Jace's 1st RAGBRAI

Jace got to experience his first RAGBRAI this week. RAGBRAI was in town overnight on Wed. so we had a team stay with us from Chariton (where Mommy used to work). Jace thought all the bikes were pretty cool and even thought he might want to try RAGBRAI himself someday. Although Mommy and Aunt Erin were on the hunt Jace didn't get to meet Lance Armstrong or Matthew Mconahay (or however you spell it). Oh well--maybe next year!

Jace with the team that stayed at his house.

The route went right by our house so we had a pretty much endless stream of bikes for a couple of hours Thurs. morning.

Jace just being silly-this pic has nothing to do with RAGBRAI but if you just take note of the look in his eye you will get a feel for what Mommy and Daddy are thinking they are up against in years to come!

Chew, Chew, Chew, and visitors too!!

Jace has been a chewing machine as of late. Evidence of his efforts can be seen oh so slighly in the slowly rising tooth he rarely displays (so rarely that mommy STILL hasn't gotten a picture). Those of you who have been around us know that not having a picture of something is almost unheard of with as much as mommy has the camera out!! We are still working though and will get a picture as soon as Jace feels he is ready to reveal his new addition.

Jace chews on anything to help him GET THAT TOOTH OUT!! It may be paper.....

Or even his own shoes..........


Jace had several special visitors this weekend. His Great Aunt and Uncle Chuck and Denise were here from Florida. Jace also had a visit from his Nana Cook. He had a great time with all of them and managed (as usual) to score some new loot.
Jace sitting on Great Aunt Denise's lap--that is Uncle Chuck in the background with the purse. :)


Chuck and Denise brought Jace some adorable new swim trunks and a matching hat. He LOVES the hat!! Every time he puts it on he cracks himself up. We aren't sure why he finds it so amusing but of course we go with it---and will be taking it with us everywhere in case we are in need of a quick 'cheer him up'.

Chuck and Denise also brought Jace new bath toys (among other things)!! We are very excited about his new toys because his old ones were basically toy sponges and mommy was getting somewhat concerned about the volume of soapy water he was ingesting at bathtime.

Of course Nana didn't come empty handed either. She brought Jace several things including this new HULA shirt!! :)

And Jace thanked her by trying to yank her necklace off!!!


Jace hopes he gets to see everyone again very soon!!!

Teefers, Teefers

Cancel the denture consult----Jace got a tooth!!! After nearly 3 months of chewing, drooling, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth----it has sprouted!!! Now understand that there is no picture yet because it is just a stump of a tooth at this point. We are very excited and proud of course! :) Jace spent the last few days at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we do have a few actual pictures of some other firsts for your viewing pleasure.........

First time in a big boy high chair...................

First time playing with a wooden spoon--thanks Grandma.

First time being intentionally defiant--look at him watching Reggie while he pulls his paw!

First time in a shopping cart WITHOUT his car seat!!!!!!

This isn't really a first but who can resist this picture?????


Stay tuned for teefer pictures coming soon!!!

Happy 1/2 years old!!!!

On the Fourth of July Jace turned a whopping 1/2!!!! Mommy has attempted to get people to observe/celebrate her 1/2 birthday for many, many years now without much luck. Maybe with Jace's falling on a holiday, those in his life will be more likely to REMEMBER!
Jace's first 6 months have brought so many changes!!! He has gone from a tiny (not really tiny) baby to somewhat of a little boy. He continues to grow and change every day! Some of his favorite things these days include swinging, being in the water, watching trees blow, sneezing (it guarantees a laugh from him), Ozzy, having undivided attention from just about anyone, eating, being tickled, and sleeping in the jogger stroller while Mommy and Ozzy huff and puff. There really isn't much Jace doesn't like--he is so much fun to have around--we often wonder how we got so lucky to be his Mommy and Daddy.
Jace also had his 6-month checkup and as in previous times we found out he is GROWING!!! These were his stats:
Weight 16.94 lbs--40th percentile----if we would have left that full diaper on him he probably would have made 17 lbs!!
Height 27 3/4 inches--85th percentile---Go Jace Go!!! Do it for Mommy!!!
Head circumference????--45th percentile---this has been increasing since the divot on the back of his head is popping out! :)

Look how Mommy's little man has grown!!!!
Going home from the hospital---

6 months old-----


And in other big boy news----
Jace REALLY wants to crawl. The obstacle is that he just isn't strong enough quite yet. He is able to rock back and forth which is plenty for Mommy right now!!

