Just Mommy

Before anyone gets too excited these are just pictures of Mommy....and Jace's massive mow-down at school today. He brought home enough food and junk for about 10 kids. And to think he hasn't even been trick-or-treating yet! Apparently he refused to put on his costume today for their party. Mommy has threatened that he will not get to go trick-or-treating tomorrow if he doesn't wear his costume. He's still up in the air on his decision.

Adding to Jace's exciting week...he went on his first field-trip yesterday. They took all the 2-5 year olds to the pumpkin patch. He even got to ride on a real school bus. The bus was definitely the highlight AND he was able to make it through the entire time without getting bitten by another chicken.

Would you believe Mommy didn't gain ANY weight this month? The Dr. wasn't overly pleased but Mommy politely reminded her of the 10 lbs she packed on last month. Seriously, that should cover at least 2 months right?



Oh yes, and apparently Mommy is actually due on the 19th of March. Not sure where she got the 20th but it was wrong. Not that 1 day makes too much of a difference. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at Mommy at 20 weeks and be pretty certain she ain't gonna see the 20th OR the 19th...without an arm or leg coming out of her mouth anyway!



Ahh, yes. This should help Mommy gain some weight this month!



Check back soon to find out Jace's decision on the costume.

Leaf Pile!

No words are really needed to describe these pictures.....just a parade of Jacer helping Daddy with the leaves.













And one of Mommy's Keeper....Oz Man!

Breaking the Seal

After reading the title, one might be inclined to reminisce about previous college 'good ol' days' where breaking the seal (a.k.a. drinking large quantities and peeing for the first time or 'breaking the seal' and thus opening up the faucet to a night of potty visits)was the biggest worry. This post was not intended to be focused on those nights but seeing as Aunt Erin's bachelorette party was celebrated last night it seems only fitting that some thoughts of that sort of 'breaking the seal' are mentioned. And since Mommy mentioned them, she might as well show a picture of the bride-to-be. Please note that of the nearly 75 pictures taken, this is the one and only suitable for this blog Mommy likes to call family friendly.




Of course prior to Erin's one suitable picture and fun-filled 'last night out' she was able to share in some family friendly fun with Jacer in the pool. Predictably, he refused to wear his actual swimming trunks but his pull-up somehow made it all ok.





And there is nothing like a cute boy strutting around in his Mommy's Uggs...and a headband.



And finally, Mommy gets back to her point. The seal was recently broken. Mommy's seal. Mommy's seal on purchasing pink clothes. She was proud to make it a full 2 days after the confirmation of 2 legs. But then, she bought these.



And the seal has been broken. Mommy is likely to single handedly stimulate the economy for the next 18-21 years. On pink and ruffles.

First look at baby........

GIRL!!! The tech of course said she couldn't be 100% certain but she double checked and only saw 2 legs both times. She said she was 'confident' in saying it was a girl. Looks like Jacer was right all along!

Here are a couple of the first shots of little miss!!

Footprint!! Oh the shoes that are gonna go on that foot......



The rest are 3D images. All are profile shots looking at her from the left.







As Mommy has been saying for several weeks, she is a squirmy little thing. The tech had a really hard time getting pictures because she would move every time a pic was taken. Mommy's due date is the 20th of March but based on growth it looks like the 17th. As of today, she weighed 9 oz. Hmmm, not sure where all those extra lbs. on Mommy are coming from????

Panther Pride!

Last weekend was homecoming in these parts and Jace did his best to contribute to a Panther win. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Friday was purple pride day so Jace and Mommy decided to support their school by wearing purple to work and daycare. Mommy was pleasantly surprised when her oversized belly was able to be squeezed into a t-shirt from last year.



Future Panther



Saturday was game day. After an exciting Hawkeye win, Mommy decided to get out of the house for a while and get some good eats. Daddy and Jace watched the game together.



And did a little wrestling.



One of Daddy's buddies stopped by and Jace was in rare showing off form. This is the story as told by Daddy.

Jace tells them he needs to go to the bathroom. Daddy puts him on the potty--which is conveniently now located in the living room. Jace sits for .5 seconds when he asks for a drink of water. Daddy says sure, that's a good idea to get it flowing. Jace then takes the water and dumps it in the potty. He proceeds to then point in the potty, tell Daddy that he peed, and ask for his M&M. If this kid isn't a problem solver....

And in big brother news...

Jace is already a great one....to George.



Tomorrow Mommy and Daddy will find out if the baby gets a matching 'Little Sister' or 'Little Brother' Shirt. Stay Tuned!!

Pumpkin Paradise

Jace, Mommy, and Daddy visited Pumpkin Paradise today. Jace had been complaining all week that he needed a pumpkin. He couldn't decide if he wanted a big or little one but knew for sure he wanted it to be orange. It was a super day (minus the hurricane force winds)and Jace entered the patch with an open mind. All was going well as he played in the corn and petted the animals......until he was pecked...by a CHICKEN! Traumatized may be an understatement and Mommy foresees 20-30 years of Halloweens reminiscing of the time Jace's thumb was bitten by the chicken. Even after he was over the initial shock (and blood), he continued to mention how the chicken got him with his teeth! Really, there is never a dull moment.

