Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Jace ~ 1 Year!

He's One!  


I still have to remind myself some days that we have three children...not that I forgot I have a little one, but life just happens so quickly and my attentions are split among so many things that it's hard to really believe and take in.

Our first year with Jace has been filled with a lot: adjusting to life as a family of 5, school for the older kids, sports for Luke, lots of emotional maturing for Nora, maternity leave, work, life, life, and more life!  The first two months of his life, I honestly thought I was in over my head.  He was very difficult to make happy during the days and didn't nap much at all.  We chalked it up as his GI tract needing to mature.  And, thankfully, he slept well at night and ate well!  Just before I returned to work after Thanksgiving, he turned a corner and has been the happy, content boy we now know and love.  So, maybe our guess of GI tract maturing was right...or maybe we have no idea what we're actually talking about 😏

Jace has certainly been the third child...along for the ride with everyone else in the family's to-dos.  He's been to many sports games, track meets, family outings, etc and he's flexible to eat on the run and ride in his stroller.  Tonight, for instance, he gets to meet Luke's 8th grade teachers 😊

Today, we have a one year old!  Here's a bit about Jace's past month:

Fun - Jace made his first trip to the beach this month in Wayzata when we were visiting friends.  It was a cool weekend so we didn't get in the water, but he had fun at the park while we tried to keep the sand out of his mouth.  He also had his first cousin sleepover with the Beckmanns and Moyers while Brent and I were out of town for Brent to run the Minnesota Ragnar Relay.  The Beckmann cousins love to have sleepovers together so it's fun to have Jace join the fun.  Jace continues to walk along furniture and behind toys.  He's taken as many as 10 steps between people when coaxed, but he hasn't really shown interest in walking on his own volition.  He's getting pretty fast and confident walking with toys and doesn't seem to mind the bumps and bruises that accompany his adventures.  We've been working on getting Jace to wave, which he will do sometimes...often a little delay 😊

Sleep - Jace is still a great sleeper at night and he enjoys a morning and afternoon nap as well.  He happily snuggles into his blankets when he's time to sleep and loves his pack-n-play.  He does not, however, do much napping on the go anymore...too much to see and miss if he'd fall asleep in the car or in the stroller.

Eating - Jace is all transitioned to whole milk and sippy cups.  He simply loves food.  This month, we learned he really likes blueberries.

Growing -  He's still in 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. At Jace's 12 month appointment on September 6th, he was 23 lbs 10 oz (82%), 29.6 inches long (36%), 18.9 inches head circumference (93%).

We've had a great year of growth, learning, and fun with our little man and we can't wait to see how he changes in the coming year!





More pictures from our photo shoot in honor of Jace's birthday are available on Facebook.

A few other pics from his last month as a baby:

Wayzata Beach

First tub in the kitchen sink

Never far from the action

Poser

Cup thief!  He learned to drink from a straw so he stole Nora's cup.

Visiting with Emma at the screen door

Not sure about wearing a hat...or dad wearing a hat 
Hiking

Shooting hoops with brother

Kisses for momma

We were matching

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Jace ~ 11 months

Our Jace baby doesn't have much time left as a baby!  I always think of "baby" being done once we reach the first birthday and we're only a month away.

Fun - As of 11 months, Jace has 8 teeth (all in the front) and he's gnawing on everything, so we're guessing molars may be soon to follow.  This past month, he started imitating us when we say his name.  It sounds more like "Dace" and he seems proud when he says it.  He also loves playing any game that ends with "Boom" said loudly.  This gets him smiling and laughing and he tries to mimic the boom sound.  He'll sometime participate in "so big", but he's choosy 😊  He's also mastered walking along furniture and behind toys which has also resulted in lots of bruises from tipping over or reaching too far.  Jace loves his siblings!  He'll laugh at any goofy noise or face Nora makes and loves being held by Luke or Nora, even though Nora has to lug him around since he's half her weight already.

Sleeping - This kid loves to sleep...like his momma 💗  He sleeps with a pacifier and a couple soft blankets that he snuggles around his head.  It's nice that he's in control of his mobility now so he can sleep with these cozy blankets safely.  He's loved the soft blankets by his face since the beginning, but I only let him when we could see him.  Paranoid?  Maybe, but we're past that stage now.  Jace is still taking a morning and afternoon nap each day and I'm loving the routine of it on days we're home.

Eating - He'll eat just about anything: baby food or soft enough table foods. Really, I think he'd continue eating as long as we'd feed him 😊  We found a sippy cup he likes and he's drinking water and whole milk out of it really well already.  He made a smooth transition from the bottle and formula. When he sees us eating, he comes up to us and smacks his lips. One of his favs is ice cream.

Growing - He's starting to outgrow some 12 month clothes and is wearing 12-18 months depending on brands.  I haven't weighed him this month but he's got to be gaining with all he eats!  He also graduated from the infant car seat (carrier) to a rear-facing convertible seat in the car.

Outside pictures for 11 months...he was NOT interested in any pics lying down.











Some other fun pics from the month...
These two crack me up!  Dog sitting for Murphy

So Big!

Infant carrier graduate (plus those eyes!)

Costco samples...mmm...

Reading with cousins

I have a very similar pic from when Jace was a newborn
Shortly before tumbling down that 6 in drop...

Como Zoo

He gets himself into interesting situations

Big boy on the trampoline...
he gets there all on his own

Big kids!