Hosting Grandparents (Updated)

For the last week Jasper has been getting spoiled by BOTH sets of grandparents. Grandma and Papa Jasper came on Monday night and left Thursday evening. Grandma and Grandpa Gant arrived Thursday night and are still here this morning. (They leave tomorrow.) This has given me some added free time but more so it has given both sets of grandparents time to bond with the little guy. They've loved it!

Grandma Jasper thinks Jasper will get hair like his papa. Right now Jasper's hair isn't quite as thick as papa's, but we'll see how things develop.

Jasper wasn't quite on the same page as Grandma in the truck book, but he still liked it. It's the story of a pesky turtle who keeps getting in the way of construction, and about some friendly construction workers who stop to help him. It's interesting how an environmental theme would get woven into a children's book like that.

We realize Jasper has two Aunties, but he feels the same way about both. :)

Papa Jasper is rolling the dice here, very likely going to get hit with some massive drool ... but he didn't care. He had fun playing airplane with Jasper. (Papa even got a chance to hit golf balls last week while Jasper napped - so he was happy about that!)

It's official, I am not a manicurist. Goodness gracious! I can't keep my son's finger nails smooth enough to prevent them from being weapons. He has scratches on his face and even his belly from these razor sharp nails. I can't imagine how his nails could be so deadly, but alas ... they are. I spent three days in a row cutting, filing and refiling his nails. This is the last attempt, with Grandma Gant's help. Jasper has stopped resisting violently anymore. Perhaps he's just figured out it's better to go with the flow for a little while to get it done - because I am persistent and will keep trying to get his nails softer. I was sure I'd have my mom card revoked when he showed up at the nursery yesterday with two fresh scratches on his face. ugh!

Grandpa and Grandma Gant gave Jasper a bath during their visit.

Grandma Gant is sitting with a melow Jasper. Shortly after this photo was taken Jasper got very active for his bath.

Grandpa Gant shared a laugh with Jasper.

Close-up

High Tech Baby

Jasper's been going into the nursery at church the past three weeks. Each week we haven't been sure how he'd do - sometimes he sleeps and sometimes he doesn't. Last weekend, we had him stacked to be pacified. Namely, we had his MP3 player in his car seat playing Jack Johnson music. I got this "sound box" as an IBM Thanks! award last year that you can plug an MP3 player into and it is a speaker (so, no we do not put earphones in his ears). We can tuck the MP3 player inside the sound box, and it zips up with a soft exterior case. It also says IBM on the front. So ... when we brought Jasper to the nursery two weeks ago he had his sound box in his car seat, and the ladies all thought it was totally cool. They referred to it as his little computer and call him the "high tech baby." Despite the fact that he sometimes sleeps and sometimes doesn't, he has been a great kid in the nursery. All the ladies say he is mellow and just a dream. He still cuddles when he's tired (and he should be napping when he's in the nursery), so if he isn't asleep and he gets picked up he'll definitely snuggle into whomever's arms. I think he's winning fans there. (This is a good thing!)

I'll take a moment here to extoll the virtues of the Jack Johnson "Curious George: Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies" album. Drew loaded this on the MP3 player, and I'm so glad he did. The songs are really fun, so mellow to listen to, and the lyrics are really great. Jasper responds to this album when we play it, or when I sing to him (he likes Michael Buble too). We listen to it almost all the time. He seems to prefer it to the Sunday school songs album I have. That one is a little more peppy, where as the Jack Johnson album does give you the feeling you are rocking in a hammock. The Sharing Song is our favorite (lyrics below).

It's always more fun to share with everyone.
It's always more fun to share with everyone.
If you have two, give one to your friend.
If you have three, give one to your friend and me.

It's always more fun to share with everyone.
It's always more fun to share with everyone.
If you've got one, here is something you can learn.
You can still share, just by taking turns.

If you've got a ball, bounce it to the gang.
If there is a new kid, invite him out to hang.
If you've got one sandwich, cut that thing in half.
If you know a secret joke, tell it and share a laugh.
If you've got two drumsticks, give one to your friend.
Make one beautiful rhythm, share a beat that never ends.
And if you're feeling lonely, share time with your mom.
Share some milk and cookies and sing the sharing song.

It's always more fun to share with everyone.
It's always more fun to share with everyone.

Stroller Ride

OOPS! It's been about 2 weeks since we last posted. I'm sorry for the delay. We've been hosting grandparents the past week, so I am behind on various things. ... more photos on that to come.

But ... almost two weeks ago (3/15) Jasper and I went on a walk in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous day, and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be outside. Jasper fell asleep almost immediately once we hit the streets, so he didn't fuss as his sunglasses and hat fell out of position. Check out the final product below ... this is how he looked when we got back home about 30 minutes later. Accompanying him/us on the walk were Zelda the zeebra and his MP3 player jamming to Jack Johnson's "Curious George" soundtrack. :)

Frog Legs Video

Here is a video showing Jasper "Frog Legs" Gant in action after his bath.

Ultrasaucer

Today, Erica put together one of Jasper's Christmas gifts. We think Jasper is going to like his ultrasaucer...

