His first tooth....

He got one yes...he got one....yes! Finally a tooth! Jasper did not get teeth until 14 months so this is big. No wonder the sleepless nights and constant need to be sucking and nursing lately...oh that pain must be killer.

I feel like it is some sort of right of passage for a baby to get his first tooth. Now the real eatin' can happen my son. bagels with cream cheese, pulled pork, ice cream cones, corn bread, sushi, curry...all the good stuff...oh wait right lets back up it is only one tooth, we will need many more to enjoy that kind of yumminess.

Well nonetheless way to go my boy, I marvel and love you more with each changing season and milestone!

Easter Egg a huntin'

Easter is long gone but I could not resist putting up these photos of Jasper gettin' his egg hunt on...

booty from a neighborhood hunt

counting it all up...

The Last Frontier...a visit with Grandpa AK!

We recently went to Petersburg, Alaska to see Grandpa's new place and visit with his friends, as well as throw him an official retirement party---yes folks the old man of the sea is done.

Can someone answer how to travel easily with so much stuff..two car seats, stroller, 3 suit cases, diaper bag, and bag of toys...and  we even left home the pack n' play and other things that would have made our life easier. WOW!


It was fairly easy of a trip, well much easier than I thought it would have been with two kids although it started off bumpy. We had decided to stay the night in a hotel near the SeaTac Airport and leave our car there since it had a long term lot (plus it was a good deal on the whole package---8 days parking and 1 nigh in room). Little did I know that this would leave us with less sleep than if we had gotten up really really early and drove to the airport from our house. Here is how the story goes: At at about 1 am an alarm in the room next door started going off, after two failed attempts to try to get the hotel to turn it off (they claimed they were unable to break into the room, the lock was broken and did not have a 24 hour locksmith), we, or rather a very pissed off I, demanded a new room. We trucked our very tired babies, who were crying and pissed as well to the next room. Well guess what...that new room was right above the alarm beeping...At this point I was so livid that I barely could get words out except exclamations. I then went back down the front desk to get another room, leaving my babies and husband in the hallway...after 10 minutes of standing in the lobby (in my pj's at 2:30am) yelling hello with no one answering, I about had a melt down. Eventually the hotel staff showed (not sure what they were doing) from some unlabeled door, and gave us yet another room. Finally we room to try to get the babies back to sleep in away from the noise...ohhh but no...the neighbors were have a good ol' time, if you know what I mean, so until the creaking and moaning stopped we were destined to lay there and answer J's question of "what is that mommy?" 3 Hours later I gave a piece of my mind to the manager and had a very discounted price of a room and parking space for a week. Ugghhhh. Not worth it...next time we will just leave straight from home!

The rest of the trip went great and we had a TON of fun!!! The plane ride was much easier than I had planned for emotionally. J played with toys and Aram seamed as though he was a well seasoned traveler, never even flinching at take-off and landing.

we walked into the town daily (7 blocks down the hill), to explore the downtown, get coffee from the one coffee shop in town or to get some halibut tacos (YUM!). Discovered that Umbrella strollers, while are a great for minimal space while traveling, are horrible at going on gravel, which are what most of the roads are covered by in Petersburg.

We made it a daily habit to go to the playground, rain or shine---there were two just two blocks in either direction from Grandpa's house. This aleviated some of the cabin fever from limited toys to play with while at g-pa's place. Next time we will have
to make friends so that J has someone to go play with while we older folks visit.

His old business partner Tom and him at the party

One of the biggest highlights for all of us, was a surprise retirement party that my sister and I, with the help from local friends, threw my dad. Yes folks, it is official he is retired and living the easy life---at least that is what he kept saying to people when they would say hi to him in town the following days after the party. We brought together his friends and some old crew members to celebrate. It was amazing that no one and I mean no one spilled the beans. He totally had no idea! And then we gave him a mug (appropriate for such a coffee drinker level that he is), with as many old F/V Kesia Dawn crew members as we could find/contact signatures with a picture of the KD as a retirement gift---he almost cried. Well Congrats dad---you deserve some easy/fun time after all those years out at sea.


Other fun moments were....

continuing the tradition of chocolate chip cooking making

playing in the super duper large box from g-pa's new water
heater that was transformed into a food cart,  resturant, tool shed,
etc...hours of fun!

getting our chew on (this pic was not posed)

exploring the docks and learning how to wear a life jacket the cool way

getting bath time in x 3 (the more the merrier)!

getting the usual cousin pose done (usually includes
a bribe to get them to  all sit still)

the last two months...a visual representation

 

mommy jungle gym

It has been a long two months with lots of growth and fun for our family here are a few pictures and videos to help you see the whole picture of what has happened.

tandem nursing!

this is too cute for words!

how many more babies could we fit in the daddy nest?

Jasper and Aram are still figuring out their roles as brother and frequently I find myself feeling like a referee in a wrestling match. Aram is learning to that if he whines and looks like his brother has done something we will ask "what did you do to your brother?"---even if he did nothing. Man they learn manipulation so early! I got the book Siblings Without Rivalry to try to figure out how to make this conflict go away because it is my least favorite part of the day. Now that Aram is moving and standing up for himself (he likes to pull Jasper's hair if he gets in his space). Jasper has a hard time remembering that he is still a baby and reacts to him sometimes as if he is a playmate, using his body to make his personal bubble bigger or grabbing a toy. You get the picture, right? I am still figuring this next stage of parenting two out. Aram is somewhat of a mama's boy too, so Jasper tends to get jealous of him always wanting to be in my lap, in my arms or nursing. He constantly wants to be in my space once I get home from work. If I go the bathroom he wines outside the door, if I go outside to take garbage out he wines, if I sit down without holding him he wines, if I cook dinner he winces---You can imagine that this is sometimes a bit tiring, but I love the feeling adoration that my boys (all of them) give me when I get home. That look in their eyes, their smiles, and Jasper screaming "MOMMY!" my long days away a little easier. And I know that this stage shall pass sooner than I want it to. 

brother love!

Ole!

taking after his grandpops practicing his dr skills

and there it is folks...the unhappy face

hanging with cousin Caden

reading time with the boys

Aram is still only eating a few solid foods, mostly thinly pureed fruits and veggies, and nurses much of the time but he is growing (2 inches in the last couple of months) and seems to not care about food. He will try two or three bites every once in a while if he is really hungr, but only from your fingers and will not eat from a spoon. Furthermore to show his dislike of eating, if the food has any texture to it he gags like I am trying to shove cotton down his throat. Several people have told me that they read or have been told that it is ok because some babies don't eat until they are ready to, to avoid allergic reactions or until they have teeth (none of those yet either)---J did not get any until 12 months and it looks like Aram is on the same path. The one thing that we have been able to get him to eat are food pouches (I imagine we will all eat from these eventually when we ruin the earth and live on another planet). He will finish the entire 2.8 ounces in one shot and if he is really hungry will even eat two of them. They are great for on the go as well...or for husbands that don't like the messy ordeal of feeding (wink wink you know who you are).

For those of you that don't mind the messiness, chomping on some dried mango really makes Aram happy.

getting digital

helping with the dinner making

Aram is very active and in to everything. He has now started to look in cupboards and pull things down on himself if they are not put away. He pushes things around and loves going fast. Before long I know he will be walking and that is always little scary. He even fearlessly attempts the steps, which he will do whether not you are watching so you gotta be on your game. Go baby go!