Happy birfday!

Today is Jasper's 2nd birthday. We've been celebrating since Sunday. I think it might be a little traumatic once we stop. He is riding a new scooter, playing with new train tracks, reading new books, fixing things with his new tool set and cooking with his new kitchen gadgets.
The boy says "fickin" instead of fixing. It's hilarious. We gave him a little toy tool box for his birthday, and he's running around the house fickin everything. Too cute.

I feel so excited and proud of my little monkey. He's adorable, sweet, a daredevil and no matter how frustrated I get with him at times, I can't help but melt when he says, "Hugs."

No. 2 is due in about five weeks. I am even more tired and cranky than usual. I remember fondly when going to bed seemed like a relief. Rolling over at night is a chore all on its own. Sigh.

The name, the name, the name. We have not settled on a name for No. 2, and since we're having some troubles just deciding between the two of us, we've decided not to get anyone else involved in the conversation. We'll just say this, we will have a name picked out by the time this kid is born, and you'll know when you'll know. We could, of course, wait until I'm 10 centimeters to decide for sure. Sorry.

I've been saying that after Jasper's birthday we're just going to wind down and relax until this baby is born. Why do I fear that won't really happen?

I am thankful for some amazing fall weather right now. Despite the fact that it felt hot in our bedroom a couple of recent nights, cloudy, gray mornings giving way to beautiful blue, sunny afternoons aren't all that bad.

I am also thankful for some amazing friends. They lift my spirits when things get crazy. I am a lucky woman to have so many great women in my life.

I need to get our guest room (aka junk room) cleaned up and ready for visits from grandmas. Oh, and I guess we better get that crib put together, too!

I scream, he screams, we all scream for...

I am expecting a slight bit of insanity as this week rolls on with a huge job finishing up on Sunday.

I am so excited about next Monday. I have nothing to do!

Jasper's latest antics include thinking just about everything in our house is a ladder. He is constantly talking about climbing ladders. This includes the bed, chairs, benches, shelves and drawer pulls. He is also still fascinated with his diaper, taking it off, pulling it out of place even with clothes on and such, but I'll keep this post as positive as possible!

And... making us think twice about taking him out in public when he belts out a high-pitched scream because he's being restrained (in a shopping cart, stroller, etc.) when he doesn't want to be. This includes the car seat. It is a battle that seriously makes me think twice about going to the grocery store. I certainly limit trips in and out of the car. Every time we get in or out, we have the tantrum about how he wants to drive the car. Seriously, someone tell me this won't last until he's 16!

I am thankful for my husband who is managing to stand by me during this crazy period where I'm very stressed with work and getting very pregnant by the day. And constantly chasing a nearly-2-year-old. If all that doesn't make for a crazy mama, I don't know what would do it!

On the baby front, I'm 30 weeks this week. Feels like a big milestone, 3/4 of the way through, and the we-could-go-anytime date seems closer than I realize. I'm excited except for the fact that I know I'll be sleeping a lot less after the little one is here!

I am hopeful that I can keep my pledge to make no major commitments after this Sunday. Seth is asking that I put it in writing.

Jasper is cute when he eats ice cream. He's recently learned about dessert. He's, of course, eaten sweets for some time now, but now he gets it that he can ask for dessert, meaning cookies, cakes, ice cream and such. He calls it "ice cream truck." He's never eaten a treat from an ice cream truck, but we have several books that include ice cream trucks. Combine that with a boy's fascination with trucks, and you have "ice cream truck." Adorable. Here's a pic of him enjoying some chocolate ice cream tonight.

Another attempt

In an attempt to make blogging a bit easier and still satisfy the itch for my far-flung family to see pictures of our growing family, I am taking a stab at a new approach to this blog.

We'll see how far I get. I'm not setting any rules about how often I post because I find that intimidating enough with my other blog. Plus, my life seems to be getting busier by the second.

Here goes.

This week I am the lead volunteer organizing my annual neighborhood picnic. It's quite a chore, and, while I truly believe in serving your community, I will be relieved when the event is over.

I am anticipating some stress. I've got a massive work gig next week that is going to wipe me out.

I am looking forward to the months of September and October. No commitments, baby.