This pumpkin was too big! If you can't carry it, you can't buy it!



Happy Halloween!



Jumping...these balls were what eventually distracted Jace from his wound.



Daddy and Jace heading out to find the perfect pumpkin



Child of the corn



Eating a cookie by the campfire...Mommy and Daddy had some yummy hot chocolate



Happy looking at the chickens before the.....incident


And thus ends Jace's pumpkin patch visit for '09. It served its purpose as he fell asleep on the way home.

Videos!!

Jace loves the camera....and Mommy thinks the camera loves him. In any case, Mommy realized the video posting was very much lacking. As Jace tried desperately to eat his chicken nuggets the other night, Mommy had him perform to catch up on videos. The kid NEVER STOPS TALKING. Mommy was just sure he was quieter at daycare but Miss Tricia confirmed that he talks ALL DAY there as well. Such a shocker since Mommy and Daddy were both basically mute until grade school. Who says 2 negatives don't make a positive?



P.S. Mommy's favorite new Jaceism....'It's a big dark outside'. As opposed to it's a little dark. Can't say he doesn't know his opposites!

P.P.S. Mommy has been trying to upload the 2nd video all day. First, it takes like 30 minutes in the first place. Then, Mommy has a certain 2-year-old that runs by and closes her computer (which makes it shut off) at about 29 1/2 minutes! Ahh. She could scream! Every time he does it, he looks up and smiles and says, 'was that funny'? Mommy tried to explain that he wasn't going to have any videos on his blog. Surprisingly, it didn't faze Jace and he did it AGAIN! Yeah, Yeah, Mommy shouldn't leave her computer within reach but at this point you will have to do without the 2nd video...which was of Jace singing the itsy bitsy spider. Maybe tomorrow.

Daddy to the Rescue.....although somewhat unecessarily

Now you are all really curious right? Ok, let Mommy start from the beginning. Beware: this will get long.

It all started one cold fall day in October (this was yesterday) when Mommy and Jace decided to meet Grandma F. at the mall 1 ½ hours away. This all seemed like a grand idea at the time. Grandma needed a new dress for Erin’s wedding, Mommy needed some good eating out (ok, maybe ‘needed’ isn’t exactly the right word), and Jace needed some Grandma time.

The day began great. Grandma found an outfit within ½ hour of shopping. Jace was in rare (in a good way) crazy man form. As Grandma and Mommy browsed the dresses, Jace ran wild and told Mommy he was leaving in her car. Ha, Ha laughed Mommy not thinking a thing of it.

The clothes were bought and lunch was considered. And eaten. Next, came fun in the play area and more shopping. At circa 3:30 pm. Mommy and Grandma decide they are pooped and it’s about time to head home. Mommy must first stop and get her Pumpkin Spice Latte (the fact that Pumpkin Spice Lattes actually do come decaf. has been a highlight in Mommy’s life for several weeks now). After Mommy collected her drink at Starbucks, she proceeded to put her stuff down to get Jace’s coat on him. Once he was securely bundled, the trio left the store to walk outside and look at the fountain. Except it was too cold for the water. So, they went in just 1 more store….where Mommy discovered HER PURSE WAS GONE. Now anyone who knows Mommy can testify that this purse is HER BABY! Quick panic. Quick run through Starbucks and Barnes and Noble revealed...the purse was still sitting on the stack of books she set it on while putting Jace’s coat on nearly 20 minutes prior. Whew! Back in the store, Grandma even joked that she was so worried because Mommy’s keys were in there. Remember this people.

After roughly 10 more minutes of wandering the store, Mommy and Grandma decided it really was time to go. Wait, said Mommy. I just want to get my keys out before going in the cold. Mommy rummaged through her purse. Nothing. Again, Mommy rummaged through her purse. Nothing. It is right about this point that Mommy began to panic. She suddenly had a flashback to those first 30 minutes in the mall when Jace was running around saying he was going to drive her car...with Mommy’s car keys in hand.
Mommy (with Peanut bump and all) ran frantically back to the store on the other end of the mall. No keys. To customer service. No keys. To the restaurant. No keys. The list goes on.

Mommy then returned to Grandma and Jace where Jace has been repeatedly stating that he put the keys in the bathtub. Huh? He was very consistent in his story. He kept repeating. ‘I put them in the bathtub…sorry.’ Of course, Mommy then ran all the way back to the other end of the mall to the bathroom. No keys.

Jace’s story continued. This was all coming from a kid who has a huge imagination. One minute his fork turns into a train and then next he has tons of money in his pocket. Who knew what he ‘pretended’ to be a bathtub!!

As it was now nearly 5:00, Mommy decided to go against her fears and...call Daddy. Daddy was very understanding and not nearly as upset as Mommy had feared. He agreed to get the spare set of keys and drive the 1 ½ hours to the mall. Sigh. Mommy promised to continue looking for the keys in the hopes Daddy would not have to drive the entire way.

5 minutes passed. Daddy called back. There was a new situation. He had a nail in his tire!!! Really?

