Happy New Year ... with Grandpa & Grandma Gant

On New Years Eve, Grandpa and Grandma Gant came to Austin to visit us. Drew picked them up at the airport, and then Jasper and I met them all at Central Market for lunch and our regular shopping excursion. It was a lovely afternoon, and we all sat out on the patio to eat. Jasper made a bit of a mess of the food we offered him, and we all remarked that the birds which hover around the patio were going to be very happy when we left.

On New Years Day we awoke and celebrated Christmas with Jasper. Drew and I left a couple big presents in Austin for him to open when we got home (and because we didn't want to transport them to Michigan and back on the plane.) One of them was this toy wagon. Jasper thought it was really cool and spent some time exploring it's capabilities.


However, his interest in the wagon soon disappeared once the Racin' Ramp Garage (from grandpa and grandma) was opened. He wanted to play with it before Drew finished puting it together. I was thrilled that almost all of his cars and trucks fit on the ramp and in the elevator. He spent a good portion of every day that grandpa and grandma were here playing with the garage. H enjoyed pushing things down the elevator shaft. I don't know why he enjoyed tormenting himself with dropping things down the shaft b/c they almost always got stuck ... but perhaps there is just some inexplicable draw to elevator shafts. (... What is it Lassie? Jimmy's trapped in an elevator shaft? And water is starting to fill it? And he has a broken leg?)

Jasper's chomping on this spoon as if it has something special on it ... like seafoam salad. :)

This activity table is from nana and papa Jasper. Grandma Gant taught Jasper how to put the rings through the slot. He got to the point during their visit where he couldn't walk by the table without messing with the rings. :)

On Saturday before they left, we all went out for a walk. We drove down to Whole Foods for lunch and walked around Town Lake (aka Lady Bird Lake). It was a glorious day! I mean, seriously ... we all regretted not wearing shorts! This photo is taken shortly after passing the park area where dogs can run unleashed. There were a TON of dogs, and Jasper had fun watching them play.

Grandpa and grandma gave Jasper his bath each night while they were here, and they enjoyed it.
One final activity before their departure: grandma wanted to show grandpa how Jasper dances when we read Hippos Go Berserk. As we read the page which says "All the hippos go berserk," while sitting in our lap, Jasper will start wiggling in his seat and bobbling his head back and forth. That's his version of dancing, and it's cute!