Boo Hoo for Mommy

Boo Hoo. Mommy feels blue. She missed her race today. Thanks to Grandma F. and Fabulous Aunts Kay and Debbie for still coming to cheer on a non-runner. Mommy still can't stomach much but hopes she is on the mend. The bad news for Daddy is that she has now decided to try out the Bix (7-mile run at the end of July) so she can at least put the last 12 weeks to SOME sort of use! New pictures coming soon.....................

Pickle.

Mommy is going to begin this post by talking about herself. Tomorrow is the big day she has been training her butt off for for 12 weeks. Well, it appears that someone up above absolutely does not want Mommy in this 1/2 marathon. First, the floods came thus washing out the path for the 1/2. Ok, no problem, it was switched to the roads and lessened to 10 miles. Mommy was initially disappointed. She has this thing about saying she is going to do something and following through with it. Daddy can attest to this as she frequently would look at her Garmin (best invention EVER) at the end of a training run and see she was short a tenth of a mile. So, Mommy would run around the block until she was EXACTLY at what she said she was going to do. That being said, training since April for a 1/2 marathon only to find out she wouldn't be able to actually complete one was hard. There was however, a little voice saying '10 miles is WAY better than 13'! So Mommy moved on thinking she could at least run a little faster in a 10-miler vs. 13. Well, then Thursday came and Mommy felt like nothing short of death. She was unable to sit up, brush her teeth, or eat without sickness. Ok, this too shall pass. Nope. It is now Sat. morning and Mommy still feels like she can't WALK a mile much less run 10 of them! Mommy had made a pact with herself that if she was able to eat 3 full meals today, she would go for it tomorrow. Well, she is 0 for 3 so for. She was supposed to be carb-loading, liquid guzzling these last few days and not being able to stomach much of anything really doesn't bode well for finishing a 10-mile race in a respectable way. So enough complaining, there is more to life and she will just have to find another race and start training AGAIN. GRRRR.
On to Jace. He has been one busy boy as of late. He has been spending time at the library, going to the pool, BBQing with friends, and visiting Nana Cook at the zoo (No, Nana doesn't live at the zoo but she did meet Jace there :) ). Jace and Mommy also made a half-hearted attempt at going to the parade (in conjunction with the race) this morning. That lasted all of 1/2 hour as Mommy felt faint and Jace swatted at Mommy, on t.v. no less, because he wanted out of his stroller. Anyone in our area can turn on our local channel 15, where they replay the parade all year long (over and over), and get a good glimpse of a Jace tantrum in full swing. Anyway enough chatter, here are the pics. Oh and pray for a miracle healing for Mommy in the next few hours so she can go kick some butt in the morning (or kick her own--whatever.).

Mommy's a genius! She has discovered that giving Jace a sucker while dining out gives her and Daddy (and fellow patrons) several minutes of silence!


Just like Daddy--looking at the elephants.

The highlight of Jace's life so far--riding the train at the zoo. He LOVES trains and sat in awe during the entire ride.

Our little engineer

Having his cake and eating it too!

Enjoying a push from Daddy

Feeding the goats at the zoo. This was another highlight. Jace thought it was hilarious when they licked his palm. Luckily they had hand sanitizer on the way out. Most of you probably know that Mommy isn't too concerned with germs normally. However, this was a little icky seeing as Jace sucks his thumb a large portion of the day. Oh and Mommy's leg got peed on by some crazy bird.

Riding the dino.

Getting ready to hit the pool with Davon and Haley


And last but not least, just some proof that Ozzy is enjoying his summer as well!

Book Worm

Jace is such a little book worm! He absolutely LOVES to read! Of course he still likes his cars and trucks but books make up the majority of his day. He loves to have them read to him and also just sit by himself and look at them. We have recently discovered that Barnes and Noble is a great outing for little man. Not only are there TONS of books to look at but they have a huge Thomas the Train setup to play with. Another plus of Mommy being at home for the summer is that Jace is able to attend Story Time at the library. Jace gets to play with other kids his age, listen to books, and sing songs! Basically anytime is a good time for a book! Here are some of Jace's favorite times to read:

Laying down

Naked

Sitting in the chair

Wearing Mommy's clothes

Or even wearing the cool hat Jace got from the fireman while he was checking out the firetruck

Jace and Ozzy would like to welcome their new cousin........

