Jace Has Something To Say........

Don't ya love the shirt? Jace and Mommy made it to help share the news with Grandma/Grandpa and Nana/Papa.

So, it is true...Mommy has a bun in the oven due to arrive in mid-March. Jace has mixed emotions. On one hand, he wants to know if the baby is crying in there. On the other, he has his own baby in his tummy so it really doesn't matter. He thinks it is all one big super fun joke people keep talking about....just wait buddy.

Mommy at 8 weeks. Please do not be deceived by this picture. It was taken 3 weeks ago and is merely a faint replica of what her poor belly looks like now.



Bet you'll all be tuning in next week for the 12 week shot now huh? Mommy may do away with the 'bare belly views'.....she shall see. For those who knew and saw Mommy when she was pregnant with Jace, you know it wasn't pretty at the end....or in the middle.

Bouncy House Rules

No, this post isn't a list of rules Jace may (or may not) follow. It is in fact about Jace's weekend fun...which included a Bouncy House! He attended his buddy Gaige's birthday party on Saturday with high hopes of eating plenty of cake. He truly is his mother's son as this was literally all he talked about all week (eating cake..he still can't get over the Elmo cake he made). Once he arrived at the party however, cake was all but forgotten. There, looming in the distance was a huge, beautiful, magnificent...BOUNCY HOUSE!
Jace is typically a more cautious child when it comes to things like this. Mommy could not believe her eyes when he threw caution to the wind, got in, and jumped like he had never jumped before. He was in serious heaven and Mommy remembers saying more than once that a bouncy house could be a great investment (he literally jumped for like 2 hours). Imagine the perks: outside, fresh air, a jumping child, a tired child.

Jumping with Gaige



Solo Action



The party-goers



And if you can believe this, Jace got to have even more fun this weekend! Daddy hosted the annual fantasy football draft at Jace's house. This typically consists of 15-20 guys eating, drinking, and being merry in the garage until all hours. This year however, Mommy and Jace had some company as one of the other wives and her son stayed over. Jace enjoyed showing Jacoby (who is 10 months) the ins and outs of Thomas and his trains. Of course there was still much eating, drinking, and being merry going on in the garage...just ask the neighbors.


*please excuse Elmo's feet which seem to have snuck into this pic. Elmo was exhausted and needed to stretch his weary limbs.

Jace and Daddy

Daddy and Jace have become such buddies lately. They always loved to hang out but now there are times at night during his ritual Dumbo viewing that Jace requests Daddy lay beside him instead of Mommy. Gasp. Actually Mommy couldn't be more pleased with this recent development as she wasn't sure she could handle one more night of watching Dumbo drink champagne out of a bucket. That's right...did anyone else not notice this as a child? Dumbo and his little mouse friend are actually drunk for a good 5 minutes during this children's classic. Anywho, on to the pictures of Jace and Daddy time.

What kid doesn't like to help open presents....or stick their head like a crazy man through cards?



Jace and Daddy went solo down to Nana and Papa's last weekend to visit one of Daddy's bestests from back in the day. He also brought his little (or not so little) man Lucas.



Last weekend Jace and Daddy (with Mommy in tow this time) also went to eat at an all-time favorite hole-in-the-wall, Bluff Lake. With the multiple hour wait, Jace had plenty of time to hang with Nana and Dave (and check out his dinner for the night..in the lake).



And of course, no matter where he goes...he usually finds an animal or 20. There were tons of kittens and Jace managed to pet nearly every one. You gotta love how Elmo is tossed aside on the greasy, cat food soaked ground. Not that Mommy is claiming Elmo was clean before this action.

ATTENTION COLLECTORS:

Check out this vintage 1976 classic. He is the only one like this produced in 1976. He has 33 years on original frame, has all original parts and is in very good condition. Has been known to blow a gasket quite easily, but that is usually in easy fix. Very shiny but close inspection may reveal minor nicks and scratches. Excellent rear end.




HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

oh no he didn't

Mommy is going to preface this post by reminding JACE of all the warm and fuzzy thoughts she had yesterday after his wonderful first day back at daycare.



Now. Last night was a different story.

