First Time Home Owner's -- That's Us!

It's official! We bought our first home yesterday.

We took Jasper to the signing with us, which was quite an adventure. When all else fails, I stick him on my shoulders, and he's content. Jasper even got in a game or two of peek-a-boo.

We are super excited, and can't wait to move in and get settled in a few weeks.

Most of the interior paint is crazy -- I mean crazy! So all the paint has to be redone before we move in. I'll post the photos of the interior after the paint is up.

We patiently waited for our housing market to go down, and our patience paid off. Our new home (which is 2 years old) is only 1 mile away from where we live now.

It is in a quiet cul-de-sac with a huge backyard (by Vegas standards...land of postage stamp backyards) where Jasper can run free. We are thrilled to stay in the same ward.

Open Sesame

Jasper's latest trick is opening doors.

The last 2 weeks have been more eventful here at home, as Jasper now can let himself into any room in the house.

His favorite new hang out is a once forbidden zone -- the pantry.

This afternoon Jasper tried to make his great escape out the front door. He had my keys in hand, and that is as far as he got...for now.

Gotta' love the cute chunky thighs in this photo. Jasper's thighs (or quads, as Mike calls them) are the only place in his body where he has some cute baby fat.

15 Month Check-up

I'm almost a month behind here.

Jasper is so small that I was really worried he would be in the 1 percentile for weight and height. Luckily he did better than I expected.

Here's his stats:

Height: 30 1/2 inches --10-25th percentile

Weight: 21 lbs. 7 oz.--10th percentile

Since Mike & I both got a flu shot, Jasper got his today too. It is a 2 part series, so we go back in January for flu shot part 2.

Jasper was so good about his shots that they asked us if he even got his shots. He is one tough little guy.

Just Trying to Get Something Done

I feel like I can never get anything done lately. Is this just part of being a mom?

I was trying to do some online research for some appliances and Jasper just couldn't keep his fingers (and trains) off my keyboard.

I finally stuck him on my shoulders, and he was quite happy up there. I had five whole minutes of uninterrupted computer time...I think I will try it more often.

Daddy's Shoes

Jasper is pretty obsessed with shoes right now. You better keep your shoes on. If he spots them, he'll slip them on.

Mike has a pair of running shoes that Jasper LOVES! I think it is because they have a tag in the back, which he thinks is a carrying handle. These are Jasper's favorite shoes by far.

When he is not hauling Mike's shoes out the door and all over the house, he's wearing them.

We're not sure what thrill comes from dragging Mike's shoes outside, but Jasper has added this to his list of chores.

I caught him dropping the shoes off outside (he can only carry one at a time), and then making a get away down the side of the house.

I told you, he's busy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From our house to yours!

Catch me if you can

I was trying to salvage Jasper's outfit AND rinse him off in the sink after a diaper that was deserving of a rinse off. Well, I ended up soaking the outift.

The second I undressed Jasper and dried him off he decided to play "race track peek-a-boo" - which is were we race each other around the kitchen island (which is 6 feet long). He still had his socks and penny loafers on. The traction from his shoes helped him go extra fast!

Hopefully we burned a few calories after 10 solid minutes of fun, because we were late getting to the gym.

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

I picked this recipe up at my ward recipe club a few months ago. I made this stack of mini-pancakes and they are delicious!

5 Minute Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup wheat--whole grain--not ground

1 cup buttermilk or milk

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup oil or applesauce (I used applesauce)

2 Tbsp sugar or honey or both (I used honey)

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

1. Put the whole grain wheat and 1 cup milk in a blender and bled at high speed for 3 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend 2 minutes more.

3. Cook pancakes as usual or make silver dollar size for snacking.

Dancin' a Jig

I bought some cornflakes to crush up and use as a topping on funeral potatoes.

It seems like Jasper has been reading my cookbook, because he took the cornflakes out of the shopping bag and started dancing a little jig on top of the box.

I think that the cornflake crushing can be attributed to Jasper's need to climb on top of anything and everything that he can.

Thanks for crushing my cornflakes Jasper!

Christmas Blankets Full of Cheer

You may remember my post about making a blanket for women who are on bed rest at the Hospital during Christmas.

Let's just say that my blanket for next year will be finished on time -- as I can use the material that I bought for this year and did not finish. :>

Jasper and I still went out for the deliveries and we had a great time.

We were able to go in and talk to 2 ladies who are a little more than 1/2 way through their pregnancies.

That is a long haul to be in the hospital for many more weeks to come. They each have other kids at home -- one lady has an 8 month old baby at home. Whew! That really broke my heart.

We took the extra blankets to the Pediatric Oncology floor where we know they are needed.

Merry Christmas Sunrise Hospital!

Rain, Snow, Sleet or Hail -- The Male Mail Team Rides On

It may be snowing, but the male mail team still delivers!

Thanks boys!

Still Coming Down

I realize that for most of my friends snow is not that big of a deal. But down here in Vegas, this is HUGE! Who knows when it will snow like this again.

I wish that we had a sled, because we live next door to a small hill that everyone is sliding down. I just saw a kid walk past my front door with his snowboard.

All of our trees are falling over with the heavy snow.

Mike just made it home safe from work. He was able to leave early, but it still took him 75 minutes -- which is 1 hour longer than his usual commute. He had to go 20 miles per hour the whole way home. And we all know how painful that is in a car with 306-horsepower engine :>

We're just glad he is home safe.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

The news is calling it a "major weather event". The D.O.T. says that Vegas only has 3 snowplows in town. Yikes!

Jasper can't get enough of it! Especially trying to catch the snowflakes on his tongue.

We walked out the front door to head to the gym and look what we found.

Our airport is not accepting flights or letting flights go out. This never happens in Vegas!

We say -- LET IT SNOW!

We are hoping that Mike can come home a little early and avoid the Vegas drivers who have never driven in snow before.

We plan on sipping hot cocoa with candy canes stirred in and bundling up.

St. George Temple

We had an uplifting visit to the St. George Temple grounds and Visitor's Center a couple weeks ago.

The trees were ablaze in gold and yellow and the sky was a clear bright blue. The Visitor's Center was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Nativities were on display.

And the ultimate "Christmas decoration" is the focal point of the entire Visitor's Center -- Christ, prominently depicted in the Christus statue.

I take Jasper here every time we go to Salt Lake City. When I look back at the photos from our July visit Jasper looks so tiny.

Mike had a blast throwing Jasper high in the air and watching him giggle with delight.

New Mercedes-Benz

If you know anything about the cars that the attorneys at Mike's firm drive -- I probably had you going with the title of this blog post. :>

The new Mercedes in the house belongs to the youngest member of our family.

My grandpa won Jasper a ride-on dump truck at the Beaver County Fire Department Christmas Party. In one of those steal-the-gift games he had to take it from someone else -- but we are sure glad that he did.

Jasper absolutely loves it! Thank you Grandpa!