Copy Cat

Jace has become quite the little copy cat as of late! He has been imitating actions for quite a while which was hilarious in itself. Mommy would stretch before running and Jace would imitate her. Daddy would crack his neck (odd we know) and Jace would imitate him. It was like he was this little fly on the wall taking everything in and all of the sudden he would copy something. Well, unfortunately it has now turned more verbal. No, nothing naughty but mouths must be watched nontheless. The other day Mommy was talking on the phone to Aunt Erin (now known as NNN) as she told Mommy about her air conditioner breaking on her drive back to KC. So Mommy was saying what a long drive it must have been and how hot etc, etc, etc. Jace is several feet away playing by himself and Mommy hears "drive, drive drive". Mommy laughs. Next she hears "hot, hot, hot". Yes folks, he hears EVERYTHING--guess those tubes are working anyway!
Daddy had today off which was PERFECT because it was Mommy and Daddy's 4th Anniversary! Yay! This morning was spent at the petting zoo as Jace fed some of the animals and chased others. Unfortunately he wanted to go in the pen with the chickens so Mommy had to follow. This was a little unnerving (especially after the bird peeing incident at the zoo). It ended up being a nice time however and thanks to Tina, Davon, and Haley, Mommy and Daddy were able to dine ALONE tonight. Oooh Mommy is still in a food coma and it feels wonderful. Here's to another year without a child-free dinner! This one was so good it may just get us through!

Helping Daddy snake the sink---ick!

Being a cool dude with his new Thomas backpack--have we mentioned lately that Jace LOVES Thomas?

Chasing the poor goats

Feeding the horses a carrot

Checking for gas in the mower (just like Daddy does)

Helping Daddy with the weedeating


And as promised, here are Mommy and Daddy crossing the finish line of the Bix last weekend. Please hold your applause.

Despite a few mishaps...........

Mommy and Daddy completed the Bix and Jace had a great time at Nana and Papa C.'s this weekend. Jace greatly enjoyed his time with Nana and Papa but it looks as though his new best friend is Papa's grandson, Brian. Brian is 11 and was so good with Jace! Jace laughed for like 12 hours straight! While Jace was playing with Nana, Papa, and Brian, Mommy and Daddy were expending some energy at the Bix. Now, to get to the mishaps we must first start the night before. Mommy forgets her deodorant. Who goes to run in a tough 7-mile race and doesn't bring deodorant? Next, Mommy goes to bed for the night hoping to get some good sleep before her run. What time do her eyes finally close you ask? 5 am. Yep, Mommy ran on 1 hour of sleep. Next, for those of you who have heard of her previous problems (due to giving birth to Jace)--well they were back! Then, Mommy finally makes it to the finish line but what does she do? Forgets to look at the clock to see her time! Pretty sure she was the only one out of tens of thousands of runners who FORGOT to see what their time was! Finally, Mommy and Daddy meet up and she loses a contact due to a large quantity of sweat, skin, and eye boogers building up in her eye. In the end though it was a great run. Mommy did find out her time in the online results and discovered that she indeed beat Daddy, although he did great too. Mommy finished in 1:05 and Daddy finished in 1:09. It was crazy because even though Mommy and Daddy finished a little over 4 minutes apart, there were over a thousand people in between them! Mommy placed 183rd out of 838 in her age division so she gave herself a big pat on the back for that one!! It was definitely one of the toughest runs--it started with a hill that lasted 1/3 of a mile at an almost 9% incline! The last 3 miles were a combination of steep hills and gradual incline! Oh and Mommy found her deodorant.....AFTER the race!

Papa C. and Brian volunteered at the Jr. Bix--which Jace is already training for. He will be running in the 5 and under division next year! Anyway Brian got a medal for volunteering and he shared it with Jace. Jace thought he was pretty cool and kept putting it back on.

Kissing Brian

Kissing Papa

Brian had a super cool motorized bike that Mommy got to tool around on.

He even took Jace for a ride. Jace was in heaven of course.


There was a photographer at the finish line of the race so Mommy and Daddy should have pics emailed to them in the next day or so. They may be shared with you, our loyal readers, if Mommy deems them acceptable (meaning she doesn't look like she just ran 7-miles at the end of July without deodorant and eye boogers crusting in her eyes).
Oh and despite what the pictures look like, Jace did wear clothes during part of our trip.

Copy and Paste

Well, apparently Aunt Erin was quite displeased with Mommy's previous posting. According to her keen eye, Tom Thomas was pictured in TWO photos while Aunt Erin was plum left out of the entire post...GASP!!!! Mommy politely reminded Aunt Erin that Jace was not photographed with her on this particular trip to which she replied, "Then Copy and Paste one". Sooooo, this is for Aunt Erin--a post all to herself!




Oh yes....and not to take away from Aunt Erin's glory but Mommy must remind everyone to be thinking of her and Daddy on Saturday morning as they tackle the Bix. Jace will get to spend the morning with Nana C. while Mommy and Daddy run. Mommy even prepared Jace for his visit by teaching him to say Nana and Papa! Let's just hope he performs like he is supposed to when he sees them!! After the run, Daddy is off to Indianapolis for some car race--maybe the Brickyard--sounds familiar anywayy?? Who knows but he will surely have fun!

