Tinker Moth

As we were heading down to the water Jasper made an exciting discovery. On the side of our home was a moth.

Both kids got overly animated. I didn't quite understand all the hype. Even for my kids, they were excessively awed by this particular bug. Avey much more so than Jasper.

Jasper: Mommy look it's a moff! A moff! Oh my goodness is so adowable. Look sissy, a moff!

Avabella: AAH! Mommy! Wook, wook! Oh tute! Oh dosh! *high pitch girly squeels*

Aves is jumping, pointing and wiggling so much trying to get me to put her down so she can get an up close view. What has gotten in to her?!

Me: Uh huh it's a very cute moth. Come on guys lets go play in the water.

Avabella: Nooo!!!

Me: Ok!! Geez fine let's go see it. Just stop screeching at me, monster.

Naturally Jasper poked it. The "adorable" moth took off flying in the sunshine. It was in the next moment I discovered why my little princess was so VERY excited about an ugly moth when usually she hates bugs and says eew.

Avabella, my little mandrake root, squealed in her highest, girliest voice. Pointing and jumping up and down. Eyes glued to Mr. Moth as it fluttered away. The most excited I think I have ever seen her. Ever.

Avabella: HAHBELL!!!!! Mommy woot, Hahbell!!

Que the awe's. My darling little daughter found a fairy. Tinkerbell.

Thank you, Bella-boo. Thank you so much to both my babies for reminding me that magic is everywhere. You close my eyes again and again so that I can once more see with my heart the treasures all around.

Medicine Cups

Jasper learned a new achievement today!  He can officially drink medicine out of a medicine cup.  We've always given it to him dropper by dropper and never really let him try it on his own.  For those who don't know, kids medicine is a messy, sticky disaster.

Today at Wal-mart I bought him some stuff for his bad chest cold.  It was the regular ol' cold that's been going around but it moved down into his chest two days ago and it's bad.  If his cough doesn't improve by Monday we're taking him to the doctor.

Anyways, we got out to the car and I wanted to get the medicine in him ASAP.  Trouble was, unless it's infant stuff they don't include a dropper.  So we gave it a shot.  It wasn't working at first.  He would get some on his tongue and then want to swallow.  About four times of doing that and he hadn't even made a dent.  I poured some in his mouth, he swallowed it and didn't spit any out.  Success!

I gave him a fever reducer just a half hour ago.  It was a piece of cake.  No mess at all and it only took him three sips!

Every day Jasper surprises me with his advances.  He's so smart and loving.  You should see him and his cousin, Kaidynce, play.  They share, hug, give kisses, play peek-a-boo, play tag.  It's adorable and oh so sweet.  We're raising some great kids.

Meow

Apparently Shrek is a huge hit in our house.  Jasper can talk you through the whole movie telling you which parts are funny and what's coming up.  He especially loves the beginning when Shrek is "cleaning" himself.  It's pretty adorable when Jasper gets into trouble now, too.

Me:  Jasper Nolan-Lee!  I said, "No".  It is not okay to throw things.
Jasper:  Kind of blank expression on face.  Eyes open wide and blinking slowly.
Me:  Aww, honey...


We figured out later he got that little look from Puss-In-Boots.  Those cute little kitten eyes that will get him whatever he wants.  Stinkin' ham!!!  And I fall for it every time.

Egg Hunt

Easter was so much fun!  Jasper really enjoyed hunting for the eggs.  As soon as he spotted the first colored egg he was on the hunt.  Running around the yard picking up all the eggs he could find.  He would only put them in the basket once his hands were so full they started falling on the ground.  He's just so much fun now that he understands things better!

Picture overload of our handsome little man.

Lullaby Update

Before Jasper was born I wrote him a lullaby and I plan to do it with every child we have.  I'm in the process of writing a lullaby for this baby.  A few more verses were added to Jasper's Lullaby after I had posted it though.  Here is the whole thing.

Jasper's Lullaby

Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

Baby mice are fast asleep.
You won't hear baby birdies cheep.
'Cause everyone's tucked safe in bed.
For a peaceful night of dreams ahead.

So Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

Stars they shimmer just for you;
Like laughing dimples in the sky.
The moon will watch you while you sleep;
A night-light for the world to see.

So Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

Adventure waits so count the sheep.
You'll be a prince on your mighty steed.
Befriend the dragon, save the future Queen.
You'll fall in love and become the King.


Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

A cave of wonders hides in sand.
Genie has a monkey friend.
Magic carpet fly across the sky.
It's you and me, a whole new world tonight.

So Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

We both love you very much.
Feel our warmth through gentle touch.
Close your eyes and drift to sleep.
Hush, be calm, be quiet my sweet.

Jasper, my love, hush close your eyes
While Mommy sings your lullaby.

Nuh-night baby.  I love you.

All Grown Up

Happy birthday to the sweetest boy in the whole wide world!  Today you turned two years old.  Although if we ask you it's "tee" with your thumb, pointer and middle finger out.  Don't try to grow up too fast, Honey.  Today you got some awesome toys:  a ball to sit and bounce on, a big rubber balloon ball to whack around, a truck that's been mudding (your favorite toy), coloring stuff that only colors on the special paper (Mommy loves this), some Hot Wheels cars and a few other little knick-knacks.

On Saturday we've invited everyone over for cake and ice cream.

This is not my kid.  Jasper is definitely not 5.  I'm working on this project I've seen around Pinterest.  More on that coming up.

Happy birthday Jasper!!  Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!

A Pic With A Bunny

Hippity hoppity Easter's on it's waaaaayyyyy!!!! Guess who was at the local JC Thriftway today? The Easter Bunny! Right when we walked in Jasper was very curious about the fuzzy bunny. We walked up and watched another little kid get their picture with Easter Bunny then it was Jasper's turn. He happily accepted the Easter egg. It was even blue, his favorite color. Sitting alone on the giant rabbits lap was not his idea of a great time. There was no freak out but he definitely wanted down. When Daddy sat next to the Easter Bunny it went much smoother.  I am so looking forward to the Easter egg hunt tomorrow! Jasper is going to love it!

Thanks for the blue egg and all, dude, but let me down before I start kicking your Easter eggs.

Ehhh!!  Get me the f*** down!

Mom!  Tell me you see the giant bunny next to me, too.

Shunning the Easter bunny.

When Jasper found out there was stuff inside that blue egg it was as if he discovered some buried treasure.  He had flopped the egg down in the cart which cracked it open.  Candy scattered, Jasper's eyes grew wide, and then the egg took a mild beating to see if more candy would pop out if he opened it again and again.  

Yo Ho Ho!

If you ask Jasper how old he is going to be he holds up his thumb, pointer and middle fingers and says, "fwee!".  He'll be two on Tuesday.  It's pretty close.  In honor of his birthday I drew the Jake and The Neverland Pirates characters on our window.  I think they turned out pretty well and Jasper loves them.  He keeps asking Jake for kisses and hugs.  Aww.

 

Washer Safety

I just talked to Justin yesterday about this and now there is an article.  I'm ahead of the game.  And wouldn't you know it, it was an Oregon family.  Hits a little close to home. 

Jasper often helps with the laundry now.  We hand him clothes to put in the dryer and he stuffs them on in.  He'll also hand us clothes to put in the washer.  Well he was helping me with laundry and I was explaining that we put the soap in to make the clothes clean and fresh.  After it was turned on he leaned over and tried to touch the water.  I believe someone showed him this and let him do it.  Jasper also climbs into the dryer now. 

I nagged at Justin and told him never encourage Jasper to play in the washer or dryer again.  They are not toys!  Justin says it wasn't him who showed him the washing machine "fun" so I'm guessing it was Debbie.  Dryers can be dangerously hot and washers can drown.  Jasper can help with chores but he needs to learn safety first.

source

In Justin's defense I laughed the first time I saw Jasper in the dryer.  Justin was just showing me what Jasper discovered on his own.  I mean, it was cute as heck.  But then I pulled him out and said "no-no it's not safe" which made me the total bad guy.  And I felt guilty because I laughed which made it seem like it was a good thing to do.  Bad Mommy moment.

*Note:  I have problems with the above image.  I'm not a fan of her setting the kid on top of the machine and then leaning around him but I can get over that part.  It's not a huge deal.  However, the cleaning products right next to the child are a gigantor no-no.  No way, José!

Some may accuse me of being overprotective or silly or whatever, but here's the kicker:  My kid, My rules.  End of discussion.  Do you think it's okay for kids to splash in the water of the washing machine?  What about climbing into an empty dryer?  Your thoughts won't change mine but I'm curious how others feel about laundry room safety.