Let's begin with Mommy being totally and utterly unable to sleep (that is all for another post...and don't worry you will hear about it). So, Mommy is tossing and turning, moaning and groaning until circa 2:30 a.m. when what does she hear??

A boy! Yes, a small boy in the room next door crying out for her. Now, be not mistaken; Mommy typically has no qualms about telling this small boy (JACE!) to suck it up and go back to sleep. For some reason however, her Mommy instincts kicked in and she could tell this was not going to be an easy fix. He was WIDE AWAKE.

Mommy did what she knew she was going to regret (in future nights) and plopped her pillow and blanket down next to him in order to maintain some sort of sanity for tomorrow's work day. Mommy just knew that her sleeping by Jace would be comforting enough to lull him back to sleep.

Umm. No. First, he got out his DVD's and proceeded to ask 'what's this' 5 MILLION times. That's when Mommy played the 'i'll ignore you card' and rolled over....which in turn, is when Jace jumped ON her, smiling and laughing.

Mommy was not laughing.



So Mommy, in her sternest voice, told him to LAY DOWN! Jace obliged and started twirling Mommy's ponytail. This ensued for another 30-45 minutes and each time Mommy began to relax she would once again be jolted awake by a small hair snapping off her head and into Jace's hand or an elbow or knee in her back.

Approximately 2 hours later Jace declared, 'Mommi, I hungry'. Mommy politely reminded Jace that Momma's kitchen ain't a 24 hour business and to definitely SUCK IT UP!



Finally, Mommy told Jace she was going potty and headed to the couch. Curled up in a small ball with Ozzy stretched out snoring wildly Mommy fell into a deep, peaceful sleep around 4:30 am.

NOT TO BE CONTINUED.....

Big boys don't cry

Jace had his first day back at daycare today and he didn't miss a beat. Mommy had been filling him in the last few days and he woke up as sharp as ever. Typically in the morning Jace wants to eat toast and play with his toys. Today, he wanted to go upstairs and watch a movie. Huh? Well, little Mr. figured if he was upstairs he couldn't go to daycare! He watched for a little while and was pretty easily persuaded to get in the car. Once he got there it was as if he hadn't been gone for 3 days much less almost 3 months. He did try one more trick in his room....He went to play with his bud Maddox and told Mommy to sit by him. The kid is a problem solver. Mommy declined and left only to come back in the afternoon and discover he had done excellent....even napping!!



After school was so much fun too. Last year Mommy had to ask many questions and would maybe get answers about his day. Today, Jace volunteered that he played in the dirt with Maddox, on the slide with Morgan, and ate peas, cheese, and milk. Unfortunately, he missed afternoon snack time so Mommy (being the pushover she is) got him some M&M's. Ok, maybe it's the chocoholic she is.

Demolition Derby

J and Daddy had a guys night out at the Demolition Derby on Wednesday. Jace was in heaven! With his love of hair and shoes it was a nice reminder to Mommy of how manly Jace really is. ARrrghh.


Leaving Mommy at home to go do guy stuff.




Seriously, Daddy took about 50 pictures that look pretty similar to this one. Mommy is only posting two for her own sanity. Please note however that Daddy did score front row seats.




Front row and a bag of popcorn.....Jace has been asking to go back all week! He's a cheap date!

Family Camping 2009

Jace survived the wilderness last weekend as he battled the elements, hunted for his own food, and braved the lands and wild beasts.

Ok, maybe that is stretching it juuuust a bit. In reality, he stayed in a furnished, air-conditioned cabin...although it was in the middle of nowhere. He was able to eat food prepared (and for the most part bought) by others....although Daddy did catch a massive Walleye that was later prepared and eaten. And braving the lands basically meant playing at the playground and avoiding ticks. There were also not many wild beasts to be avoided...unless you count the massive amount of dogs that were present.

Daddy's Walleye....that Mommy is so glad she didn't see until AFTER she ate him!



Covered in chalk with Tauren



Eating Grandpa's famous chicken



Playing cars with Tate



Asleep on Daddy



Daddy's catch of the day at the farm



And yet another fish!



Playing at the farm



Sitting with Grandpa



Testing the waters....and being mighty brave!



Snuggled by the fire



Loving on baby Courtney



Hamming it up with Tom Thomas



Fireside



And down for the count...fresh air will wear a man out!