Life is going well. Happy Mother’s Day to our moms. Lindsey is the greatest mother ever, so I’m going to turn off the computer and try to fold some of the laundry before she does it all. We love you and we hope you enjoy the pictures.
After a fun time of playing the the park we headed over to do some music at Brilliant Babies. I’ve only very recently started allowing Mirabelle to sit in the drivers seat as I get the stroller and Jasper into the car and of course she loves it! She calls it “die” and does a sign with her hand. When she begs with a please it makes it hard to say no. I’d tossed my keys onto the floor just as I’d unlocked the door, set Mira inside and shut the door.
I got Jasper from the stroller where he had just started crying–he sometimes does so for a minute or two before his afternoon nap. I tried opening the door and realized that I hadn’t unlocked it from the driver’s side. I went back around to see that the driver’s side door was also locked and a happy as could be Miss Bubbins was having a blast pressing all the buttons and driving. I could see my keys on the floor and I knew that the key inside was the only key we had for our white car that I was driving while Toby (our station wagon) in the shop.
As I spent a few minutes trying to coax her to lift up the lock and let me in another mom came and told me that her daughter was locked in her car a month earlier and she had called the police who were able to have her free in 10 minutes. Way better than an hour for AAA! I made the call and laughed as the emergency dispatcher asked if Mirabelle was in distress. She was bouncing all around and playing with the keys she had found on the floor. In the midst of this sweet Ja ja fell asleep and subtracted much of the stress by stopping crying.
A police officer got there a minute later and he joined in the coaxing for Mira to unlock the door. She couldn’t lift the lock and by this time was wondering who the heck the guy with the mustache was. She turned to play some more and leaned onto the horn. This was her discovery of the horn and she merrily beeped repeatedly and shouted, “Die!” I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realized that she had somehow found the correct key and put it all the way into the ignition!
The police officer wasn’t able to help us out but the fire engine arrived and four fire men worked at unlocking the door and letting Mirabelle out. I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots, as this was sure to never ever happen again! It didn’t take them long and the door was open to a still calm but wary sweetheart. Mii??? asked Mirabelle while making the sign. She drank some milk and instantly fell asleep with her arm around Baby Bear.
I called to let BB know that we wouldn’t be coming for music anymore and went home to join in the napping festivities with the cherubim. And the lesson I learned and the moral of the story? Some of you may say to never let Mirabelle drive again, or at least not until she grows up a bit and that may still be scary. Most importantly I’ve learned to always keep my keys in my pocket after I’ve unlocked the car and until they are in the ignition!
I suppose that was the most lively event that we’ve had recently.
We became members of the San Francisco zoo and have checked it out a few times. As I pushed the double stroller along, a seagull swooped down and snatched up the banana pancake Mira was munching on! It took it right from her hand! She loves telling the story using a mixture of signs and words. She includes the fact that the bird did not say please or sorry.
We also go to the mini zoo in Palo Alto very often to visit the one-eyed owl that Mira’s befriended. Any time we ask her what she wants to do she hoots and covers one eye while saying owl. She also loves the bob cats and she melts my heart as she tells us, “bob cat rascal rowdy!” After we go to the zoo she always wants to go to the choo choo park which we frequent daily.
We got to go to the Herbst theatre in San Francisco to see Dan Zanes, a musician for children. Mira loved running up and down the empty aisles “fixing” all the chairs that weren’t down.
Also, little Jasper was blessed on Easter Sunday and we had so much fun spending time with family and cousins!
M & J are growing up so quickly and I’m sorry to all of our far away friends and family for being such a lag at blogging! Enjoy the pics and more will come soon.
Here are some more pictures of our jolly good days of late. We’ve gotten to go play every day and enjoy all of the beautiful sunny days! No matter how sunny the day, Mirabelle prefers wearing her butts (boots) with eyes whether she is in or outdoors. Jasper has passed the cusp of newborn to big boy and has decided to join us most of the time in a very much awake state. I suppose that we’re just having such a good time and he didn’t want to miss out! 
We’ve been having so much fun with Jasper and Mirabelle that we just haven’t gotten around to posting pictures. Here a bunch to help everybody get caught up. We hope you enjoy them.
Jasper David Wise. Thank you to all who made suggestions and bribes. Many thanks to those who patiently awaited the announcement. And thanks most of all to Jasper, who waited, nameless, for three days.
Jasper was a name that grew on us as the pregnancy drew to a close. When he was born, we figured that Jasper was the name, but we wanted to take some time to think about it further. Our thinking led to research, which was fascinating.