Scared

Even while we were still thinking about getting pregnant I was getting nervous.  As the due date is getting closer, I'm starting to freak out more and more.  I am terrified of having a repeat csection experience.  Terrified!  If it goes badly again, this will probably be our last baby and I really don't want that.  I'm hoping for four kids.  A person can only take so much trauma.  It really messed with me and made many things... uncomfortable to deal with.  I still replay it over and over in my head and recall all the awful little details.  "Women forget the pain of childbirth"  bull-fucking-shit!  I call a B.S. on whoever made that crap up.  I can tell you every terrible part in painful, gory detail while I'm crying my eyes out and lash out at anyone who so much as attempts to touch me how much lying horse crap is in that saying.  Perhaps fools forget.  I will never.

source

Please for the love of whomever, don't let me feel anything.  Please, oh please, let the drugs work.  Please.  Please let this happen without traumatizing me too badly.

Pretty please?

Growing Up

Jasper is growing up so fast. The list of things he says and does is too long to even attempt to keep track of anymore. I love watching him process things and then seeing the light bulb click on.The first one is him playing outside with a bucket helmet. He loves the bucket helmet. The next pics are naked time after a bath. He ran and crawled in there on his own (like everything else). He thought it was hilarious to get into Dobby's kennel and shut the door. I had to get a pic of him being a goof.

So yesterday he was having some naked time which always starts off by him running through the house, arms raised high yelling, "I feeeee!" (I'm free). Then he went in his room to watch Mickey Mouse. Out he comes just a few minutes later, "Uh-oh"
"What 'uh-oh'?" I say back, "Did you go pee or poop in your room?" To which he quickly replies, "Okay". Then goes back in for more Mickey. Once I got in the room I couldn't see any obvious place where he'd gone "uh-oh" so I asked him, "Where did you go potty?"
"I dun know. Whey?"
"Well, I don't know. You're the one who went potty, not me. Where did you go pee or poop?" Big pause... nothing happening. "Show me, please."
Big sigh, "Ah rieeeet." (all right) He started to get off the bed, I'm hoping to show me, when I step in pee.
"Eeew! Found it."
Small snickers and giggles, "yeah."
"Thanks, dude." My sarcasm is lost on him...I think.
"Yeah." Then starts dancing to Mickey.

source

Oh silly Jasper.

Justin always kisses Me and Jasper and says I love you before he leaves for work. Jasper told him that he loved him too last night. That's a first. He'll say, "high fife" (high five) if he's done something good. I blow raspberries on him all the time. He learned how to do it back about two days ago. I hate getting it done to me 'cause it tickles so dang bad. But that's what good Mommies do. They get sticky raspberries blown on them. Thank you, oranges, for the sticky. Jasper peeled an orange all by himself. One of those "Cuties are made for kids" oranges. He was feeding me tiny little chunks of it with the biggest smile on his face, "I did! I did! Mom-mom-mom-y, I did!" The mess didn't even matter. He did it. All on his own.

I look forward to each day just to see what he'll do next.

Rocking out with my new headphones on. Gah, the cuteness! Gah, the horrible quality!

Sad But Cute

Our little slice of the world has had a quite the storm over the last few days and it looks like it'll continue for at least a few more. Schools are closing, trees are down, power's out and roads are iffy. I truly love Oregon weather. :)

The storm hit late Tuesday and our little man slept right though it. Me and Justin slept like poop, but Jasper? He didn't wake up until 10am. By then the storm was in full swing. Not long after he woke up, one of those huge gusts hit the house. It was more loud than anything else but it did a good job of scaring my poor little babycakes.

This is how the saddest (and cutest) scene played out.

I hear loud wimper/screaming. Jasper runs up to me with a huge sad frown and his eyebrows up in his hair. His arms are raised high above his head and his little feet just can't carry him fast enough to me. Right before he gets in front of me he leaps off the ground and into my arms.

Jasper: Up! Up! Ma, Up!!
(insert leap here)
Mommy: Ohhh Honey. It's okay, baby. The storm won't hurt you. Everything's going to be all right, Sweetheart. (trying not to giggle a little at his cute facial expression)
Jasper: (Eyebrows drawn together. Grim/determined set on his mouth. Finger pointing and shaking at me.) Don't lie me!

End the most adorable little boy scene ever.

I must say I did not handle the situation well. My mouth dropped open and I had a stupid surprised look on my face. And maybe I kinda started laughing. He gave me a mean look and then started hugging me tightly, which I returned, of course.

Did my sweet little boy just lecture me about not lying to him? Yes, I'm positive he did.

Sigh, it makes me realize how big my "little" man really is.

