Good thing hair grows back.....

So, I think I mentioned that Jack had long hair in El Paso, but we cut most of it off when we got back. Well, I didn't do a very good job, so I tried to correct it. This is what it looked like wet, pre-second correction. I'm sorry Doctor, but we just can't find that other pair of forceps. Alright nurse, time to scrub up; we're going back it. And this time, keep track of your damn tools!! Incidentally, this look from Jack is what you would get if you were on the receiving end of one of his smooches.

Here's another look. First I tried to cut his bangs, then Heather and I decided to just use a three all over. Heather really liked the way he looked with long hair. Having shorter hair somehow makes him look older. And, no, he's not grabbing what you think he's grabbing-he's just a modest little boy. Ok, just kidding, he's not really modest. But he still doesn't know what that thing is for yet.

Here's an action shot of the first failed attempt. I know what you're probably thinking-the baby doesn't look like the one who needs the haircut. And yeah, yeah, I know; the seventies called, they want their hairstyle back. Trust me, I've heard them all. It's just kind of this thing I do now. Since I left BYU, I grew a beard, and in the fall, I don't cut my hair. Then in the summer, I just buzz it. I recommend it to all, you really save money on haircuts and razors. Oh yeah, you really need to not care what you look like and it helps to have a sympathetic wife. It also helps if you have gorgeous hair, which I apparently have. Whenever I visit Heather at the hospital, there are always a few co-workers of hers that run their fingers through my hair. Sheesh.

The evidence. Jacks hair isn't really like mine except for it's volume, maybe. It is really more the color of Heather's hair, just a tad darker. Jack's hair is also not as thick as mine- if I grew it out long enough and made a shirt out of my hair it would be bullet proof-my hair is so coarse. Of course, cutting an unwilling twoish-year olds' hair is difficult; it is after all, a moving target.

This is what he looks like now. Luckily for him, he looks good bald-like his old man (although his external occipital protuberance is not as pronounced as mine-what can I say, the kid can't have it all). Good thing it grows back........

Mos! Cousins

Ooooh! Action sequence....

Top of the slide.....and ACTION!

Photo finish!

Kia's famous grrrrrrrr face.

Kia's famous fro. Her hair would probably be down to her shoulder if it were stretched out.

Too cute.

'Mos' is Jacks word for 'more.' I think it's a combination of 'more' and 'o's', which is what we called Cheerios. More O's? became 'mos.' Nee-way, these pics are still from our El Paso trip. The weather there makes me sick. There is this little park about 2 minutes away from my sisters place, and on the last day that we were there, there was a kids soccer team playing, a track team running around in short shorts, and a baseball team balling it up. We drove back to Pleasant Grove to wind, cold, darkness and snow.

This is what Jacks hair looked like during our El Paso trip, but as soon as we got back, we decided to chop it. I messed that up, so then I tried to fix that a few days later, and just ended up shaving his head with a 1. It's ok, though, he looks cute bald. Plus, he's more aerodynamic.

Cousins!

"Kee-ya-y," or Kiara, is my sister Davina's first The second one is due in another month. Jack and Kia hit it off from the start.

This was taken in Old Mesilla, a small town outside of las Cruces that has a lot of charm and history and southwest flavor. I love that place. That's my Momma on the left, and Davi on the right.

When Jack wasn't infuriating me by hitting his cousin, he could occasionally be coerced into being nice to her.

Kia makes the cutest faces in the morning-this is her 'what sound does a lion make' face, which she wore everytime she woke up from anything.

Of course, her hair was awesome. Such a cute little fro! It is probably the length of her shoulders at least, but it is really hard to tell because its so curly.

More Old Mesilla pics.

Morning play time with the cousins.

More goofy faces and morning hair.....

........and the double cheese grin, which a side of kitty-morning breath.

Anthony

This is what the boy looks like in the morning. On a good day.

This is what he looks like fresh off of a good night's sleep.

There is this town right on the border of Texas and New Mexico called........you guesed it-Anthony! We took some pictures in honor of our friend Anthony. Next time I'll bring power tools and bring back more than just pictures, if you know what I mean.....wink, wink.

