Poor Ozzy!

This is what Ozzy is subjected to every day from his 'little brother'. Jace terrorizes the poor thing and Oz just keeps comin' back for more! Jace figured out one day this week that if he pretends to throw food, Ozzy looks..and there is nothing there. Jace has seriously done this 1,000 times. Mommy had a better video before but she accidentally erased it from her camera. This one was taken a few days later. The newness had somewhat worn off so Jace wasn't laughing quite as hard but it's still pretty funny. The sad thing is Ozzy is STILL falling for it. Once again....Poor Ozzy!

2-year pictures!

We finally received Jace's 2-year pics. This is quite a few of them....please excuse Mommy in them. Obviously (due to the ponytail and fleece) Mommy was not expecting to be in the pictures but it just kind of happened that Jace was much more still when Mommy had her grasp on him!

Blah, Blah, Winter

The title pretty much says it all. It temp. warmed up for a few days only to drop below zero AGAIN. It was literally -35 degrees last week--that is actual air temp. Anyway, it has made for lots of indoor fun.

Jace wearing his Thomas Tool Belt. Who can carry 25 trains at one time? Everyone needs a belt to help them haul their engines.

And everyone should certainly have plenty of Thomas stickers on hand for when they behave oh so well....or just to wear to daycare to show off.

Speaking of daycare, do you see how dark it still is outside when Jace and Mommy have to venture out? Ok, they typically don't leave until around 8, but it still stinks in the cold!

Jace went to Chuck E. Cheese the other night with Davon, Haley, and Davion. This is Davon riding the horses. There really isn't much more one can say about this pic!

Jace went up in the big crawl through thingy with Haley.

He of course, thought he was really cool!

Even Oz says 'blah, blah, winter'.....and very few walks.

Jace is still loving his alphabet puzzle. He had his 2-year pics taken the other day (which Mommy should have to post very soon) and they got out tons of letters for him. Mommy had to step in and inform them that only the 'Y' will do. He also likes, A, B, and C....which is why he is working on the B in this picture.

And finally, a crooked video. Mommy took it from her camera instead of the video camera and didn't realize it couldn't be changed. Anywho, this is Jace and Mommy's attempt at a commercial for Fruit Loops. We call it 'Teachable Moments with Cereal'.

Found an internet connection!!

Mommy's got a connection so here are some of those pictures you were promised!

On Monday, Jace and Mommy met Grandma at the mall. Jace was loving getting some running in. This cold weather is bad on a 2-year-old's energy!

Ahh yes. Jace was playing and climbing and having a great time. Of course Thomas and James were along for the ride as usual. Some little kid comes up and asks to play with them. The look on Jace's face should indicate his feelings. It was a strong 'no' and then this stare down. The kid's mom probably thought we were crazy snapping pictures but it was really funny!

Lazy winter days....staying home, wearing p.j.'s and slippers.

Who Me??

Jace got his Thomas laptop from Nana and Papa. He loves it and has finally accepted it in place of the real one (while the internet is down).

It is hilarious how he bangs on the keyboard just like Mommy when she types.

If Mommy hasn't mentioned it before, Jace is very detail oriented. He likes things in their place and he likes to be neat. Again, we have NO IDEA where this came from. Anyway, here he is reading the instructions to his Thomas track....apparently it is not right!

Jace has been quite the little helper lately. He loves to sweep the floor...even the carpet and walls sometimes but hey, Mommy will take it!

Arrgh!!

Sorry for the delay in recent pictures. The wireless internet has been acting up for a few days now. As you can see, Mommy has made the effort to go ALL THE WAY downstairs to a different computer to give you this tidbit of info. However, all of the pics are on Mommy's laptop....which is still upstairs. Hopefully she can get it figured out tomorrow. But for now, Jace is well. Actually he has a little bit of a whopper of a cold. Figures he would get a cold when he's only been at daycare 3 or 4 times in the last month. Anyway, check back in and hopefully the technology gods will have come through.

Dear Mother Nature,

More snow? Nope, we're good.

So far this winter, Jace's house has received upwards of 35 inches of snow! It was nice at first but is getting old fast! Jace can't even go out to play in it as it is -35 degrees with the wind chill. Mommy had to stay home again today. HAD TO you may ask? Mommy is on a bit of a time restraint this year. She has 90 some days left on her contract to work and they must be done by 10 am on June 10th as she will be on a plane to WARMTH in Florida. Ahh well, nothing like working over spring break.
So what do you do on another snow day?

