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.  

8 months!

 Good grief, trying to get pictures of my little guy...  Not only was he all over the place, Bella decided she wanted a photo shoot and Brenna just wanted to stand on the blanket.  Ha!  These pictures make it look tame!

Jace is really developing, he has started drinking from a sippy cup (not very efficiently), he loves finger foods like the little crunchy stars and baby Cheetos.  I think he is going through another growth spurt because this past week he DOUBLED his normal intake of formula and food.  Thankfully it seems to have slowed a bit.  He likes everything I've given him to eat except scrambled eggs.  Come on Buddy!  Get on board with the rest of the family!! 

 

Currently he is in (and quickly growing out of) 9 month clothes and 12-18 month pajamas...and with this current feeding frenzy....yikes!  He is soooo heavy to carry around, part of me really hopes he starts walking soon!

 

He has his two bottom teeth and the drooling has finally eased, which has helped this stubborn rash under his chin and down his chest start to fade. 

 

I find it really interesting how he plays so much differently than Brenna.  Different toys catch his eye, he manipulates them differently...he is a tosser.  Everything gets flung in each direction.  Thankfully Brenna thinks is great to pick up what ever he throws (and even gives it back).  If you sit him in the middle of the blanket surrounded by toys, within minutes he has cleared the blanket and it looks like a bomb has gone off. 

 

Jace is really ticklish and has a great giggle and laugh.  Up until recently he has been really good natured, but has thrown a couple of huge screaming fits when I've removed something from his hand that he wants (a grocery list, for example)  This makes me a little nervous because he is SO LOUD and when he is mad....wow. 

He is a great sleeper and loves to have a tag in hand to rub on his lips while he falls asleep looking at the fan.  As soon as you lay him down, he looks for the fan....  He rarely makes a peep once you leave, though!  I can't believe how lucky we are!!

Jace & the Egg

My Cheesy girl

Cheeeeeeeese!

Occasionally Brenna will ask for a picture to be taken.  You have to be ready, because it doesn't last long!  Lately she has wanted to be called by other names...one morning it was monkey but mostly it is Nemo, Dori, Doggie (not puppy), Nala and Simba.  The name changes frequently, but she helps us keep up by correcting us.  All. The. Time.  'Brenna, come here please.'  She responds with 'Nala, come here please.' and won't come until we correct ourselves.  Our conversations are three times as long now.  She does seem more compliant when we call her by her animal name, though. 

 

She loves to sing.  She's getting really good at the alphabet and counting to 11.  Why 11?  Well, in her Dr Seuss book there is a creature with 11 fingers.  So she counts to 11.  Also 7 has become 11.  So, it goes like this... 1,2,3,4,5,6,11,8,9,10 and 11!  Really cute.

 

She loves playing outside in the water...pouring into a glass and then giving it to you to drink!  Some of it ends up down her front most of the time.  She runs everywhere.  All the time.  So, she is constantly sticky and sweaty...I can't wait for this summer!

 

She also loves piggy back rides.  I'm usually good for a few laps around the house, then it's her turn to give her baby a ride. 

Making faces at herself.  Her cheeks are still really, really big and squishy.  And you can see her little 'piny tale'  which is so cute when she lets me put them in!

Movin and sharin

Jace is finding that he likes to get around.  While he still isn't crawling forward, he does manage to get to where he wants to go. 

 

He is one determined little man!  This was his first push up.  You can see the concentration and determination on that face. 

 

 

I think he may be a little climber.  Today he actually pulled himself up into a standing position from the floor.  Thankfully he is still really uncoordinated with walking... But practice makes perfect (or mobile in this case)

 He's pretty proud of himself when he gets to stand alone, which is what he wants  to do all the time.  No more snugly baby...hello tugging, scratching, pushing, pulling almost toddler.

 

Brenna is such a little hoarder!  hehe.  Doesn't matter what Jace has, she wants it.  She knows she can't just walk over and take it (if we're watching), so she sits near him, pretending to play and slowly puts her hands on it, slowly, slllloooowwwlllly pulls it away.  All with a big, fake smile.  Once she took the toy away when I wasn't looking and when Jace started fussing, she brought it back to him.  Then she told me that she gave him the toy (like it was her idea) so I would praise her...hehe  I want to tell her to just wait until he's really moving....I foresee a lot of tug of war!

 

 

Brenna Ballerina

Brenna is such a fun little girl.  Sure, she's a bit whiny at times but so many smiles and so much laughter.  She is starting to dabble in dress up and liked being a ballerina yesterday.  She likes swaying and swishing and twirling around.  I love seeing her little tu-tu butt picking stuff up and running around!

 

 

 

She loves to pair things up and have them walk together, or run.  All things must hug each other and show some love.  This goes for utensils, food slices, and anything else she can pair up.  She enjoys making her 'stickers' hug and go for walks (these are the magnet people I made her).

I catch occasionally pushing her cheeks together and she caught a glimpse of her self in the mirror this morning...I couldn't get her away.  She thought it was really funny when mommy did 'cheeks' with her :)