Favorite Truck: Follow-up

Just a little evidence that Jasper does EVERYTHING with a truck or car in his hand.

I really don't know anything that he can't do while toting a car or truck.

He spent 30 minutes playing on his climbing toy WITH his truck in hand at ALL TIMES. He is all boy!

Mike's Kitchen Tools

For over a year Mike has been requesting a drawer to house his favorite kitchen utensils. He if often frustrated when he can't find what he needs in the jam packed utensil drawers.

















A couple of weeks ago I finally did a complete reorganization on all of the kitchen drawers. And guess what I discovered?

Mike doesn't even need a whole drawer. his items fit perfectly in a little crock. He is quite happy, AND I didn't have to give up a drawer.

The takeaways from this story are:
(1) My husband is so easy to please.
(2) I should not have put this task off for a year. I put it off because I did not want to give up one of my utensil drawers-- and in the end I didn't have to.

If felt great to go through every single drawer and organize and it really is easier to find things. :>

Favorite Truck

For memory sake, I want to document Jasper's all time favorite truck (so far).

I bought this beauty at Goodwill for a quarter, ran it through the dishwasher for a round of sanitizing, and it has been in Jasper's hand ever since.

This truck is frequently using it's large tires to roll over just about everything, including sippy cups.

If Jasper gets grumpy while you are changing his diaper, just do a couple of "vroom, vroom" noises and run the truck over his belly a few times. He thinks that is so funny.

Yes, that's a little trick that Mike made up. Because honestly, I think more along the lines of tickling, not running body parts over with cars. That's the difference between boys and girls.

Secret Cheerios

In an effort to try not to say "NO" to Jasper all day long, we have a special cabinet that houses Cheerios. It is actually the colander and bowl cabinet, but it now doubles as the secret Cheerio cabinet.

When Jasper gets into cupboards that he is not supposed to be in, I direct him to his special cabinet where the answer is always "YES".

I keep a handful of Cheerios out on the shelf, and Jasper just wonders over to his special cupboard when he gets hungry and starts snacking. This is helpful, because then I know he is hungry.

Lunch with Mike --- and a visit to the firm

I went to the dentist and my friend who watched Jasper said that he was not too happy this morning.

I thought that maybe lunch with daddy might be a nice pick-me-up -- for both of us!

After a quick lunch Mike said that we could come into the firm for a visit since it was still the lunch hour.

Jasper loves to see everyone. His first stop was the office supply closet, where he immediately got the vacuum out and and tried to push it out into the hall. Grandma Sharon tried to helped him vacuum, but he mostly just wanted to push the entire vacuum down the hall.

Next Jasper was off to the recycle bin, which he thought was some kind of a ball pit, only with water bottles instead of balls. He kept climbing in the recycle bin and playing in the sea of water bottles.

Jasper was happy to drag his dad in a gift of the empty bottle wrapping.

Jasper loved going into Mike's office to see him -- even though Mike was trying to get some work done. Jasper LOVES his daddy.

Thanks for a fun visit everyone!

Feeling Blessed

A few things....

** This morning I had my bi-annual check-up with my Hematologist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Nevada. I had my blood drawn last week and my results came back fine.

Dr. Kinglsey says that I am still a mystery and that I can stop coming to him until I get pregnant again. I will be on blood thinners for the entire pregnancy. It is only 1 shot per day -- so not too bad.

I started going to Dr. Kingsley because when I was 8 months pregnant with Jasper I got a subclavian DVT -- which means I had a blood clot near my lung. I spent a week in the hospital after my left arm turned purple and swelled up.

Over the last year Dr. Kingsley has ordered MANY blood tests, ulrasounds, x-rays, and even a mammogram. He was worried that my blood clot was a precancerous sign, but he just can't find anything wrong. I feel blessed that I seem to be out of the woods...at least for now.

** On Monday Jasper and I were heading out the door to run some errands. When we opened the laundry room door to reach the back door we were hit with smoke from an electrical fire. The washer was running and we think the motor burned out. Regardless, our washer is toast. After a few days, we have almost cleared out the horrible smoke smell.

I feel SO GRATEFUL that this happened while Jasper and I were home. If we would have already left, I am afraid that we would have come home to a major fire in our house.

** While Jasper and I were driving home we passed a mom in our neighborhood walking up the hill to our house from Von's. It is 2 miles and uphill all the way. She was pushing a stroller with 3 kids that was loaded down with groceries. I turned around and pulled over to see if I could give her a ride home.

I completely take for granted that our family has 2 cars, and that I can run to the store whenever I want to.

I feel very blessed...for all of the above and much, much more.

