Jasper Goes to the Dentist

Today, Jasper went to the dentist for the first time. He did a great job sitting in the chair, but when the dentist wanted to actually look in his mouth...he cried! He ended up sitting on Mommy's lap, and the dentist counted his teeth. He said Jasper had GREAT teeth, and gave him a new toothbrush, a bunch of stickers and a toy from the treasure chest. We will go back in 6 months and then, they'll try to do a cleaning. This is a picture the dentist's office took of Jasper and gave him to take home.

Playing in the Snow

Sunday afternoon, Daddy, Uncle Derek, Mommy and Jasper all played in the snow. Jasper was so bundled up in his snowpants, boots, coat, hat and mittens that he could hardly walk! Jasper loved playing with Nano in the snow, using his new shovel,and throwing snowballs with Uncle Derek and Daddy.

We all built a snowman together. We used rocks for his eyes, nose and buttons, sticks for his mouth, arms and hair. Derek even made him snow ears. After we played some more in the snow, we looked at the snowman and noticed he was really leaning to one side. I decided that someone should tackle him to the ground, and since no one else would do it, I did.

Thanksgiving at our House

This past Saturday, we hosted Thanksgiving for Josh's mom's side of the family at our house. We spent most of the day cleaning and getting food ready for our evening meal. Jasper enjoyed the day because he watched more TV than usual! I was excited to use my china (given to me by Grandma June) and my silverware (given to me by Grandma Lena.) Derek helped get the table set and the food ready before everyone else arrived.


Cathy, Walt, Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Tom, Derek, Josh and I all sat around the table and Jasper kind of sat in the corner in his highchair. The food was good and it was nice to see everyone. Jasper was in show off mode, which made the evening fun. He loved playing with Uncle Derek and was talking up a storm! This was the first time Tom and Jeanie had been to our house or seen Jasper in person.

Before Grandma Cathy left, she gave Jasper a kid-sized shovel, which be began calling his "bovel" and was trying to scoop up legos with it. It was a nice evening and I've decided entertaining with real dishes and silverware is fun about twice a year (lots more dishes than I'm used to!)

Jasper Goes to Valparaiso

Yesterday evening, Jasper and I drove to Valparaiso to visit Uncle Colin who is staying there for training at work. We went out to eat (Jasper's tummy must be ok because he ate pizza!) Then we went to the hotel. While we were getting ready to go swimming, the police came to our room. Let me explain. Either Jasper hit 911 when he was pretending to call Daddy on the phone, or I accidentally did it when I was trying to call my parents (the Hotel phone says you have to dial 91 and then the number - I tried that and it didn't work, so then I dialed 9 and the number and it did.) We explained that Jasper was playing with the phone and we were fine and sorry they'd come to check. They were very nice about it, but still embarrassing!

We then headed to the pool. The water was cold, but Jasper loved it! He especially liked when Uncle Colin pushed him around in his floaty toy. After swimming, Jasper took a bath and got ready for bed. He played with Uncle Colin and had a snack before he fell asleep with me. He didn't mind being moved to his pack and play---until about 2 a.m. when he woke up crying and wouldn't stop. We walked the halls for a while and then he slept with me. I said HE slept, not me! He wiggled around constantly, and about every 20 minutes he'd cry out, if I was in his way, he'd say, "NO, Mommy, NO!" Sometime toward morning, he said, "I want elebator (elevator.)" After Uncle Colin went to work this morning, we had breakfast at Bob Evans, did some shopping at Walmart and headed home. There was no snow in Valparaiso, but 6-8 inches at home. Luckily the roads were pretty clear. Now we're working on cleaning the house to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner here tomorrow evening.

Tummy Trouble

Jasper had to come home early from daycare on Tuesday because he had the stomach flu! He vomited over 10 times and was so sick he didn't even want to watch TV, he just wanted to lay on the bathroom floor. But by 8 p.m. that night, he was running around and wanted to play soccer in the living room and asked Daddy to spin him in circles. Needless to say we ok'd the soccer, but not the spinning around! He slept in his bed all night that night. Wednesday, he got his appetite back as the day went along and seems back to normal now. Apparently the stomach flu was going around at daycare and only 4 kids were healthy enough to be there on Wednesday. So far Mommy and Daddy have avoided it - let's hope we're in the clear!

A Visit with Uncle Derek

Yesterday, Jasper went to Uncle Derek's house for the first time. We drove down to Muncie, and met Derek at his apartment. His apartment is really nice - he doesn't even have to share a bathroom! We went out to lunch and Jasper enjoyed dancing to the music at the restaurant. Then, we went shopping at Kohl's. Jasper pointed out the "Big K" in the sign. Josh, Derek and Jasper walked around together and I got to go look around by myself! Then we went back to Derek's apartment to watch some football. His roommate has a beagle, who was very friendly. Jasper liked playing with the dog and the dog's toys. I was a little nervous with Jasper running around all of Derek's roommate's expensive electronics! But luckily, he didn't break anything. We're excited that we get to see Uncle Derek again next weekend for an early Thanksgiving at our house!

Weekend with Grandparents

Saturday, Jasper and I went down to spend some time with my parents and visit with Grandma June and Grandpa Pete. Jasper loved all the attention, and put on a show wherever he went. We stopped by Aunt Heidi's and Jasper had fallen asleep in the car, but as soon as we opened the car door to get out to go to her house, his eyes popped open and he said, "Heidi?"

