Face First Leap

He is very focused on grabbing the string on the camera.

You can see the purple spot the best in this picture.

I know that I should never put Jonny on the bed and leave the room, but I thought he would be okay for 30 seconds while I went to the bathroom. He was in the middle of the queen size bed surrounded by pillows and folded laundry, and he had a toy that he likes. He was even sitting up, and he is still a little bit scared of going from sitting to laying down, so I thought he would be okay. It wasn't ten seconds before I heard a huge thud and then a screaming cry. I ran back into the room (about three feet) and found him clutching his favorite blanket that had been folded up a little ways in front of him and screaming. I picked him up and loved him, but he still wasn't happy. It was close to eating time, so I carried him into his room and sat him on my lap. While I was getting ready to feed him I noticed he had a bloody lip! I just felt like melting into my chair. I was sure I was the worst mom in the world. I wiped away the blood and drool and started feeding him. I wanted to see if the blood was from his mouth or from his teeth, but he wouldn't let me. He was very eager to nurse and calmed down immediately. Ater he was done, he looked at me and gave me a nice toothy grin. His teeth were fine, and he had a small red bump on his lip. He giggled for me and babbled a bit. I knew that I was forgiven and he was going to be fine. But, I have defintely learned my lesson. "No more monkeys playing on the bed!"

New Daddy

Edmund shaved off his beard this past week. It was a bit tramatizing for JD. I was already in the kitchen making breakfast when Edmund was done getting ready. He took JD and started feeding him breakfast. Well, after about a minute, JD looked long and hard at Edmund and then started crying, and he wouldn't stop until I took him back. He seemed confused that this new Daddy sounded just like his old Daddy, but in just a manner of minutes he had become unrecognizable. Edmund had a beard when he picked JD up from his crib and now he had a new face. JD couldn't stop looking at Edmund, and every time he did he would scrunch up his face and start crying. But, by the time Edmund left for work, JD was feeling a little better about it. He didn't smile, but he was willing to touch Edmund's face and feel where the beard had been.

Water Baby

JD is a water baby. He absolutely loves his bath. (I know I have a million bath pictures, but JD is never as happy as he is when he can splash and play!)Tonight in his bath, he started bending over and sticking his face in the water. I guess he wasn't getting enough to drink by sucking the water out of the washcloths. So, I stuck my face in the water and tried to show him how to blow bubbles. He thought that was very funny and wanted to do it too. He was successful blowing a few bubbles, but after he choked, he resorted back to simply sipping up water.

Mosin-Nagant

I didn't know that I married a gun loving man, but since my father is, I guess even if I didn't know it before we were married, I was destined to be with one. Edmund bought a CZ-75 after Christmas this year and has been going shooting with the guys from work every other weekend. I thought it was okay to be a one gun family, but the guys from work all bought Mosin-Nagant rifles this past month, and Edmund wanted one. It was only $100, which is pretty cheap for a gun, but I didn't want another one in the house. Isn't one gun enough? Besides, there are so many nice things we could get for $100 (baby bike trailer). So, the answer was no, but the gun kept coming up in conversation. I heard all about the other guys's guns, how powerful they were, how pretty they were, how nice it would be to have a rifle too. Then we had a fellow couple over to play "The Farming Game" and all the husband talked about was how awsome his Mosin-Negant was.


Then on Monday, Edmund was telling me about the gun during lunch, and I thought to myself, "Well, there are lots of worse things Edmund could like, and you can't pick your husband's hobbies for him. If he loves guns, he loves guns." So while I was feeding JD, I decided to go get the gun. After naps, I put JD in the car and we went to CAL Ranch (the best store in Rexburg) to buy Edmund the gun. I was pretty excited about surprising Edmund with it at dinner. When we got to the store I walked back to the guns and started looking around for this "Russuan Rifle." (I couldn't remember the name at the time.) I saw some pretty little 22s that I liked and was hoping that was it. When the sales lady came up, I said, "Do you have a short Russian rifle?" She looked skeptical, and I said, "It should be about $100."