Get in plenty of YouTube. Jace is in love with the computer...he watches Elmo, Bert and Ernie, and Thomas.

Eat plenty of donuts....

....without giving too much effort.

Try incessantly to watch Elmo on your car DVD player...in the house...with no luck.

Take a mid-afternoon snooze.


Love,
Jace and his Mommy

Back by Popular Demand

Geesh people, it has really only been 5 days but apparently 4.5 days too long. Mommy has been "gently" reminded many times that an update is overdue. So, here it is.
There really isn't much to say actually. Jace had a nice 'get back into it' week as he only had to get up for daycare 2 days. The kid loves his sleep......at night. Napping is still another story, but one that Mommy has nearly given up on. Jace also had his 2-year checkup last week. News on the 'how tall will he be' front is a little sobering. Jace measured in at a whopping 34 inches tall. First, Mommy must remind everyone that late growth spurts (think post-high school) run in Daddy's family. Also, Jace was supposed to stand against a wall to get measured. Surely he was crouching a little....right? So anyway, he was in the 35th percentile for height. He weighed 27 lbs. which also surprised Mommy. She had weighed him several times at home and had gotten over 28 lbs. each time. Guess she better start subtracting a little when she weighs herself!

Jace's first day back at daycare after break. He was reluctant to go in for...oh 5 seconds.

Daddy had his work Christmas party on Saturday night. Let's just say Jace put on a show. He danced....alone. Ran around....alone. Laughed....alone...well actually he had plenty of others laughing at him as well. Finally, he just laid down in the middle of the dance floor and started sucking his thumb. Mommy picked him up and he said 'no, down, nigh nigh'. Mommy put him down again only to watch him return to his position in the middle of the floor. What a ham!

Aunt Erin gave Jace this ABC puzzle/mat for his birthday and he loves it. His favorite letter is still the 'y' but he will play with the others on occasion.

Sunday, Mommy, Daddy, and Jace decided a road trip was in order and went to meet Nana for lunch and a trip to the kiddie museum. After eating and meeting some friends at the mall, it was decided shopping would suffice. The museum is being saved for a later date.

Upon entering Gymboree, Jace spotted 2 kids watching tv. He literally moved their stuff from the chair next to them and sat down. He was pretty funny doing whatever they did while he watched tv.

And of course, what trip to the mall is complete without a car/stroller/death trap. The death trap portion could be eliminated with a driver other than Daddy. Lets just say he has been watching too much NASCAR.


Well folks, there you have it. More of our exciting world! Mommy will surely try to update again before another......gasp......5 days!

ABC Man!

Birthday Boy!

Jace had a great birthday complete with Thomas Table, trains, cake, balloons, family, and friends! He woke up to his new Thomas Table set up (after much work by Mommy and Daddy last night) and never looked back. He played with his table much of the morning until Grandma and Grandpa F., Nana and Papa Cook, and Brian came. After a quick rejuvenating episode of Elmo Jace was ready to party! He had the coolest cake ever...so cool that it didn't even get cut! Mommy and Daddy decided to have another cake to actually eat. They still aren't sure what they are going to do with the giant Thomas cake that is left over! Jace also received many awesome presents from people near and far. Thanks to everyone for making his day special!

The fruits of Mommy and Daddy's late night labor

Jace was pretty impressed when he came downstairs in the morning. He had to be persuaded to take a break to eat breakfast!

Sitting with Grandpa

Poor Ozzy....he had to partake in the Engineer hats.

Showing his table to Brian and Papa.

Opening presents....ignore the goofy lady helping him.

More presents

Rocking the Engineer hat

Davion wearing a hat

Seriously, Daddy is the best! What an awesome cake!

Ok, it deserves at least 1 more picture....

Jace wearing his 'Happy 2nd Birthday Jace' t-shirt

And finally, what birthday would be complete without a giant Thomas balloon?


It's back to reality tomorrow for Jace and Mommy. After 2 weeks of sleeping until 8:00 this may be a challenge. Wish us luck!

A Snapshot at Age 2

Jace as a 2-year-old.....so much to say!

