Ok, so maybe harmonica isn’t technically as difficult as say, a stringed instrument, but I was impressed by his melodic sensibility :)

So when he came riding into the living room Saturday morning it took me a minute to realize that something was different…

He was pedaling!!

It was only a matter of minutes before he was riding around the neighborhood (bear in the back seat of course!), tearing up and down the streets like he’d been doing it forever:

It’s such a bittersweet feeling watching him grow up and acquire new skills like this..he look like SUCH a big boy!  Who is this KID riding around on a bike?? Where is my baby?

I’m impressed with his newfound coordination.   He used to flip the spoon upside down before it went into his mouth which made anything less thick than say cement fall right into his lap! So this is an exciting new development..

I know I said I was going to blog about the Tractors & Tiaras pictures today but allergies are kicking my butt right now.   I fell asleep last night at 9pm so I didn’t have time to get any more editing done.  I think maybe it was shooting in an orchard on a windy day (hello tree pollen!) but for the past three days I feel like I could fall asleep for 30 years and STILL be tired!   I tried Allegra, but that makes me even more tired.   So hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some pics to share..

A friend posted this video to her facebook feed and it really hit home for me because I only last week had Jeff turn Jasper’s car seat around.  I consider myself fairly educated about safety issues, I mean I knew (mostly from reading it on the bump.com messageboards) that the new recommendation was rear facing until two years, but I thought that at almost 19 months we’d actually held out long enough to be “safe”.   Almost all real life moms I know are still turning the car seat around closer to one year than two, so I thought we were actually ahead of the curve.

Tired of Jasper’s constant carseat whining, I was looking forward to a happier travel companion. And sure enough, Jasper really DOES enjoy forward facing more so I was feeling good about our decision until I saw this video and immediately decided to turn him back around.

I think the problem is that I couldn’t conceptualize the difference between rear and forward facing in terms of safety.  I mean I figured that an object could come crashing through the winshield and in that case forward facing is obviously more dangerous,  but I had absolutely NO idea until I saw the crash test baby dummy flailing around like a marionette in this video just HOW much safer rear facing is.

Personally, I think this video (or something like it) should be mandatory viewing for parents before leaving the hospital, or at the very least some sort of talking point at baby’s one year well visit.

So please, watch and share with everyone you know.  And for those of you who’s babes aren’t in a convertible car seat yet, make sure you buy one with the maximum rear facing weight limit and keep your baby rear facing as long as physically possible!

I don’t know how exactly we discovered this little game, I think Jeff was holding the “basketball” that came with another toy and Jasper was using the bat to hit it out of his hand but hitting Jeff’s hand more often than not.  Then I spotted a half empty happy baby puffs container in the corner and realized that the round indentation in the top made it the perfect T-ball holder.

But what really surprised us both was Jasper’s ability to make contact with the ball every time ( no strike outs for our little guy) and also the amount of power he puts behind his swing!

I think we have a future little leaguer on our hands.. and probably I should order him something a bit more geared towards this kind of play, like this Little Tykes T-Ball set I found on amazon:

Speaking of which, I’m in the market for some other great outdoor toys, slide sets, cars, trucks, anything that will keep him occupied in the yard. Any suggestions?

Somewhere along the way I stopped reading those  “What you can expect” books that tell you month by month what your baby should be doing, so sometimes I’m get completely floored by milestones like this.    That’s the wonderful thing about toddlers, they never stop surprising you!

Tea too for watching!

So I’ve learned to be stealthy.. I sometimes go in the other room and turn the video on so he doesn’t hear the tell tale “blipup” sound of the video recorder starting and then walk into the room and hope he doesn’t notice me recording him.  It works on occasion.

But this particular video is something that my dad has been bugging me to get on film for a while now because it’s so vintage Jasper: Jasper running around the house at top speed, bear in one hand, the other hand waving wildly almost as if propelling him to higher speeds!   But because it’s not something he does on demand, I wasn’t sure I’d ever capture it… but I’m so happy I did!

Without further ado, I introduce you to Jasper Speed Demon:

I hope that someday, when the occasion calls for caution – like when he learns how to drive a car (!) – I will be able to teach my little adrenaline junky the value of slow and steady.  A mom can always dream right?  ;)

And other random moments, like Jasper pointing up to the moon and exclaiming “bubble!”

How adorable he looked in his Christmas eve outfit:

And how sweet he looked surrounded by Christmas lights on the staircase on Christmas Day:

There have been some downs recently too, nothing I’m ready to post about yet, but as an appropriate metaphor, Jasper threw up all over me this morning.  No idea why, he was finally on the mend from a nasty cold (that I am just beginning to catch of course!) It was his first time vomiting if you don’t count reflux- I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.

I still have high hopes for 2010 despite it’s rocky start. What I wish for myself and all of you is that any dark moments make way for brighter ones to come. Happy New Year!

Because why SHOULDN’T a rocking horse start with keys?

Notice the part where he comes running towards me saying “baby, baby” once he realizes I’m videoing him?

He’s gotten to the point that anytime I take out my camera or iphone or video recorder he knows that there will be an image or video to playback with a “baby” on it. Same goes for anytime he sees me on my laptop.. he pushes me away and demands to be picked up so he can see the “baby.” He knows that 9 times out of 10 if I am on my computer I am looking at or editing pictures of babies!

Smart little buggers these toddlers are..

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

xoxo,

Kisses from me and Jasper..