Merry Christmas!

I'll call this a blog post in process because I didn't do a very good job of documenting our Christmas Day. In fact, these few photos taken tonight while everyone is asleep is the best I did.

I'll do some more action shots tomorrow!

Jasper did play with his new toys briefly but his main interest was for his brothers toys and anything that his brother was doing. While we were doing our latchhook rug from Aunt Lynne, Jasper was dumping out the yarn pieces in a big pile for us to sort through. While we did the RC car, Jasper was frantically screaming, "me" and "mine" so that he could have a turn with it. When the cat opened up his treats, he gave him about fifteen in one sitting and then proceeded to make kissing sounds to call the neighbor cat over to our porch and feed her more than her fair share of treats. While Will pecked away on his typewriter, Jasper was there too pecking as many keys as he could reach. While Will started on his science experiment kit, Jasper was pushing over a chair so that he could get involved with all the test tubes too.

All in all, we had a busy day and no time for photos!


Today Will was tapping away at his gift from Mr C. This was on Will's Christmas list to Santa: a manual typewriter! This is a replica of the same typewriter that Mark Twain used and we love it. We recently read a book about Mark Twain.

Will's gift to his family. He made this at school. A photographer took the photo and the kids decoupaged the frame. Cool!

Some of Jasper's new toys!

But one very special gift that Will discovered underneath the tree was a silver bell in a red satin box that was left by "Mr C". This year he watched the Polar Express movie with our neighbors so it was very sweet when they dropped off a special addition for us to sneak under the tree on Christmas morning. Just like the movie, we took note of it hidden behind the tree. Will found a note inside "From Mr C" and when he rang it, we told Will that we couldn't hear the bell ring just like the parents in the movie! He was incredulous that this could possibly be the real bell from Santa's real sleigh! He is very unusually transfixed by Santa this year. He knows more facts and details about him than you would ever imagine. For example, as he was watching the Polar Express movie he would blurt out, "Oh, this part is wrong. They need to do the Aurora Borealis after Christmas because that is when the elves party and the light up the sky with beautiful lights!" This is why our neighbor brought over the bell because he just was so amazed by how strongly Will felt about the magic of Christmas. It feels to us that this might be our last year with this strong belief so the bell in the box is even more special.

I should specify that as with all things we have been open with Will and have NEVER misled him that this is more than just a story or folklore. I told him that I prefer to believe in Santa even though he is just a character in a story. Will has chosen of his own accord to truly believe in Santa and he has become a walking Santa encyclopedia. Get ready Grandma because I told him that you went to the North Pole when you were a child and he has MANY questions. You need to study up on your lore because he asks specific and detailed questions!

If anyone was wondering about our poor cat, well, he got locked in the dryer accidentally by the 7 year old and spent the day in there. We didn't discover him in there until around 8pm and he seemed perfectly fine to have missed all the excitement. When we got him out of there, he just stretched and came up for some dinner.

Garden of Lights

I had a water droplet on my lens so this photo didn't turn out well but I wanted to show some of the lights.

We took Jasper to see the Garden of Lights tonight and he LOVED it. He is enthralled with xmas lights on houses and squeals with glee when he sees them. The sight of the garden of lights just put him over the moon. Paul put him down on the ground and he ran so fast with a huge grin on his face, pointing, and screaming. It was so fun!

He actually asked me to take these photos of him in front of the lights. He posed and then ran back to the camera to see what he looked like!

New Year Report

As we head into the New Year, a look into Will and Jasper:

Will is seven now and is still headlong into the age of boundless curiosity, expanding his limits, and exploring values/morals. I'm finding it a difficult age in the sense that he can't always be trusted to tell the truth, stick to the rules/expectations, or be predictable. I'm continually amazed at what he is capable of--both the good and the bad! Don't even ask me what I've found squirreled away up in his bunk bed!

But I would describe him as a very tender hearted, deliberate, and open minded person. He gets along with everyone from what I can tell. He loves to play and be with his posse of girls. He has absolutely no problem being the only boy in sewing class or the lone boy at a birthday party with fourteen other girls. But he can switch gears easily and play with his (boy) friends too as long as it isn't a game of basketball or touch football!