First Sucker

Today at Costco I was filling out a positive comment card for J.D. in the Auto Center (he very sweetly checked my tire pressure and topped my tires off with air).

Meanwhile, Seth, who works in customer service, was trying to make friends with Jasper. He knew that a chocolate sucker would do the trick.

I gave my nod for Jasper to begin devouring the sucker, and boy oh boy --suckers are messy business. By the time we made it out to the van, Jasper was so sticky he felt like he'd been doused in Karo syrup.

He loved the sucker, and Seth was so proud that he has given Jasper his first sucker. We'll be sending you the dentist bill Seth! :>

On the Floor

I find that I spend a good deal of my day ON THE FLOOR!

Sometimes I am lucky and I get a hug, most of the time I am reading a story or playing cars. Sometimes I wrestle and play tough with Jasper like he is a little tiger cub.

And a lot of times I am picking up food (is there anything that creates more crumb residue than breaking whole graham crackers into tiny pieces? I know -- that's why Teddy Grahams were invented).

Somehow I ended up on the kitchen floor after church having some tiger cub play time with Jasper and his FAVORITE truck. I am not quite as good at Wrestlemania as Mike -- but I gave it my best shot!

Adventures in Babysitting: Second Edition

Last night we were back with one of our favorite families -- this time we made sugar cookies, as it is getting a little chilly to swim at night.

I brought all of my Fall cookie cutters and sprinkles and we baked and decorated the night away.

My favorite cookie was Hailee's totally groovy turkey. These kids are very creative! We had fun packaging the cookies up and making notes for their friends to accompany the plates of cookies.

Jasper loves to be with all of the kids, and he has so much fun chasing their cats Cougar and Tigger around the house.

At one point I was on the kitchen floor playing with Jasper and things got a little silly.

After we all got in our PJ's, we snuggled and read our favorite bedtime stories, sang songs and said our prayers.

We really love these kids! We had a super fun night and we look forward to babysitting again.

Grumpy Santa

I attempted to take a few photos of Jasper in his Santa hat, and all I got was a grumpy Jasper.

Have I mentioned that he is not particularly fond of hats?

Trunk or Treat

We had the BEST time at Trunk or Treat at our church parking lot.

Jasper was Michael Phelps, and I was his #1 fan. His USA track suit and 8 tiny gold medals were a big hit!

I don't really have a lot of portable Halloween decor to decorate our van with, so I went with the theme our costumes and decked our van out in red, white and blue.

We had flags in the back, flags on the side of the van and flags waving in full glory on top (it was a slightly breezy night). We stood out like a sore thumb, but we did receive compliments from many of the younger trunk-or-treaters. We were the "non scary" car.

My friend Becky wore her "lady in waiting" costume. Becky and I handed out candy together from my van. With our flags flying high, everyone thought that Becky was Betsy Ross.

We named our van "America: Past & Present" -- which sounds more like a parade float theme. Mike joined us in a camping chair on the side of the van and we all had a great time!

This One is for You Rosey

Mike's secretary loves to see Jasper in overalls. Hope this makes your day Rosey!

The Pink Gorilla Strikes Again

When my friend mentioned that she was taking cupcakes to school for her daughter's birthday I knew it was time for a Pink Gorilla singing telegram.

Her daughter's 4th grade class was amused and Jasper didn't seem nonplussed when he saw his mom's secret identity.

High Centered

On the subwoofer, trying to jump into an empty tub, and this time...on the side of the barn. Jasper is frequently high centering himself.

I keep myself busy getting him out of these precarious situations.

Tiny Car for a Tiny Man

This Fiat 126 has been parked in our neighborhood for a while now. Every time we walk by it catches my eye.

If we are on a walk as a family, Mike tells us stories about when he lived in Italy as a teenager and he & a buddy could lift up and move Fiat Cinquecentos.

I think he likes to tell the story so he can whip his Italian accent every time he pronounces Cinquecento.

While Jasper & I were on a walk we decided to stop and take a good look at this tiny little car.

I figured it was just the right size for my tiny little man.

Welcome Home Daddy!

I made this sign for Mike on Monday. I would have taken more time with my artwork if I would have known that Mike would like it enough to keep it on the door still.

We are always happy (thrilled actually) when daddy comes home!

Strollin'

Jasper and I have been walking many miles each day. We are LOVING the weather, and just can't get enough of the sunshine and fall breezes.

We bought our BOB stroller last year with an REI coupon, and it has been well worth it. I love this stroller!

Tucked in the back pocket are our essentials: water bottle, teddy grahams and a sippy cup. In the stroller console I keep my other water bottle, cell phone and keys.