Happy 7 Months, Jasper!

At 7 months old, Jasper is sitting up, giggling, laughing, babbling, pushing up, squealing, scooting and just being all around cute!  He is also drooling like a St. Bernard.  Must be some little teeth coming in.

He is not, however, sleeping through the night - not that I expected him to.  Simms did not start sleeping through the night until he was 1 1/2 years old. (And Simms still wakes up frequently in the middle of the night).

Jasper currently wakes 2-3 times each night to nurse (it's like he's a newborn infant still!).  I should try and wean him off night feedings and try to get more daytime calories in him.  Greg has been  great at giving him solid foods in the afternoons, but that has not eliminated any of the night feedings.  The little guy is only in the 25% percentile for weight and has never been a great eater. So, I'm just happy when he eats at all, even if it's at 3:00am.  

Current interests include ceiling fans, babbling/"singing," trying to escape from the crib, scooting, and chewing books.

His favorite baby foods are green peas and a zucchini-broccoli medley.  

Jasper can now go from lying down to sitting up on his own.

He has a good sense of humor - most things are funny to him.

hi jasper!

Roscoe and Simms' Birthday Party

Simms' and Roscoe's birthdays are just 11 days apart, so we've enjoyed having joint parties the last two years (until they get too old to want separate celebrations). 

Roscoe helped make  his own birthday shirt. He chose his own colors and helped paint
 the stencil. He did a great job!

A "3" shirt for Roscoe. A "2" shirt for Simms.

 Nina  and Jerel turned their play room into a  movie room.
(Too hot  in the sweltering Mississippi heat to enjoy outdoor  party activities)

Pixar short films for the kiddos

One happy birthday boy enjoying an animated film!

My mom, Nora, baked and hand decorated this Spider Man cake for Roscoe.
That's talent! 

Mom also made this Curious George cake for Simms.

Simms blows out his two candles.

 HoneyB, you're so adorable.  

Jasper, this is a good look for you. 

I love Turtle's enthusiasm for party accessories. Such a fun girl.

I think these two were the life of the party. 

Lola, Jasper and Dada

HoneyB and Turtle gave Simms great tools for critter catching -
a  net (shown above), a magnifying glass, and snake catching container.They
even hand painted the wrapping paper.

Happy Birthday, Simms and Roscoe!

Simms Turns Two

Happy Birthday, Simms!  It's hard to believe that our little guy is already 2 years old. The time has passed so quickly. He is such a smart, affectionate, loving, curious, happy, adventurous little boy. We feel like the luckiest parents in the world.

This year, he was old enough to enjoy his first school birthday party with classmates, so Greg and I brought cupcakes to his classroom for an afternoon treat.

Here's Greg bringing a pan full of cupcakes

Simms and his buddy, Ella

Everything was going smoothly until....

...his sweet teacher, Mrs. Teresa, tried to help him remove the cupcake liner. But since he's a big, independent toddler now, he wants to do everything on his own. "Me Do It!"

                                                                                    

Result: upset birthday boy who no longer wanted a cupcake.

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Small meltdown, but he eventually recovered. 

Meanwhile, all the other kiddos enjoyed the party and their cupcakes.

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Later that evening, I cooked one of Simms's favorite foods for his birthday dinner:  noodles. Nothing fancy - just some spinach linguine with spicy marinara. Simms LOVES noodles. And I don't  mean just spaghetti. I'm talking every kind of noodle.   In fact, the more ethnic the noodle - the better.


 He loves Japanese udon noodles, Filipino pansit, Chinese Lo Mein, Pad Thai, Spicy Pad See Ew, Japanese Yakisoba,  Vietnamese Pho. It doesn't matter if it's cellophane noodles, vermicelli noodles, wheat noodles, rice noodles, buckwheat noodles, egg noodles, etc.  The kid does not discriminate. He hasn't met a noodle yet that he didn't like.

Feasting on spinach linguine

Since he didn't eat a cupcake at his school birthday party (due to meltdown), 

he enjoyed a  cupcake after his birthday dinner

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"How old is Simms?" Simms is TWO!

Aunt Nina gave Simms a large can of green beans as one of his birthday gifts. He loves green beans.

Nina, Jerel and Roscoe also gave him this terrific chalkboard. He loves it. 

Tough (impossible?!)  to get a family photo where everyone actually looks at the camera.

 Poor Jasper. He looks like a narwhal with that birthday hat over his forehead.

Simms's special birthday banner (you know how I love banners).
I think I'll keep it and continue to add photos as the years go by.

Happy Birthday, Simms! Thanks for giving us the best 2 years of our lives. 

Simms and Grandma Barbara

Simms and Grandma Barbara  looking an alphabet book together.