Pause for effect................................






NO Aunt Alisa is not pregnant again---although she is kind of slacking--hasn't it been about 16 months already? :)
This new cousin is actually on Mommy's side of the family and belongs to Aunt Erin. Now before anyone gets too riled up, let Mommy fill you in on the details. This is Jace and Ozzy's new PUPPY cousin. His name is Kona and he is a very cute 6-week-old Boxer. Talk about making Ozzy's day!

We are still debating on if he looks more like his Mommy (Aunt Erin) or his Daddy (Tom)? Jace is leaning towards Aunt Erin. :)


Welcome Kona--we can't wait to meet you! Ozzy is ready to wrestle and Jace is ready to pull your nubbin.

Sorry, no pics........

No pictures today. The camera was dead and is charging as we speak. Just wanted to point out (in case anybody is really oblivious to EVERYTHING) that Jace has a new layout for his blog. Mommy decided that since Jace is such a big boy now with real interests she would cater to those somewhat. Jace is an Elmo (mu mo) fanatic! His other favs (which may show up as a layout someday) are too too's (trains), bu (bus's), and bu bu's (all dogs are referred to as bu bu-our pet name for Ozzy). Pictures of his new *swimming pool* coming soon..............

Mother Nature is P.O.'d---Part II

Alas, Mommy is able to upload pictures today! Enjoy!

J-Man waiting for Aunt Erin to arrive

Yes, you are seeing the front of him. He has this new thing.....he pulls his hat all the way down over his eyes and tries to walk as far as he can. Definitely his father's child.

What up. For those of you who haven't seen Jace in the flesh lately--whenever someone says 'what's up' to him he gives them a little head nod that makes him look like he's about 18. This trick is courtesy of Daddy of course.

Loving brothers

Helping Daddy open presents on Father's Day

Jace posing with the sandbags just outside of downtown

What most of the businesses say in our downtown

Playing in his super cool new sandbox

Mother Nature is P.O.'d!!

As most of you who live within a 200 mile radius of Jace know, Mother Nature has been kicking our butts lately. It wasn't enough that Jace had to be awakened from his sleep multiple times in one week to head downstairs for tornadoes, but she then sent enough water to force Mommy to seriously consider building an arc! Jace however was such a trooper during the tornado warnings!! Imagine a 17-month old fast asleep at 1:30 am only to be yanked out of his bed and hauled downstairs for 45 minutes. Jace was far from what Mommy would have predicted.......the little stinker thought it was a grand idea and sat on Mommy's lap the whole time pointing things out on the t.v. When it was time to go back to bed..............well, he did just that, without a peep! What a kid!
And then there was the rain, and water, and rain, and water, and river, etc, etc. To make a long story short, Mommy's blogging has been seriously interrupted for over a week now due to the internet being out at Jace's house. Finally today, Mommy got that marvelous Welcome Page she has been hoping to see for days now. Of course losing a little internet connection is definitely tolerable seeing what so many others are going through right now. Jace's next door neighbors are even housing a man who lost his entire home in the floods. Luckily the mandatory evacuations here started exactly ONE block from Jace's house! Thanks to Daddy and so many others' persistent sandbagging efforts, the downtown area was spared of total devastation. Jace's house didn't even see one single drop of water! Mommy's frantic 'saving of her shoes' downstairs proved unnecessary after all! So, in the midst of our weather madness, Jace had several visitors, including Aunt Rita (for a 2nd time) and Aunt Erin and her man Tom. Of course fun was had by all as usual. And this now concludes Mommy's ramblings as you are probably itching for pictures after the long hiatus!

J and Daddy----aren't they too cute?


Ok, so it isn't just Mother Nature that is P.O.'d. Apparently the 'picture gods' are angry at Mommy as well and will not let her upload any more than one picture. Please stay tuned as Mommy will try again when the steam coming from her ears cools.

