The zoo

Percussion runs in the family

sleeping just like his sister

Jungle man

Just being her naturally cute self

Our little cowgirl

Helping the zoo keepers keep the lawn tidy

They must have missed a spot.  Vegetation was a little thick in spots...Brenna helped them out though

Jace 9 mo

This is kind of an awkward picture, but it was literally then ONLY one I got of him not blurry and on the blanket.  By the way, that outfit is 12 months!!  CHUNK!!

Our calm, sweet little boy is really developing some, ahem, personality.  While everything he does seems to be different than Brenna, I still get a sense of fierce independence and 'I want to do it my way' from  him.  He is a muscle twitch away from taking his first step (I think he actually tried the other day, but his foot bumped the stool).  He can do MULTIPLE squats from a standing position all the way down and all the way back to standing with no assistance.  He can get to a standing position in the middle of an empty room.  I believe that once he figures out he can actually go faster walking than crawling that he will be running.  Haha.  Until then....Brenna at least has a small chance of escaping his sticky, slimey baby hands.

He will be popping in a top tooth any day now.  He's a drool monster again (although not nearly as bad as before) and I can see where it will break through the gums.  He is eating wonderfully and loves to feed himself.  I've caught him in the dog food more than once.  He still loves tags and if he spots one will turn an animal inside out to get to it so he can rub it on  his lips.  He likes some tags more than others (I still haven't figured out what makes a 'good tag') but they certainly soothe him.  Can't ask for much more than that!

He is very hands on and loves to explore everything.  Where Brenna would hold something and turn it over and over to study it, Jace grabs, shakes, bangs and sticks it in his mouth.  He loves hanging out at our bookshelf, not so much for the books as he has different places to look for things.  I figured he'd be pulling the books off the shelves like a little tornado, but he likes to set things on the shelves, or find things that Brenna has set on the shelves and then bang them and put them in his mouth.  He doesn't seem to have quite the love for books that Brenna does, although he will tolerate the majority of a 5 page book, it better have things to touch or possibly rip.  

He is a solid guy and seems to be pretty strong.  and loud.  Man, is he loud.  Any picture you see with  his mouth open, imagine an 'ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' sound.  He loves the water, he loves climbing and most of all he loves the remote.  I am now thoroughly convinced that the majority of a person's base personality is nature, and cultivated by nurture.  Occasionally we get a snuggle from him and Nick got his first kiss with a head nuzzle.  Jace has a super bright smile that just lights up his face and for the most part is a very happy little man.  As long as he is well fed and well rested.  

He seems to be growing exponentially and has even skipped a shoe size.  Some of his 12 month clothes are a little snug and I am starting to wish they had 'husky' sizes for babies.  I find this really odd because you'd expect rolls and rolls of baby fat and while he is nice and soft, there aren't many rolls.  He is just solid.  Big boned, maybe.  He actually grew out of his car seat by his shoulders being too wide!  He was getting close to the height and weight limits, but we still had a couple months left...but he actually couldn't sit back comfortably without a shoulder sticking out.  Crazy.  We're gonna start spring training and conditioning exercises next week ;)

Catch up

This is gonna be a rough semester and I know that I am so far behind in blogging....but we'll just pick up where we left off.....

Jace...my sweet little man is starting to give sweet little baby kisses.  He likes to lead in with a soft forehead lean and then go for it.  He's gotten a little smoother over the last few weeks and is very soft and gentle.  Especially compared to his usual rough play.  

He still hasn't taken any steps solo....he is now very, very mobile and fast!!  He pops up anywhere and practices standing on his own.  He is getting more and more stable and I know that it is a matter of weeks before he walks (much to Brenna's horror).  He lets go of whatever he is standing by and looks like he's just gonna take off.....and when he is after something, he doesn't take his eye off it.  Luckily it is usually a ball.  So funny how differently kids play.  Brenna never really cared for Balls or rattles, but Jace is all about them.  He plays really well by himself and will chase a ball for awhile.  He loves to explore and chase his sister.  Occasionally Brenna will play back and even let him touch her on occasion.  

 He loves to climb and I've already caught him trying to climb on things (play chair, me) and he loves to pull my necklace and smack my face.  I consider them all love taps ;)

My first Mother's Day with Jace :)

Brenna is doing wonderfully with the potty training.  No accidents and often her diaper is dry when we get her up from naps and even over night!!  We still haven't conquered the big potty yet or going while out in public, but she did an amazing job through a big transition.

She currently loves the Sword and the Stone and even tries to sword fight :)  She is always the magician, Merlin, Archimedes, big hungry pike or Sir Ector from the story.  Such a fun time playing make believe with her!

She loves her daddy.  I'm sure she is repeating whatever he is saying to her in this picture.  She is so curious and loves to hear about everything.  It is so fun to explain something to her and watch her little facial expressions change from interest to confusion to understanding and then have her repeat what you told her.