No Shoes, No Service

My baby boy is 8 months today. I can not believe it. It is such a cliche but time goes by so fast. I have to start thinking about his 1st birthday party. It makes me a little sad that he his getting so big. He hates being cradled like a baby and we have already had our first confrontation! Well, not really a confrontation-more like a mini tantrum. Here's the story:
Adam hates hates wearing shoes. The first thing he does is yank them off and chew on them. He has even discovered how to unvelcro stuff. I realize that it is summer and he doesn't always need shoes, but I would like him to wear shoes to church and other important social functions (not that church is a social function-but you get what I mean). I think what made me determined to have him keep his shoes on was when my father-in law said, "Oh it's just the okie in him that wants to go barefoot." To which I responded, "Oh hell no" (well in my head I did). I love my father in law too much to subject him to my snarky comments. I do not want my baby to known as an okie (no offense to okies who may read this-you are lovely & make me laugh). So I decided that he was going to keep his shoes on no matter what! I figured that he is old enough to learn the word no.
Yesterday I put on his little crocs and the first thing he did was grab his shoes to which I responded with a stern no. Of course he thought this was hilarious and obviously I didn't mean it, so there he went again straight for his shoes and again I said no. I picked him up and put him in his car seat. I sat in the back with him and the whole tug of war continued again but this time he started to get mad and have a fit every time I said no. I couldn't believe that my sweet boy was grunting at me and throwing a tantrum! Finally after 10 minutes he left his shoes alone and it was a good thing because he was wearing me down and I was sick of saying no for the umpteenth time. Now I can see why parents finally give into their kid's demands. It is exhausting being a parent!
On another note,we had a really great Father's Day weekend. Adam watched Chris work on the backyard. Shortstuff loves being outside. I will post pics later, we have a different computer now so all the camera stuff needs to be downloaded all over. Stay tuned.