Stick a fork in us...............We're Done!!

Summer has officially arrived for Jace and Mommy! Mommy has enjoyed the latter part of the day engrossed in a steamy romance novel----this is the life! If severe weather ever leaves Jace's neighborhood the tons of fun waiting to be had will begin! Until then Jace and Mommy are just enjoying having extra spare time!

This is how we feel about summer being here!

Jace has been catching up on some reading as well...........

This kid seriously spends half of his days looking at books (the other half is spent pushing his cars around).

Jace's obsession with shoes continues--Mommy will say it again---He is a DIVA! He was bound and determined the other day to wear his size 3 cowboy boots from last fall. First of all, he is pretty close to a size 5 now. Second of all, it is 85 degrees outside and he is NOT going to wear cowboy boots. Yeah right---and now imagine a 17-month-old child throwing himself on the floor, screaming as if he is being stabbed! Please note: Mommy did win this battle and the cowboy boots will be hidden to avoid future confrontation! Back to the picture at hand: Jace decided if he couldn't wear the boots he would put them on Daddy. Hmmmm, do those come in a 13?

Jace is insistent that he is going to walk up stairs the 'big boy' way. The problem lies in the fact that he has short little legs that won't allow it. Recently Jace has been displaying some of what Mommy likes to call 'Keenaness' (referring to Jace's fearless cousin Keenan) and throwing caution to the wind. On this particular day at the park, Jace did fairly well, as he had something to hold on to.


And finally, Jace has now had his 6th---yes 6th haircut in 5 months! He seriously could be a celebrity child with the long, flowing locks those little boys love if we so desired. Jace looks much better with the shorter disheveled look though---people are still constantly telling him "My hair looks that way too after I've just woken up". Mommy smiles politely and gives herself a mental reminder to use just a little more gel next time!

Thankful

After tornadoes ripped through and destroyed many neighborhoods very near Jace's house (damage started 3 miles from his house) last Sunday, Mommy began thinking about all that she is thankful for. After seeing destruction and hearing horrifying stories of coworkers and strangers alike, Mommy realized that many of the everyday things that cause her stress really are not important in the grand scheme of things. For instance, Jace's 'hitting phase' (yes, Mommy is referring to it as a phase because it too shall pass right?) isn't SO bad. The fact that he has reached the terrible 2's a full 7 months early won't kill Mommy and Daddy--will it? Mommy has decided to focus on what she is thankful for, such as having a happy, healthy little man who had decided that sleeping until 7:30 just in time for summer break is a grand idea!!! Amazingly, she is thankful to be able to go out for a 10-mile run on Sunday morning (with her biggest worry being making it to the water/bathroom stop). Mommy is thankful to have a job that she really enjoys with plenty of time off for Jace. Mommy is thankful for having family and friends that are always there (and always there to dote on Jacer!). Mommy is thankful for her wonderful, how should she put it......protective, dog Ozzy. Of course, Mommy is also thankful for Daddy and all that he does around the house and with the J-Man. So in the end, Mommy is such a lucky gal and of course Jace is a very big part of that. She couldn't ask for a better little guy (ok maybe just 1 less swat at her per day would be nice!).


As mentioned above, Jace has plenty of doting family members and he has had the opportunity to see a great majority of them in the last few weeks. This weekend was no different as Aunt Rita was in town from South Dakota. Jace enjoyed spending time with her and her dog Macie. Jace is such an animal lover. Give him a truck and a dog and he would be in bliss for hours! Anyway, the weekend was swell but limited in pictures (mostly because Aunt Rita felt pictures of her and Jace were "unnecessary"). Jace did get to check out the free petting zoo for the first time and although small, was a nice way to spend a 1/2 hour on a warm day. He also spent nearly 2 hours (sigh) with Aunt Rita while Mommy ran on Sunday morning. Apparently he was neither aware, nor bothered, that Mommy was gone. So to sum up, here are the very few pictures taken recently:

Looking at the birds at the petting zoo. For some reason, Jace kept going back to them over the other animals??


Doing the running man!