That's no baby

That, my friends, is a big boy.

Toddle

We have a toddler, have I mentioned? Each day his confidence in his ability to walk independently grows. This makes him dementedly happy.

Also, he likes cymbals.

Angst

So Jasper has three car seats. By the time I got around to buying the third one (which lives in Aunt Jill's car) I was looking for the least expensive (but still safe) model. A close out sale provided us with a pink flowered seat. It has been suggested to me that the money I saved on the seat might well end up going to therapy for the kid to get over having to ride around in a pink floral seat.

This picture indicates that might be true...

Just begun.

Seriously, not to brag or anything, but how gorgeous is this kid?



Its his birthday, which means we've successfully kept him alive for a whole year. To celebrate, we went to the doctor for our annual exam (he's perfect). Then we went to the zoo to really celebrate.

We looked for tigers.



(We didn't see any.)

We waited in line for a really long time to ride the train.



Look, Jasper and his Grandpa!

And then we rode the train



and saw wallabees and emus. And humans in their natural environment.

After a while we went home and sang a couple rousing rounds of "If you're happy and you know it."



(This might be my new favorite picture ever.)

All and all a good day to celebrate a good year. I'm looking forward to many many more. Happy birthday, froglet.

Hugs

Jasper has started giving hugs. If we ask him for a hug, he will crawl over, pull himself up to standing, and wrap his arms around us (or at least as far as they will go). If Morgan or I are holding him, he will extend his arms to the other of us and lean forward to give hugs.

He's also started hugging the cats.



Okay, hug might not be the word. Really, Jasper has started lying on the cats. He crawls over, puts both hands on the cat's side, and then rests his face on the cat. He started this yesterday afternoon, and has been doing it anytime a cat will let him close enough (this means its mostly been Pax who's lucky enough to get the love).*

Pax loves it.




*Of course this is all closely moderated and we never let the cats alone with Jasper.

11 months...

To celebrate Jasper's 11th month birthday, we took him to see Flight of the Conchords last night.



It was an outdoor, all ages show, but since Jasper really wanted to sing along, we ended off to the side so we wouldn't disturb other concert goers.



All that singing and dancing wore the boy out though...

For Tim

Jasper doesn't understand either.

And another friend.

A few of Jasper's friends...

Today's game

is an endless loop of capture and escape. Jasper crawls furiously out of the living room to the dining room, while laughing hysterically. I pick him up and plop him back on the living room rug, and he shrieks with joy. Repeat. Over and over and over.

I think someone slipped my kid some speed.

41 weeks 2 days

is how long I was pregnant. In that time, our froglet went from this



to this



41 weeks and two days is also how long its been since Jasper was born. In that time, he's gone from this



to this



Check him out, hanging out at our local pub with his dad, eating off his own plate and everything. Though I do feel compelled to refer you back to that first photo. His head is still exceptionally large and he still tends to sleep like that, with his head thrown back and his back arched. He's also started crawling, really belly off the floor hands and knees crawling. That seems to have happened overnight between Monday and Tuesday of this week. In fact, I caught him crawling in circles in his co-sleeper in his sleep that night. He's pulling himself up to standing and cruising along whatever he can hold onto. Sometimes this is a person, sometimes its his crib, sometimes its a cat. Right now its a Zappos box. I have new running shoes, but I may never be able to open the box.

Jasper had a check up today to celebrate 41 weeks of being alive. Okay, it was actually his nine month appointment, but 41 weeks is more fun. The verdict? Healthy kid. He's 22 pounds 8.5 ounces (not 25 pounds, as I've been announcing...) which puts him in the 75% percentile for his age. He's 2'4.75" tall (59%) and his head circumference is 18.5" (88%). Continuing to take after his dad there...

Fun and games at Grandma's

This is what Jasper does while I'm at work:



Ahoy, baby.

A List

I'm not usually a list maker, but I've recently become a fan of Mighty Girl and her Mighty List. So I made my own life list. I'm declining to call it a bucket list because I think its more about living than dying. Its a silly list, but I've decided that I want Jasper to have parents who have goals and have fun. I want him to believe that life is an adventure and that opportunities for adventures are everywhere.