First and foremost: Jace, at age 2, LOVES Thomas. He eats, drinks, and breathes Thomas the Train right now. His favorite trains are Thomas and Diesel.

Jace also still enjoys Elmo and at times will even choose to play with Elmo over Thomas...although these times are rare.

Jace's other interests include: playing outside, reading stories, Curious George, jumping, spinning, tormenting Ozzy and telling him 'no', cars, and trucks.

Jace doesn't have his 2-year checkup until next week but Mommy's best estimations put him between 28 and 29 lbs. and around 34 inches tall......she will update this next week.

Jace is starting to put 2, 3, and sometimes even 4 words together in short phrases.

Jace has been working hard on learning his colors and loves purple. This fits a kid whose first word was 'shoes' and who loves hair! He is very manly in other ways though!! Jace always requests the 'purper' fruit snacks and loves to say 'Mas is bwue' (Thomas is blue).

Jace is obsessed with the alphabet and listens to and practices it several times a day. He can get many of the letters when he is singing but not in the right order. He can do A-B-C in the right order on occasion.

Jace isn't quite into counting as much but likes to say 2-3 GO! He then proceeds to jump on the bed or do some other action he shouldn't! Not sure why he avoids the 1....possibly because saying only 2-3 gets him to the forbidden action that much faster!

Jace is very outgoing 95% of the time and loves to make people laugh.

Jace really enjoys daycare...his favorite friend right now (we think) is Riley and his favorite teacher is MeMe (Missy). He is currently in the toddler room but will be moving up to the 2-year-old room shortly after he returns from vacation.

Jace is TERRIFIED of the bath. This goes back a month or so when he pooped in the tub. Mommy made a big deal of it (out of instinct at the time) and has been regretting it ever since. Jace apparently thinks the turd was a giant monster coming to get him. He will not sit down and is constantly looking for any foreign object in the water. Lesson learned by Mommy.

Speaking of potty....Jace loves to sit on the potty....with his diaper on. He refuses to take it off at this point. Mommy is not pushing it however and knows he will do it when he is ready. He is able to tell Mommy when he has to poop, but again, this is pointless as he won't sit on the potty without a diaper!

Jace has really developed a mind of his own in the last few weeks. He loves to yell 'NNNNNOOOOO!!' and hold out the N as long as possible. It sounds really annoying but half the time he doesn't mean anything by it....mind you, the other half of the time, he REALLY means it!

Jace and Ozzy have a love/hate relationship. Ozzy is awesome with Jace and doesn't mind if Jace pulls his nubbin, takes his toys or bones, or tells him no 900 times a day. Jace also likes to love on Ozzy and gives him plenty of hugs and kisses.

Jace and Daddy love to spend Wednesdays together and go to Godfathers buffet, play, wrestle, and learn 'guy' things.

Jace and Mommy love to cuddle, laugh, read, and just have a great time. Jace also loves to twirl Mommy's ponytail while he sucks his thumb!

Happy Birthday Mr. Jace! You are one cool dude!!!

And so it begins....

The multi-day celebration of Jace turning 2 has begun! Jace went to Chuck E. Cheese tonight with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Erin, and Tom. Jace is a huge Chuck E. Cheese fan and loved every minute of it! He kept waving and saying 'Hi Chuck E. Cheese'!! Upon returning home, Jace was able to open 2 presents.....2 Thomas trains...James and Lady. Lets just say he was pleased with his gifts!
Also, in the pictures to follow are evidence of Jace's great New Years. He went to Davon and Haley's house New Year's Eve. A HUGE thankyou to their Mommy for watching Jace while Mommy and Daddy went out for a quiet dinner. New Year's Day, Jace had a party at his house with TONS of food and cheers for the awesome Hawkeyes!!

Jace got this super cool Thomas tent from Maveric and Keenan for Christmas. He loves it!! Thanks guys!

Opening some early b-day presents.

They love eachother so! They are going to be so sad when Kona has to leave!

J and Daddy at Chuck E. Cheese--Daddy really did have a good time despite the 'hard' look on his face.

Go Iowa!!

Aunt Erin and Jace camping out in his tent.

This kid LOVES pizza.....he ate almost 3 pieces at Chuck E. Cheese!

Ummm. Santa Daddy bids you farewell.