Jace's 1st Birthday Party

1 Year

He's one. It really happened! Even though I swear it was only about four days ago I was in the hospital recovering from 27 hours of labor, snuggling an 8 lb 1 oz babe with long skinny legs and wavy strawberry blonde hair. This has been the fastest year of my life. It's finally hitting home just how quickly parenthood is going to go. Part of me is so excited for Jace to grow up and go to preschool, then kindergarten, and learn how to swim and ride a bike. But another piece of me is a little panicked at how quickly he's is changing...Wait, baby! Slow down a little! Stay my tiny for just a bit longer.

We kept today's celebrations pretty low-key, because we are having a small birthday party on Saturday (like, really small. Us, my parents, and the Pollard's. But there will be cake, presents, and Mickey Mouse napkins, thus I'm calling it a party). So today, we woke up and had our traditional hagelslag for breakfast. We met up with Colt at our favorite burger place for a birthday lunch, then went shopping to pick up a few small items for his birthday bash this weekend. We fielded multiple Happy Birthday texts from adoring grandparents, aunties, and cousins, and when C got home from work, he took JJ to play at his favorite rainy day spot (the indoor play area at the mall, HA! That's a Pacific Northwest childhood for you). I cooked up birthday chicken enchiladas for my little green chile-loving gordito, and then we opened a few presents from Grammy (thanks again, Terri). We wrapped up the day by sticking a single blue candle into a huge carrot cupcake, singing Happy Birthday, and letting him go to town. At first, he just picked delicately at the icing, but after a few minutes, he figured out what was going on and seized the opportunity, proving he really is my son by stuffing his face with cream cheese frosting. 

At 1 year, Jace....

-Is walking/running. He took his first steps on January 13th, 2016 (at 3:20 pm), and he's just getting better and faster everyday.

-Loves to play "cheers." We have a green smoothie together every afternoon, and when I say "cheers!" he clinks his cup with my glass and takes a drink. 

-Claps his hands together by himself when we sing "Patty Cake".

-Loves his books, his walker, his basketball, and his wooden puzzle. He's especially adept with his walker; he does laps around the apartment, maneuvers around obstacles, and when he runs into something and gets stuck, he picks the walker up and moves it, inch by inch, until he's free and clear. It's so funny to watch him problem solve. 

-Has six teeth.

-Loves to "read." He crawls over to his books, picks one off the shelf, flips through the pages one at a time, tosses it aside, grabs another story, and repeats the process. It makes my heart swell with joy when I see his little head bowed over a book. 

-Is SO busy. He's constantly moving, always exploring, pulling things out of his cabinet in the kitchen, trying to get into the bathroom or his bedroom to tip over the humidifier, banging on the washing machine, following me as I vacuum, and playing in the dishwasher as I load/unload. I secretly love it, but I know he's only going to get busier (and faster).

-Says "Yeah!" when you ask him a yes/no question, but it's not intentional. It is quite cute, however. He also says "Mmmm" when he's eating something yummy, and says "Mama" and "Dada" all the time, but not purposefully. No words yet, but...

-I can tell his receptive language has really taken off. He knows "Go get the ball," "I'm gonna tickle you," "I'm gonna get you," and "Come here." He knows several other words (mama, dada, smoothie, num nums, Grammy/Grampy, Mimi/Papa Todd, books...). He's getting smart.

-Was weaned this last weekend, and now drinks whole milk instead, like a toddler...*sniff*

-Goes to his friend Henry's house to play while I go to work as an SLP at a local preschool one day a week. They're the cutest friends.

Fastest year of my life. Does it slow down from here, or are the next 17 years going to blink by just as quick?

Eleven Months!

I know I post a lot of pictures of Jace that look pretty much the same...but I can't help it. I just think he's adorable, and I don't have anywhere else to put all of these extra shots! So they come live here, on the blog. 

Jace turned 11 months on December 26th, but we were pretty busy over the holidays and I never got a chance to sit down write his little update, or take his picture (these photos are from our trip to Leavenworth a week before Christmas). So this is a little late, and in just a couple more weeks, I'll be writing about his first birthday.

What.The.

How do I almost have a one-year-old??

At eleven months, Jace...

