trucks in a row

If anyone thought Jasper didn't have enough trucks, please have a look.

I lined these up after we dumped out the basket in search of the flatbed. Now, he loves to "look at the picture of Jasper with his trucks." It just so happens Jasper was also wearing his truck shirt. He loves this shirt. The day he wore it for the first time he told me "mom, it's perfect!"




Benjamin is all too interested in Jasper's trucks, too. We have to be very careful that the small (3yrs+) trucks are kept out of his reach.

I've shown Jasper which cars / trucks are safe for Benjamin. So, if Benjamin is tempted to reach for one of the trucks with which Jasper is already playing or one that is too small (read: choking hazard), Jasper can run off and get a Benjamin-approved truck ... generally the rally car (so named by daddy). It's quite sweet to see how Jasper is learning so quickly and easily helps out when he knows how.

Of course this is all fairly easy to maintain while Benjamin is still stationary. Once he's on the move we'll have to come up with a new plan to keep him from getting things that aren't appropriate for him.

Easter

Easter weekend was full of blessings for our family. It is one of our favorite holidays. Drew and I cherish the time to worship and celebrate the resurrection of our Savior and cannot wait until we can teach our boys about it. Jasper already knows that Jesus died for our sins, but the full extent of that statement has not sunk in on him yet.

Last year we introduced Jasper to hunting for Easter eggs. We hid them in our front yard, and initially he didn't get what was going on. By the end (of us pointing them out and getting very excited when we saw them), he was getting excited too. We knew he'd be ready this year. So, we let Jasper participate in the Easter egg hunt sponsored by our church at Zilker park on Saturday morning. It was cool and overcast with a little breeze that made it feel less like spring in Texas and a little more like spring in the midwest.

Something like a few thousand eggs were hidden on the grounds, and areas were marked off by age-group. Jasper fell into the 2-6yr group. Unfortunately that meant he was pretty much out-gunned. But he found three eggs and thought that was awesome!

I found this felt bag at Target and thought it would be perfect for collecting eggs. Jasper agreed. Benjamin is just along for the ride in the ergo.

After we finished hunting for eggs, Jasper got to play on the playground equipment.

He is a shy kid when he is in new environments or surrounded by masses of people - especially lots of people acting aggressively (like running around and screaming as kids are wont to do at playgrounds). Initially he held back and watched, reverting into his social wallflower position. But much to our surprise and delight, he started to take risks, climbing up steps into lands unknown with bigger kids at the top. Sliding down slides - on his belly and landing face first in the pea gravel (and loving it!).

This park has an old fire truck frame that's been converted into park of the playscape. Jasper took turns with other kids, sitting at the front and turning the steering wheel.

I have a slight concern that gymnastics are in Jasper's future. He hangs off anything he can!

On Easter Sunday Mark and Teri Burchfield came to our house for Easter dinner - which of course meant ham, cheesy potatoes, fruit and seafoam salad. Mark and Teri have been uber busy with a new business project they're working on, so we have not seen them much - especially the boys. Jasper enjoyed some reading time with Teri.

Look how Jasper is nestled in next to Mark. He loves Mark and Teri so much!

And here is a family portrait. Pretty cute!

We not only let Jasper do the egg hunt at the park, but we also hid eggs in the house that he found on Sunday morning. After his nap he got to check out his Easter basket and open the eggs to see what surprises were in store. Two big eggs held the biggest surprises. ....

MATER SOCKS!

(McQueen socks were in the other big egg.)

He was so excited that he wanted to put on the new socks right away!

Benjamin got Easter basket surprises, too ... a new teething toy for our drooling, tooth-cutting boy.

He enjoyed his new toy, and I'm sure will be ready for an Easter egg hunt next year with his brother!

