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

Making Dinner

Last night Jasper decided that he needed to help me make dinner. He is a happy little chef.

A Wink and a Smile

I taught Jasper how to wink today. Tonight when Mike got home he showed off his new skill.

Trip to Beaver

My parents needed to go to Beaver last week, so Jasper and I made a short journey up there so we could visit them...and my grandpa...and my friend Bonnie and her boys.

We stayed in adjoining rooms at the Comfort Inn and swam every day. Jasper worked up the courage to jump to me off the side of pool on the first day and has been brave ever since. He also likes to ride around on my back while I am swimming.

Jasper was way overdue for a haircut and paid his first visit to an official barber shop. He was fidgety for the whole hair cut, but he didn't cry or scream at all -- which was a first.

I like the photo with his hands over his head in the barber chair. I call it, "Take a little off the top please." :>

Jasper loved the hotel. Favorite things include: the pool, running in between hotel rooms, having a lot of big doors to open and close, making new friends in the breakfast lounge, and especially riding the luggage cart.

Grammy was nice enough to indulge him with quite a few trips around the hotel -- inside and out.

We had a nice dinner at Maria's and then some fun on the adjoining campground playground -- which was a favorite for me when I was little.

Lake Las Vegas

A couple weeks ago we ventured out for a little sightseeing trip to Lake Las Vegas.

Even though we only live 5 minutes away, I've never been there before.

Mike's been a few times for business, so he took us to a few of his favorite spots.

Jasper was in love with the water everywhere.

Play Group at Mission Hills Park

Jasper and I ventured out to our favorite park today for our weekly church play group.

We brought two of my friend's kids along for triple the fun. Megan is pregnant and isn't feeling very well.

We love her kids and we're so glad they came with us.

Jasper claps for himself every time he goes down the slide.