To Settle the Controversy.....

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Blank family tree - Geneology

What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man!

The title of this blog refers to our weekend as a whole. It applies to both Jace's behavior on our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's and to Mommy's small, but nice, sort-of class reunion (music lyrics from the 90's). Jace was a stellar sleeper (both at bedtime and at naptime) and was a pleasure to be around for nearly 100% of our trip. He was able to eat at Grandma and Grandpa's restaurant multiple times and enjoy a variety of foods and pies (Mommy counted cherry pie as his fruit for the day). Jace was also able to go swimming in the FM pool with Mommy and Aunt Kay where he proceeded to pick up a 5-year-old girl (which seems to be becoming a little bit of a habit). He was able to hang out in Aunt Kay's backyard and play with the puppies (Kona, Lilly, and Marley). He even was able to finagle some new hot wheel cars out of Fabulous Uncle Doug! Jace also got to attend a picnic with most of the Auge clan--which included going down a double slide with Grandpa!! Of course Aunt Erin and Tom Thomas were in town so Jace was in heaven hanging with them. Saturday night Grandma F. and Jace had some bonding time while Mommy was out with her classmates. So Mommy could go on and on but she will get down to what you are all really here for....the pictures. Most are from the past week at Grandma and Grandpa's but she threw in a few 'bonus' shots from Chuck E. Cheese last Tuesday. Lucky you!

Reading with Tom

Ahhhh...this is the life. Relaxin' at Fabulous Aunt Kays.

Riding with Davion at Chuck E. Cheese

This may be how Jace made it through the week with such good sleeping habits....he is in love with his Elmo doll--if you couldn't guess.

Jace's first attempt at corn on the cob. He couldn't understand why he couldn't eat the green things on the end and was actually quite stubborn about wanting to bite them. Finally he gave in and ate it like a big boy.

Jace's favorite ride at Chuck E. Cheese---he rode it probably 5 times in a row. When it would stop he would tap the coin slot for Mommy to put in another token.

Reading Thomas--as usual. Jace is infatuated with "choo choo's" (a.k.a. Thomas) right now.

While we were relaxin' in Fabulous Aunt Kay's backyard, Kona had a bit of an accident as he fell into the fish pond!

Playing at the park with Grandpa.

Playing tug of war with Kona. Jace would grab a toy and say 'get get' (get it, get it) and throw it for Kona and Reggie. Unfortunately for them he doesn't have the best aim and many time it was a point blank shot right at their faces. Luckily they are very understanding dogs and didn't mind a bit.

Bon Voyage!

So do you think we are headed somewhere warm and tropical? Well sort-of----it does include a river and they do have very high humidity this time of year! Jace and Mommy are headed to Grandma and Grandpa F.'s house until next Monday. Unfortunately Daddy has to continue bringing home the bacon so he will be staying behind with Oz. This may be a good thing however, as Aunt Erin and Tom Thomas (ask Daddy about Tom Thomas) will be coming for the weekend with Kona. Grandma F. may increase her blood pressure a little too much if Kona, Reggie, AND Ozzy were running around her house! Anyway sorry there are no pics to share--although Jace did get a very cute haircut today and spent a nice evening at Chuck E. Cheese! Sorry Aunt Erin, there is just more to look forward to in our next post! Just wanted to inform everyone that there will likely be no update for a while---Mommy knows how feisty some of you get when she slacks on the posts!

Hidden Talents---Revealed!

Jace and Mommy have been busy mixing, baking, frosting, and of course eating their newest fabulous creation! Of course this is just another hidden talent Mommy and Jace didn't know they had (kind of like tennis Aunt Erin). A portion of Saturday was spent with Mommy and J-man giving their first attempt at a Food Network hit! It could be televised right after Ace of Cakes (which must be where Mommy developed her skill) and called King and Queen of Cakes!

Mixing the batter--Jace was a little freaked out by the electric mixer--it's something he doesn't see Mommy using a whole lot!

Pouring into Elmo--hmmm looking pretty good!

Mixing the frosting with MANY different food colorings. Mommy shouldn't even admit this-- but after buying several different colors of food coloring for her frosting she was feeling pretty defeated when she got home and realized she had forgotten the white food coloring for Elmo's eyes! It literally took about 10 minutes of beating herself up before she remembered the frosting WAS white!

Yeah, Yeah that's cool Mommy.......wait......could it be??????????

YES! It IS Elmo!!!

MMMM, tasty too!