In the late afternoon, we loaded up the boys in our new double stroller and headed over to Mark and Gayleigh Cotnam's house for a visit. While Saturday was not a nice day and even Sunday morning was a bit blah, Sunday afternoon was glorious! It was great to get out and stretch our legs. Then when we got to the Cotnams' house, we had a fun time playing with them in their back yard. They have a lovely tree canopy and fully fenced-in yard with equally lovely flowers planted all around. Jasper enjoyed playing with the bubbles, throwing the hoops and goofing around with Mark, Kate and Gayleigh. We did not give Benjamin a chance to take his afternoon nap, but instead he just fell asleep in Everlee's arms and even tolerated being transferred to a blanket on the ground. We tarried with them longer than expected but enjoyed the respite as a nice way to close out our already lovely Easter.

Looking Back, Benjamin

1.5 weeks old

so little and tired he can't even lift his head

6 weeks old

the strength of an infant's abs is remarkable to me.

he can lift his head and his feet at the same time. try it. it's hard!
and what about that dark hair???

3 months old
oh yeah, that almost omnipresent smile is shining through.

6 months old
the blond boy has emerged! and his easy-going personality is easy to see.

One Brother to Another

We haven't spent much time looking back, comparing Benjamin to Jasper. (We're just too busy ... and tired.) But, Drew started having a look the other night, and it got my wheels spinning. So here are some comparison shots of our boys at 6 months.

Jasper

Benjamin


Jasper's couch shot

Benjamin's couch shot


Jasper falling over for his couch shot

Benjamin falling over for his couch shot

Jasper in the froggie onesie

Benjamin in the froggie onesie

(the only same outfit in which both boys are photographed in a similar position)

Jasper, highly animated about something

Benjamin also highly animated - I think just laughing at me.

Jasper doesn't think I'm nearly as funny.

You can draw your own conclusions, but it's clear to us that Benjamin is indeed bigger than Jasper at this point. (Yes, he's a chunk!!!) As infants, the boys looked identical, but now it's clear that they have their own distinct features. Benjamin's face is longer, and it's not obvious here but Benjamin's complexion is not as fair as Jasper. In going through all the photos of both boys, I found it interesting that Jasper seems to have more facial expression than Benjamin. Benjamin smiles allllll the time, but there isn't the range of expression that it seems Jasper has.

American Heroes Celebration

The American Heroes Celebration Air Show was a dream come true for Jasper. The event features the everyday heroes that serve and protect us on a daily basis. As you know from previous posts, Jasper LOVES firetrucks, cars, motorcycles, ambulances, and trucks in general. Well, Jasper clearly knew where to start after we arrived.


At each truck, a member of the fire department was there to greet us. Each one loved Jasper's boots, and they enjoyed showing Jasper around their truck. I was impressed with their enthusiasm, and Jasper was eager to thank each one.




Jasper really likes to get close to the wheels.

His eagerness to see the ambulance is obvious.

After sitting in the driver's seat of the ambulance (a definite highlight of the day), we walked past more of the trucks and displays. Jasper is a very well behaved boy the majority of the time. On this day, he was great! He listened to me and to the fireman, and he was eager to see and do all that he could.




Another highlight of the event are the helicopters that fly in for the event. The weather didn't cooperate to have the helicopters arrive as scheduled. This created the opportunity for us to be close as the helicopters arrived. Jasper couldn't take his eyes of the helicopter as it circled the field and descended to land. I tried to anticipate where the second helicopter might land based upon the landing of the first, and it allowed us to be pretty close as the helicopter touched down.

The landing helicopter is from Austin Starflight. Without me saying anything, Jasper recognized it as an "air ambulance helicopter" just like in one of his books. After the rotors stopped spinning, the kids had the chance to climb inside.

Jasper recognized that this truck looked like an airport firetruck. In case you are curious, it was made by the same company as the airport firetruck in one of his books.

We then discovered the little fireman's obstacle course. The Austin Fire Department had setup a course that the kids could run with a real firemen. The events included hose hauling...

using a big hammer...

pulling a simulated kid to safety...

and using the fire hose.

It was really a small version of the Firefigher Combat Challenge. You can tell by the smile on Jasper's face that he enjoyed the event.

It was an impressively run event, and Jasper loved every minute of the adventure. He napped well that day.