A Whirlwind Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! The last two weeks have just flown by. On December 18th we got on a plane to fly to Utah to spend Christmas with our families. Last year we were "stuck" in Houston because I was due to have Jace in just a few weeks. On the plane ride there, Jace was very curious about the man next to us. The first time the man looked at him he practically jumped into his arms. Fortunately he was very nice, but unfortunately he didn't speak much English so quite possibly he didn't want Jace all over him as much as he seemed to not mind. I took a picture because it was too funny to watch Jace stare at him. He loved his mustache. When the man dosed off during the flight Jace would look over at him and stare as if he was waiting for him to wake up to play again. My least favorite part was when Jace kept sticking his fingers in the man's mouth. I am such a germ-a-phobe!

The first few days were spent visiting with all our many families. We stayed with J's mom which was fun because his sister Melissa and her family were there too. Jace loved Nana Chris's kitties. In fact, a few days before Christmas he officially said his first word. He's been giving us the regular "Da da" and "Ma ma" but he started following the kitties and pointing at pictures of kitties and saying "tchitty". We know what he means! On the same day he decided to venture out and take a few steps toward Grandma Brown (my step-dad's mother). He did it again back and forth to my brother-in-law Tyler that night. So his first word and first step came on the same day, December 22nd.

Another fun part about our trip was seeing the newest members of our families. My second oldest sister had her third baby the day we got there. She named him Thomas Russel and he is so beautiful. Another sister Emily has a little 4 Month old named Sam. Jace could not help but to put his fingers in his mouth over and over again.

We were able to go to lunch with Grandma Lowe. Jace was good the entire time so we were able to have a nice visit.
Both J and I have two families so that makes a total of four families to make time for while we visit. That means lots of food, lots of presents, and lots and lots of stimulation for Jace. Here he is caring nothing about the present but trying his darndest to tear the wrapping paper in shreds....a favorite activity of his.

This evening in particular, Jace was exhausted. I went in to check on him before going to bed myself and found him asleep on his stuffed Turtle. We all need pillows.

Finally, it was Christmas Morning!!!!!!! It was quite the day. Jace was slightly overwhelmed to say the least. He had fun with all his new toys and was so spoiled by everyone. We were worried on how we were going to get everything back to Houston. He was more intersted in his cousin Belle's toy pony though. Or maybe just the pony's big box.
What next?????
The noise and excitement of the morning is wearing on him as you can see in this picture. Notice his cute reindeer bib that my friend Stephanie helped me find.
Soon after I put Jace down for his morning nap, J started feeing fluish. He tried to brush it off but it kept getting worse. I left him home at his mom's and Jace and I went over to my Mom's for Christmas day there. I wasn't in much better shape though. We had all been battling sore throats and coughs all week and my voice was fading fast. Jace seemed to be feeling okay except for all the kids either mauled him or pushed him out of the way. Here is my neice Kaitlyn taking care of Jace for me which she did all evening. I appreciated it but Jace was confused and frustrated. That night I stayed at my parents because I didn't was Jace and I close to JJ while he battled the flu.
My attempt to keep Jace germ free was in vain. Two days after Christmas he was extremely fussy. I have never seen him so uncomfortable and cranky. He was unconsolable and would not eat, drink, or sleep. We finally took him into an Instacare and he was quickly diagnosed with strep throat. Niether J nor I had that bad of throats so we didn't think it was a possiblity but many of our family members have been diagnosed with it too. This picture was taken in the waiting room. Jace was so tired but didn't want to lay his head on J's shoulder so he fell asleep on J's face instead.
When we got home from the doctor he was really tired and wanted mommy to hold him but he couldn't get comfortable. Finally he found a soft blanket on Nana's couch and he just laid there so relaxed. I almost brought the blanket home with us.
The next day after we took him to the doctor, the 28th of December we headed home. Jace was an absolute jewel on the airplane ride home. He dosed off during take off which was so unlike him but we did have quite the early flight. Once his woke up he ate, played, looked out the window, and peeked at the people behind us.
As for next year......J and I don't know if we are up for another Christmas like this one. Obviously our bodies just can't handle the cold anymore. J had the flu, a sore throat, a sinus and chest cold, and lost his voice. I had a cough and cold, lost my voice and had a sore throat too. And Jace got strep. Thanksgiving may be our Holiday to visit next year. It was wonderful to see everyone though.

"Leaf" Me Alone

I have really missed the Utah Fall weather this year. I know it is December and snowy there but here in Houston it is still Autumn if you ask me. The leaves around our house are pitiful. They are only about 1 inch long and hardly allow for picture worthy piles. However just up the street at Oyster Creek Park I found some normal sized leaves that would suffice to my re-creating a Utah Fall for Jace. My friend Becky and her little Eli came along for the fun. At first Jace was cautious of his surroundings but soon enjoyed the new experience. See his upper teeth.
Surprisingly he only tried to eat a few of them.
The majority of his time was spent looking around intently at the leaves in front of him, taking his time to decide which one he was going to grab, then he would reach and get it. He is very methodical. Just as he does with any paper or magazine given to him, he began ripping the leaves in small pieces and placing them to the side. I don't know if he is just organized about his paper shredding or may be showing some early signs of OCD.
Eli on the other hand had nothing to do with the leave shredding, but tried to eat every leaf he could. This is my absolute favorite picture of the event. He is such a happy baby.
If I tried to make Jace do anything so I could get some fun pictures he would whine at me, but as long as he was 'left alone', he had a great time. What an independent little soul he is! I love this picture because he always sits like this on his knees. It makes him look so Big.

No Explanation Needed!

Fun at the Park

The last few days I have been taking Jace to the park. He has had a cold, a cough, and not felt very good. I haven't wanted to have him around other kids so we stayed in the house most of last week. The park was our outlet. He would stay there for hours playing in the wood chips. He picks handfuls up, looks at them as if he has discovered something incredible, and then drops the handful as he realizes there is more below to grab. We took Annie with us to the park Sunday too. She and Jace love the swings. Can't you tell by their faces. Okay so only Jace loved it but little Annie just looked so cute swinging side by side.