Life Lately

Why we call him "The Professor."

Wearing Colt's cowboy boots from when he was a little guy. Jace loves to try them on, but isn't fond of the heel, so as soon as they are on his feet he wants to take them off.

Time is going by so fast lately! It's been a little bit since the last update, so I figured I'd try to capture a little of what we've been up to the last few weeks before this sweet time of life fades from my memory. The days and weeks just seem to fly.
We had some beautiful, sunny weather last week so we did the best we could to make the most of it! I kept the back door open most of the afternoon so Jace could drift in and out of the house and enjoy as much outside time as possible. I filled up the little plastic kiddie pool, and Luke and I spent a couple of mornings watching Jace splash in the water and give his tractors and cars a bath. We went out to breakfast at a delicious local bakery last weekend, and were able to go to go for a short hike as a family. Both boys did great! They're little outdoorsman. The lawn got mowed, we had a picnic dinner at the park one night, the sprinkler was ran through and popsicles consumed.  On Saturday afternoon, we were able to hit up a "fancy park," complete with a sandbox and a splash-pad. Later that evening, we attended a barbecue at the neighbors house, where it was discovered that Jace loves hotdogs! Who knew? Memorial Day morning was spent at home relaxing. After they boys' naps, we packed up a picnic and headed out to a local lake to spend some time in the water and play on the playground next to the beach. Afterwards, we stopped in town for frozen yogurt and a few groceries, then headed home to watch a movie snuggled together on our bed. We're back to cloudy days and cooler weather this week, but hopefully it warms up again soon!

Jace Snapshot

...Jace is a crack-up lately! He's acquiring new words and phrases everyday. 
...He said "wuh you, mama!"for the first time on Mother's Day Eve, the sweetest Mother's Day gift yet. He's also been really great about using his polite words: thank you, please, and excuse me (when reminded). 
...He's in a mischievous phase...or maybe he's just mischievous. Either way, I've discovered him coloring on his body, playing in the toilet, climbing on the bathroom countertops to stand in the sink, pushing the button on the thermostat and setting the temperature to a wintery 48 degrees, pulling snacks out of the pantry, squeezing his hands into the small gap in the baby-proofed drawers and pulling out the sharpest objects he can find (or our car keys), dumping out a box of toothpicks, eating blue playdough, opening our drawers and using them to try and scale the dresser, turning the lights off and on...oh, and he can officially open the garage door now, so along with the bathroom doors, I have to make sure that door is locked as well. He keeps us on our toes! I've noticed he is much busier and wants his hands in everything on the days we don't get to go outside as much. He is definitely one that needs to burn off his energy, or else he gets very antsy. 
...Jace is loving monster trucks right now. He likes to watch videos of them, read books about them, as well as play with the ones he owns...he can't get enough "monsa tucks!"
...He likes to unload a particular drawer in our kitchen that's filled with odds and ends (like the cookie dough scooper, meat thermometer, cheese grater, etc) and stack everything on the countertop...then abandon ship. Ha! I often stumble upon random, contained little messes like this during the day, like a single tall tower of blocks left stacked in the center of the room, or a couple of overturned jugs of water we keep in the food storage closet. They almost seem intentional, like he wants people to know "Jace was here."
...Jace calls all cereal "Cheerios."
...Tells us when he sees two of something: "Two cars!" "Two cookies!" etc
...He loves to drive his cars over our kneecaps. He makes us straighten out our legs, then he very carefully drives his monster truck over the "bumps." He gets upset when my pants won't roll up above my knee, or if we move; we're working on teaching him that Mommy is the boss of her body, and Jace is only the boss of his body. 
...Jace is in a Mickey Mouse phase right now. He wants to wear his Mickey clothes, and he has been loving Mickey and the Roadster Racers, which I had never even heard of before but is perfect for this automobile obsessed little man. As a byproduct of this Mickey fixation, he's started saying "Hotdog!" when something good happens, and it is the cutest. I've started to include it in my own vocabulary, because I don't want him to ever stop saying it!
...He loves taking the sacrament at church. When they start to pass the bread, he yells over and over again: "Sac-et?! Bread coming?!" It's not the most reverent behavior, but I'm glad he's excited about it!
...When I'm being silly, Jace has started calling me a "funny chicken!" That's what he calls the goofy pet chicken in the movie "Moana,"and I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to that weird little guy. But it definitely makes me laugh!

Luke Snapshot

...Luke loves music, especially country music. It's almost as effective as white noise at putting him to sleep. He also loves when we sing to him.
...He's found his hands, and is constantly kicking and waving his arms and legs with a serious, focused expression on his face. He's all business.
...There are three little "Stages of Use" illustrations on the inside of his swing, and he could stare and coo at those pictures all day long if I let him! 
...He's becoming so interactive and vocal.  He lights up when I look at him and tell him something, and he coos right back, mimicking the shape of my mouth. I love those little baby conversations
...He greatly prefers being held or carried facing out towards the world. The Moby excursions are much more successful when he's forward facing. 
...Luke is a little Houdini and can squirm out of almost all of my swaddles, and even out of the Miracle Blanket sometimes! I've had to start double-swaddling him for naps.
...Luke loves Jace. His serious, contemplative expressions quickly give way to smiles when Jace comes over to give "baby wuvs?" And then, sometimes those smiles become tears when Jace's "wuvs" get a little too smother-y. Haha! I love these little brother friends.