Super Problems

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Booger

Dear Jasper,

Oh my sweet little man. It's incredible to see how independent you are becoming. Why just today you learned something new. I was on the bed with you tickling, wrestling and generally goofing off when you became very serious. A booger was in your nose, you see ...and you realized it ...so you picked it.

It was awesome! You were shoving your little pointer finger up there and digging around like you'd been doing it for years. Which of course you haven't been. Today was the very first time you've ever picked your nose. You were pretty much as intense as the kid in the photo. That booger was #1 priority.

It took a little maneuvering but you finally got that bugger out. You held it up so you could get a really good look at it. Then you picked it off your pointer finger with the other hand and handed it to me. Like I'm the freakin' booger collector. It was no big deal to you. Pick the boogie, study it, hand over to Mommy.

Thanks baby. I'm glad you're learning to share.

-Mommy

Yellow

We were having a great time in Fred Meyers today. Jasper was giving out hugs to me and Justin right and left. Hugs rank as one of the top five best Mommy feelings ever.

I kept pointing things out to him, like I always do. We went and looked at the flowers. He loves that part. Or maybe I love that part and just drag him along. Haha! It was pretty toasty in the store today so while Justin was checking out me and Jasper headed outside to look at the little garden flowers.

I was showing Jasper that you smell the flowers. Scrunching up our noses and leaning in, then sniffing in and out really fast usually gets him to smell things. So we did this.

My son has mad ninja skills. He could be a superhero he's so fast. With lightning quick speed he flung his hand out and decapitated the marigold. I was in shock and just stared at him with my mouth agape. After I took it from him and put it back on the plant (no one will notice, right?) I told him to tell the plant he was sorry. He hurt it. Jasper looked at me with big eyes and the cutest little pouty face. He was getting upset because I told him he hurt it. Just then Justin came out. I caved and gave Jasper the flower back.

You know what he said when I handed it to him? "Yellow". How can you be mad at that?

In other related flower news. We purchased this for my MIL last year and it bloomed again this year. It's huge!!
And this is Jasper sniffing it. Awwww!

Oh S**T

Funny Jasper moment of the day. He was fussy because he was hungry and we took a while to get home. I put him in his chair, sat down and got out his sandwich from Subway. I don't know if you've seen a kids sandwich from there but for a 1 year old boy they are HUGE.

He's been shaking his tray saying, "Mo! Mo! Mor!". His version of "more". I finally set the whole sandwich, as is, down on his tray. His arms are gripping either side of his chair, his eyes get humongous. Then he whispers clear as a bell, "Oh shit."

I blame Justin.

The upside to, "Oh shit"? He loved his sandwich.

Icky Pew Pew!

While making breakfast for Jasper he decided he didn't want to wait and found the remains of some previous meal or snack on the ground. ...I didn't get to him in time. "Mmmm!" He said. I kindly reminded him, "No, It's icky pew pew. Icky!". He disagreed, I'm sure.

The oatmeal finished cooking in the microwave and dinged. I added a sprinkle of brown sugar. Tried a bite. Yum! It was mighty tasty. I cooled off a spoonful and gave it to Jasper. He shoves his fingers in there after the oatmeal. Proceeds to scoop it out of his mouth with his tongue hanging out like it's been greatly offended. Then he throws oatmeal on the ground with force and says very clearly, "Icky!".

Well then. It would seem I've finally found something Jasper dislikes.

Ready? OK!

This evening when I got home from work I thought it would be fun to do some cheers with Jasper. A good way to jump around, expend some energy, be loud and have fun! I started off with a few easy ones and aimed them directly at my little man.

He just stood their staring with a big ol' grin on his face for the first cheer. The second cheer he got the hang of all the clapping and joined in. Doing a crazy off rhythm clap, not unlike many JV cheerleaders. By the third cheer, Mighty Varsity, he's stomping his right foot and saying "T". Then clapping and cheering afterwards. Freakin' cheer genius I'm telling you! Although I'll be super proud of him becoming a cheerleader...I really hope he takes an interest in football instead.

This was for the 2007 Toledo Summer Festival parade.

For those of you who are interested, and for those of you who aren't but can't tear your eyes away. The following is Mighty Varsity. x= clap (Don't be a complete idiot, you know what a clap is.), s= stomp (stomp your foot), Chest= This means pat your chest. Right hand touch left shoulder, left arm down by side.), . The beat the beat= make a patty-cake type slapping on your thighs. After the remix I'm not using the freakin' code.

