Wesley as himself

Sitting on the bottom steps, enjoying the shade on a hot day.

Looking so handsome in his tie after church one Sunday.

He crawls up onto our bed and goes straight for the tablet then snuggles himself between our pillows.

At my parents, he again goes straight for the tablet, then sits on the little stool which is perfectly sized for him.

Hiding in an empty diaper box.

Testing the water.

Wanting to be like his daddy in every way, he hasn't quite mastered drinking out of a cup, but he's close.  Next best thing is to put his sippy cup in Gil's cup and pretend.

One of my friends made some homemade apple sauce.  It was really good.  Wesley thought so too.  We did not teach him to lick his bowl.

The kitchen chairs have long been pinned against the wall by the table but Wesley can still climb onto the shoe cubby and reach quite a few things on the kitchen counter.  He grabbed the bag of gingerbread cookies, opened the baggie (I didn't know he could do that), and started munching on a cookie until I caught him.  I love that face!

Making a decision

 My dad shared with me to following quote:

Alexander Fraser Tytler
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.  The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.  These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage."

The question I have been pondering for a handful of years now is how do I/you/we help without enabling?  I have yet to find the answer and I doubt there is an answer that will satisfy every situation.