Sleeping Tricks

Last week we transitioned Jasper to the big boy bed for sleeping overnight. It's been a little bit of a transition, but for the most part not so bad. All last week he woke up early ... like 5:30-5:45am. This is at least 1 - 1.5hrs earlier than normal. It was fairly independent of how long he napped, how late he napped or how late or early he got to bed.

After pulling my hair out for the week trying to figure out why this was happening (and being totally sleep-deprived), I finally just attributed it to being in the big boy bed. Starting this week Jasper has been sleeping just a little longer each day.

He still has some issues going down for bed and doesn't fall asleep right away. Last night he was particularly rambunctious, and his pillows (which normally form a boundary around him) were all over the place. As he slept and we went about trying to clean and get ready for his baby brother, we checked on him and noticed he was getting closer and closer to the edge. Then at one point, I checked in on him and this is what I found:

He had fallen out of the bed but not awoken. It was unreal! Drew carefully lifted him back into bed, and he stayed asleep or at least just barely roused. It was crazy! He did wake up this morning before 6am and cry because he couldn't find his froggie (which strangely we had left on the floor in the transition). But once I gave it to him, quickly rubbed his back and encouraged him to lay down, he slept again until just before 7am. Progress!

Children's Museum with Luke

Last week, Jasper and I went to the Austin Children's Museum with our friends Luke and Debbie. Debbie and I have been in Bible study together, and Luke - while 3.5yrs old - is really great with Jasper.

Immediately as you walk into the museum, there is a mock city bus. Jasper thought that was awesome! He wanted to play in there a lot. He loved the steering wheel. He and Luke enjoyed running around in there, too. This meant they eventually ran into each other and knocked heads ... but they were fine.





Across the street from the museum is a construction site, and the boys were almost as interested in watching the construction workers, cranes, etc. as they were in the museum exhibit.


Upstairs in a construction house, the boys thought jumping on the raised platform was great! Here are some fun action shots.

During song time, the kids were encouraged to hold hands. Jasper also sat on Debbie's lap - good thing, I don't have one anymore.

And then after singing ... the kids got to play under the parachute ... and there were bubbles! Luke was very nurturing toward Jasper.

This was the first time Jasper had played with an actual train set. He enjoyed it.

Jasper still talks about this trip to the museum. He talks about the bus, Luke, the bobcat and backhoe we saw on the drive and the firetruck that went screaming by as we were leaving. So much fun!

Gecko

Two Saturdays ago, after extensive time playing outside - from which we were all hot, sweaty and dirty, I discovered a small gecko in the bathtub when it was time to give Jasper a bath. Oh how I didn't want to deal with this! Drew was out for the evening with friends, and I - being nearly 38 weeks pregnant - just was worn out. But a bath was really pretty needed, so Jasper and I took on this little critter.

The gecko had a really hard time crawling up the tub walls, and they're way to fast to just two-finger grab. When I tried cornering him, he actually did run to the corner and found a hiding spot under our shampoo bottle rack, but I was able to fish him out with the little water squirt toys Jasper has for his bath. Then, after hanging over the tub wall for what seemed like an eternity ... amazingly enough I was also able to get him to crawl onto an envelope and quickly walk to the front door where I gave him a toss and set him free.

The whole time I was working to rid our bathtub of this critter, I was telling Jasper to say "shoo gecko!" ... which he did with flare. :) That was definitely a time I was happy to have a boy.

Pancake Saturdays

Since things at Apollo have started to hit a normal pace, Drew's been able to be at home (at least most of the time) for the last three weekends. (woo hoo!) And, since Jasper has developed a fondness for pancakes, Drew has been more than happy to oblige him and make them as a fun Saturday morning breakfast treat.

Two weekends ago Drew showed Jasper how to make the pancakes. Jasper was really into it! He liked the mixer and now points to it and says "mix." Once they start cooking, Jasper sits in his high chair where he can watch the griddle and tells Drew when to "flip!".






Drew also started making "Jasper-size pancakes" which are the perfect size and a total hit!

Ox in the Ditch

Just as cool nights returned to Texas, I got in a hurry to get our windows clean so we could open the windows at night and enjoy the fresh air. After being hot and cooped up in air conditioning since May, I couldn't wait for this freedom. Trouble is, our windows (and screens) were horribly dirty. So, being 9 months pregnant as I am, I set out to clean the windows. Being cool was way more important than the work it would require. First on the list were the kitchen and master bedroom windows. So, one Sunday afternoon while Jasper napped, we did not rest - but instead we started taking apart our original-to-the-house, double paned windows. Getting them apart is way more than half the pain. Cleaning them isn't as tough in comparison.



When Jasper got up, he came outside to hang out with us. Drew introduced him to the ladder we were using, and he quickly took a liking to it. He's got the going up part down pat. When he got to the top of the ladder, he found a cool screwdriver that completely fascinated him. After that, learning to climb down the ladder was of no interest to him, nor were general ladder safety rules. Keeping one hand on the ladder at all times? What's that all about?

After getting hot, sweaty and tired out, Jasper and I had some snuggle time on the couch.

Playing on the Deck

As the temperatures have dropped and I've gotten big enough to not really enjoy going to the park all morning, we've been spending more time out on the deck. It's an easy distance to the bathroom, the adult seating is much more comfortable and we can be more leisurely about when we stop playing for lunch time. Here are some shots of times we've spent out on the deck.