The End

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Jace has had an excellent week! Let's just say it was a total 180 from last weekend. He spent Tuesday laying low at home and recuperating from his trip. Wednesday, Jace hit the pool with his buddy Gaige and had a great time splish splashing around. Thursday, Jace was able to visit the new Youth Pavillion in town with Davon and Haley. He had a really good time there as well. This morning, Jace had his 18-month checkup and passed with flying colors! He weighed in at 23 1/2 lbs and stood 32 inches tall (yep folks, we're down to the 45th percentile). Jace also withstood 4---yes 4-shots like a pro! He came home, slept for almost 3 hours and then headed up Davon and Haley's way to hit the pool with them again. Today Davion was able to join in the fun as well and Jace really enjoyed playing with him. He even tried to sneak in the van with Davion instead of going home with Mommy! Tina was nice enough to find Jace an Elmo's World video and an Elmo cake pan today so Jace and Mommy have some baking to do this weekend! Jace has decided that maybe...just maybe Sesame Street is worth watching t.v. for. He still doesn't like to watch for more than 5 or 10 minutes but if Elmo's World is on...he's glued!
So that's been Jace's life for the past few days. Most of the pics are from the museum with a few randoms scattered in. Until next time..........

Jace sitting in his new booster seat. Bye-Bye giant high-chair!!

This is how Jace watches Sesame Street--hugging and kissing the tv--especially when Elmo is on!

Sometimes in the morning Daddy will run and get a coffee. Jace's new thing is to ride along and get his own 'coffee'. He gets a little coffee cup with water in it and drinks it just like Daddy. What a big boy!

Jace working on coloring his masterpiece at the Youth Pavillion

Finally, center stage!

Picking up the ladies wherever he goes. Actually this young dame first tried to pick up Davon but soon discovered he wasn't interested. She then moved on to the younger men and took Jace away by the hand!

Dancing in 'Mexico' with Tina and Davon

Driving the bus--Jace discovered the horn on the bus and proudly beeped it over and over....and over!

Milking the cow

Wearing the t-shirt Grandpa F. brought him from his college reunion

KC Aversion

So the only explanation for Jace's totally wacky, out-of-character behavior on our trip is a Kansas City Aversion. It really makes sense. Jace arrived in KC Friday afternoon and had a pretty good time entertaining (a.k.a. being the center of attention) Aunt Erin's friends. He even was able to stay up until nearly 11 p.m to watch the fireworks. Jace loved the fireworks but promptly fell asleep the minute he was in his carseat on the way to the hotel. Problem. Mommy and Daddy have no choice but to wake him up to go upstairs and get ready for bed. This is where it all goes to pot. We have a screaming 18-month old who doesn't know where he is and is being awakened after 30 minutes of sleep at 11 p.m. So after quite a bit of crying, Jace finally calms down and falls asleep. Ahhh, Mommy hits the hay for a nice long night of slumber......until 5:30 a.m. when her slumber is interrupted by none other than JACE! Yes, your math is correct--that means less than 7 hours of sleep for the prince! Let's just say the trip went downhill from there. Saturday afternoon Jace spent the afternoon on the plaza dining and shopping with Mommy and Daddy and Aunt Erin and Tom. Ooooh...not a happy boy. Sunday, Jace was able to get together with his friend Preston and go to a super cool farm/zoo type thingy. Ordinarily, this is something Jace would be so psyched about, but not on this day. Monday morning, Jace met Preston again but this time at a children's museum. It also was very cool and although Jace was somewhat happier, he still wasn't his normal, happy-go-lucky self that we all know and love. Jace perked up somewhat later in the afternoon while he was having lunch with Aunt Erin. Of course it could have been that he was so proud of himself for sitting in a booster seat at a restaurant for the very first time. So after such a tumultuous weekend, one would think a 5-hour trip home would be exactly what the Dr. DIDN'T order but of course Jace never ceases to amaze us. He was wonderful on the trip home, staying awake until about 45 minutes from home. He was happy and content to eat Micky D's and read his books. Who knows???
And before pictures, Mommy must mention what a model dog Ozzy was the entire time he was in KC. He stayed with his cousin Kona (at Aunt Erin's) and had a great time. Kona is quite a bit smaller than Ozzy right now, which threw Oz for a loop at first. It took only a little while however, for Ozzy to figure out how to play with such a little guy. It was very funny to witness, for the first time in history, a dog that wanted to play more than Ozzy. Kona is only a couple of months old so he could have played all day. Ozzy was a little....shall we say annoyed... at times. Ahhh karma. Kona is quite the cutie though (Daddy would have brought him home in a heartbeat) and very, very smart--maybe even a genius.

Whew, it's hot dude!

Having a snack at the museum.....note the look on Jace's face---this was his permanent expression on our trip.

Helping Daddy with the bags

J and P holding hands--It has already been discussed with Preston's Mommy that this one will be pulled out at graduation parties.

Jace and Mommy going to the Plaza.

Kona and Ozzy having fun

Checking out the cows

Jace enjoying a beer at the fireworks. Ok so it was empty........hmmm perhaps a full one would have resulted in a happier child?

Jace and Daddy feeding the goats a bottle.

The happy family--Aunt Erin, Tom, and Kona

Kona giving Jace a smooch

Jacer, back to his old self on the way home



And last, but definitely not least! This has nothing to do with our trip but Mommy just HAD to share. So this picture was on the cover of one of her gossip magazines. This is a photo of the guy with the best pecs. The other day Mommy had it out and was reading it and Jace came up, looked at that pic, pointed, and said 'Daddy'. No offense to Daddy but Mommy howled with laughter. Of course Daddy has great pecs too!