So, the list:

1. Go scuba diving
2. Try surfing
3. Learn to make good pastries from scratch
4. Break five hours in a marathon
5. Write a novel
6. Publish a novel
7. Finish my degree
8. Take Jasper on a cross county road trip, stopping at road side attractions
9. Grow vegetables
10. Unpack all my boxes
11. Have a porch with a porch swing
12. Swim in that cave pool in Utah
13. Go cross country skiing
14. Eat at Chez Panisse
15. Swim with dolphins
16. Wear a beautiful gown
17. Ride a Vespa
18. Hike the Appalachian Trail
19. Take a dance class
20. Take a trapeze class
21. Learn how to sail
22. Take yearly vacations with Jasper
23. Become a better photographer
24. Ride the Giant Dipper with Jasper
25. Build my dream kitchen
26. Keep chickens
27. Visit a Greek isle; swim in clear blue water.
28. Go back to England and Ireland
29. Visit Alaska
30. Camp on Angel Island
31. Live debt free
32. Do yoga every day for a month
33. Do a zipline through a forest canopy
34. Develop family traditions with Jasper
35. Build a wardrobe that makes me really happy
36. Buy and drink good wine regularly
37. Learn how to pose for photographs
38. Make my yard into someplace we want to spend time
39. Go whitewater rafting
40. Rent a house at the beach for a whole summer
41. Go to museums regularly
42. Own an espresso machine and drink good coffee every day
43. Stay in a castle in Germany with Morgan
44. Vacation on a houseboat
45. Learn silversmithing
46. Go parasailing
47. Treat myself to a spa weekend
48. Go kayaking
49. Attend at least one parade per year
50. Attend at least one street fair per year
51. Take a cake decorating class
52. Learn to mix cocktails
53. Own a vacation home (timeshare?)
54. Declutter my life
55. Visit Prince Edward Island
56. Own a convertible
57. Learn a second language
58. Master one song on an instrument. Any instrument.
59. Own a bookshop/café
60. Ride in a hot air balloon
61. Teach Jasper how to swim
62. Lose 40 pounds
63. Host a movie night in our backyard
64. Own a hybrid or electric car
65. Go rock climbing
66. Go on a cruise
67. Keep bees
68. Find a signature perfume
69. Go to the opera
70. Decide on a signature cocktail
71. Sing karaoke
72. Be able to do five pull ups
73. Complete a triathlon
74. Be friends with Jasper when he’s an adult
75. Have a family portrait taken (not cheesy)
76. Visit all the national parks
77. Sew myself a dress I’m willing to wear out of the house
78. Build a retreat cottage in the backyard
79. Take a train trip in a sleeper car
80. Take a variety of cooking classes
81. Adopt more rescue animals (but not until we have an opening here)
82. Find copies of the Judy Bolton books I read as a kid
83. Take Jasper to Children’s Fairyland
84. Take a campervan vacation
85. Visit New York City
86. Visit Tucson, Arizona
87. Rent a house in snow country one Christmas
88. Fly kites with Jasper
89. Take part in an archeology dig
90. Build a labyrinth in the backyard
91. Dance often with Morgan and Jasper
92. Get a (gearless) cruiser bike and ride it often
93. When Jasper’s in school, play hookie with him at least once a year to play tourist or other silly activity
94. Take the ferry into San Francisco so Jasper can visit dad at work
95. Qualify for Boston
96. Volunteer for a cause I believe in
97. Renew and use my passport – even if its just to go to Canada/Mexico
98. Get my house clean and keep it that way
99. Learn to accept assistance gracefully
100. Get season tickets somewhere (theater-y, not sports)

I'll be crossing items off and updating this list as I go.

The aforementioned smile

or as close as we can get to it on film.



Also, crazy hair.

Nine Months

I have been sadly remiss as a blogger lately, but on the occasion of Jasper's nine month birthday, I give you a portrait:



as well as a snapshot of our boy.

He loves pears and banging on things. His favorite toy* is a xylophone which he strikes with a plastic block.

*Remote controls are the most fun, but strictly speaking are not toys. Last week I gave him the Tivo remote to distract him while I getting ready to go out. He recorded an episode of In the Heat of the Night.

He's become such a boy. If he must be held, he wants to be facing out so he can see or grab at everything. However, he very sweetly cuddled with me on both BART commutes today. I consider it his birthday present to me.

He's mobile! He hasn't quite mastered an actual crawl, but he can push himself up onto his hands and knees and he can worm his way across a room on his belly. He's also started pulling himself up to a standing position using stationary objects for support.

He's a side sleeper.

Spinning in circles and being tossed in the air are guaranteed to put a smile on his face. He has the sweetest little grin; his eyes crinkle up adorably. This is very hard to catch in film.

I could go on, but my boy is sacked out in my lap and I think I'll just watch him sleep for a while.

Happy nine months, peanutty. You were worth the wait.

Action shot

because that's the only way to get a shot of our wonder boy's teeth.



Yes, teeth. The second one came in less than a week after the first one. They're huge. And sharp!

