It's the night before Thanksgiving and I am passing the time before my cousin, sister, and step-mom arrive at 4 a.m. for our annual shopping extravaganza. Here's a pic of JJ last weekend. He is doing great. (Don't freak out about the pic...I am right below him, holding his legs). We are hearing new words all the time, the most recent being: Bea, duck, bottle, and light. We wish he'd say more, but he's very stubborn and does everything in his own time. I even noticed that he won't dance to the Wiggles anymore if he sees Mommy and Daddy doing it too. He wants to be the center of attention and will just stop and stare at us with his hands behind his back as if he were saying "whenever you want to stop...." He does find it rather amusing to see Jerret and I kiss and gets a huge smile on his face and then asks for kisses of his own. He is also playing mommy like a fiddle when it comes to getting attention. Some (Jerret) may say I am a "panicker." I tend to freak out a little when it comes to JJ, especially if he falls or I hear a 'thud' from his head hitting the wall/floor/dresser. So now, whenever JJ gets a little ouchie he immediately gets this pitiful, sad look on his face and runs to mommy to bury his head in my chest.
Oh - and he managed to get out of his crib the other night. We have one of the convertible beds that will turn into a toddler bed and then a full, so the railing doesn't come down at all. The little guy climbed over the side and landed hard! We were watching TV in the next room when we heard the loud thud, and I was terrified. He cried for a while and Jerret ended up turning the crib around so the lower side faces the wall and there is no way for JJ to escape the taller ends of the bed. It's so tall that I have a hard time putting him down at bedtime. My arms don't reach that far!
We just returned home from visiting Jerret's family outside of Cleveland. We were actually there for his Uncle Don's funeral. This may sound a little strange, but it was actually the best funeral I have ever been to. Ok, I wasn't actually at the funeral, funeral. I was inside of the funeral home and in a little sitting room with JJ (he was acting a little crazy) while the funeral was going on and there were speakers in the room so I could listen to the Pastor and others speak. During the service there were many different guest speakers (friends and family members) who told awesome stories about Uncle Don's life and accomplishments. The details were incredible - so descriptive that I felt as though as though I was reading his biography. I learned so much about this man that I too had come to love. He was a retired police officer and a marine. He was buried at a military cemetery where a military ceremony was conducted - complete with a 21-gun salute. It was awesome.
Traveling with JJ wasn't too bad. He slept in the car quite a bit, but did not want to settle down at all while at the funeral home. He's just a baby and wanted to run and play and scream at the top of his lungs - typical kid stuff. Maybe we shouldn't have taken him, I don't know, but we didn't really have an option as we don't have anyone in the family who can/will keep him overnight. Everyone in my family works and there really aren't many people to ask. Oh well - we made it!