I was laughing so much at a recent phone message left by his neighborhood friend: "Hi Will~I'm building a fort out of popsicle sticks and toothpicks and thought that you would like to help me."

But the let's counter that with a message from another friend who called to invite him over to knit together and do dancing in her room with glowing lightsticks.

I can safely say that Will and his brother are opposites in their athleticism. Will loves to bike, run and swim (a triathalete!) but is not at all interested in team sports. His brother, on the other hand, is entranced by any ball playing. He will stand immobile for 20 minutes watching guys play soccer or basketball. If there is a ball anywhere in the vicinity he wants to play with it and he is proving to be quite an athlete already! Jasper's main activity is moving his body-- jumping, running, climbing, kicking, throwing, sliding, swinging... etc. He is almost always breathing a little heavy because he does everything fast and with maximum effort.

Will is such a funny mix. It wouldn't be unusual for him to have me buy him some heart shaped pearl beads with red ribbons and a metal pulley with rope. He tells me that he wants to be a scientist (specifically a physicist) and an artist when he grows up. A great combination! He liked the color pink for many years but transitioned to turquoise last year and has now moved on to green because "it reminds him of leaves, trees, and nature".

Will is a fabulous big brother and is very closely involved in the care of his brother. He helps him get dressed, eat, play, read books, use the potty, get into and out of his carseat, get into and out of his stroller, walk across the street, etc. Sometimes Will is too nice though and gives his brother his most cherished possessions even though he knows that Jasper is not old enough to handle them. So we are working to find the balance between allowing little brother to be upset when he doesn't get something he wants and for big brother to bear the protest!

In some ways the age span is so huge between them that Will becomes more like a dad than a sibling. But I have to admit that when I see mothers with two young siblings bickering and tantruming together I feel grateful for Will's maturity and help. I love sharing with him the responsibility of our little Jasper. I rely on him to do so much and in return I think he is really learning how to parent. I hope a lot of it sticks with him when he grows up to parent his own children.

Jasper remains a real treasured person in our family. He has an incredible sense of humor and timing. Everyone who knows him says that they have never seen him unhappy or irritable and as long as his mama is around, he is either busily exploring or quietly cuddled into a hip. Jasper is quick in so many ways. He is a quick learner, quick mover, and quick to laugh. He does not miss a thing!

The other day Will and I took him to the pool and I figured he would be timid as it has been awhile since we've gone swimming. I slowly bring him into the pool and set him down expecting him to be unsure at first. He laughs, wades over to the edge, gets out then yells, "Yabadabadoo!" and jumps in!

I remember that Will was always so deliberate and slow about everything he did but Jasper is almost exactly the opposite. Jasper catches every single detail with just one glance, makes quick decisive movements, and is immediately and constantly busy. I perceive that much of this as being the second sibling. He has to be quick if he wants to usurp his brother and we don't always have time to wait around for him. He has learned to quicken up his pace just out of necessity.

The funny part is that Will also was such an easy going kid. While I would say that now he is fairly meticulous about things, he was pretty flexible as a little one. Jasper is not proving to be that way. He has very clear expectations that his brother definitely did not express at this age. For example, Jasper loves to use napkins for wiping his hands and tissues for his nose and he simply will not be without these things the minute he needs to wipe his hands or has sneezed. He absolutely does not like to have wet or soiled underwear and dramatically grabs his crotch when it is time to use the toilet. He expects to have a little towel by the bath so that he can wipe his face and he loves to wash his body FULLY with soap at bathtime. He has specific routines for nap and bedtime as well as for meals. He brings everyone their shoes when we are leaving for somewhere. He actually likes to try on different shoes or accessories. He puts his toys out on a little rug and usually puts them away when he is finished.

Jasper communicates mostly with body language as he has minimal words. He says, "ca" for cat, "da" for dog or dad, "mama" for me, "right there", "oh no", "uh oh", "no no", "me", "mine". Other words seem to be present but inconclusive. Jasper was evaluated by a speech therapist and will be starting therapy soon to help him with his speech. Because he is in a study at UW he has had pretty extensive developmental testing so I know he is not autistic and either normal or above average in all the other areas. In language he is only at 8th percentile! We are just waiting for some words in this New Year!