We took him shopping, and when he got out of his stroller, he hid under the racks of clothes, peeked out and said, "I hide." At Grandma and Grandpa's house, he pulled Grandma June's hand, said "Ground. Roll" Then he laid on the floor and rolled. Grandma June did, too - it was pretty funny. Jasper shared his snacks with Grandpa Pete.

Jasper slept on the floor at Mom and Dad's house and the next morning, he wanted Gamma and Pa pa to play night night with him. He asked for the blanket on the ground, the lights off, the door shut and for them to lay down and cover him up! It was so cute.

Rockets and Turkeys

Last week, Jasper made some Thanksgiving Day crafts. We had some turkey coaster kits. He did a very good job punching out some of the pieces and helping spread> the glue on and press the pieces together. He mailed some turkey's to various relatives and also hand delivered a few.

Jasper has become a fan of rockets. He points them out wherever he happens to see one. He has some rocket pajamas that he wore for the first time last week. After he was all ready for bed, he played with legos for awhile. He built a tall tower and then picked it up and made some noises. I asked him what he'd built and he said, "A wocket."

A Visit to Uncle Colin's

 
On Sunday, we visited Uncle Colin at his apartment. Jasper took just a few minutes to warm up and then was loving playing with his uncle. Jasper showed off for Colin, shared his snacks, tried on Uncle Colin's glasses, "read" his books. We watched football on the big screen TV most of the afternoon. Jasper did take a Handy Manny break, and watched a DVD on Colin's computer until that was cut short by Jasper pulling a drawer out and hurting himself. He was crying pretty hard, so I laid him down and asked what hurt. He said, "Arm" so I touched his left arm and asked him if it was that arm. He said no, so I checked the other arm, and then he looked at me and said, "I'm ok."

Dizzy Fall Days

This week has been beautiful! The weather was so nice and the leaves so pretty. Jasper and I played in the leaves on my days off this week. Today I had him pose for some fall shots. He was fairly cooperative, but didn't like it a bit when his pants got wet from the damp leaves. After the photo shoot, we went on a walk (well, I walked and pushed Jasper in the stroller and had Nano on the leash.) We were heading one direction and Jasper yelled, "NO - dat way!" and pointed in the opposite direction. I turned around, and as soon as we were moving, he changed his mind, "No-dat way!" pointing back the way we'd just come from. I thought he was going to fall asleep, but I think he knew he was tired and was fighting it because he sat as far forward as he could the whole time. He finally did fall asleep in the car on the way to the library, so we just did a drive through drop off. It's so funny how much he fights taking a nap. At lunch (before we went on our walk) he fell asleep in his booster seat holding a piece of bagel to his mouth. I was cleaning up his plate and was planning to clean him up and put him in his crib when I heard the bagel fall on the floor and him jerk awake. Then he acted as if he wasn't even tired!

Tonight Jasper was wound up after dinner. He was spinning around and around making himself dizzy. He was pointing out letters on the piano (KAWAI - he called the I a T, but knew the rest - even W, which is new today.) He was also saying his letters emphatically with a fist in the air, "D! B!" It was so funny. We all three played soccer in the living room. Jasper was doing a good job kicking the ball, though sometimes he'd just pick it up and run around the couch and into his room. He's fast asleep now - we're hoping for another quiet night like last night. The big boy bed is going pretty well, but we just wish he'd sleep past 6 a.m.!!

More Candy Please

Since Halloween, Jasper has decided he loves candy! Yesterday, he asked for candy, so I told him he had to sit in his little chair while he ate a Hershey's kiss. After he was done eating, we went outside and played in the leaves for about 45 minutes. Then Jasper found a pine cone and wanted to show Nano. Nano was tied up, so Jasper went over to him and showed him the pine cone and petted him. I kept raking while I watched them. Then all of the sudden, they both took off toward the house. I called after Jasper, but he just kept going. I followed him and he went up on the deck, opened the back door, and went inside. He headed straight for his chair in the living room, plopped down, looked up at me and said, "Mo candy, pease!" I guess he just decided while we were outside that he wanted candy and since he knew he had to sit in his chair, he took it upon himself to go there before even asking for candy!

A Big Boy Bed

This morning we decided to take Jasper's crib rail off and turn his bed into a "Big Boy bed." Jasper helped take the crib apart and put it back together using a screwdriver (which he says in a very funny way!) He seemed to really like it once we got it done. He wanted to lay in it while I read him books early this evening. We put him to bed at about 8 (which his body still thinks is 9) and he didn't cry or try to get up or anything. He's been in bed about an hour and a half and we haven't heard a peep!

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun for Jasper this year!  Because 63% of you chose it, Jasper dressed up as Winnie the Pooh for actual trick or treating, but before that he had a very unique costume! He dressed as a miniature version of Josh!! They wore the same outfit - khakis, a blue polo shirt, brown shoes, a blue jacket, a goatee and a pencil behind the ear. Jasper and I visted Josh at work and Jasper even wore Josh's name tag. It was hilarious!!

Jasper and I drove to Peru and got to see ALL of Jasper's grandparents and great grandparents. He got lots of candy and other treats. He was in a great mood (it may have had something to do with all of the sugar...) and he was very cute as Winnie the Pooh! Click here to view all of our Halloween pictures.