Jasper's latest antics include rearranging his diaper (or the body parts therein) during nearly every sleep time (night and naps). This means he most often he wakes up with wet clothes and wet bed. Call me the laundry queen.

Jasper's latest success would have to be going to sleep in his big boy bed without crying, although he might say it was "driving" a real fire truck at a festival over the weekend.

I am thankful for my mom. I never knew how hard this job was. Oh, and I'm also thankful for the energy I have despite being 29 weeks pregnant.

I am proud of the painting I just finished for Jasper's room. It's two panels that depict a scene from a book we found at the library of a little boy and a fire truck.

And a few pics.

Found him like this after nap today. He'd taken his diaper off, thrown it on the floor and tried to put his shorts back on. Trouble was he put both feet in one leg of his shorts.

Jasper and cousins Sophie and Lily on our trip to OK.

Jasper driving the boat with Papa!

Just chillin', folks.

Playing in the water at Lake Eufala.

Jasper and Sophie sleeping on the boat ride home.

Papa, Great Mom & Pop, Dad & Jasper hanging out in my parents' back yard on the swing set from my grandparents' home.

Jasper gives Baby Brother a raspberry on my tummy.

Jasper feeding baby. This is a new thing. Very funny.

A recent visit to the NW from Carrie and her crew. Here are Jasper, Emily & Jax.

The painting for Jasper's new room.

Catching up

Wow, I'm embarrassed that it's been so long. I've been quite neglectful lately. Those of you who keep up with my other blog likely know that I've even struggled to get posts up on time there.

Well, where should I start.

• I'm nearly 20 weeks pregnant. We're getting excited about finding out the gender and learning (we hope) that all is healthy with the little peanut.
  
• Jasper is growing every day, both physically and cognitively. He amazes us more and more all the time. He has been communicating with us on some level for about a year now with sign language and then some words, but his verbal skills are really taking off. He is making sentences, repeating things and saying words I didn't realize he knew all the time!
  
• Some of Jasper's favorite things include: boxed raisins, his puppy dog, books, toy cars, trucks & trains, big buses on the road, going on walks in the stroller with his friends, playing in water, and pretending to ride "horsey" on just about anything he can straddle.
• He does not like getting his diaper changed, getting dressed, any vegetable other than avocado, or being told "no."

We're looking forward to a nice, lazy summer before our world gets kicked into high gear with Baby No. 2 this fall. Here are a few pics of No. 1.

The best pets

It seems as if I become less and less grossed out or surprised by the things I have to do. Like last week when the vet said I had to collect urine samples from the dog for three mornings in a row. Didn't even flinch. And didn't think for one second that Seth would do this.

It seems between poopy diapers, spaghetti sauce in Jasper's hair, chicken poop and the regular dog poop pickup in the yard, I now have to hold a cup out while the dog takes a piss. Thank goodness he's male. Just make sure and put the tea water for me. It has been freezing cold and wet these past few mornings.

I have to say, however, I was pretty happy to drop off the specimens at the vet's office today. Another day, another chore. All of this is still in an effort to figure out why in the heck Wiley keeps getting these skin infections. We've moved beyond allergy to some metabolic disorder or disease that has weakened his immune system.


After hearing all of this, my sister said it best: "A beta fish, the best pet. Ever."

That says a lot coming from her. Angie brought home more than a few stray animals during our childhood. My parents especially loved the dog she brought home, took to the vet and found out was pregnant with LOTS of puppies! Yeah, not just one dog to take in but 10! Growing up we had (at one point or another, though not all at the same time) horses, dogs, cats, bunnies, fish, mice, hermit crabs and, if you include wild animals we caught, the list would expand to turtles, tarantulas, horny toads and crawdads.

All that said, I guess it's not too surprising that my little family expanded our animal brood about three weeks ago with three chickens. They're hens, they're legal and they will be delivering our eggs with a bow attached. OK, maybe not the part about they bow, but these little gals will live in a little coop in our backyard, something that more than a few of our neighbors also enjoy.


