Days in the life of Jasper Louis

Easter 2010

2010-04-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Our little guy was so cute going for the eggs. He wasn't greedy yet. He found one egg then he went for another. We did 3 different Easter egg hunts.

1 Grammie's church
2 Granny's church
3 Nana's house

When we were at Granny's church I think he had a little crush on the Preacher's daughter. He wanted to touch her face. She just stood there and let him do it. It was soooo cute!

He was excited to get all his new Elmo gear. He is in love with "Elba"

It's so precious.

Birthday BOY!

2010-03-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, our little guy is turning into a little man! He's 1 year OLD!!!

That doesn't seem quite possible. I'm excited though. We went to a friend's birthday party yesterday. Lena, she was born on Jasper's actual due date March 8th...

They were so cute together. Jasper promptly poked her in the eye as soon as he could get over to her and approach her. Maybe he was checking to see if she was real or if she was another moving toy that we were showing him. It is kinda hard to tell these days with all the high tech toys. Anyway, he had a great birthday last week with TONS of friends and family. Thank you ALL by the way for all the support, love, and presents you bestowed on the birthday boy! :)

He has been up to his eyeballs in books, balls, and new toys. We had him dressed in one of his new outfits on Sunday when we went to the birthday party. Everyone thought he was soooo cute!

I did my best on the cake, eventhough it was down to the LAST minute and then some when it came time to decorate. It will definitely be a memorable one. I can't wait to do his party next year when he can really react and interact with everyone. He's already doing so well with talking and walking. He actually needs to have a doctor's appointment soon. I will update you when we know more about what he weighs and where he is at on the growth curve.

My little Valentine

2010-02-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to give a quick update. Little Jaspy is getting closer and closer to the big 1 YEAR! We are having a birthday party at my mom's house this weekend. It is going to be Dumbo themed. Here are a couple pics I snapped of him in his Dumbo ears. There should DEFINITELY be more to come after Saturday!

2010 UPDATE

2010-01-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hey there!

Well, I just wanted to do a NEW YEARS update. Yesterday our flying wonderbaby crawled out of his crib. Yes, our 10 month old Hercules is officially a wild crazy climber. He also pulled himself up over our baracade in the basement with sheer arms strength so that he could climb up the steps to the kitchen. Needless to say we are in the business of watching him every single second!

He also had his first official cold. He was on Anti-biotics for the last 10 days. He had an upper respiratory infection which was not pleasant.

He was very and is still VERY much interested in the Christmas Tree. He wasn't as interested in the presents or unwrapping them. I guess next year we can see him go ga-ga! He DEFINITELY likes all the stuff he got, though. He has been playing non-stop with the tent and tunnel Donald and I got him and he also loves his gumball machine. He is CRAZY for Bouncing Balls in general. I got him a rather large blue ball and he is so strong, he picks it up and throws it across the basement! He loves to play catch and is very smiley all the time! ;)

He is walking all over and can't be stopped. He likes to throw a fit if you try. But you forgive him as soon as he gives you kisses. He is so adorable. He gives me the most (*evil laugh*). He will kiss all up and down my arms and face and legs and even my feet. He is my little dumpling baby. I love him so much.

For New Years we got together with a few friends and had some yummy food and good conversation. I feel so bad for Dick Clark. He is a real trooper but it's painful to watch such a sad display. I feel even worse for him because he had to deal with Ryan Seacrest. He was probably trying to hit on him the whole time. Bleh-crest!

Anyway... I hope this update finds you all well and in good spirits. I hope you all have a FANTASTIC- STUPENDOUS - AMAZING - GLORIOUS - WONDERFUL - STUPENDOUS - 2010!

Halloween

2009-11-13T17:05:00.000-08:00

I guess I am finally getting back into the swing of things. Here are some of the REALLY cute Halloween pics I got of the baby. On actual Halloween we were going to go to the pumpkin patch but then it rained so much we couldn't they closed the farm early. SO, we ended up going faux trick or treating. Basically we used the baby to get "pity candy" but, hey, it worked. Then we actually ran into a few people we knew, too! (Penny, Brenda, Mark, Lauren). It was a lot of fun and a little scary.... especially when my dad and I drove past a solo trick or treat-er dressed as Michael Meyers toting a shiny knife. CREEPY! Anyway... Donald was Santa Claus (a multi-use costume which Jasper thought was HILARIOUS -He kept pulling on Donald's beard and laughing), I was grapes, and Jasper was a Chicken. He also had a cute outfit with a pumpkin hat that my mom got him. Enjoy!

Update

2009-10-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

THE FOLLOWING was SUPPOSED to be our 7 month update... but since our strapping young lad is pushing 8.5 months... I will give you that info

"Well, our beautiful bouncing boy is 7 whole months old now. Here all the new milestones: - He's 18 pounds -He has 2 teeth -He's crawling/ trying to walk. He pushes the diaper box and laundry hamper around. He is talking all sorts of crazy garble which includes sounds that vaguely resemble da-da (this is the more common one) :( and mummum."