If we hadn't been in a carful of crying, crabby, hungry kids, we might have stopped and taken a tour of the place and really gotten a lot more pictures. Excuses excuses, I know. But seriously, there was an Anthony everything there, like the first picture.

The Boy

I know, I haven't written in a long time. Sorry. We went on a trip to the ole' hometown of El Paso, and stayed with family there. My sister Davina and her husband Jesse were gracious enough to open their home to us for the whole week, as they always do when we go home to visit. To begin with, lets talk about the boy.
The boy is becoming more human everyday. His vocabulary is amazing, it is quite possible that he says more words than I give him credit for simply because I really can’t believe that he could be saying what it sounds like he’s saying. For example, right now he’s saying something that sounds like ‘sah-wee’and might be sorry, but its really too soon to tell for sure. He knows ‘owie’ for when he gets bonked (this happens a ton-no surprise I’m sure to anyone else who dabbles in caretaker for this age group), ‘jeeeews’ is juice when he wants some, and ‘oh-jews’ when he thinks what he is drinking is orange juice. Here’s the list of as many as I can remember, that Jack is using currently:
‘Pan’ is for bread. We’re trying to teach him some words in Spanish. ‘Murk’ is for milk.
‘Babble’ is for bottle or bubbles, as in blowing bubbles. Heather really wants to move him completely to sippy cups, and we did try, but I vetoed the attempt when he went too long without drinking anything and had too many dry diapers for my comfort. At this point the only times he uses the bottle is for his morning and bedtime milk.
‘Binky’ means either blanket or pacifier. If he calls for ‘binky’ it probably means binky, unless he already has it, then it means blankie. He has three blankets, plus a monkey one that his Auntie Freddi gave him, and he loves them all. He loves to lie down on the ground with one and pretend to sleep. He’ll even call out ‘nah-night’ and fake whistle-snore. It kills me every time. ‘nah-night’self-explanatory. ‘Side?’ this is always a question, as in, can you get off of your lazy but and take me outside please? Usually he’ll start by asking for his shoes, and then work his way up to straight up asking to go outside.
Jack also knows the difference between his ‘bee-oots’ and his ‘shoes,’ and also knows most of his wardrobe. ‘Saughts’ are socks, and he knows pants and shirt pretty well, too. He says ‘coke’ for coat, which is interesting because I normally say jacket. Somehow he latched onto ‘coke’ on his own, and you have to admit, it is easier to say. He knows a ton of animal sounds, thanks to Heather, who drill him on them all the time. Still can’t get him to say cat. He can say ‘doddie’ for doggy, and he can bark like a dog when you ask him what a doggie says, but no matter what, cat is always a demure ‘meow.’ He sniffles for bunny, snorts for pig, moos for cow, flaps his lips for horse-’orsey’ and tries to blow a raspberry for elephant. He also knows names. He calls himself ‘Gack’ and his dad is ‘dada’ or ‘dah-dee’, and of course ‘mama’ and mah-mee’ for Heather, as well as ‘Minnie’ for Amanda, ‘Con-Con’ for Connor, ‘Rae-Rae’ for Raegan, and Gavin actually sounds just like its supposed to. Jack will also occasionally perfectly mimic something incredible, but the trick we have yet to learn is to get him to really learn it. ‘SeeSee’ is Sesame Street, and ’orseys’ is his favorite Elmo’s World DVD. I can’t spell the words he uses for truck and car, but he knows the sounds they make. And that is enough for today.

Boys & Toys

Jack, making his "cheese" face for the camera.

The Jasons. That's right, we are both named Jason, both served in the same mission in Russia (at different times) and became neighbors in Provo. And we both own the same .45 ACP Taurus.

Here we are, playing with our new toys. Or, as I like to refer to the little guys, the reason that Heather has carte blanche to do WHATEVER she wants, for like, ever. Yeah, Heather didn't want me to buy this latest addition to the family, but with a new Democrat looming as Commander-in-Chief, I couldn't take a chance......so, there you go.