We have had the luxury of eating freshly laid eggs while chicken sitting for our neighbors. It is really a delight. And I'm hoping we all find a little fun in these new creatures. I'm also hoping that this go-round with animals is a bit more like my childhood. With all those pets, we actually didn't make a gazillion trips to the vet. And when one dog died after being hit by a car on the side of our country road, my dad just dug a grave right there. We even had a little spot in the back corner of our 5 acres where we buried a few other pets. I don't want to stress about animals like we've done with Wiley over the past year and a half. We love the guy and wouldn't change a thing, but some days I wonder how we got to this point where the dog has equal footing with the humans.

Nonetheless, today, we drove several miles out of our way with an impatient kiddo in the back to pick up Wiley's special dog food and drop off the jars of pee at the vet's.

Now that I think about it, Jasper is really into fish these days. Maybe I should jump on Angie's suggestion before he learns about all the other animals other people keep as pets!

Cooking with Jasper

Puddle jumping and other adventures...

Jasper has been a busy boy lately. Over the weekend he went to a birthday party for a neighborhood friend and visited Cousin Nathan's Farm, where he discovered that it just may be his destiny to drive a John Deer tractor. He LOVED it. Thanks, Dad, for playing with him up there!

After several sunny days in a row, Jasper got used to going outside, to the park and in the backyard. It's hard to explain why we can't do that when the rain is coming down. Fortunately, we had a nice sunny break between showers. I decided to put his little green froggy rain boots on him and head out the door. Just like it was instinct, he took to jumping in puddles with no instructions or encouragement. About 25 minutes later the boy was soaking wet, his little jogging pants sagging with the weight of the water. He screamed for a few minutes when I dragged him inside!

Watching my boy playing in the street didn't lend itself to me taking pictures. If I had, I might be getting a visit from child protective services. I'm sure the rain will stick around for a few more months, so I'll have to enlist Dad to take some pics next time.

Here are a couple of others, though:

Turns out I do like spaghetti.

Thanks to the puddle jumping, we did a bath before dinner -- big mistake!

Is this what I'm not supposed to touch?

Cheeeeeese! I love chocolate covered bananas.

Enough with the pictures, Mom, more bananas!

Catching up

What has happened to the time? It seems to fly by these days. Between play dates, naps and work, I struggle to find time to do just about anything else. Like blog.

In the name of brevity, here's a quick rundown of what's going on in our little world. If you just care to see pictures of the cutest little boy ever, scroll down.

• Jasper will be 17 months old in a couple of weeks, and I can hardly believe it. The boy is a hoot. He can climb stairs, run, ride his bike and dance like no other. He's pretty happy most of the time, and mostly just gets upset near the dinner hour when I'm working like mad to finish cooking. Lately we've been happier when I pull up the stool near me and let him play on the countertop. He'll pile carrot peels and onion skins in his own bowls and stir them with a spoon.
  
• A blood test confirmed that Jasper is not allergic to eggs but just had the sensitivity that is not all that uncommon in babies. He would have loved to hear this news, but he was too busy stuffing muffins, waffles, chocolate chip cookies and pancakes into his mouth.
  
• Seth is surviving the grind and continuing to commute by bike and train despite the cold, wet weather. Kudos to him, I think, as I watch him ride off from my spot inside the warm house with a cup of coffee each morning.
  
• I always have a little slump this time of year thinking that winter just might take me down. It seems to have been a little less this year, so that's good. Soon my birthday will roll around, and then I can hang on until spring officially arrives. Our mild winter around here means we're already seeing daffodils and tulips poking through the soggy mud.
• I am in the process of starting my own, very part-time business. It's called Larapin Creative, and I'll be doing marketing and communications work for food businesses. It's basically what I've been doing, but this will allow me to take on other clients. It seems very scary and fun all at the same time. I'm hoping to have a web site to show off before too long.
• OK, enough of this, let's see those pics I promised!

Strawberry saute anyone?

My homemade squirrel feeder outside of the breakfast nook.

Jasper loves to look out the window at the squirrels. We've named him Skeeter.

Running at the park on a recent sunny afternoon.

This chair in Jasper's room is possibly his favorite spot to sit and "read."

Jasper the fireman.

Did I mention he's cute?

Peek-a-boo.

Yee-haw or maybe it should be hee-haw!

Cheeeeeeeeese!