NOW...
-he's about 8.5 Months -he has nearly 5 teeth -is standing solo for 2-7 seconds at a time -Says (much to my dismay ;) "dadadadadadaaaadadaa!!" with a lot of gusto at times! He is growing so big and cute. I can't wait to see what he does at Christmas. He is going to go gaga (not like the lady) for all the boxes and paper. We have a lot of fun events coming up... I still need to put Halloween pics on here as well. Will do so asap... I hope! That's all for now... just a quick update.

P.S. All these pictures are from the 7 month posting. I will have to put new ones that are more recent on here later. I have to say he has A LOT more hair now... or it's darker... one or the other. Decide when I post them.

New York, New York

2009-08-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

Well, over the weekend we went up to NY to visit with our family for Nanny's birthday and the Anniversary of Poppy's death. It was nice to see everyone and it was comforting to be together. It's definitely a party he would have been in attendance at. We all missed you Poppy! <3

Massive Summer Update

2009-08-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I know it has been a long while since I put anything on here. I thought that I would go ahead and update you all on what my little sweetheart has been doing lately. This is in no particular order.

He's started eating baby food:
Apples,
Bananas,
Green Beans,
Pears,
Squash,
& Carrots- which don't seem to agree with him

He's one the verge of really crawling. He can stand with help and sit alone with almost no help. He LOVES sitting up on his own. He's super playful. He loves being in his jumper and laughs a lot, especially at my Mom and Donald.

We've been to the library a lot this summer. Mr. Jasper is snoozing in those pics. It was kinda warm in there and he just nodded right off. Of course he went postal on me when he woke up and could have woke the dead! But luckily we were in a library so, he just disturbed all the snobby readers.

He's getting so big.

Donald and I also experimented with making our own ice cream. It was pretty successful. It was Rose flavored. Donald got some Rose extract for his birthday.

Jasper is also a really good boy in the bath. He's big enough that we were able to take the sponge insert out of the bathtub. It was a sad, sad day.

He's picked up a lot of personality. He decided he wanted to drink his bedtime bottle with one leg on and one leg off me and would fuss until I let him get in that position. Then when he got too tired to fight me, I sat him up properly.

Donald had a birthday (which was actually before Fourth of July but... I threw the pics in with this update). We are at Red Robin in these pics where it is just me and just him.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the update. I will try and do this a little more often. I can't seem to find my camera again. I guess it's hiding. I may have more pics from that to add later. :)

4erth of joo-lye

2009-07-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

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hello everyone!

well, our baby celebrated the birth of our nation for the first time and LOVED the fireworks. These are some of the pics that i snapped before and donald snapped while we were watching....

These are the best fireworks that i have ever seen in my entire life. they were a 45 min finale.... the entire show was GREAT!!

laughing baby

2009-07-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

The other day when we were at my mom's house, my mom aka GiGi got the baby laughing soooo hard he was sounding like a real big boy... He also had on the cutest pair of shorts and hat!!

4 Month Update

2009-07-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Jasper is now:
12 lbs 4 oz
23 1/4 inches

BIG BOY!!!

Also... there are a bunch of other posts below and 1 below the D.C. Navy Yard Visit Post.... Make sure you look at all of June :)

I <3 NY

2009-06-10T19:17:00.001-07:00

Last month we took another Road Trip. We went up to New York to go to my cousin's First Communion.

At Home - May

2009-06-10T19:16:00.004-07:00

These are a couple of cute shots I got of Jasper while we were hanging around the house during the month of May and early June.

Visit to the Navy Yard to see Gigi at work...

2009-06-10T19:16:00.003-07:00

We did an ambush visit with Gigi at the Navy Yard last Monday. He got to meet Gigi's friend Peggy. We went to lunch at the Ugly Mug. It's one of the places Gigi goes when she wants to get into trouble ;) Everyone thought he was super de duper cute.... DUH!

BABY'S FIRST ROAD TRIP!!! :)

2009-06-10T19:16:00.001-07:00

We finally got Mr. Jasper on the open road for Memorial Day Weekend. He did extremely well for such a long car ride. It took 9 hrs to get down there. We stopped 3 times to gas, eat, and feed the baby. On the way back we only stopped twice and Jasper only got up 1 TIME!!! He's an accomplished traveler already! We had LOTS of fun with everyone! He got to meet his future girlfriends Evangeline and Genna. Evangeline found him every morning and gave him a big kiss and said, "He's sooooo keeeeey-yute!". Genna gave him a lot of pats on the head saying, "Beee beee!". It was so crazy having so many babies all together in the same place, but it was a LOT of fun. I LOVE the video of Evangeline's story and her DANCE MOVES!!!! Ughhh... So you think you can dance has nothing on her! She can cut a rug! We got to go swimming in Tommy and Cindie's BEAUTIFUL salt water pool. It was so much fun. I don't think Jasper got the idea of it but... next year he won't want to get out. I have a video to follow this... I have been procrastinating on loading it... will do it another time!

Jamie Brenda and Josh Visit

2009-06-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

A Few weeks ago Jamie the world famous baby hogger, Brenda and Josh came by to visit with Jasper and catch up on Nicky's world travels with the Semester at Sea. Jasper looked so cute in his OVER-sized overalls. They eventually made me take them off of him because they really were too big. BUT THEY WERE CUTE!!

