Popsicles and Pictures

With a high temperature of 99 degrees and some cute new wallet size photos of Jasper we had a popsicles and pictures afternoon at the Mike's firm.

Though it seemed a little bit of a non-traditional treat, Jasper and I went office to office with our little blue cooler full of Big Sticks, Otter Pops, and Orange Sherbet Push-Ups. Perfect cool treats for a hot day.

We also handed out the latest installment of the latest "Jasper trading cards". All the ladies love to pick out their favorite poses. I just get wallet size reprints at Costco. They are such a steal at 10 cents each.

We are so grateful for all of the great people that Mike has the opportunity to work with.

One of the attorney's has a football in his office and when Jasper spotted it he insisted on carrying it with him throughout the firm.

As usual, Jasper was obsessed with opening and closing all the doors while we were there.

Sometmes I Think...

Jasper is one of the cutest kids I know.

But hey, I'm his Mom. And that's my job.

Thank You Von's!

Jasper and I made a quick run to Von's after our private family swim party to grab some ice cream.

I hardly ever go to Von's because I think their prices are too high. But Von's is the closest store to our house, and sometimes convenience wins out.

Today I let Jasper walk around the store with me. I usually put him in a shopping cart, but lately I've been letting him walk beside me in the store if we're going to be quick. He did really well until he spotted 2 dozen cookies on the bakery isle.

When we made it to the register every Von's front end employee was very concerned as to why Jasper (a.k.a. the cutest boy they have ever seen) was crying.

I explained to them that he was crying because he wanted a cookie. They then asked me why he couldn't just have a cookie. I explained that he didn't just want one cookie, but a package of 2 dozen. They then offered to run to the bakery and get Jasper a couple of free cookies.

Two minutes later Zach rounded the corner to our checkout stand with 2 large chocolate chip cookies. Crying stopped.

Though I balk at Von's high prices, it is hard to imagine that I would ever have the same experience at super Wal-Mart or anywhere else.

Swim Party

We had our own little private family swim party today. Today is the first day that Mike's been swimming with us this year.

As I suspected, Jasper was thrilled to have Mike in the pool.

I am sporting my long sleeve rash guard shirt that I am loving. It is nice to not have to slather my arms and back with sunblock if I am only swimming for 30 minutes.

Below are a few little video clips.

Building Blocks

These nesting blocks from Costco were a $10 well spent.

I love that they nest and don't take up a lot of room when stored. I even take them on trips with us.

Here's a video of Jasper walking around with a block on his foot in our hotel room last month. He was obsessed with putting a tiny block on his tiny foot and walking around with it. Silly boy!

My little tomato plant from Costco is yielding some ruby red Roma's that I am very happy about.

Nothing like garden fresh tomatoes.

Sharing

To my surprise, Jasper is really good at sharing food.

Today we shared a sherbet push-up, and Jasper was very willing to give me bite or two.

He also had a great time feeding me pretzel sticks during sacrament meeting. Thanks for the snack Jasper!

Here's a video below:

Hummus Monster

Hummus is Jasper's favorite food by far!

I have become a closet hummus eater. Sometimes I just want a quick snack, and I don't have time for captain messy to slowly and methodically dip each of his chips and eat them.

If Jasper catches one glimpse of the hummus and pita chips he won't stop until he gets some.

Sideways video below:

The Littlest Gardener

Jasper loves the mounds of dirt that abound in our backyard due to all the work being done out there.

I was giving our new Ash trees a little extra water and Jasper decided to sit right down in the water and mud and help out.

Since he was already filthy, I figured he might as well stay and play as long as he wanted to.

He is always right there to help me water the plants. My roses and tomatoes are not on a drip system yet, and Jasper loves to help me water them.

If I water the plants out of order, Jasper gets concerned that I have missed a plant. He will point to the one that still needs water to let me know that I skipped it. Little smarty pants.

Video below.

Two Points!

Jasper is having so much with his little basketball hoop.

I got it off Craig's List last week for super cheap after I saw how much fun he had with the little basketball hoop at the house where we go for swimming lessons.

Below are a few videos of our basketball boy...with the giggles.

Tiny CamelBak

When we use our CamelBak's on outdoor adventures Jasper wants to drink out of ours. To be honest, I don't really like anyone to drink out of my mouthpiece.