Something tells me its all happening at the zoo

Yesterday, Morgan and I took an impromptu vacation day, just to hang out with Jasper. I've been trying to figure out how old Jasper would need to be to enjoy the zoo since before he was born. A friend told me recently that she took her daughter at 3.5 months, so I figured we'd try it since Jasper just hit 8 months(!). If nothing else, Morgan and I would enjoy it.

The Oakland Zoo is all of ten minutes from our house and is really just a gem. Its pretty small, but so well maintained, with huge enclosures for the most part.

Jasper was a little dubious about the lions (and I'm a dork):



The elephants were pretty cool though:



This giant rabbit head was a little too Donnie Darko for us (but the actual rabbits were fun):



But these climbing frogs were a hit:



No surprise there.

After 2.5 hours of walking around, we'd seen the entire zoo and had one sleepy kid on our hands:



All around a successful day, although we're pretty sure Jasper enjoyed watching the other kids more than any of the animals. But we enjoyed imaging Jasper growing up with the same sort of love and respect for critters that we have so much that we went ahead and bought a family membership. Lots more lazy days at the zoo for us.

Yes, I'm a slacker

but it turns out working, commuting and being a mom take a lot out of you.

However, I am thrilled (I think) to break my blogging silence with this very important announcement: We have a tooth!

I'd been so busy watching the little bumps on Jasper's bottom gums that I wasn't paying close attention to the top. Aren't they supposed to pop out on the bottom first? Not our boy: The tip of one shiny white tooth popped through his top gum last night or this morning. Maybe that's why he didn't wake me up yelling at 4am as he has for the last several night?

Anyway, go Jasper!

Sporty boy

Jasper's rooting for the Saints today.



Or, he would be if he cared about football as anything other than something to chew on...

Today's Fortunes

Mine: This year your highest priority will be your family.

Jasper's*: A bold and dashing adventure is in your future within the year.

Until his adventure begins, Jasper's going to make due with grabbing my hair with both hands, shrieking, and trying to eat my face.

* Jasper didn't actually eat his fortune cookie. He had pears for the first last night (yum) but we haven't moved on to multi-ingredient foods just yet.

At seven months

Jasper has begun devouring the American literary classics.



RIP, Mr. Salinger. And happy seven months, kiddo.

Sippy Cup Madness!

As part of our transition into big boy food and drink, we've introduced Jasper to the sippy cup.

Sippy cup, Jasper. Jasper, sippy cup.



He likes it. A lot.

Maybe he thinks it makes him look suave?



Every once in a while he actually gets some water out of it; he finds that a little alarming.



Unfortunately, I kind of think that the sippy cup is contributing to the excessive and seemingly quite painful gas Jasper has been having lately. He tends to swallow a lot of air, which can't be good for his little tummy.



So until we either get better at actually drinking or until I find a kind that lets him swallow less air, we might take a sippy cup break. Assuming I can get it away from him.

On the train

Jasper and I have been taking BART again. There's a networked computer for me and a big project at work, so we're back to commuting. For the first week or so, as we were getting back into the rhythm of working outside the house, we drove, but that meant having to move my car every two or four hours and being able to figure out if this is the second or the third Monday of the month in order to avoid street sweeper parking tickets. It also meant having to be on the bridge before 3:30pm, which, well, cuts into one's productivity. So we're back on BART.

So we're back to sharing an elevator with the young mom whose jaw dropped when she realized my 6.5 month old is as big as her 8 month old. Back to chatting with the probably homeless woman who seemed to be riding the train to avoid the rain and to panhandle for change; she was especially enamored with Jasper ("I can see it now, in five or six years, he'll be out playing baseball. 'Throw the ball, Jasper!' Like a scene from Leave it to Beaver."). And the brusque afternoon commuter who looked up long enough from her romance novel to advise me to keep socks on Jasper when he was learning to walk to keep him from being too mobile too soon. And all the young women who flirt with him as he looks over my shoulder. And the business man who took one look at me holding Jasper and trying to push his stroller off the train (mind the gap) and grabbed the front of the stroller to haul it out.

I like BART. I'm not really a driver, and given the choice between spending two hours (at least) a day in the car with Jasper in the backseat, most likely screaming his head off and sitting on a train for a little over an hour, actually interacting with my son, its an easy choice. And part of me likes the crazies and the strange sense of community that comes with being crammed on a train together.

Now, off to pay that parking ticket...

Because I'm a bad blogger

but also because its hard to write a blog post with a squirmy and restless infant in your lap, I give you the gratuitous photo post. Presented without captions or explanations.