Meeting Uncle Micky/ Mother's Day

2009-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

At Nana's House

At Wentworth Nusery

BRUNCH

Uncle Micky came for his vacation and got to meet Jasper for the first time. It also just so happened to be Mother's Day Weekend. MY FIRST! :)

Donald, Jasper and I went to brunch in the morning, then we went over to Ronnie and Amy's House. We had a really nice time. There were people there that got to see Jasper for the first time. Penny took the best pics with him. ;)

10 Weeks...

2009-06-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hello All! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I have been exceptionally busy the last few weeks. I have had 2 recitals with students, we have been on 2 road trips, and Jasper is getting bigger and bigger everyday! These are some extremely old 10 week photos. They look similar to his 2 month pics with the long socks. These were MEANT to be comparison shots but... well, just enjoy the naked baby pics!

Job Fair... hosted by Baltimore City Paper

2009-05-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

YAY!!! TIME TO GO VISIT DADDY!!!

Michelle and Jasper! <3

Today we went to the Job Fair at the Belvedere hotel in Baltimore. Most people were there to look for a job.... we were there to drop off Donald aka Daddy's parking pass that he left in his pants at home! >:( It was a little hectic to get there but Jasper got to see Michelle and met Bettina for the first time. I got a pleasant surprise... Free lunch :) It was delicious. Go to Truffles in the Belvedere. GREAT Chicken Parm & their fingerling potatoes were seasoned JUST RIGHT! It was a short visit but it gave Jasper enough of a workout for me to run to the Towson Mall. Just the 2 of us went. We got some surprise Birthday presents for Donald... can't wait until he sees them... he still has abou 6 weeks before he can get them though... well, I did give him 1 of the presents early but... whos counting???

LOST night 5/6/09

2009-05-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Another fun lost night... got some candids of the gang. Jasper was having fun in the Moby Wrap while Donald and I were getting last minute prep stuff done for din-din. We had an extension of Janette's Birthday Celebration. She loves breakfast for dinner and that's exactly what we had. French Toast on Challah bread, Omelettes prepared by Reid... some of the best omelettes EVER!, Chocolate Chip Pancakes... with Ghirdelli Milk Chocolate Chips...*drool*, Fruit salad, Fresh whipped cream, Mango mimosa, and Fruit Parfait for dessert! We watched a little bit of Roadhouse since Reid had to leave early last week and didn't get to see the full veiwing. I didn't mind at all... gave me another chance to gawk at my new crush Sam Elliot. All in all it was a great night!

Show Troupe Initiation!

2009-05-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Jessica... the baby whisperer

Lena's mommy and daddy- Lauren and Marlon <3

Nate making a big smile for Lena, although she's not quite sure what the HELL he's doing.

Show Troupe gang! Although Angelique was there... she stepped out before we could get the pics going! :(

Lena looks like she's saying, "What in the HELL you got me sittin' next to this midget fo' ?"

BABY SWAP!!

Addison was saying, "B-B!"

After falling under Jessica's spell!

Last Friday 5/1/09 Jasper and Lena were initiated into the Show Troupe Clan officially! They both got to meet each other... although I'm not 100% sure what their first impression of each other was... the pictures came out super cute. Jasper has his suspicious look on... as usual. Lena gave Jasper a few funny looks, too! Lena has so much gorgeous hair and Jasper's polka dotted pants were a hit! :) Can't wait to see them both grow up and start "flying to the sky"!

A House Call!

2009-05-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

In these shots Mackenzie would make Tyra PROUD! :)

Here's Jessica... putting her spell on my baby... everytime she touched him he fell asleep. I need here around more often!

Ben above

Nate below... holding Addison

Donald got too Avant guard when he brought out the furs... I freaked out and so did Mackenzie. She's not ready for that... YET!

not afraid to show a little LEG!

This was her Courtney Love Grunge look. I think she pulled it off well!

CUTIE PIE! Addison

She kept saying, "Who took my baby!?!"

She loved the baby. Jasper dropped his binki/pacifier and she said, "oh no! He dropped his binki-fire!"

Last Wednesday Jessica, Nate, Mackenzie, Addison, and Ben all came up to visit the baby. It was their first time seeing the house and Jasper. For those of you who do not know... they are friends from Show Troupe, Jessica and Ben were in Show Troupe, Jessica and Nate are married, and Mackenzie and Addison are Jessica and Nate's children... Well, if you are confused... SORRY! <:) Read the captions for further details on who is who. Let me just tell you this... Mackenzie and Mr. Donald got into the costume trunk and I think America's Next Top Model was born!

Dedication

2009-05-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Jasper Louis Ely was officially dedicated to the Lord. <3

We took him to my mom's church, New Life, in White Plains, Maryland. It was a nice service. He was pretty well behaved during the entire thing. It was very special.

Afterwards we went to Olive Garden to celebrate. Grammie, Wanda, Amy (Nana), Ronnie (Grandad), Me, Donald, Joyce Tippett, Robbie Tippett, Little Robbie, My dad (Grandad), My mom (Gigi), Brenda, Amanda and John (Amanda's boyfriend) were all in attendance. Pop-pop and luoise even stopped in to meet the little guy. It was a lot of fun despite the 15 minute wait for water, the 1.5 hour wait to be seated and the wine that was apparently drippping out of Wanda's eye ;)

It was really nice to have all of that support. I hope that Jasper realizes just how loved he really is! :)

Take your child to work day... who knew?