-Has five teeth, with number six on the way. He actually cut his fifth tooth while we were at my parent's house, so now he's had a tooth come through while visiting each of his grandparents. Impeccable timing, kiddo.

-Is becoming a great imitator. When we say certain words or phrases, he tries to copy the vowels and consonants, and his sounds and intonation patterns come super close to ours. His favorites are: "Where dada go?," "Hey Jace!" and "kitty cat" (he loved the cats at Mimi and Papa Todd's; whenever he saw Riley or Bella he would stop whatever he was doing and say "Oooooooh!").

-Is so persistent. I love watching him problem solve. He attempts a skill over and over and over again (like placing his food in the lid of his training cup. Why?) until he is successful, or something more interesting catches his attention. When he loses a toy under the couch or chair, he reaches his arm in there and adjusts his body angle until he retrieves it. I actually really admire that trait; I tend to get frustrated quickly and give up when I can't figure something out right away. That patient persistence is Colton all over.

-Says "doe-di doe-di doe-di" over and over again. No meaning, just fun to say I suppose.

-Is EVERYWHERE at church. It's hard!

-Loves to "help" me in the kitchen by emptying out the tupperware/bottle cupboard. 

-Just started exhibiting some separation anxiety. Not going to lie, I was a little worried. He'd go to anyone, without a second glance at me, and I was a liiiittle concerned that there was an attachment issue (thanks, Google). But now, even though he is still super friendly and loves to smile and interact with everyone, he definitely likes to stay close to mama. 

-Crawls like Grammy says Colton did as a baby: he puts his head down like he's going to ram something, and plows forward at full speed. 

-Stands up by himself for several seconds at a time, cruises around the furniture like it ain't no thang, and loves to walk around while holding our hands. I don't think we're too far away from having another biped around here.

-Has become extremely picky. No more vegetables for this guy, unless it's in a green smoothie. Even most fruits he won't touch anymore. Sigh. He does, however, play with all of his food-he shakes it, places it carefully on his head or in his cup, and drops it down the back of his shirt. So, you know. At least he's touching his vegetables.

-Gives me big, sloppy, open mouth kisses over and over again. I love it.

-Enjoys grabbing my hands and clapping them together. I guess he's bored of making his own hands clap. 

-Inconsistently waves hello. He doesn't do it all the time, and I don't think he understands what it means, but give him a break. He's only eleven months old.

-Loved getting up early with mama during Christmastime and turning the lights on the Christmas tree. He smiled and smiled up at the tree and we just sat together in the dim living room, enjoying the twinkly lights. It was my favorite part of the holiday season.

-Plays independently for longer periods of time, which is nice. He LOVES to drive his cars around the living room (he loves anything with wheels, including other people's strollers, toys, and wheelchairs). He purposefully rolls his little basketball out in front of him and chases it down.

-Quit the binky cold turkey. He refused it once he started teething. Sometimes, I miss the bink, particularly when he's screaming in the car.

-Still loves the blender, hair dryer, and the vacuum.

-Laughs and laughs when I fake sneeze

-Loves to stroke my hair softly...for a minute. Then his sticky baby paws enclose my strands in an iron fist as he yanks them mercilessly out of my head.

I used to believe I was a patient person. Now, however, I know that I was simply a well-rested person. I'm learning that I don't do well on very little sleep, and I'm a completely different mama after a peaceful night's rest. This boy keeps us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That's what boys do, right? He's too much fun, and his little gap-toothed smile and playful spirit bring us so much joy. We love our little J-man. 

The Buildup

Jace has done this thing since he was just a tiny, and my sister finally captured it Christmas morning on camera. When Jace is startled (usually by a loud outburst of laughter, which was the case in this instance), or scared, or if he falls down or pinches his fingers or whatever, it takes him several seconds to process and decide whether it's something to cry over. Sometimes, if we catch it early enough, we can deter the tears. But usually, we get to witness the full spectrum of emotional processing before he starts to cry. First, he looks surprised for a second or two, then the corners of his mouth turn down, his chin starts to shake, he whimpers, then lets out a full on scream.  I probably shouldn't laugh, but whenever he does this I have to bite back a smile. Oh, my emotional little guy.