First, we found information about jasper as a semi-precious stone. It comes in many colors and patterns–there is mottled jasper, red jasper, picture jasper, lasndscape jasper, yellow jasper, etc. Many claim that jaspers have protective powers. They are also good for healing stomach ailments. I’m hoping our little Jasper can heal my stomach, which seems to be growing and growing. Jaspers are associated with Scorpios and Sagitarians. Baby Jasper is a Scorpio with a Sagitarian moon. If you want to know what that means, please contact my wife. (I recently was informed that I’m a Taurus with a Taurus moon. That must be why I think it is all bull.) Jaspers are also credited with warding off fears of the dark, so I no longer need a flashlight. Even if I’m still afraid of the dark, this little boy is the light of our lives.
Another interesting fact about the name Jasper–one that we did not know until yesterday–is that Jasper is the name of one of the Wise Men who sought the Christ child. Melchior and Balthazar were the other two. Our next two boys are already named! I’m not sure if the Wise Man Jasper brought gold, frankincense, or myrrh, but our little Wise man has brought nothing but joy.
We love having him here. Mirabelle loves him the most. She kisses him whenever we let her get near him. We can’t wait to see them grow up playing together. But for now I want nothing more than for those little people to stay just as little as they are. With Jasper’s arrival, we are more aware than ever of how much Mirabelle has grown. I didn’t even see it happening. Until Sunday, Mirabelle was still a baby.
We are loving life as a new family of four. Lindsey and Jasper haven’t even left home–he’s kind of a homebody. We’re spending time together and squeezing in as many family naps as possible.
At 1:12 in the early morning of 11/11/07 our son was born. As the day approached, we thought he might be born on veteran’s day. What kind of baby enters the world on such a day? We joked that he might be an old soldier from the beaches of Normandy, who would enter the world still wearing his green helmet. These are the kinds of things you speak of to pass the time when awaiting a child.
Lindsey’s labor began around 5pm on Saturday while we were taking a family nap. She labored beautifully throughout the night–I’m absolutley amazed by her. She never swore at me or shed a single tear. She didn’t breathe funny like they do on tv. She just dealt with it and focused on her son. Lindsey even made jokes during the transition phase. Yelena (the midwife) and I could not contain our laughter. I can’t say enough about how amazing Lindsey is.
When our little boy finally emerged, we saw that Lindsey’s waters had not broken–he still had the amniotic sac around his head. This is quite rare and some say that it makes the baby quite special. Some believe he will never drown, others claim he is destined for greatness, and still others say he will travel forever and never tire. Lindsey really likes that last one. I think all three are pretty good. In latin the caul is “Caput galeatum”, literally, “head helmet.” Ah yes, he was wearing a helmet after all, our little veteran traveler.
His ears are also of interest: we’ve never seen any shaped like them. All day I’ve been trying to think of how to describe them, but words are failing me. At one point I said to Lindsey, “They look like they have a dancer in them, you know, that one from the Dave Matthews Band stickers.” She had no idea what I meant, so I don’t expect that you will. Check out the picture for a much more accurate description.
Our little guy has slept peacefully all day except for a couple feeding interuptions and a bumbling experience with his father changing a diaper. Has it been so long since we’ve had a newborn?
Mirabelle loves him. She calls him Mama, which she calls all babies. She likes to poke at him and jump on him. When we changed his hat tonight to a little hat with a lion on the forehead, Mirabelle pointed right to it and said, Raaar. So maybe we’ll name him Mama and maybe we’ll name him Raaar. We really haven’t figured it out yet. We’ll need to get to know him.
He was seven pounds three ounces at birth. His length is 20 inches. His head is 14 inches around. His hair is dark and curly. His toes are incredibly long and are equal to half the length of his foot. His sneezes are small and cute. His parents are doting and head-over-heels for him.
Welcome little one. We’ll get you named. We love you. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support. We’ve felt your prayers and appreciate your kind thoughts and words.
I’d like to take this opportunity to dispel a commonly held notion that my wife is huge. She is, indeed, six days beyond her due date, but, if you ask me, she doesn’t look a day beyond 40 weeks. I am posting recent photos as proof. She is beautiful and I will fight anyone who disagrees.
Speaking of fighting, I’m about ready to fight this little kickboxer inside of Lindsey. He kicks, he punches, he stretches, he makes himself quite cozy; he does everything but show his face. He is six days late for our appointment. I’m not always punctual myself; I admit I’ve returned movies six days late, I’ve returned books to the library six days late, I’ve even paid a bill or two six days late, but I can’t imagine having the nerve to be born six days late. I hope he realizes that he is being charged late fees, which will, along with our ice cream expenses, be subtracted from his future allowance.
Meanwhile, Mirabelle, who was three days late or early (depending on which due date one chose to believe), is a sweet little treasure who grows larger and smarter each day. She loves to smash her face into Lindsey’s belly, kissing it, zerbeting it, and covering it with slobber. She definitely loves her brother. We love him too. And we’ll continue to wait for him.
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