2009-04-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday Jasper got the chance to go to City Paper and visit Daddy on the job! We got there and people were like, "Oh, that's so cute! You brought Jasper in for 'take your child to work day' ".

I HAD NO IDEA! It was totally a coincidence! It was fun though. He met people I never even talked to when I worked there! He was considered very cute and super handsome by everyone he met! The pic of co-workers is Daddy, Jasper, Linda (bottom) and Nicole (top).

Can't wait to go back and show everyone how big he gets in the next few months!

2 MONTHS OLD!!!!!

2009-04-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!??!?!

7 lbs, 12 oz
20.5 inches long
15 inch head circumference

He's such a big boy!

Immunizations! :(

2009-04-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

By myself i took my poor little defenseless lovey dovey had to get 3 big bad shots and drink a potion at Doctor Satterfield's office yesterday. I'm not sure which shots they were but he did NOT like them. He actually did really well. It was a slightly delayed reaction. Then he wailed all of a sudden. They really stuck the needle WAAAAY into his skin! he bled a little bit and I cried sort of... just welled up at the sight of him in pain. Then they gave him that potion and the little piggy gulped it down so fast he choked a little bit. Then he was completely fine. He went right to sleep when we got in the car. He has had a little fever today but I think he will be okay. I gave him a little Tylenol and it seem to help. He seems comfortable at least.

Visit to Brenda's House

2009-04-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Jasper, me and my mom went to visit our friend Brenda. Jasper was a VERY good boy. All the ladies were fighting over him. I think Jamie definitely got the most cuddle time with him. She had him swaddled up really good. Jamie, Gigi, and Mary got the chance to feed him. Poor thing. He was sucking on the bottle and sucking and sucking... wasn't fussing at all... then I looked and it didn't look like anything was leaving the bottle. Poor Jasper was sucking on a bad nipple. We fixed it though and he drank every drop!

7 weeks OLD!

2009-04-17T10:20:00.001-07:00

My little boolah is 7 weeks old today.

I took these pics yesterday. It was so hot upstairs that he went the entire day in just a diaper. He had the socks on from the night before... we took those off after the picture. They looked so funny I had to leave them on.

EASTER 2009!

2009-04-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Pics with the Easter Bunny... aka Laura

On his way to meet the Easter Bunny... his toes are all curled up in anticipation! :)

Dying Easter eggs with me, Nana, and Daddy... he did the puking... we did the dying.

All dressed up in his Easter outfit... getting ready to leave for church.

Me, Jasper, and Pops. You can see that we had a breakfast of champions, breastmilk, chocolate milk, and Easter basket candy.

No make-up... YUCKY!

Getting a foot massage from Gigi and hanging out with his new best buddy SPIKE! :)

Big eyes. <3

It looks like Jasper would be saying, "What's that Gigi? Tell me the Easter story again!"

New Best Friends! This reminds me of something... can't think of what though.

Always so serious.

Sleepy Mouse. I LOVE this pic.

Hanging out at Nana's house with Aunt WAWA! She was trying to relax him with her Ocean noises.

New haircut if you couldn't tell. Got a Makeover for Easter, new cut and contacts. I hadn't had my hair cut since Thanksgiving Weekend 2007... almost a year and a half without even a trim... i had some major dead ends to say the least!

BUNNY BUTT!

Well, these pics were taken over the course of 2 weekends. We actually took him to see the Easter bunny the weekend before Easter. It's a good thing we did, too! The line the weekend OF Easter was insanity! I ran into Old Navy to get a pair of flip flops and almost passed out when I got a look at the line. UNREAL.

Welcome to the blog GIGI! :P

2009-04-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

As you can see, she is already teaching Jasper how to talk on the phone... gab, gab, gab, gab!

Finally weekend before last I got some decent pictures of Jasper and my mom... well, decent enough for my mom to approve them... Here she is folks! GIGI!!!

Visiting with the Family 4/4 to 4/6 2009

2009-04-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

CUTIE!

Mr. Jasper got a pre-Easter visit in with a lot of the family weekend before last. He was able to meet Maw- his Great-great-Grandmother... yes that's right 2 greats. We stopped in to see Grammie, he got to meet his Auntie WAWA for the first time, there was LOTS of hugs and kisses.

Hangin' with Mrs. Ely

2009-04-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Me and the beautiful babe hanging around the house... he does most of the sleeping and I do most of the milk-making... it works out pretty good. Nice arrangement. :) He is just getting out of the bath in the pics where I am holding him.

Hangin' with Mr. Ely

2009-04-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

In the 2nd picture Donald and Jasper were watching Hell's Kitchen. They look so cute both wrapped up tight and warm. My 2 little sweeties!

Sleeping the days away... isn't that the life?

2009-04-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sitting in his ADORABLE Bumbo seat from Uncle Micky... this is one of my favorite pictures to date! Next thing I know he will be too big to fit in this seat!

