March and into April 2009

Jordan, Jasper and Jade - March 2009

As it is already nearing the end of April. I figured I should at least come and fill you all in on March! It was a great month.

Thanks to the snow and the cool days I feel like I got to enjoy winter a little. The kids are enjoying it too but I think they are anxious for days at the beach and a warm up... I'm looking forward to Cherry Blossoms. (I miss Japan at this time of year!) I'm enjoying a return of the birds (cardinals and robin's especially) and near the end of March the bunnies started showing up again.

We are really enjoying Jasper. He's such a fun addition to our home. (okay, at 2 a.m. it doesn't feel so fun... but, you know what I mean!) He has been growing and changing so much, as babies do. Jordan and Jade are such wonderful helpers and they really love their little brother.

They like to come home after school and hold him or lay near him on the ground. They talk to him and he is very good at trying to communicate back. He likes to stare off into space but will often stare at them for (as they say) "forever." Jeramis also gets his time in with Jas and they both really seem to enjoy it. Jas just loves his daddy and they will hang out whenever Jeramis can get his hands on him!

They like to decipher what his coo's and cries are saying and they are certain he is already talking. *HAHA*

With everyone back at school and work I'm having to adjust my schedule some because Jasper is a wonderfully spoiled little guy and has become accustom to having someone hold him or play with him whenever he's awake. I don't mind :) but sometimes it is a juggling act to keep him happy and keep up on the house. Needless to say the house doesn't always get tended and sometimes we have sandwiches for dinner LOL!

Jasper's cute brown hair started falling out toward the end of his first month and by the first week of March he was pretty much bald on top. He had hair around the back of his head but nothing up top at all. It was so funny. I am not sure what's going to happen but I'm assuming he's going to go blond like Jordan and Jade both did as infants. He has the same 'bald look' as his Grandpa's . His expressions have really developed and he lets us know how he's feeling. He has a darling little pouty lip and he'll squawk when he's unhappy but most of his sounds and faces are very cheerful.

(Jasper showing his muscles!)

He loves his baths now and he makes happy noises and splashes around in the water. (He's a wiggle worm in and out of the tub!) My friend Kimberly gave us this darling bath towel for him and he loves being bundled in it after his bath.

Right around his 6 week mark Jas really started to chunk up. He's cheeks have filled out and he's getting the "McFadden" rolls. By the end of March his hair finally started coming back in and it looks like he will be blond too. The kids have all looked like this at this stage and I love it.

As we moved in to April Jasper started trying to roll onto his side. He would wiggle at first and then by the middle of the month he was getting up on his side and rolling from one side to the other. (not rolling over though, just like a half-pipe) He's always moving around the floor now and I end up having to 'reset' him under his toys a lot and in his crib.

A few weeks ago we finally hit a stride with 4 hours of sleep a night (yippee)... unfortunately it isn't consistently happening every night now but we had a few weeks where we were getting more than 1 or 2 hours at a time.

(This was a favorite onesie of mine for Jas)

Ah, me, I can't wait for him to sleep through the night. He is now almost too big for the 0-3 month clothes and we've already had to put away some outfits as they are too tight. I'm looking forward to the 3-6 month range as this was the size we mostly received and there are some cute outfits awaiting him.

Jordan and Jade are doing great.

Jordan has been participating in MESA, Chorus, Chess club and Band (He plays clarinet) He is doing awesome in his classes and I have to give major kudos to his teacher who has been great at modifying things and adjusting to fit Jordan's needs with AS. It's been a big eye opener for me but this school is phenomenal and we've seen some positive changes in Jordan as we've implemented new things. Jordan's MESA team competed in the district meet and his group (Scratch) won 3rd place. (Scratch is a computer programing program that they had to learn to use in which they create an animated demo. It's pretty neat and Jordan has been a huge boon to the team.) He earned his Bear for Scouts in November so we've just been doing a few things here and there to keep him active and earn some arrow points and belt loops. He really likes having a baby around and thinks Jasper is neat. He likes to hold him and to show him off to his friends at school, especially now that Jasper smiles and makes noises. Jordan is also doing great with Piano and will be moving into new books soon.

Jade is a riot. Her personality as just blossomed over the past few months. She loves being a big sister and always talks about her baby brother. She likes that he sleeps in her room and thinks it is fun to stand by his crib in the morning when he is awake and smiling. She's also a big help and will get him out of the swing or off the floor and hold him when he's upset. She's doing great in school and her teachers are just amazed with her writing capabilities. She is very creative and likes to write more than is required. She is reading very well now and can read some 2nd and 3rd grade books. Her favorite book right now is "How to be cool in the 3rd Grade." She also likes Flat Stanley. She doesn't like me to read to her anymore, instead she wants to read to me. I am impressed with the words she is able to figure out. She is doing good in Piano and she is starting guitar.

We are reading the Narnia series together as a family. We've read the Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. We're almost finished with book 3, The Horse and His Boy. Jordan loves to have reading time with me. We've read a great amount of books this year. His favorite series has been the Percy Jackson books and Fablehaven. He's also reading the Star Wars novels and Indiana Jones. The kids are crazy about books and that makes me happy.

Another thing they are crazy about... STAR WARS. With the new animated series that came out first as a movie and now a series on Cartoon Network, the kids have been really into them. Jordan and Jade both collect the figures and machines and they will play for hours with them. It gets a little wild at our house!

Jeramis been back at work since the end of February and it is going well. His job is interesting and he really seems to be enjoying it. He's taken a small break from his Master's program because he'll be doing some school for work but he plans to knock out another class sometime this summer. I'm so proud of him !

We had a wonderful Easter. It was a beautiful day here and we had a nice meal and a friend of ours came over with her girls for dinner. The kids had a very fun spring break in which they drove me to madness... okay not really but I was glad when school started back again. What will I do this summer! haha.

Grandpa Don came out and visited this past weekend. We had a really nice time with him. We went an saw some of the sites downtown and enjoyed a few days at the beach too. The weather was really nice until Monday so most of what we did was outdoors. We loved having some nice weather! Jasper was well behaved so traveling around wasn't a big deal.

And that brings us up to speed! I can hardly believe it. :) Again I'll try to keep coming back and updating as I can.

Lots of love to everyone!