Half Year.

Really, the amazing thing is that we've kept him alive and thriving for six months.



And happy! How did we end up with such a good natured baby? Even now, when he has a cold, he has the sweetest smiles for us. We're very lucky.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. You're amazing.

Yum?

This paper is the best present ever!

The Two Faces of Jasper

Happy:



Sad*:



* Yes, we are cruel parents: We laughed uproariously at this face and took a picture before soothing him. But c'mon. Look at that face.

Loot

Jasper doesn't know what Christmas is yet, but he's already making out like a bandit. Or maybe a pirate...?

Just a few of the things he's enjoying so far:

A book from Great Grandma Carrie (tasty!):



A Santa hat handmade by Grandma Janet:



Cool shades from Aunt Harriett and Uncle Tim:



He got to peek at a sweater Aunt Virginia is knitting him:



A nifty pirate doll from Uncle Adam and Aunt Marilyn:



A very special gift from Uncle Christian*:



* No babies were intoxicated in the making of this blog post.

These are just a few of the very generous gifts Jasper has received, and its not even Christmas yet. As always, I am amazed and touch by the generosity of our friends and family. Thanks, everyone.

Polysyllabic

Late last week, Jasper startled us by letting loose a string of syllables. All the same one, mind you, but a hearing your son suddenly chanting "blah blah blah blah"* is pretty damn funny. Since then, he's alternated "blah" with "yah" "wah" "mah" and other one syllable words ending in "ah." Most humorously, he has also started mouthing the words, as seen below. I have no explanation.



* I refuse to acknowledge "blah" as my son's first word.

Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah (Means Happy Birthday)

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.

Unfortunately my son is not a Weeble.



This is our morning routine. When Jasper wakes up, he gets a quick diaper change, then to the bed for a little rolly polly exercise. He's doing amazingly well; just in the last week, he's gone from barely able to sit to be able to do it for extended periods. Which is why I wanted to get this video today; a clip of him just sitting, while impressive, isn't nearly as much fun as one of him falling. Over and over again. Mean mom.

Delinquent

Me, not Jasper. I should have posted his five month status update on Sunday. Which was his five month birthday. In apology, I give you his official five month portrait:



Yep, we have us a couch potato.

Jasper is doing wonderfully, reaching all his milestones, etc. He's grabbing at everything, and anything he gets hold of goes into his mouth. He's done some unassisted sitting using his arm to tripod himself; he's still very wobbly, but getting there. He went on a little bit of a sleep strike this week, both skipping naps and refusing to sleep at night. Last night was better and as you can see below, naps are back, so hopefully we're done with that. He started to shout for the sheer thrill of it, and scared the bejeesus out of Isobel last night with an especially ear piercing shriek. He's become quite interested in all the pets and tries to "pet" them (petting involves grabbing fistfuls of their fur, and then trying to get his mouth on them). He's exceptionally involved in everything around him; he likes to watch us eat and then makes chewing movements with his little toothless mouth. All around, he remains a sweet happy boy. I think we'll keep him.



(The power of the swing cannot be denied; it can even lull the fussiest boys to sleee...)