Daddy called friends until he found a truck to borrow. By this time it is near 6:00. Does anyone know what happens at 6:00 on a Sunday? Yep. The mall closed.
Now, Mommy, Grandma, and Jace are stranded, homeless, keyless, waiting for a ride that is still 1 1/2 hours away. Of course Grandma couldn’t drive anywhere because Jace’s carseat was LOCKED IN MOMMY’S CAR!!

Mommy, Jace, and Grandma decided to head to a restaurant near the mall to eat. Because what else do you do at a time like that but eat.

Waiting to be seated, Jace pulled out Mommy’s box of 200-300 lemonheads she uses to quell her nausea….which, by the way, was peaking at this point. Jace proceeded to shake the box and in slow motion, the LID FLEW OPEN AND 200-300 LEMONHEADS SHOT OUT ALL OVER THE WAITING AREA FLOOR OF THE RESTAURANT. It was at approximately this time that Mommy and Grandma started laughing (out of sheer exhaustion) and could not stop. Of course Jace thought he did something spectacular because many people were laughing. It probably won’t be the last time he tries that trick..just to get a laugh.

Seriously, the story is near the end. Thanks for sticking around.

So, the lemonheads were swept up, the trio was seated, and Daddy arrived shortly after.

Ahh. The spare keys were firmly in Mommy’s hand and she and Jace were headed home..a mere 5 hours after they originally tried.

Upon their arrival home, Jace was zonked out in the back. Mommy decided to do one right thing for the day and loaded up all the junk to take in before getting Jace out. Her arms were loaded down with a million things and she was halfway to the door before she realized. Hmmm. The spare car keys don’t have a house key on them! Really, at this point there was no need to even be surprised.

Mommy and Jace (who was awake again at this point) sat in the garage and watched a movie until Daddy returned (from returning the borrowed truck) to let them in.
Finally, all seemed well. Jace was in bed. Mommy was headed there herself. Then the phone rang. It was Grandma.

The keys were in her shopping bag. One may never know if Jace placed them in the shopping bag, a.k.a bathtub, or if it was truly an adult lapse in judgment. Please keep your opinions to yourself.

That was a REALLY long story but it was nice therapy for Mommy. And, as a reward to everyone who is still reading, here are some actual visual momentos of Jace's recent happenings.

Playing in the leaves



Little Drummer Boy



Ahh, where are Mommy's keys??



2 peas in a pod

IT'S A..........................

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HAWKEYE FAN!!!!!!

Tee Hee. Mommy is too funny for her own good!! Actually her lack of posting this week (and obvious abundance of time) is due to Daddy 'misplacing' the camera while at the Nascar race last weekend. Luckily it has been found and it being recovered as Mommy speaks (types). Anyway, no camera = no pictures but as soon as Mommy gets her hands on that little contraption of memory collecting joy she calls a camera, you, loyal readers, will be in luck. Until then, enjoy knowing that hesh is a Hawkeye all the way.....unless they are playing the Panthers of course.

J and Mommy's Date Night

Jace and Mommy had date night this week. The night began with a yummy meal at Wendy's. McDonalds had been Jace's first choice but as the Wendy's sign came into view baby Peanut disagreed. Baby Peanut usually wins when it comes to food. In the end, Jace declared Wendy's french fries were 'dooood'! After the wonderful meal, Jace and Mommy headed to watch Curious George Live!



Mommy had gotten the tickets several weeks prior and was delighted to find out it was actually the World Premiere! Jace was super excited before and at the beginning of the show. His main concerns were seeing The Man with the Yellow Hat and Hundley (the dog).

Jace explaining. He's always correcting Mommy about something. Seriously, his name is spelled Jacx. Just ask him. He refuses to budge on that point.



The show was good with plenty of singing and dancing.



Jace made it to about intermission...which is when he and Mommy attempted to take this lovely reminder of their date night. (Please disregard the finger in the nose.)



After intermission, Jace lost interest a little. He began dancing in the aisle.



But would tune back in at times to clap for the show.



By the end, Jace had asked about 50 times if that was the end. Mommy thinks he really was just wondering and not THAT ready to be done with date night. It must not have been too bad because first thing this morning, he asked if he could go see George again.

On to Peanut.

Today was Mommy's 16-week checkup. Everything looked good. The heartrate was 155 as compared to 163 last time. The big ultrasound has been scheduled for October 21st. Mommy can hardly wait to see a picture of hesh. Oh yes, she has decided to call Peanut hesh until the gender has been officially determined. Calling a baby 'It' just doesn't feel right so she decided to go with the Hollywood trend (Brangelina) and combine he and she. Also, 'it' has new meaning after Mommy's recent dream. The baby was a he AND a she. It was quite disturbing and Mommy woke up in a cold sweat. The dreams have been getting somewhat better as last night's included a healthy baby boy......given birth to by OZZY!!

Moving on.

Mommy's lovely figure at 16-weeks. Please note there is still a full 9 weeks until she has to fit into the bridesmaid's dress at Aunt Erin's wedding.



And another, just to make sure you can see that Mommy is having no trouble gaining weight. Not sure why Daddy always zooms in on the bare belly shots.