Swimming!!!

Hey All - So, it's been awhile....check out the links below including videos and the latest slideshow.

I can hardly believe Jasper will be 5 months old on August 1st - he's so strong! He can roll over easily onto his stomach and he lifts his head high to look around. He does manage to scoot himself a little...and turns circles that way - though it's not an efficient way of getting around (thank goodness) soon he will be up on all fours and soon after that, crawling!! Yes, it seems he's got red hair - we'll see how much it changes as he gets older. We still don't know what color eyes he will have. He's quite the gabber, really "talking" a lot these days. He has a lot to talk about: 

He's had a number of babysitter's now, besides my mom: Yvette came up to take care of him while I was at Hawthorne Valley for teacher training. Aunty Vala visited from Hawaii and Jasper really loved her! He'd laugh while she sang to him in Tongan.  I even dropped him off with Aunty Wendy while I attended a morning meeting at work on a Friday (not a day I normally work.) Anton came over last week and took care of him, changing his first diaper (good practice.) And one of my friends up here will take care of him for a few hours in a couple of weeks.

We went to Annicia & Ryan's wedding in Brooklyn, where he danced the night away - he loves being social. 

Simone and Pete came to visit with Marley and Seeger - just a day trip, which was short and sweet. We sprayed Marley with water from the hose in our yard while Seeger slept like a champ and Jasper didn't sleep much at all. Marley held him a couple of times. I hope they will come back, but their drive up and back was from hell, and took them almost 2x as long as it should. That same weekend we planted Jasper's tree - just the three of us. It's a fast growing tree - which if it does grow as it says it will, it will be beautiful. Of course, Jasper's placenta is planted with the tree!

He went swimming for the first time - which he LOVED! We go to the creek, but I was concerned about how cold the water is, so we went to a pool last week. Nicholas' employers have a salt water, minimally chlorinated pool, so we visited Daddy at work and went swimming for 45 minutes! He will probably be the kind of kid who doesn't want to get out of the pool, tub, ocean, lake, creek, any place he's immersed in water! He was so delighted, and worked so hard at kicking. By the time we left, he zonked out in the car and slept a good period of time even after we got home.

Anton and Alison's baby is due in September and we are really excited about the cousins!! They moved to Woodstock, so it's about 25 minutes to their house. Jasper and I visited Alison while Anton was at a Thai Massage workshop, so it was just the 4 of us: me, Jasper, Alison and BELLY! There is something about Aunty Alison that makes Jasper laugh! It's not just because she's tickling him - we tickle him too.

We go on playdates with my friend Traci and her son Jonas. During this most recent one the boys actually noticed each other and smiled. It was very charming. Jonas is 5 weeks older than Jasper, so we get to see what's coming next when we get together. We also started going to a playgroup put together by some local friends who have babies. The first one was last Wednesday, and I really enjoyed it (and needed it.) Hopefully Jonas will come with his dad to the next one this week.

Mom and Nicholas really worked hard outside this Spring and Summer, and it's paying off - so far we have enjoyed cucumbers and fresh herbs. Tomatoes are soon to come. Last year in Hudson we planted in our Earthboxes, which we (meaning mom) used again this year. They are so easy!

Our counters are finally installed - made of concrete - very beautiful! My employer, Counter Culture Concrete, made them - so if you know of anyone considering new counters, check them out, pass on the word (I'll make some money if you do- commission!) It's a big step in completing our kitchen.

Keep in Touch!