Got all that? Good. Ready? OK!

We are the mighty varsity
We're gonna rock our team
To a victory
Hit it

ss xx ss xx s x s x s xx

We are the mighty Boomer team
We're gonna rock our team
To a different beat
Hit it

s xx s x s xx s x

Boomers!

Remix!

stomp clap the beat the beat clap clap chest chest clap the beat the beat clap.

"T" clap the beat the beat clap clap chest chest clap the beat the beat clap.
"H" clap the beat the beat clap clap chest chest clap the beat the beat clap.
"S" clap the beat the beat clap clap chest chest clap the beat the beat clap.

Boomers!

It's really a great cheer. Reading cheers kinda sucks.

It sure is a fun way to play though! And boy is Jasper a great cheerleader!! Must run in the family. Oh wait, that's the super competitive, must win at all costs thing. Woops. I have this theory. Take mine and Justin's build + Justin's height + the Leech aggressive opponent gene + Justin's confrontation happy gene = One kick ass sports player. I'm rooting for football but whatever! I just like to cheer!

Pepiska

Warning! Today's post has some funny but lewd names for the male penis. Some swearing as well. So if you are an old hob goblin who never laughs and doesn't enjoy the occasional stick in the ...hidey hole (take your pick), then kindly pass this post. You're not my kind of people anyways.

Ladies and gentlemen your movie reference for the day.

The movie Heartbreakers, Sigourney Weaver playing Russian Ulga, man statue, movers break said statues manhood off, Ulga is upset about broken "pepiska" and no longer wants insanely expensive statue.

And now back to your regular unscheduled blogging.

Bottom line: foreskins are fun. Hella fun. And they look awesome. Natures perfect package: packed with excitement, keeps other parts clean and moist, protects the whole tackle, springs into position for sex and puts itself away at night. And the price can't be beat - one free with every boy! I found that last bit here but I wouldn't go there if I were you. I don't remember how I came to that website but I thought what the guy commented was funny so I copied it.

I'm sure he'll absolutely love me for this later but we decided not to circumcise Jasper. I don't care what other people do. I'm not a Rumpleforeskin advocate or preacher. It's your families business not mine. This was the best decision for our family. First of all, it was unwise/unsafe to circumcise Jasper when he was born. Two pediatricians advised against it. Well, they refused actually but it's not like we pressed them to do it.

After thinking it over...and over and over and over, we came to the realization that we weren't doing it to better Jasper. We were doing it because it's just something that everyone does. When has that ever been a good excuse to do something? Ever? Hmm, a story comes to me about jumping off a bridge because friends are. Doing something because it's trendy has never sat well with me.Another issue with it? Jasper's say so or lack thereof. If he would like it done when he's older and can tell us, me and his Daddy will be more than happy to do all of the leg work, scheduling, and paying for it. No problem. Or we'll sit back and let him handle it. Or we'll be completely in the dark and never know what happened. The point is, it's not our choice to make. It's Jasper's.

The ludicrous notion of, "But it'll hurt more if you wait 'till he's older". I'm damn positive that a person willing to make a decision like having your Beefy McManstick snipped can put up with a little burning sensation when he pees. You think a newborn is better capable of handling the pain? A six month old? A toddler? At Jasper's six month visit it was still ill advised for us to circumcise him. Not that we were going to, the doctor just wanted us to be aware. He would have to be placed under general anesthesia. Little sirens are swirling in my head and lights are flashing "Danger, danger!". I'd never voluntarily take that risk with my baby.

I also hear, "It's not clean" a lot. Wash your winky. There, now it's clean. Gross people. Take a flippin' shower. For the ones worried about how clean it is, I wonder how often they go through the "trouble" of cleaning their naughty bits. I'm guessing they don't if they are willing to believe that uncircumcised men have raunchy, festering one eyed monsters living in their shorts. For crying out loud people. It's just as clean, likely cleaner than your nether regions.It's soap. Visit Soapyho at etsy.

Babies are born perfect (usually). No alterations are required.

*Super snotty, news caster voice*
Thank you for listening. This has been a public rant from Tayia C Perkins.

p.s. Poor Jasper. A public rant about his wiener.

Okay, while looking for some witty clip art that I am seemingly unable to find I came accross this Mommies blog. She says it smoother than I did. I get frustrated by idiots.

If you'd like a hilarious but dirty minded laugh, go here and read all the names for a penis.