's smart about that...

He actually fills the tub to his preferred temp. Adds dish soap to make BIG bubbles (as he says it)....(I can't believe he actually went and found dish soap so he could have bubbles)

He plays with his pirate ship...filling the boat up with water.

Then he likes to watch it all drain out.

I was a little worried the sound functions wouldn't work on the boat after he got it so wet....but it has kept on working. So as long as my little guy is happy, then I am definately happy.

A couple other things to note about my Mr. Independent:

• Unlike McKade, Tanner has always liked to dress himself and likes the challenge.
• Tanner is often found in the fridge looking to make something to eat.
• If there is something on the stove, you guess where Tanner is....yep, on the counter "helping" with the stirring spoon, etc. (Yah sometimes I get a little freaked out by his willingness to help...but don't worry. We are ALWAYS standing there monitoring.)
• Tanner, on more than one occasion has gotten into the dishwasher and found a fun looking knife so he can cut his food. Matt has woken up to a knife two inches from his face when Tanner just wanted to show him the cool thing he found. Then when you tell him to stop, he takes off running....and practically gives his parents a hard attack from the vision of him falling with an extremely sharp knife in his hand....and if you know Tanner, he is not slow whatsoever....more like a future track star.
• We no longer put knives in the dishwasher.
• Tanner likes to find ways to exit the house...ways we didn't even knew he knew about. (but later found out that's what preschool has been teaching him....you know, fire escapes, etc. ) When the house gets a little too quiet, we can assume something is up...and start looking for Tanner. Yah, he is either out experimenting in the garage with Matt's tools, or possibly has walked down the hill and up to the neighbors, or is pretending to drive the car.
• That's why we like the house to stay noisy....

Anyway, Tanner is just a full out, on the go, looking for destruction sort of guy. He is full of talent, energy, love and laughter. I DO NOT know what life would be like without him. He fills my heart with tons of love. He is what being a parent is all about.