She walked over to the far end of the line of guns and said, "Oh, you must mean this." She pulled down a gun that was about four feet long. "It's heavy," she told me as she handed it to me across the counter. I picked it up. It was super heavy. I put it up to my shoulder and pretended I knew what I was looking for. I tried to move the bolt action and wasn't strong enough. I felt pretty stupid, but I put the gun on the counter and said, "I want it." So, I was written up, and I bought some enormous bullets to go with this giant gun and walked away feeling very excited about surprising Edmund. I wrapped it up with about ten feet of wrapping paper and waited for Edmund to get home.


When he saw the huge package on the table he was excited. He was pretty sure it was a fishing pole, but when he picked it up, he knew it was the gun. He ripped it open and pulled it out. I've never seen Edmund so excited, and I was feeling pretty awesome about myself. When Edmund said, "Oh no, It's the wrong year." I thought he was joking, the wrong year? He then told me that the Mosin-Negant guns were better made before World War 2, and the gun I had bought him was made during the war, so it was kind of thrown together. He showed me how rough the barrell was and all the not so awesome stuff that was wrong with it. I was so disappointed. I thought I had bought something awesome for my husband and I bought the wrong thing! I felt like crying and then Edmund felt like a jerk. It was terrible.


Edmund was determined to take it back to CAL Ranch. I told him that there was a big sign that said, "No Returns on Firearms or Ammunition," but Edmund said they had the same gun with an earlier year at the CAL Ranch in Idaho Falls. He was hopeful that we could at least do an exchange. Lunch the next day, Edmund and I took JD and the gun back to CAL Ranch. I really didn't want to go, but since I had bought the gun and it was registered in my name, I had to be there. I crossed my fingers they wouldn't recognize me. We walked to the back of the store where they have the firearms and asked for a manager. The sales guy was pretty skeptical about letting us return it, but he went and got the manager anyway. When we told the manager the issue, he was really nice but said, "no." We told him about the guns in Idaho Falls and he said that he'd give them a call, but not to get our hopes up. He spoke to the manager in Idaho Falls and he said he'd exchange the gun, but we had to drive down that day. While we were packing the gun back up, the manager looked at me and said, "Next time you buy something for your husband, make sure it is the right thing." It made me feel pretty sheepish.


So at 3:30 pm (after failing to get JD to take a nap), I picked Edmund up from work and we drove to Idaho Falls. The manager was really nice and allowed Edmund to look at all the guns and pick the one he wanted. They had two guns from before 1939, and Edmund chose the 1938. It really is a nice looking gun. It was great to have a nice happy ending to a "gift gone wrong." (And I got a new pair of runners too!)

Big Bath

JD has officially grown out of the sink. The entire bath was spent trying to keep him the the sink before he could launch himself out of it. He also made the biggest wet mess of both me (or Edmund) and the kitchen counter, so the time came to move him into the big bath. He was a little timid the first time, and I played with the toys more than he did. The second time he cried the through the whole thing, but now he seems comfortable and loves it!

Food!

JD has finally decided to like his solid food. I've been making all of his food, but recently I decided to buy a couple different kinds at the store to see if he'd eat it. I know that he'll probably eat store bought food while we are traveling. Most of it looked pretty gross, but I picked some cherries and applesauce mix. JD did seem to enjoy it, but it gave him a tummy ache. He was fussy and barfy all the next day. So, I don't know what we'll do when we travel. I've been feeding JD while Edmund and I eat breakfast and lunch, and it is so nice to watch Edmund feed JD. It is nice for me too!

Nap Time

JD has always fought nap time. I had a few weeks break recently when he would take a nap without complaint, but now he is back to his old tricks: arching his back when I try and feed him, wiggling while I sing him songs or read him stories, giggling and patting my face or trying to pull my hair, rolling over and practicing crawling after I lay him down, and eventually he throws a real tantrum that makes us both feel like crying. Sometimes I wonder if it if worth the effort, but after he does go to sleep, we are both happier. It is nice when he isn't so exhausted that I have to carry him around with me all over the house. I like it when he can play a little bit on his own. Here are a couple pictures of him in his crib he was reaching through the crib bars to try and grab his clothes (that I hadn't put away) off the ottoman. The other picture is him just peaking at me.