...especially the sun.

Erica did a great job getting the gift together. Anybody want to place bets on how long before the first diaper explosion?

My future's so bright...

...I gotta wear shades!

Frog Legs & Linebacker

Frog Legs is one of the nick names I have for Jasper. Drew and I just laugh at how much Jasper likes to kick his legs. Not only does he kick them wildly when we're trying to change his diaper or get him ready for a bath or try to lotion him up after a bath. But he also kicks in the crib. This kicking is different. He throws his legs in the air and then slams them down on the mattress, pro-wrestling style. This is the primary way I know it's time to get up in the morning: when I hear him slamming the mattress. At this point he's not quite ready to get up. I generally have about 20-30 minutes for him to do this, start talking to himself and then decide he's hungry. We're quite sure he does this both in his sleep and while he's awake. We've witnessed the result of this leg slamming to rotate him in the crib 90 degrees, but last night he did a complete 180! I could have sworn when I checked on him before we went to sleep that his head was at the left end of the crib, and this morning it was at the right end. Drew confirmed that yes he had rotated himself around. He's a crazy boy!

Last night we went to play group at Azalea's house. It was a packed house! There was Amalie, Azalea, Diego, Grant, Leo and Jasper. Leo was the oldest at 7mo, but most of the group was 3-4mo. Azalea is as beautiful as ever and so attentive, interacting with the whole group. Leo is adorable and so fashionable in his rainbow-colored leggings. Jasper was the 2nd youngest (by 1 wk), however he was the biggest ... even bigger than Leo. Ame lifted him up and just started to laugh, saying "Erica, you're going to have the biggest biceps on the block!" Jasper got teased a little that he was going to be a linebacker. If so, we'll trust his uncle Chris will teach him all he needs to know football-wise. He could be an offensive lineman, too. :) We haven't weighed him recently, but pre-Utah when we were weighing luggage, we also weighed Jasper and think he is around 16lbs. He's a big boy!

One of the benefits of him being so big is that he sleeps like a CHAMP! Yesterday he took a 4hr nap in the afternoon, and then we put him down for bed at 9:30pm last night, and he didn't start really stirring this morning until after 8am. That was with only 4 feedings, too. We were so proud of him! Drew and I have enjoyed good, full nights of sleep for multiple weeks now, and we do not take that for granted. God has blessed us with a healthy and beautiful son. Sorry ... we're biased. :)

Laughing Jasper Video

I'm sorry this is so dark, but it is more about the sound. The video shows Jasper and Erica playing on the couch. He really likes if you hold him up by his arms instead of his body. Erica had him standing on her legs, and she held Jasper up by his arms. The result...hilarity.

3 months old!

We took this picture last night. It's hard to believe where the last three months have gone. Jasper is really getting to be a little boy instead of an infant. We think he's probably about 16 lbs and around 24-25" long. I took him for a walk in the baby bjorn this afternoon, and his legs hung down far enough that his feet rubbed on my thighs as I walked. It was interesting. :)

Remember, this is what he looked like one month ago.

Utah Ski Trip

What a view, huh? Our ski-in/ski-out condo had a gorgeous west-facing view of Little Cottonwood Canyon, overlooking Snowbird ski resort. During the day it was unbelievably bright and really got warm from the afternoon sun - but then sunsets were beautiful, too.

This photo has nothing to do with Jasper, except I'll mention that he slept like a champ! So, even when Stacy, Joel, Sarah and Drew were playing doubles tennis on Wii Jasper slept through all the activity in the next room.

I mentioned previously that Jasper seemed to like the travel swing we bought for him. Turns out as he sat in it more he realized that he didn't like it. The big swing allows him to sit with a flat back, and the travel swing cradles him more. Consequently, he doesn't sleep in it - so we didn't bring it. We just brough the car seat and his bouncy seat. That thing compresses down to a super small profile when disassembled, and he sure can sit in it for hours. He napped in either that or .... surprisingly his car seat in the afternoons. Jasper has gotten much better in his car seat. All our work to take him out on errands day after day seems to have paid off. Either that, or he's just getting old enough to realize that it's not the end of the world to be in the car seat.

Jasper loved Stacy's voice. She was telling me a long story on Sunday evening, and he just locked in on her voice and loved listening to her.

Sarah and Stacy loved hanging out with Jasper in the evenings and were a big help to play with him while Drew and I frantically tried to get ready to catch our flight yesterday morning.

Drew and I took Jasper out on Sunday afternoon to experience the snow. It was a very bright and sunny day. Jasper doesn't like the sun, and he was a little tired, so this experience wasn't a highlight for him - but we had fun exposing him to something that was a staple of our childhoods.

After his snow exposure, we decided to expose him to the hustle and bustle of Snowbird. This is the terrace where you can pick up the tram, get food or just ski in and hang out. There is music playing and lots of ski stories get swapped her. Jasper slept through it all. :) On Sunday the temp was in the upper 30's - it was beautiful!