He is really starting to fill out. You can tell most in these pictures... and these were taken almost 2 weeks ago! :)

He is probably my favorite little boy mostly when he is sleeping just because the faces he makes and the grins that he does are so precious. When he's really having a funny dream he will actually laugh out loud. I can't wait to make him laugh... :)

Hanging at home waiting for April...

2009-04-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

HATES getting changed
I just love this picture. Although I have a picture ALMOST identical to this in another post I just love this pose. His hands are so cute. He looks almost like he's smiling.

He had just had a manicure... gotta keep his sharp little claws from scratching him and me. His hands are so precious. Can't believe how small and perfect they are.

I haven't posted in a LONG time... or at least that's what it feels like. Here are some pics from the end of March and early April... just hanging out at home...

1 Month old!!

2009-03-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Friday our boy was 1 month old.

He is getting so big. His legs are getting chubby and his wrinkles are turning into rolls... well, not quite, but almost! He is officially getting too big for some of his preemie clothes and starting to fill out the newborn stuff. I am so excited that he is doing well with his growing... I'm sad that he's getting bigger so fast. Before I know it he will be talking. He has already rolled over from his belly to his back, is starting to make gurgling and cooing noises. He is progressing everyday. (P.S. the really really REALLY cool hat he is wearing that has his name on it... came from Donald's Aunt Anna! Thanks for the awesome chapeau!)

Grow Boy, Grow!

2009-03-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

After seeing him get bigger and out grow a few of his preemie outfits, we tried the newborn shark outfit we brought to the hospital... well, he is still a little too small for it.. BUT, he is DEFINITELY looking more filled out! What do you think?

First Art Show - Evergreen

2009-03-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

We took Jasper to see some of Jon's work at the Evergreen. It was a really nice collection of work... Jasper... unfortunately probably won't remember much of it. The Ceasar Salad was amazing, the artwork was great, and the service and customers were pretty snobby. If it would have just been the 3 of us it would have been a perfect outing! ;)

6 lbs, 4 ozs. - 2nd Doctor's Appointment!

2009-03-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Master Jasper went to his 2nd Doctor's appointment on Wednesday. At first we couldn't figure out what to wear on our little guy. Then, once we found something that fit... when we were there at the appointment he ended up PEEING all over it anyway. Here are his current stats:

6 lbs., 4 ozs.
20.5 inches long
13.5 inches circumference (Head)

He was still a very good boy, even though he got his PKU done... many pricks on the foot. We had lots of other stops that day and he was extremely well behaved. I can't believe how big he has gotten. Pretty soon my baby will be in the double digits weight category.

Gigi's House

2009-03-27T11:27:00.001-07:00

Well, this past weekend Jasper went on his first long road trip. We drove down to my mom's house (aka Gigi). He got to try on his easter hat... outfit to be worn later... and we hung out with everyone. Theresa and Ralph came by for a visit and we had lots of home cookin'. Also, Mr. Jasper got to spend the night in his newly re-done Nursery room aka my old room. Can't wait to finish setting everything up.

Progress is GOOD!

2009-03-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today we had another visit from Nana and the house repair/renovation fairy... aka Donald's dad! As you can see the floor is making progress and Jasper is as cute as ever! Are you sick of reading how cute he is... well TOUGH! :)

Anniversary... 11 years!

2009-03-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday March 20th 2009, marked me and Donald's 11th Dating Anniversary. We started dating 11 years ago... CRAZY! Tuesday is our 2 year Wedding anniversary. He brought me home some beautiful flowers and arranged them for me! We had a great dinner and were able to relax and hang out at the house. Donald had some fun teasing with the baby. I love the picture of the two of them crying... the picture above that is Donald's "Lion King" presentation... AHhhhhhnnnn sim-bwain-yah!!!!! (Jasper's feet are sooo cute in that pic!)

Dallas Fan!

2009-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is Jasper watching Dallas with us. Jasper doesn't like J.R. any more than the rest of us! He's sitting in his amazing chair from the guys in Deep Cuts. Between the green chair and the swing he's in heaven when he isn't being held.

The WIzARD! Shim ala bim ala kaZam!!

2009-03-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

So, when Kitten came over to help out and give me a chance to take a nap on Monday, she put Jasper in a sac for the first time. Well, after she left and I was home alone with the little guy I got some really cute pics of him in it. It's soooooo too big for him, but, really cute. The sleeves are rolled WAAAY up. Donald and I both thought that he looked like a little wizard. In a couple it looks like he is actually going to put a spell on you! I LOVE the top picture... definitely one of the cutest YET! Some of those ones in the middle make him look so much bigger than he actually is. He looks like he's 12!

Clothes that FIT!

2009-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

d
Finally, Jasper has got enough meat on his bones that a few more outfits are fitting his little body. This is a really cute baseball looking outfit that is JUST RIGHT! This is an outfit that Amy's friend Cathy gave to us. Thanks! :)

First Bottle Feeding from Daddy

2009-03-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

This was Jasper's first bottle feeding from daddy. He has been doing really well with going back and forth between the boobie and the bottle. Smart boy! We are using Dr. Brown's natural flow with Preemie nipples. :)

Little Rascal!

2009-03-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

I had a hat on Jasper during the night last week and he woke up looking like alphalfa!

