Jasper's First Thanksgiving

I can really only think of one thing I'm grateful for this year, and its my little boy. We had a very nice Thanksgiving, despite the fact that my poor boy's parents dragged him all over the Bay Area today. We got up early and ran a 5k Turkey Trot in Walnut Creek this morning (okay, I ran the 5k while Morgan and Jasper waited for me at the start/finish). And then we headed into the city for dinner at my mom's. And of course, photos were taken:

Harriett and Jasper



Tim and Jasper



Jill and Jasper




Walla and Jasper



and finally, Grandma and a very tired Jasper

Snip

I've always hated those baby boy's first haircuts - the ones that take them from sweet baby to sullen looking toddler. I love the kids I know whose parents have just let their hair grow. Clearly, I am revealing my hippie roots.

But. On Saturday, when Morgan and I were getting our hair cut, Susan offered to trim Jasper's hair a little to even it out. Jasper was born with a full head of hairs, and the top has continued growing. But the sides and the back have fallen out, giving him a patchy look. Morgan calls it his fallout look. Morgan plays too many post-apocalyptic video games. But I don't suppose I'm any kinder when I call him our Donald Trump baby. Or comb-over baby.

Anyway, Susan did a lovely job, snipping off just the ends (without snipping our very squirmy baby) and he looks much better as a result. Because this was entirely unplanned, Jasper's first haircut was entirely undocumented. But I can provide the following photo of evidence of how distinguished our boy can be.

Proof

substantiating my previous post, plus a demonstration of the Dodge mouth:

Thfft

Jasper's latest skill? Blowing raspberries.

His latest little facial tick? Sucking in his lower lip, making him look like a little old man who took out his teeth.

My current favorite thing? When he tries to do both these things at the same time.

His favorite toy

and some pretty good grabbing skills.

The photo spot

I'm realizing we have a lot of pictures of Jasper on his changing table. It makes sense since in addition to changing his diaper there, we also change his clothes there. So any cute outfit tends to get photographed there. Plus, its a spot he can't (yet!) roll off, so when we want to set him someplace for a quick shot, it tends to be there. The problem is, he tends to get some crazy baby looks on his face when we just hold the camera out over him. See?



We were trying to get a picture of the door knob name plaque that Morgan's Grandpa made for Jasper (thanks, Great-grandpa!). But we went through a few takes before we got some thing that looked a little less... demented:



A little better:



Okay, as close as we're going to get to smiling:



It happened again this morning when I was trying to get a post-bath picture of Jasper. Crazy baby:



Cute baby:



Okay, maybe more gangster baby than cute.

Since this is a gratuitous photo post, here's one more, demonstrating Jaz's peculiar pattern baldness. Also, his adorable little profile.

My favorite thing

is watching Jasper wake up in the morning. He'll lie there looking around the room, all serious faced, as if checking to make sure everything is where it was last night when he fell asleep. And then he finds us in his sweep of the room, and he breaks out the biggest grin.

I've never had anyone always so happy to see me.

Dinosaurs of Distraction

(See? He's not always happy... but he is easily distracted by tiny blah-ing dinosaurs.)

He looks a little terrified,

but really, he was having fun.

Hands

Lately Jasper developed a couple little quirks with his hands, one slightly more uncomfortable than the other.

He's started grabbing things with pincher fingers. This is cool developmentally. but its also kind of hilarious. He's grabbing chins, noses, mouths, ears, hair... you name it, he's grabbing it. This is occasionally uncomfortable.

The other quirk is adorable. He's taken to stroking things. This closely related to the grabbing but is much gentler. Last night we hung out with him in my lap for a while; the entire time, he was grabbing/stroking my leg. Its like a tiny massage. And there have been a few times when the only reason I've known he's woken up from a nap is because I can hear him stroking the bed while he slowly rejoins the world.

I like watching my boy feel his way in the world.

Some updates

Jasper had his four month well baby check up today, which he handled like a superstar. Apparently the crinkly tissue paper on the exam table is immensely fun to play with, and the safety mirror along side the table is a good time too. Jasper cried a little when he was being weighed (naked! in a strange place!) but then settled down to flirt with the medical assistant. She was quite taken with him, and played three or four rounds of peekaboo with him on her way out the door. When our pediatrician came in, Jasper was happily singing to his reflection while grabbing fistfuls of tissue paper. Doc was impressed. She says he is exceptionally expressive, both verbally and physically. Which we kind of knew, but its nice to hear anyway.

We talked some about starting solid foods; the doctor recommends waiting until six months to make sure his digestive system is mature enough and to prevent potential food allergies. We're fine with that (especially since, with the cloth diapers, I'm dreading the onset of solid food poops).

Jasper also had his next round of vaccines. The shots went quickly, but the silly tech gave him the shots before giving him his oral rotovirus vaccine. It apparently hasn't occurred to the silly woman that giving him something to swallow before he starts screaming will work better. Oh well. Next time I'll remember to request any orals before the shots.

And the stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 1.5 ounces (69%)
Height:: 24.5 inches (28%)*
Head Circumference:43.2 cm (71%)

* This is just wrong; even the doctor looked at the number and dismissed it. Jasper was 23.5 inches at his two month check up and its obvious from looking at him that he's a long baby. I measured him with a soft tape when I got home and estimate him to be around 27 or 28 inches. No idea what percentile that is.

In other news, Jasper has recently taken to the pacifier with a vengeance. My mom gave him one last week when he was fussy but not hungry, and he seemed to enjoy it. So when he started looking cranky on the train the other day, I gave it a try. The first efforts were kind of hilarious; he wanted to keep his hand between his face and the face shield. He tends to turn the pacifier sideways in his mouth, and a couple times he's shoved it to one side and squeezed his thumb in the other side. But it also seems to be helping him settle down for naps, which is great. He still tends to only want to nap on people, so anything that makes napping easier is a huge deal.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been working part time in the city, which means that Jasper and I have been mastering commuting. We've mastered which seats are best with the stroller and how not to stress when we can hear a train coming but there's no sign of the elevator to the platform. Mom and I have mastered the baby hand off at the Glen Park BART parking lot. And I'm drinking caffeine again, for the first time since I got pregnant. Turns out sleep deprivation and regular work are not compatible. It doesn't seem to be affecting Jasper though.