"Gentle"

I've been desperately trying to teach Jay what the word gentle means. Whenever he pulls my hair, instead of shreaking out in pain and jerking his hand away, I try placing his hand back on my head and saying, "gentle... see Jay.. gentle." Which usually results in him giving me a devious look and smile and doing it again harder. (I saw the same look in a horse I had in my college riding class. Her name was Black Beauty and she'd always give me that look right before she'd step on my foot. Same deal here.) Anyhow, I don't mind the pinching and hair pulling as much as the biting. You'd think I'd be able to avoid this one but this kid is quick! And check out his teeth: They're like fangs! What's funny is I didn't know how hard he was actually biting me until the other night when I was in bed talking to Joe. I looked down and I had little marks all over my arm. They were groups of three little dashes and it took me a minute to realize that they were actually Jay's teeth marks! Let's just say I'm not so thrilled that his top teeth are coming in... Ouch!
And now sometimes he doesn't just bite me but he gives me little hickeys all over. I was talking to Joe's sister Traci last night and I wasn't really paying attention to Jay. Before I knew it he was sucking hard right on my arm. By the time I pulled him off he'd left a pretty good mark. (This picture makes my arm look kinda funny. It looks like my elbow but that's really my bulging tricep. I work out.) Anyhow, the only sad part is that I have to wear short sleeves for Janelle's wedding on Saturday. I hope it fades a bit before then!

Jay is such a cute kid though. I can't ever be mad at him because he just looks at me with those big eyes and big smile, and then snuggles in close. This little guy is good! I'm in so much trouble once he learns to talk.

Speaking of cuteness: here's a picture mostly for me. I love how Jay crosses his legs when he sleeps. Watching how cute he is when he's asleep makes me forget what a little rascal he is when he's awake.