So when REI had baby CamelBak's on super sale we got Jasper his own.

He loves to walk around the house with it...and looks lie the cutest little hiker when he wears it.

He's ready for adventure!

Look at Me!

Jasper LOVES to look at pictures of himself and watch videos of himself.

In these photos he is reliving his hiking adventures at Valley of Fire.

Which just made me realize, I still need to do a post about our trip there. Oops!

Parked for the Night

As I was heading upstairs tonight I noticed Jasper's fire trucks parked for the night.

Right in the middle of the floor. There they sit. Side by side. Keeping each other company until the morning.

Seeing his trucks reminded me of how blessed I am to have Jasper in our home. He is a lot of fun and I can't imagine life without him.

This photo of Jasper parked for the night was taken when he'd only been with us for a week. Time flies when you're having fun.

Swim Team

My new nickname for Jasper is "swim team". I know it's not grammatically correct, but that's what I call him when we head to the van after our swimming excursions.

He started swimming lessons this week, plus we swim most days after Jasper's nap.

A lot of kids in our neighborhood take swim lessons from a lady named Michelle at her home. She only lives 7 minutes away, which is really nice.

We started going on Tuesday. I thought that Jasper would be in a class with a few other kids, but since he is only 1, he goes to private lessons for 20 minutes at a time, vs. 30 minutes in a class.

Maisey, who's 2, has lessons the same time that we do. Michelle's daughter team teaches with her and they trade off with the kids.

I call them swim lessons but really they are helping Jasper be pool safe. Either way, he has a lot of fun.

They motivate Jasper by making him chase balls around the pool. Sometimes Jasper throws his own balls and then swims after them. He's got quite an arm on him.

When Jasper is kicking Michelle often comments that he's got a motor on him. Yes, I said -- he's all boy!

She said that he's pretty good for only being one. I told her that maybe his Halloween costume last year was foreshadowing for things to come. (He was Michael Phelps).

We go every day, as they say repetition is the key. Jasper is getting tubes in his ears on June 3rd, so we'll go until then.

I am posting a few videos here at the end.

Trouble

I gasped when I turned and saw Jasper spray painting our house. He decorated the tile floor, hardwood floor, baseboards and wall. And himself.

For a brief moment I hoped I was having a bad dream, but this was my reality. Definitely not one of my brighter spots of being a stay at home mom.

At the end of the day on Tuesday a contractor left a can of deep red marking spray paint just inside our sliding glass doors, next to the wall, hidden by the leg of my desk...and we did not notice it.

But first thing Wednesday morning Jasper noticed it. And he loved how marking paint is so easy to spray because of the nozzle.

This photo was taken when I was almost complete with clean up. I was too in shock to take a photo of the entire mess. And to me honest, I don't think that I want to remember it all.

I stuck Jasper in his crib for an hour while I scrubbed the redness. He wanted to help out, and was making the mess even bigger.

It almost seems like Jasper was testing out a few of the manufacturer's claims about their product:

* Non-clogging can empties contents completely. (yes, that worked)

* Adheres to almost any surface, including wood, concrete, asphalt, brick, and gravel. (Jasper experimented with tile, hard wood floors, wood baseboards and painted drywall).

He has red toenails --- looks like he got a pedicure.

Yes, I did get it up off the floors. My baseboard and wall need to be repainted.

Under Construction

Our backyard is in under construction and I am trying to manage the project and keep Jasper from falling into any 3 foot holes. Wish me luck!

And yes, Jasper loved the backhoe. It was free entertainment for him

Redstone

Jasper and I took the back way home from Beaver. There was a lot of road construction for my taste and I was getting a little grumpy that I had taken that route home through the Lake Mead Recreation Area.

That is until we rounded a corner 40 minutes from home and Redstone came into view. Even though there was no water, it felt like an oasis to us. We needed a fun break and a beautiful place to stretch our legs.

We liked it so much that we went back the next day with Mike. My boys loved climbing on all the rocks and seeing all the lizards. Jasper wants to climb everywhere Mike climbs.

Let me know if you want me to give you directions on how to get there. It is a great place for a picnic. They even have a picnic bench in the shade