We have no photos from the flights, but I'll report that Jasper is a good traveler. Our flight out on Friday (direct from Austin to Salt Lake City) was a breeze. He was unaffected by the pressure, and he slept a good portion of the trip and never cried. He did have two messy diapers that Drew changed in the tiny airplane bathroom that - to our shock - has no fold down table for changing diapers. It was an event, but Drew did a great job. (He even had to change his outfit on the second diaper change.) He got kudos from a woman sitting across the aisle, when he got up to change the second diaper. She leaned over and said, "He's a really good dad." I agree!

Yesterday, the flight wasn't as smooth. I boarded the plane carrying an overly tired, hungry and crying baby. I got the looks of annoyance from the first class passengers, and I made it to our seats as quickly as possible, and I fed him on the plane as soon as Drew made it to his seat next to me to help me create a little privacy. I held off feeding him again until we actually took off - and he did well and stopped crying. The only problem is that he didn't sleep right away - so he got fussy later and cried some more. The lady sitting behind us intervened to talk to him while we were trying to get him to calm down. He thought she was funny, so that worked. Eventually he did fall asleep and slept through the descent into Austin. That trip gave us a little run for our money, but we made it. Of course he had another messy diaper, and Drew again changed him (and his outfit, again) in the ill-equipped bathroom. Less than 20 seconds after he returned to his seat w/ Jasper, the flight attendant stopped and said "if your little guy needs a diaper change, we have a slick set-up in the front of the airplane." What are the odds!

Hairdo

Drew says he didn't fix Jasper's hair to be in a mohawk ... but I'm not so sure. :) And if you're wondering if Jasper is really that big ... he is! He's a chunk. This weekend, while I was changing his diaper in the Salt Lake City airport, multiple ladies were talking to him and asking me about him. I said he was 3 months, and one lady said, "3 months! How big was he when he was born?!"

Developmental Progress

Jasper's made some big developmental steps in the past couple of weeks. He no longer hates having his clothes changed - even when we have to pull a tight shirt over his head. At first he just hated being on his changing table for anything. Then diaper changes were ok - but changing his clothes was no good. Now, he puts up with just about anything. He's even taken to his lotion rub-down after his bath at night. He used to cry when we did this, but now he just looks at us and sometimes even laughs. Such progress!

Jasper also does not hate his car seat so much anymore. He doesn't love it, and we can't use it as a sure-fire way to get him to fall asleep ... but this is progress, too. (More on that later.)

A really big step is in his visual acquity. He can see things (toys, us, etc.) and specifically reach out to grab them. His depth perception seems to be pretty good, too. It is neat to watch him reach for various things. He has his very favorite toys (mr. monkey and mr. giraffee - yet unnamed) that he reaches for often when he is on his activity mat. Zelda is the zeebra shown below. He likes her, too. We've noticed that he sees our rings and will follow them with his eyes when we have our hands close to his face. He particularly likes my shiny diamond ring, and he sometimes tries to grab our hands so he can lock in on our rings better.

Jasper plays with this bath toy with both his hands and his feet. When we put it within range, he grabs for it.

His neck strength has really increased as well. Drew adjusted how we do tummy time so that we now prop Jasper up on a small pillow to give him a little lift. He likes the position better and still works to lift his head higher and from side to side. He stays in tummy time much longer in this position.

We can put him in his Bumbo seat and he'll be able to support himself pretty well. He doesn't have complete control over his very large head yet, but he's getting better all the time, and we can see marked improvement from last month.

Oh, Canada!

A couple weekends ago we had a group of friends over for dinner. It was a lovely evening, and Jasper got to show off a special outfit. Before he was born, and before anyone even knew his name, his Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Chris bought him a very cute t-shirt on a trip to Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada. All our friends thought this shirt was custom made for Jasper.

Drew and I honeymooned in both Banff and Jasper National Parks, and we just loved it. In addition, for those of you who are unaware, Jasper is my maiden name ... so we think it's pretty cool to find something with Jasper on it. Thankfully there is a cool and beautiful place to inspire people to put Jasper on t-shirts, hats, etc.

Droolman

Jasper has become a fountain of drool. He likes to squirt it out his mouth. It doesn't have projectile quality, but it doesn't just sneak out on its own. Nope - he actively expels it. Consequently, he has to wear bibs and we have to wipe up his face on a regular basis. Drew read that the signs of teething can proceed the actual event by many months. This sounds like we're in for drool for quite a while!

Cuddler

Despite how big he's getting (and he's getting B-I-G!), Jasper is still a cuddler.

Wah-Wah

One of Drew's favorite places to visit in Kalamazoo is the Water Street Coffee Joint. We used to go there when we were dating, and now he likes to return there when he is back in Kalamazoo for business. Last fall Drew picked up a cute 6M onesie from there - thinking Jasper would fit into it this summer. However, a week and a half ago Jasper donned it for a walk outside. We had particularly lovely weather for a few days straight, so he and I took advantage of the warmth and sunshine. He fills it out pretty well, don't you think?


In anticipation of our trip to Utah, and with the hope that Jasper would sleep well both during the day and at night, we started prepping for this trip a couple weeks in advance. We can't load the Weaver's swing onto the plane for the trip, so we bought a travel swing for Jasper's naps. He seems to think it's ok. ...