Jasper likes to take his trucks out of the sandbox and now race them across the deck or play with them at the picnic table.

We enjoyed a relaxing lunch out on the deck together.

Jasper also likes to climb the bull wire and show how he can reach the top of the railing on his tippy-toes ... because he's so big!

Strawberry Milkshake!

He might not like ice cream in the purest form, but this kid LOVES strawberry milkshakes. Just in case you were wondering if he was getting anything out of that straw, just look at how strong he's sucking on it! Have no fear, he got some!
We three shared a shake, and Jasper was one happy camper. :)

Baby #2

Isn't he CUTE? He looks just like Jasper!

Two days ago we went in for a sonogram for baby #2. The nurse practitioner wasn't confident his head was down at my exam and needed to be sure before we made it out of 36wks. If in fact his head was not down, they'd have to do an inversion to manually get the baby to move, and they want to do that between 36-37 weeks before the baby is too big and doesn't have enough free room to move.


Drew & I were pretty sure this was all going to be unlikely but looked at this as a neat opportunity to see the little guy in advance. Thankfully this is a light week at work, so Drew was able to meet me for the appointment.


Immediately upon starting the exam they confirmed his head is down. (check!) Then they took measurements - while they had me in the room, and predict him to currently be ~ 8.5lbs. With 4 more weeks to go, the sonogram doctor is thinking we could have a 10-pounder (or more). We'll see if that comes to pass. I'm not afraid of a big baby. Jasper was 1/4 ounce short of 9lbs. My NP also tells me I have "birthing hips," so I don't think getting him out is going to be an issue. Plus, God knows all these details. I'm just leaving it up to Him.


But, we thought you'd like to see him. :) The sonogram tech produced some sweet 4D images of his face. We got one good one without his hand in front of his face.

Long Locks No More!

This should be a stark comparison to the Techie post (below). Jasper is no longer in the running for "kid who looks most like a Greek mythological deity." We were going for a tousled skateboarder look. Instead I think we got a little more Hayley Mills from The Parent Trap.




For those who were concerned his curls would be cut off, have no fear. They are still with us.


But the curling action works against a distinctly masculine look. Oh well. It's still a good cut ... WAY better than anything I could have done on my own. And have I mentioned it's just hair? It grows. :)

Jasper did not like the experience. He was not comfortable sitting in the jeep or the police motorcycle and instead sat in Drew's lap. That's because my lap is significantly compromised these days. But not being able to sit with me was no good for Jasper. He screamed like bloody murder the entire time. I was right there, trying to distract/console. Nothing helped. I was prepared for tears. I was not prepared for irrational loss of control. Oh well. Live and learn. One of these days it hopefully won't be so traumatic.

Techie

Like father like son, Jasper is adept at most technological things with which he comes in contact. He cannot be left alone with a cell phone anymore, because he can redial the last call in a heartbeat. He commands use of Drew's blackberry like all crackberry addicts - two handed, manipulating buttons with his thumbs. And he can open the DVD player, remove CDs, insert new CDs (the right orientation) and almost get the new CD to play. I don't know if he has succeeded on that front yet. I generally catch him in the act of swapping out the CDs, so we haven't figured out just how far he can take this. It's kind of ridiculous!

Oh, and have I mentioned the issue of entitlement with this boy? Yep, he thinks all things are his, and therefore he does not like it when we stop his techie exploits. I don't know how many times I've gone over the fact that the DVD player is not his toy and had him in term point out to me where his toys are (on the other side of the room).

Knowing and Believing are apparently two very different things for him.

Long Hair

When it's wet you can really tell how long it is. However, that's soon going to change. We're biting the bullet and getting it cut at a real kid's salon tomorrow. I have no idea how Jasper will do and therefore how well the stylist will do in getting a good cut ... we'll see. Hopefully it just won't look awful.

Grandma and Grandpa Gant Come to Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Gant came to visit for about a week over Labor Day weekend. We had a nice visit with them. We ate out at some new and favorite restaurants. Jasper got to go to the park quite often, and I got to rest a little more each day than normal. Drew unfortunately had to work late hours most of the time they were there but did at least take all of Monday off.

dinner at Rudy's
breakfast at Kerbey Lane
Jasper has a new favorite food: pancakes!

After breakfast, Grandma and Grandpa said they wanted to get Jasper a picnic table. So we headed out straight to get one. We set it up in the garage when we got home, and seeing as we had some pancake left over from breakfast, we used that to show Jasper how to use the table.

Now, every time he's at the picnic table, he asks for pancakes.




Here are some pictures from a couple days at the park with G&G.






Who needs a swim suit when you're in your own front yard?








Knowing what a fan Jasper is of the Backyardigens, Grandma brought him some figures: Tasha and Uniqua along with a horse. Yes, he does know the different characters by name, although pronunciation of Uniqua isn't as good as Tasha. :)

Grandma and Grandpa brought all kinds of toys, tricks and treats for Jasper. One thing they brought are these magic markers that only color on magic paper.

Here are some additional shots of Jasper playing / snacking at the picnic table with Grandma and Grandpa. They even tried an art project out here. As you can see, pancakes were part of the experience. :)