St. Patrick's Day 09

2009-03-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we spent most of St. Patrick's Day at home. Jasper and Donald were both in the green spirit. Jasper didn't exactly like his St. Patty's Day bib. This is also the first day that we put him in an outfit that actually fit him... it was even a tiny bit tight! .... Somebody's gettin' some meat on his bones!!

Another visit...

2009-03-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

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On Sunday, my parents came to visit. That would be Gigi... and we haven't figured out a name for my dad yet.... We all went out for a nice lunch at Red Robin and then came back and gave Mr. Man a bath. He was MUCH better in the tub that we submerged him in. Since his circumcision is completely healed and his belly button is off we were able to use the REALLY nice tub Johnny and Carole gave us.... THANKS GUYS! He was so content and almost fell asleep! :) I will be looking forward to bath time much more after that last bath!

Visit from Nana and Grandfather Ron...

2009-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, Nana and Pop aka Grandfather Ron aka pop, aka TBA, came up to visit. Ronnie and Donald started working on the Kitchen floor. I am so excited that things are started. The pictures show that... they got the old floor ripped up, and the new sub floor down. My little sweet heart... once again, slept through pretty much every hammer, drill, and saw! I can't wait until the real tiles are down! More progress next weekend!

:) yipppppeeeee!!!!

!KOOZA!

2009-03-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well, once again our wonder baby went on an adventure with us. On friday, courtesy of Baltimore City Paper, we went to see Kooza, a Cirque de soleil production. It was AAAAMAZING... to say the least.

Jasper slept through the entire thing inside of the Moby wrap. He was such a good boy. I can't wait to take him to something like that when he can really take part and enjoy the show. He started out in the car seat in the first pic and was comfortably "hanging out" in the last pic. :)

P.S. In the 4th pic down... Jasper is inside the Moby wrap which is inside the coat.

Visit from Rachael, Janette, and Ericka

2009-03-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Last night Rachael came over and got to see our little slouchie mouse for the first time. He was very well behaved! He stayed awake for a bit and then passed out. Then Rachael got the tour of the house while little man got some din din. Also, we finally got a picture of Jaspy with Janette. She was trying to get out of the picture taking! She came to the hospital like 3 or 4 times and we didn't havea single picture of her... sneaky, sneaky!! He was very content in her hands! :)

Moby Wrap...

2009-03-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

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Donald was so excited last night when he remembered we had the Moby wrap and that Jasper was probably big enough to fit in it. He was all smiles. Jasper seemed to be pretty content being inside of it too! :) Then after about 20 mins Donald said his back was hurting... He's not used to carrying a load around in the front like Mama is! ;)

I haven't tried wearing it yet but i am looking forward to giving it a try.

Donald looks kind of like a samurai in the muscle flexing picture.

I LOVE MY BOYS! :)

Baby's room

2009-03-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the progress of the baby's room. It's still not finished... but it's close. Since he won't be sleeping in there for a while still, there's no real pressure. Donald has vowed to hang some pictures up tonight though. I will update with new pics when he does! :) It's a circus theme if you aren't sure where the colors and everything are going. Donald and his dad built that shelf from scratch, (very impressive)!

First Bath!

2009-03-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

My little poopie boy! His first bath! He was okay at first as you can see in the pics... then he started wailing! I loved that his hair got poofy again after we washed him up good! i put him next to the dollar and the ruler to give you guys an idea of his size. when he's balled up like in the bottom picture, he's really compact and cute!

First Doctors Appointment

2009-03-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

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On Friday March 6th Jasper had his first Doctors appointment with Dr. Satterfield. He did really well and wasn't fussy at all. She sai his circumcision looked very good and should be done healing by then beginning of next week. He gained 5 oz. since we left the hospital on Tuesday. That's great progress. She was expecting him to have lost weight. He's looking cuter everyday! We had lots of questions for her and she had a lot of answers. All in all, it was a good visit and we are heading back for a weight check again the week of the 23rd.

First few days home

2009-03-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

When we finally got home it was strange to be in OUR house with OUR new baby. He got to come home to a beautiful bassinet that was waiting for him in our guest room/office. It's bee a tight fit and somewhat awkward getting in and out of bed... because of my incision but, not too bad. The baby has been very good about sleeping in the bassinet (pictures taken at Nanny's house in NY) and we keep it pulled up really close to the bed at night.

These are some of my favorite pictures we've taken so far! They are in backwards order again. Pops holding jasper is the first day home and then the cowardly lion picture at the top is from yesterday when Donald was home with us. :) I actually was able to get him smiling in the one picture with his striped preemie onesie on. You can really see how skinny he is in the one where he's stretching in diaper only. I love him so much! :)

Visitors!

2009-03-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, after they took me out of the recovery room I was able to go to my post-partum room. I stayed there from early Friday morning to Tuesday afternoon.

The first visitors were My parents, pops, and Amy. They were there throughout the whole thing. Then after that we had a few more visitors. Kitten and David and Janette came later Friday evening. Then Saturday, Nanny and Uncle Chris made the trip down to see the baby and bring the BEAUTIFUL bassinet that my baby has been sleeping in for the past week. My parents came up that day as well, and Ericka and Jon surprised us that day too. Then Sunday was a BUSY day of visitors. We had people in our room from the time visiting hours started all the way until they were over! Nanny and Uncle Chris returned, then Amy, Ronnie, and Grammie came, then Ericka arrived as they were leaving, then Jon, Paige, and Reid, dropped in and left. Then about 30 mins later Janette stopped in. Janette left as they were making the "get out" announcement. Then Monday we had a full day to recuperate from all the excitement. Jasper actually got circumcised and had his newborn pics taken that day as well. The pic of him screaming in the "little speedster outfit" is one of my favorite pics of him yet! He was so pissed that we were dressing him up! Because of the snow Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, there weren't any visitors. Then Tuesday i got my staples out and Pops came up to help us check out. It was scary going home knowing we would have no help from any nurses in the middle of the night... <:o

Finally the pictures are in the correct order.

The one with Donald's finger in the baby's mouth, he is doing a finger feeding. It's a way to supplement the baby with formula while my milk was coming in. He puts a finger in the baby's mouth and squirts the formula in with the little syringe. Neat concept but awkward to actually do. Then the pic of me with the oxygen in my nose is literally the first time that I was able to hold the baby because up until that point I was waaaay too drugged out with pain meds.

P.S. I made that really cute hat my baby is sporting in the bottom pic! :)

Jasper Louis

2009-03-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

These are also backwards... the top pic is of my dad, who came in last.

Then our little one came into the world with no pre-conceptions and nothing but hopefulness in his heart.

Jasper Louis Ely
Born February 27th, 2009
5:44 a.m.
4 lbs 11 ozs.
18 inches long

These pics were taken in the recovery room. Apparently I said that "the visitors had to come back in alphabetical order, they have to follow the rules just like my students!".

Special Delivery!

2009-03-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

It was only 12 Days after our shower that our little guy came into this world.

Chronologically, these pics are backwards. The top one is right before I went in to get CUT!!!

The due date was originally March 8th 2009. Then when they saw that I was loosing fluid, they said, if I didn't go into labor before March 2nd they were going to induce me because Jasper looked kind of on the small side. From their measurements they thought he would weigh around 5 lbs, 2oz. Which is pretty small for a baby that was at the 36 gestational week. That's considered full-term not preemie. Well, so they moved the date up to the 2nd and they wanted me to go for these IUGRs... I'm still not sure what that means. They called them biophysical profiles. Well, i went to one in an office not far from the delivery room at the hospital, then I had 2 more at my regular OB's office.

It was at teh 2nd of those 2 visits that they decided I needed to be induced right away. My doctor assured me that there was nothing wrong with the baby that I was just losing too much fluid and the environment that the baby was in might not be the best. She said there would be no benefit of keeping him in the belly until the 2nd so I should go home and get my stuff together and come back in about and hour or so to start getting induced. That was Thursday the 26th at around 12:45pm. I immediately called Donald, who was at the grocery store getting ready to buy lunch. I said to drop everything and come home because it was time to go to the hospital. I called our parents and pops and granny and a few others. I cancelled all my lessons for that evening and the next few days and the recital i was supposed to have sunday... i was really cutting it close I guess.

We arrived on the scene at 3:00pm where I promptly checked myself in for induction. By 4:00pm they had begun to induce me. I was having strong contractions regularly in no time! They came in and broke my water with a little thing that looked like a knitting needle. After a while, when the contractions started getting more intense, they were having a hard time monitoring the baby's heart beat. They would read it fine until the contraction and then the reception would get fuzzy. Because that's the most important time to monitor the baby's heartbeat, they wanted to put this little screw-thing in the baby's scalp to monitor what was going on. Well, they tried putting that thing in and it hurt like NOTHING i have ever felt before. i don't know if it was the screw thing or that fact that the lady had her entire arm in me trying to position it. That hurt worse than any of the contractions that i had experienced thus far... and I really really really mean that. So, they suggested that I go ahead and get the epidural and then have them try again. i was trying to hold off on the epidural because I have read that in a lot (not all) of cases that tends to slow down your contractions and throw the birthing process off. Since they were already giving me potocin, I was having stronger contractions than if I would have naturally gone into labor. I was okay with making it through the contractions but... I was NOT letting that lady do that again.

I went ahead and got the epidural. I was absolutely TERRIFIED of getting it, too. I didn't want to be paralyzed. That's all that was running through my mind as they were prepping me for it. I imagined myself on one of those Oprah episodes of how something went terribly wrong while I was in the hospital and now although my outlook on life is optimistic, my life was ruined forever. The anesthesia guy came in... he called himself "Uncle Dougie". That didn't make my mind think any more relaxed thoughts... he was a little strange but generally nice, I guess. He numbed my back a bit.... I had to hold still for that... but I jumped. Then when he put the real deal in i did better. i didn't flinch. After that they were able to get the screw thing in with no problem.