A Little Treat

Making Salt Dough Ornaments

Snow Day!

Guitar Recital

Decorating Gluten Free Gingerbread Man

You just can't hide these kinds of things from little brother anymore. Just be forewarned: if there are treats anywhere in the vicinity he will scream loudly, "Me" until he gets some. Tonight at dinner he had a blow out tantrum because he saw a plate of Christmas cookies next to the stove and he wanted one for "me, me, me!!!"

Letter to Santa

On his list:

1. Typewriter
2. RC Car
3. Motor boat with trailer (a real one! because he is "older now")

Annual Cookie Exchange

We exchanged 5 dozen cookies at this years cookie gathering. I really look forward to this every year while the kids are at school and the moms catch up and swap cookies!

Merry Christmas!

Winter Walk

My friend came up with a great idea for our dogwalking (for the real dogs, that is). Jasper has his own leash and I have my own leash. It works great. I'll post a photo of our antics soon but it looks really funny with me in front, the dog at my heels and Jasper "walking" the dog behind. Hard to say who is walking whom!

In this series of photos we were walking our pretend dogs around the neighborhood, spotted a cat and it slipped under the fence before we could catch it.

The Repair of the Dishwasher Leak

And three months later the repairs are complete. Actually, there is still some work to be done on two walls but as far as I'm concerned, we can use our kitchen again, wash dishes in the machine (thanks to grandma's dishwasher donation!), and walk on the floor!

Christmas Boy

Jasper is a big.solid.boy, no doubt. I am amazed that we are already in 2T clothing, having blown right through a whole size in about a month. And his feet? I feel like we have long ago left behind the adorable tiny shoes. Thankfully he still loves his hats and I can still knit a few to fit on his head!

Gingerbread House 2011

Holiday Pajamas

Kitchen Demo

It has been nearly three months in the making and now finally work has been started to repair the dishwasher leak. Ugh, I've learned many many lessons on this journey...

Picking a Tree

We decided to cut our own tree this year. It was a lovely day for it and we found a great little tree, just the right size for our little house.

Walking the Dog

I'm pretty convinced that Jasper is going to be a zookeeper or a veterinarian of some sort when he grows up. He absolutely loves animals. I never saw this quality in Will to this degree. Jasper actually screams when he sees an animal of any kind, points excitedly and babbles galore. He loves stuffed animals (he cuddles and coos at them), animal replicas (he pets them and looks at their features), animal pictures (he kisses each one) and will go through amazing coordinated feats to reach an animal so that he can admire it.

And we have a lot of animals in our daily life with dogwalking, catsitting, the zoo a block away, and many pets to enjoy out and about our travels.

On Halloween I had the worst of it when Jasper picked up a huge dead rat while we were walking a dog. I was walking ahead of him and suddenly I heard his cooing sound that he makes when he sees an animal. I turned to see him proudly holding a petrified rat in his hand. My first thought was that it was a practical joke but when I saw it close up I realized that it was in fact, very real. I asked him to drop it, but of course, it only made him hold it more strongly. I had to shake his arm to get him to release it and then it was a big challenge to keep it away from the dog we were walking. In the end, we all needed to be disenfected completely and I was shuddering with disgust all day. I still can't get the sight of that greasy rat face with the yellow teeth and bloody mouth out of my head!

Junior Olympics

Will received the 6th place medal for his age group at the Junior Olympics for XC Running. He cried during the race though and tells me that he doesn't want to do another XC meet again. I think the pressure was too much for him as he really doesn't have much of a competitive spirit.

He just loves XC running and is beaming whenever I pick him up from practice. I think it will just take some time to help him learn how to deal with the pressure of racing.

Auction

Whew! What an event... 400 people, just under $200,000 raised, over 600 items, lots of meetings, lots of time and planning...but I'm so glad to have been on the Auction Committee. I made such great friends and am just enamored with the talents and generosity of this parent community. This was an event that just cannot be replicated. It was an amazing night for an amazing school.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown