Today, Jasper is three months old so there is another photo to add to the frog series! Click on the photo sequence to view it larger.

The photo below is actually a better representation of Jasper at three months old. He's always sticking his fist in his mouth these days. He always has done that when he's hungry, but he's trying to gnaw his hand off more often now and is also starting to drool. Looks like he's in the beginning stages of teething and will be wearing a bib during all waking hours for several months!

It didn't take long for the photo shoot crasher to arrive...

... but he's so adorable he can get away with almost anything.

Jasper is becoming such a fun play mate. He's very responsive now and enjoys looking at colorful objects. If he had his way, though, he'd stare at our faces all day long and be entertained by our facial contortions, shaking heads, flying hair, and funny noises. We try to personally entertain him as much as possible, but there are times that a certain toddler needs attention or we need to finish some chores or eat a meal. During those times, Jasper doesn't mind being entertained by toys ... as long as you return with a funny face and goofy antics as soon as possible!

Jasper loves to just lay on the floor on a blanket or under his activity gym. Gavin loves it, too. :)

While I eat breakfast in the morning and when we enjoy dinner in the evening, Jasper is entertained by the activity bar on his bouncer. I love this bouncer! Both boys adored it and it's certainly one of the best baby product investments we made.

Our cats are usually well-behaved, but they have the bad habit of sitting on furniture that they know is off-limits. One of their favorites is Gavin's train table in the living room because it sits in front of the window and is the perfect bird-watching perch.

"Off, Burt!"

"Get down, Doozer!"

It happens every single day.

Gavin quickly picked up on this scolding and started yelling at them himself by reprimanding in a raspy voice, "Diyah! Diyah!" To this day, we have no idea what he thinks he's saying, but he says that word all the time when yelling at the cats and never for any other reason.

We found it particularly hilarious when Gavin created this scene with his Duplos recently. He placed the cat on the table and then promptly yelled at it.

After Gavin finished solving his Rubix Cube, I turned on the video camera to have him name the colors for y'all.

The President and First Lady took time out from their busy schedules to write a note to our dear Jasper.

Actually, I just requested a note from the White House Greetings Office and they delivered this lovely note card with stamped signatures.

Did you know a White House Greetings Office exists? Neither did I until a few weeks ago when I found this link on another mommy blog: How to Order White House Greetings. Now, I only wish I had known about this when Gavin was born so I could have a note from the White House for his baby record book, too!

Speaking of Jasper ... he is still getting cuter every day...

In celebration of Gavin's clearest and most frequently-used word, here a few photos of Gavin and Jasper playing airplane with Daddy tonight. Up!

Without trying to sound dramatic, the past three months were and continue to be the most difficult of my life. A second child is not merely twice as much work - it's exponentially more difficult. While I don't want to change anything that's currently happening in my life right now, that doesn't mean it's been easy.

This blog covers about 25% of what happens with the boys in our household. The wonderful 25%. I know that no one wants to read about the remaining 75% that isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and I don't want to dwell on the not-so-great times, either. In ten years, I know it's the wonderful 25% that I'll remember and long to return to. Just as life had gotten so easy prior to April 30th, I know it will be easy again someday and when I have a chance to sit down and breathe again, there are many small details about this frazzled life with little boys that I'll always want to remember.

I hope I never forget...

... that newborn Jasper's hair and cheeks were the softest thing I've ever felt.

... how incredibly proud I am of Gavin finally trying to speak words after refusing for so long.

... how Gavin points to the moon wherever it appears in any book or up in the sky during the day and how I secretly dream this means he'll want to be an astronaut.

... when I see Jasper after work and he looks at me for a moment before recognizing me and his mouth slowly turns into a sweet smile.

... the smile on Gavin's face when he successfully uses the potty. He is so proud of himself!

... the way my shirt always has a few smears of baby drool on the shoulders at the end of every day.

... how goofy Gavin looks when he gallops around the living room while giving Monkey a piggy-back ride.

... how I know Jasper has fallen asleep when we're laying on the couch because he suddenly feels five pounds heavier.

... when we catch Gavin randomly giving Jasper a kiss on top of his head when he's not aware anyone is looking.

... the tiny curl in Jasper's hair over his left ear.

... when Jasper is particularly upset and we ask Gavin to sing to him so he'll feel better and he does, but more often that Gavin will start singing to his crying little brother now unprompted.

... how Gavin's soft, sweet singing really does calm Jasper down.

... the rolls in Jasper's wrists, the dimples in his knuckles, and his little thunder thighs.

... when Gavin says "beep beep beep" whenever the car backs up as if we drive a big truck with a backup alarm.

... how resting with a baby sleeping on your chest is the best stress-reliever available.

... the way Jasper curls his back, pulls in his knees and fists, and sticks out his butt to stretch and if you pick him up while he's stretching that way, he retains the position.

... that there really is nothing more peaceful than the face of a sleeping baby.

... when I'm running around the house trying to finish chores during one of Jasper's half-hour naps and notice Gavin quietly climbed onto the recliner in his room and is flipping through a book in his lap.

... that my boys' eyes are the prettiest shade of blue I've ever seen.

... how Gavin says "uh oh" every time he sees a vehicle missing hubcaps.

... when I'm feeding Jasper shortly after six in the morning, looking outside at the misty new morning, enjoying our quiet time alone together before chaos takes over the day.

... finding Gavin in his room in the late afternoon when he was supposed to be napping, but instead turned on every light and almost completely emptied his book and toy shelves onto the floor.

... how Gavin immediately runs to lay on his bed when we open the door after he's made said mess while supposedly napping, somehow thinking we'll believe he was really sleeping the entire time.

... sitting on the couch at night watching a great old sitcom, feeding Jasper one last time, and then having him fall asleep on my chest.

... telling Gavin to pick out two books before bedtime and how he confirms the message by holding up two fingers - his thumb and pointer finger.

... how Jasper is already starting to stare at his brother when he's nearby like he can't wait to sit up and play with him.

... how Gavin used to sign "yes" by putting his hands on his head. I miss that already!

... the feeling of having a brand new baby placed of my chest immediately after I pushed him out of my body. Truly wonderfully indescribable.

... how Gavin is completely transfixed the garbage truck servicing the homes in the cul-de-sac across the street every Wednesday morning.

... when I'm home alone working all day and can't wait until my boys get home so I can hear every little detail about what they did while they were out (my mom's grandson-care reports totally rock!).

... how I'm so excited to watch them grow up while wanting them to stay exactly the way they are right now forever.

Grandpa celebrated his birthday last week and his gift was lunch and a movie with his daughters and favorite toddler grandson. This afternoon, we ate a fantastic meal at the Trali Irish pub in Brier Creek and watched Toy Story 3 at the theater.

It was Gavin's first time in a movie theater and I wasn't sure if he'd be totally thrilled to see Woody and Buzz on a big screen or completely terrified by the volume and dark room surrounded by strangers! Considering that Gavin saw the movie for free (child tickets are for ages 3 and up), the movie theater seems to think 2-year-olds can't sit through a movie!

Fortunately, it was a great experience. Gavin loved the movie! He completely zoned out for nearly two hours, staring at the screen.

Gavin is already counting down the days until next June when he can go to the theater again to see Cars 2!

Gavin met with his first play group on Thursday. He and Jeff along with two other girls and their moms met at the North Carolina Museum of Art for the weekly children's program. Gavin returned home with an impressive art project.

Each child was given a few shapes and a glue stick. This is the masterpiece Gavin created:

Is it just me or does this look amazingly similar to one of his favorite construction vehicles?

Yeah, this kid is that talented.

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Traci shot this one while I was trapped under a hungry Jasper earlier today.

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Over the last week, I've been compiling a list of Gavin's words, sounds, and signs. I'm sure I've missed a couple, but here is a (fifteen minute long–grab a snack) rundown of known words, plus a few never-before-said words that I tried on the spot (i.e. colors, anatomy). In the past, he would get upset if we tried to get him to say a new word. This last week, though, he seems willing to try anything. It's really quite a stunning change, and makes us feel rather confident in our decision not to pursue speech therapy.

Viewing tip: Watch the progress bar under the video. You should see sort of a shadow progress indicator moving independent of the playback position indicator. This shadow bar is telling you how much of the video is downloaded and ready for viewing. You can start playback before the entire video has downloaded, but if you have problems, you may want to pause playback and wait until the video has finished downloading to your computer.

The past week has been a busy one at the Highsmith house. I'll start with Jasper's big news. He is now completely sleeping through the night! Woo hoo! He falls asleep in the evening during the eight o'clock hour and visits dreamland until I wake up at 6:15 the following morning.

Where was big brother during this photo shoot? Reading his Cars book three feet away, of course.

Not to be overshadowed by his baby brother, Gavin has big news this week, too. He has made huge strides in speaking. Last month, I had a phone consultation with a pediatric speech therapist and she labeled Gavin as "expressive speech delayed." For several reasons, we decided not start in-person speech therapy sessions, one of which was that he was already starting to make noted progress on his own. Gavin understands words and phrases, and has always babbled all sorts of vowels and consonants (he "talks" all day long!), but is far behind his peers in speaking. He will usually imitate animal sounds, but refused to attempt real words. He always immediately knew when we were trying to make him say a real word and refused to repeat it.

Now, Gavin is finally trying to repeat actual words we say to him. Last week, he spoke what is probably his first real word - one that anyone could understand. Jeff taught him to say "up" as they climbed the stairs. It's the first word with a clear vowel sound combined with the correct consonant - a complete breakthrough! Since he learned it, he says, "up, up, up, up," as he climbs up each step of the staircase and uses it to point to things in the air or while making a toy airplane fly.

For the past few days, Gavin is finally trying to repeat words we speak and repeat for him. He's said "momma" and "baby." Jeff is teaching him how to say "pee" when he has to use his potty. Unfortunately, this lesson seems to have worked too well because Gavin has been saying "pee pee pee" (or "bee" half of the time) all day long simply because he enjoys saying it! Another one of his new favorite words is "pop" which he uses whenever he wants toast (a toaster goes "pop"). After waiting for him to speak real words for so long, it's amazing to hear him finally make an effort to speak!

Gavin's second big news is that he is officially potty training! Before I explain any of the details, let me say that all matters diaper- and potty-related are completely neutral to us. After changing the 500th diaper, child excrements are no longer gross and potty talk is normal conversation when there is a toddler and an infant in the house. However, I realize that not everyone holds this same view, so if you are offended by potty talk, feel free to stop reading now (although I promise the details are as innocent as possible!) and simply share in our joy that we'll soon only have one child in diapers!

We've had the philosophy that Gavin will potty train when he's ready and we haven't done much to encourage him to use a potty. He seemed to start thinking about it several months ago, so we bought a little toddler potty and it has sat in our bathroom mostly unused since then. He'd occasionally sit on it while clothed but when we asked if he wanted to tinkle in the potty, he didn't want to. He's been waking up in the morning with mostly dry diapers for several weeks and had several incidents last week (details to remain private!) that made us suspect that he was getting very close to potty training. He also suddenly hated walking around in a wet diaper and would whine at us while walking like an extremely bow-legged outlaw cowboy when he needed to be changed!

This past Sunday morning, Gavin used his potty for the first time! He woke up pretty dry so I asked him if he needed to use the potty. He said, "yeah," sat on it, and went! He proceeded to tinkle in it again not just one, but two more times that day! Since they, he has used it upon waking each morning and several more times during the day. He already recognizes when he needs to use the potty and tells us when he's ready by pointing to his diaper.

Gavin is still wearing diapers and we also bought him training pants. He has several pairs of Cars underwear which he gets to wear over his diaper after using his potty as a reward. I have no idea how long the average child takes to become completely potty trained once he starts, but Gavin is certainly well on his way!

Stories at bedtime with Gavin...

One last bottle for Jasper...

And holding him as he falls asleep for the night while watching a good old sitcom (Family Ties, these days)...

This is my favorite time of the day.

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Nowadays, Gavin can count to five quite handily, but he could not when we started playing this game a month or two back. In addition, five is not quite long enough for anyone to hide. As such, we started playing hide and seek using the countdown timer on the microwave. That's why Gavin refers to "hide and seek" as "beep beep". Other items of note include Gavin's "hmmm" when he enters the room wondering where Traci hid, as well as his "I hid there" gestures after Traci finds him hiding on the sofa. I'll end with a tip to any future hide and seek partners of Gavin's: once he finds a good hiding spot, he will repeatedly hide in the same place, over and over and over and over.

This blog entry is a totally random collection of Jasper thoughts woven together with pictures of him in his "jailbird" pajamas. I could easily begin with a rant on baby boy clothing design, but will summarize by saying that it can be so hard to find decent baby boy clothes when I have no words, no sports, and no dogs rule when it comes to clothing my kids. I'm happy when I finally find something simple like gray and white stripes. I love these pajamas, but Jasper is nearly bursting the seams so I just had to take pictures of him wearing them one last time! He's already outgrowing many of his 0-3 month size clothes! *sniff*

He woke up smiling yesterday so I couldn't resist fetching the camera. However, he doesn't stay smiling all day. In fact, feeding time can be quite a struggle. After researching his symptoms (screaming several times a day while drinking his bottle, wanting to drink small amounts often, wet-sounding burps, but not spitting up) we suspected silent reflux. We've been doing everything we can to make his meals more pleasant, but he had a particularly difficult feeding this morning and we finally called the doctor. He confirmed our suspicions and Jasper is now on a three-times-a-day prescription medicine that will hopefully clear up his throat problem.

Reflux is common in babies (silent reflux, not so much) and most only require a prescription for several months. Their nervous systems usually mature enough by the end of the first year to quit medication so hopefully Jasper will follow the common tendency. The good news is that, although he's in pain sometimes when he drinks, he's above the average growth curve. Many babies don't gain weight well with reflux because they don't want to eat. Fortunately, Jasper is thriving! In fact, he gained four ounces since his check-up last week and is up to 13 pounds, 9 ounces now!

Jasper is getting more active and alert (and cuter, of course!) by the day. He now loves the activity bar on his bouncer, smiling at it and kicking his feet. He's very vocal and "talks" to us all day long. His smiles are more frequent and so sweet!

Jeff worked yesterday so we celebrated Independence Day today, on the 5th. We began our day with a trip to the State Farmers Market to pick up corn, tomatoes, and watermelon for lunch.

The shot above shows a very small portion of the farmers market - half of the farmers building. The other half has more produce along with potted herbs and flowers. There are several other buildings where everything from meat to sod is available.

I've never seen it this empty. There are usually so many people that it's hard to move! I suppose everyone else was still home after a long holiday night out!

On the drive back home, I finally took this iconic shot of downtown Raleigh. I've been wanting to get this shot for quite some time and always looked around for a good place to pull off to the side of the road whenever I drove through. I finally decided the best way was just to shoot from the front passenger seat of a moving car! This is on route 401 heading north into the city. Again, most of Raleigh was apparently still home sleeping.

We ate burgers, hot dogs, and corn from the grill on homemade buns. Yummilicious! After lunch, we ate watermelon outside while Jeff set up the new slip-and-slide.

When Jeff decided to make a few runs on his belly, Gavin thought it was the funniest thing he'd seen in a long time!

Gavin preferred to walk down the slide so the water wouldn't spray right into his eyes. The three of us took turns, Jeff and I careening down on our bellies and Gavin walking. Gavin was the referee and said, "gaaah!" (go!) when we were supposed to take our turn.

Not quite ready for the Bumbo yet...

Jasper watched me prepare dinner this evening from his bouncer on the kitchen floor. Gavin was aimlessly walking around (or giving Monkey a tour of the house - I wasn't quite sure) so I asked him if he wanted to play with his brother. Gavin went into the living room and returned with Jasper's zebra. He sat down beside Jasper and tried to make him hold the zebra. It was such a sweet brotherly moment so I grabbed my camera and asked Gavin to bring Jasper his crocodile so I could get some pictures.

Looks like Gavin is acting out a Discovery Channel scene from the African wilderness. You know those scenes with the zebras innocently getting a refreshing drink at the river never turn out well (for the zebra, at least)...

I loved the way Gavin lifted Jasper's hand to hold the crocodile.

He does the same thing when making a round of high-fives. Gavin lifts Jasper's hand and pats it with his other hand. Too cute!

Jasper is obviously thrilled by the attention he is getting from his big brother.

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When Jasper and I were playing last night, I managed to get a bit of a laugh out of him. I couldn't sustain his mood long enough to get the video camera out (if anyone wants to send me a pocket-sized iPhone 4...). This morning I set the tripod up real quick and captured a few of Jasper's first laughing noises for posterity.

Jasper has settled quite nicely into the baby stage. That probably sounds obvious! What I mean is that he's no longer a newborn, but still completely dependent and not yet able to sit, roll, or even find his own hands. When I think of a "baby," a little human Jasper's size is exactly what comes to mind.

This blog entry comes one day late so that Jasper's updated measurements taken at his two-month check-up today could be included. Without any further ado...

• 13 pounds, 5 ounces (85th percentile)
• 24 inches (90th percentile)
• 42.5 cm head circumference (97th percentile)
  

Our two-footer is slightly trailing his brother although we don't have an accurate comparision since Gavin was more than two months, two weeks old at his two-month check-up. While it's easy to look at the numbers and think, "Wow, he's gained over five pounds since he was born," it wasn't until seeing several newborns at the pediatrician's office today that I realized just how much he's grown! He already looks like a giant compared to those itty bitty babies!

Jasper is thisclose to sleeping completely through the night. He drinks his last bottle of the day and then falls asleep around 9:00-11:00. Lately, he's been sleeping until the five o'clock hour in the morning: 5:00, 5:15, 5:30... We just need to stretch it until 6:15 when I get up for the day and we're golden! There are still days when he goes to sleep early at 8:00 PM and then wakes up at 3:00 AM for a bottle, but we're not attempting to keep him on a strict daily schedule so those days will come. We let him eat when he's hungry (as long as it's been at least 2.5 hours since the last bottle, otherwise we distract him for a while since he's usually just bored if he wants another bottle so soon!) and sleep when he's tired.

Sleeping through the night is a great milestone, but it's not the best. Jasper is smiling and cooing now. Smiling is the best baby milestone!

Jasper wears size 0-3 month clothes, but many of his onesies are getting tight so I opened the box of Gavin's old 3-6 month clothes this week. Most are still too big, but they're ready and waiting in his dresser drawer. It certainly is nice to just open up another storage box of larger clothes as he grows! We buy him some new clothes, of course, so his wardrobe isn't composed entirely of hand-me-downs, but it's handy to have a baby boy wardrobe already!

He wears size 1 Huggies Pure and Natural diapers. We've tried some cloth diapers that we originally ordered for Gavin before he was born (Happy Heinys and a few BumGeniuses), but they leak unless he's changed every hour - or even less! They simply don't hold enough *ahem* liquid. I'm all for saving money and making a choice that's better for the environment, but if he's leaking on his clothes and going through a half dozen clothing changes a day, this isn't the best diapering solution right now! We will definitely try again in several months when he can wear larger diapers and he should be in cloth by the end of his first year just like his brother.

Jeff refers to the vibrating bouncer as Jasper's third parent because it can instantly soothe him and calm him down. He loves the bouncer just like his brother did and naps in it during the day.

Jasper also loves the safari animal mobile hanging above his crib. This is another hand-me-down from Gavin and I almost didn't unpack it when we set up the crib because Gavin never showed any interest in it whatsoever. Jasper, however, smiles and stares at it whenever we crank it up!

While I know I need to not compare the boys, it's interesting to note their differences. Since Gavin was the only baby we've raised (obviously!), we have no reason to assume that many of the things we experienced with him were the same for all babies. So when there's a big difference, it catches us off guard! One big difference between the boys so far is that Gavin was never cold while Jasper can never have too many blankets! Both were raised as infants under the same temperature conditions. Even though Gavin was born in Florida in the winter, it was one of the warmest winters on record and we ran the air conditioner most of the time just like we are here in Raleigh summer. There have been many times when we eventually realize that Jasper is fussing simply because he is cold. Even at the hospital when we left him in the nursery for several hours, the nurses put an extra cap and blanket on him because he had been too cold. As he gets Gavin's hand-me-down clothes, the difference in temperature preference is obvious because there are almost no pants! Gavin always just wore a onesie and socks with bare legs at home. Jasper thinks such an ensemble is completely unacceptable and he sent me out to buy him pants! I should note that Jasper was wearing pants and socks prior to taking these pictures but I temporarily removed them to capture his pudgy legs!

Speaking of those pudgy legs... Jasper's little thunder thighs are just over-the-top adorable!