About 6 or 7 more hours went by after that. The nurses would occasionally come in and see if I had continued to dilate anymore, and to see if the contractions were any closer together, although at this point I couldn't even feel the light ones and the intense ones were like small short cramps. At around 2 o'clock one of the nurses came in to check on me and said that I was still only 4 cms dilated. I figured that was pretty close to getting into active labor.... but the thing is ... when I came in I was already at about 2 cms. So, in nearly 12 hours I had not progressed like I should have. She let me know that Dr. Laura Erdman was going to come down at around 3am and would be taking a look. When she came down at 3 she said that she was going to give me until 5 am to dilate to AT LEAST 6 or 7 cms. If I hadn't gotten any closer by that time, I would need to get a C-section. :( So, I was starting to worry a bit but still hopeful that this could happen.

5 am rolls around and she comes back and i haven't really made any progress. She tells me that they are going to have to do a C-section. It was not deemed an emergency C-section, they were just doing it because i had failed to progress with my dilation. By 5:26 am they rolled me into the operating room. Shaved up, iodine covered, and drugged to the max. Then, by 5:44 am Jasper Louis Ely was born! :)

I could feel them tugging and pulling me around. Donald said that I was out of it MAJORLY. He said I was talking about the show Lost and how the O.R. looked like Dharma and maybe they were going to steal my baby like on the show. Apparently the Anesthesiologist watches the show because he said, "So, you're feeling a little LOST are ya?". I felt them take the baby out, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest and belly... even though my sweet baby didn't weigh much. Then i heard him cry for the first time I started crying and then, was out like a light.

Next thing I know... I am in the recovery room talking a mile a minute and not knowing at all what I was saying. The few things I remember and other people told me I was saying was:

- asking what time he was born... then replying by saying, if my grandad Poppy was still alive he would go and play that number... HE was a GANGSTER!

- apparently i told my mom she didn't care about me anymore because she went over to the baby and didn't talk to me right away, "You don't care about me anymore... all you care about is the baby"

- I asked for Chapstick- Bert's Bees of course! :)

- Also, Donald says I told amy to "whip out her left boob if Jasper got hungry".

There were a bunch of other things that I said that I know I will never live down. So, anyway, I was in recovery for about an hour, then they moved me to my post partum room. I don't remember being moved but I was.

The pic of me with the oxygen in is the first time I got to hold Jasper. Donald, Amy and my mom all held him before I did... no fair! >:(

Baby Shower

2009-03-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

This was a GREAT day. i have so many pictures of the amazing shower that Amy, Donald and my Mom prepared. Penny invented the amazing wonder cake with all the handmade and hand-painted fondant pieces. I still can't believe how amazing it was. It was waaaay too amazing. There are sooo many great pictures that Penny took that day but i am posting my favs from the day. the one pic of donald is him dressed in the daddy duty get-up that Amy gave him... it was complete with an apron, ear plugs, goggles, tongs, and more. For those of your guys that were there that day... thank you so much for attending. i was so overwhelmed by the time and effort that everyone took to make a place in their busy lives to attend. Stephanie -- my bestie, came all the way from South Carolina to be there. Jessica, our amazing friend from high school (Show Troupe) came all the way from North Carolina, Ericka, Janette, Jon, Michelle and Nicole came from Baltimore, Kitten from Annapolis, Donald's dad went and got jasper's Great-Great-Grandma--- (that's right 2 greats) from Solomon's Island, and many many more miles were driven by everyone else! You guys are the best. :) P.S. All the scrapbook pages are done by donald's mom Amy. They are fantastic... i wish I could show you the whole album she did of my pregnancy.

Growing Baby!

2009-03-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here are all the sonograms that we got of our bouncing baby boy! the first is at 7 weeks 5 days. He looks like a yin-yang symbol. The second one is at about 19 weeks. That's when we found out that he was a little boy. Then we got a 36 week sonogram. That's when they told us that he looked a little on the small side. They estimated that he was 5 Lbs and 2 oz. They were pretty close.

Pregnancy

2009-03-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of my progress as I became more and more preggo. They aren't in any particular order. The bottom picture closer to the type is the first picture I took after I found out I was pregnant. I was almost 8 weeks in that picture. The 2 pics all the way up at the top were a week before he was born- Feb 21st. All the other ones in between are at various stages. ALSO... for those of you who don't already know... I was induced last Thursday February 26th and gave birth to Jasper Louis Ely on February 27th by C-section. Not exactly the way I was hoping for... but things turned out great and my little baby is super cute. i will give more stats when i get to his pic... (just to let you all know the shift key on my computer is not working right... so i know that i's are supposed to be capitalized but... fore some reason they aren't! Sorry. ;)

Cheers! My First official BLOG!

2009-03-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I am so excited! This is my first official blog. I have been trying to figure out a way to keep all of the wonderful friends and family updated on what's been happening. You have all been so supportive with Donald and my first child. There has been such overwhelming support of everything that's been going on. From attending the shower and giving advice to calling to check in on us... it's been a non-stop love fest. I won't ever be able to express how excited and thankful i am to have each and everyone in our lives. Jasper has absolutely no idea what kind of love he already has beaming in his direction. I am going to try and update you all as much as possible. I am already so behind... while I'm still at home I am going to try and get things caught up! So... here goes nothing! :) The picture you see here is of my darling Jasper's first appearence on camera. I am going to backtrack and add all the pictures and funny stories that we have missed telling some of you... please excuse if I sometimes can't help but share some more recent news too!