Jason's List

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (it's probably best if you DON"T try to visualize this)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I had some help)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michaelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in movie
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia (Does a Mission Count? I think it does.)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Legos!)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (Yuck!)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square-(how about Red Square? I've done that!)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (OK, so I've had temper problems in the past.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (From the air-thanks Scotty!)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- (quail, fish and chicken)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life-(My sisters, from drowning. Doesn't everybody?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (My wife keeps telling me the kid is mine-I gotta believe, right?)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Talked your way out of a ticket (I have, however, successfully bribed a pair of police officers and on a different occasion, been hauled in to prison.)

More Evidence

You try so hard to keep them safe.......

Sometimes you remember to make memories and laugh instead of getting mad.....

And you end up with pictures like these. Way to go Heather on snagging these shots instead of blowing your top, like I probably would have done.

Little damn fool selves, or PRESSURE!

You've got that crazy look in your eye!

There’s this parenting magazine that Heather gets that had this really funny piece about what life is like with a toddler. The editor of the magazine was complaining to her mom that all she seemed to do was try and keep her kid safe; to which the mom replied, “Yes, that’s what you have to do-keep their little damn fool selves from killing themselves.” I can totally agree. I notice that there is this tension in my body that comes from ‘constant vigil.’ We were at this restaurant, the China Lily in Lindon, (the walnut jumbo shrimp were out of this world) and I noticed that there was a tension in my body that never went away, at least until bedtime. Now, that comfort in my life has dwindled as well. Just last week, I commented to some friends about that magical time of night when I could stop locking my garbage can, because Jack was in his bed for sleep. Well, Jack has learned to climb out of his crib. I feel like a small part of me has died or something. I HAVE NO PLACE LEFT TO HIDE! He’s so cute, too, when he climbs out of bed and wanders into my bedroom asking for me in the pitch black of 7 am. “Da-da?” When he finds me, he pulls the covers off and places his cold little hands right on my face. That is what increased pressure and diminishing freedom feels like.

Jason, This is your child! Part 1

I love ketchup. I joke that when I first fell in love with Heather, it took me some time to displace cheesecake on her list of faves, and I still think I'm only barely Number 1 in her book with cheesecake hot on my tail. For me, the love is ketchup. I was so pumped when I discovered ketchup-flavored potato chips, you can only imagine. There's this place in New Mexico called Stahlman's Country Farms, they mostly grow and sell pecans, but they have this jalapeno-flavored ketchup there that is just to die for. If you are ever in the area, I strongly recommend you stop by. Besides the world's greatest condiment, the have a lot of other good stuff, too. Anyways................I discovered that Jack will eat stuff if it has ketchup! I know that this is probably very disappointing to my Dad, but Dad, there will be time to grow hair on his chest with salsa later. For now, thanks to an affinity for ketchup, Jason, this is your Child! I generally try to go easy with the stuff, and will add it to his food only as a last resort, and of course, I'm very pleased when it works and he eats something he had previously refused. His second favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce, but sometimes it's too hot for him.

Heather, this is Your Child! Part 1

Here's one I found of Jack with his Mama Fala and his cousin Kia when they came to visit for Jack's 1st anniversary of his B-day in April of '08.

So, Heather does this thing where she always crosses her legs (ankles?). No matter what, her legs just do it, almost like they have a mind of their own. She could be sleeping on her back, her stomach, no matter what, her legs are crossed. If she could drive with her legs crossed, she probably would. And, so does Jack. The first time I noticed it Jack was in his high-chair. It is so cute to me because it is a perfect marker for something Heather does all the time. Heather, This is your child!

Cinderfella Christmas

Another word that Jack can say is vacuum. Ok, so he doesn't really say vacuum, it comes out more like 'bah-king,' but we know it means vacuum. Jack LOVES to vacuum, so for Christmas, this is what he got from Santa, and it is also the gift he liked the most. On Christmas day, it was the one thing he kept going back to, over and over.

This is the face you get from Jack when you take his picture, along with a really cheesy 'shee-sh,' for cheese. You have your head tilt, your teeth exposure, and the slurpy 'sheeeee-ch.' It's really great.

Like father, like son.

Where's that pose? And the cheesy grin?

Oh, there it is!