Jace's new 'big boy' bath---just like Maveric and Keenan's

Jace's new 'big boy swing---just like Maveric and Keenan's--yes we see a pattern here!


Here's to 6 more months of fun!!!!!!

Our Trip

Our trip to Colorado and South Dakota was tons of fun. It was great to see everybody in both places. Jace got to meet his cousins Maveric and Keenan in Colorado and got to meet horses for the first time in South Dakota!! Jace was wonderful in the car. He endured a 13 hour ride going to Colorado and only whimpered a few times. He then made it through a 6 hour ride from Colorado to South Dakota and finally a 10 hour ride home! Mommy thinks he actually kind of enjoyed it because she sat in the back with him and entertained him most of those hours!! Since we got to do and see so many things we took TONS of pictures--214 to be exact. Of course we won't subject everyone to THAT long of a blog but we do have plenty to show. We'll just start from the beginning......

Jace and Keenan were born about 5 weeks apart. As you can see they took to eachother quickly holding hands like old buddies!

Jace found out how much fun his Aunt Alisa is--she let him play in her food after she was done with it!!!!

Nana Cook sent all 3 boys matching t-shirts for the 4th of July. They were somewhat difficult to round up for a group shot but we were able to piece them together.
Jace and Keenan (our little cabbage patch doll)


It looks like Maveric is explaining something to Jace and Keenan. It appears Jace will do whatever Maveric says though--he thought he was the coolest and hopes to be just like him in 14 months!!

The whole gang at the Dever Zoo--minus Uncle Eric who was taking the picture! Note Keenan and his sweet shades!

Jace got to attend his first Major League Baseball Game with Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Eric. Although Mommy would have preferred he be initiated at Wrigley we still had a great time.

Jace had a great time taunting the Mets fans in front of us!

Ozzy and Sasha are definitely the best of buddies--he misses her terribly already!!

Jace got to meet his Grandpa Steve for the first time on our trip and he LOVED him! He pretty much just stared at him like this the whole time so it was hard to get many pictures!

3 generations--all 3 actually looking at the camera!!!!

Sharing a laugh with Grandpa......


South Dakota.......
Jace was introduced to Great Aunt Rita's horses right away--Sophie and Lacey. It pays to have a big dog because he wasn't the least big fazed!


Great Aunt Rita took us to many awesome places and was the best tour guide!! We were able to see spectacular views--although Mommy was a little nervous driving to the top of a mountain on a winding, gravel road with no siderail. But it was worth it at the top!


Who knew we'd have to yield to buffalo!

Jace and Aunt Rita posing gracefully...

At Mount Rushmore........

Aunt Rita volunteers at the Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota. We got a private tour from her which included getting thrown in jail!! Notice Jace is hiding his face in embarrasment!! This was actually the jail used in the movie 'Crazy Horse'.

Some of the hundreds of horses at the ranch....

Jace and Mommy also got to go swimming at 'The Plunge' which is a swimming pool of natural mineral water. It is always naturally 87 degrees so Jace loved that!!

After coming back to Aunt Rita's Saturday night and discovering fire very nearby we had to leave very quickly. We had planned to stay until Sunday so we ended up driving for about an hour and getting a hotel. It was a bit of a fiasco but we finally made it and Jace and Mommy were oh so happy to have a bed!!

This is Jace on the way home on Sunday. We think he is saying 'Get me home now!!!'

And of course we can't forget Ozzy!! As you can see he had a rough ride in the front seat with a pillow for his paws and one for his head!! Ozzy loved Colorado and South Dakota! He tried to play with the horses without much luck!! He also wasn't sure what to do in Rita's 5 acres of fenced in land. He didn't even leave the deck the first night without coaxing!! Who knew we didn't need a leash??


We had a great time on our trip!! We are so glad that Rita's house is doing well and that her, Macie, Sophie, and Lacey are safe! We hope to be back very soon!!!!

We're Baaaaack!!

We made it back tonight!! We took almost 200 pictures so we have tons to put up in the near future! The end of our vacation ended a little upruptly last night as we were caught in the middle of a forest fire at Great Aunt Rita's in South Dakota. We had to evacuate her house fairly quickly but so far her house is doing great! Some of her neighbors weren't so lucky however so we want Aunt Rita to know that we are thinking and praying for her and her friends. We did have a great time and will share plenty of pictures soon!!
Here are a couple of pictures we got just before leaving South Dakota last night--


And this is the super trooper vacationer Jace--would you believe this pic was taken when we were less than an hour from home. Still smiling after all the travel and excitement!!