Ringlein playdate

Playdate

It was a beautiful spring day. Joel mowed our tiny lawn for the first time this season. Jace was an excited audience. He sat at the screen door laughing and clapping. It's a shame he doesn't like the vacuum this much.

During Jace's nap I got to go run a few errands on my own. I am amazed how fast I can get things done when I'm not toting Jace and all his bags.

This afternoon we made the trek across town to visit the Ringlein family. They live in Littleton so we don't get together as often as I would like. We spent a fun afternoon playing and talking with them. Caydon has grown so much. He is five months old now! Jace enjoyed meeting fatty, the cat, and watching Sebastian play.

Baby Shower (not what you think)

Tuesday feels like Saturday. Everyday that Joel is home feels a bit like Saturday. He arrived home from NM Sunday night. It is great that he did not have to stay the whole 10 days that he predicted. The problem is: he will be short hours this week. This job continues to be a frustration that causes stress in other parts of our lives.

I really try to just relax and enjoy the time that he is home. That gets harder to do. It seems like I am holding my breath when he is home. (It used to be the other way around.) I just know that he has to leave again too soon and there is so much that I need his help with when he is here. We rush through the to-do list and then collapse at the end of the day. Monday he is headed back to NM again. Until then, Jace and I will hold on tight.

Today was tough for Jace. He had to go for another blood test. The allergist found that Jace had a very low count of a specific type of white blood cells. She retested to make sure it wasn't just a fluke. The second number came back even lower. She sent the info to our pediatrician. They diagnosed autoimmune neutropenia. This means his system attacks its own white blood cells causing an increased risk of infection. He has not had any problems but we are trying to learn more and figure out what to do. That brings us to his 3rd blood draw in just over a month. They have gotten progressively worse. Today, he knew what was coming the minute they tied the band around his arm. We were at the Parker branch of Children's Hospital so I thought that they would do better dealing with the kiddo. Nope, the guy seemed super nervous (had he even done this before??). He ended up having to stick Jace twice to get a good sample. He cried and cried. It was awful.

Jace feel asleep in the car on the way home. He was lots better after the nap. This evening we talked about going swimming but decided to just relax at home. It was such a luxury to just make dinner and play at the house together. Jace found a little rubber ball in his diaper bag and figured out how to toss it and crawl after it. Jace loves to climb the stairs and we continue to work on going down them (safely on his tummy). He thinks the whole thing is a great game. He will climb up then crawl around on the landing at the top of the stairs. We wait for him to decide to come down. He will get close, turn around and put one foot down on the first stair then laugh and crawl away. He knows he has our attention cause we have to wait on the stairs to make sure he doesn't tumble.

Right now, Joel is giving Jace his bath and it makes me smile to listen to them "talking" to each other. (They are repeating each other's sounds at the top of their voices. It is great.)

Photos: Exploring everywhere. Even the shower.

Helping with the laundry.

Dad's in NM - day 6

Jace and I made it home today. It will be great to sleep in my own bed. Hopefully, Jace will sleep a little better than last night. He woke up way to early this morning and it took me a while to get him back to sleep. Then we both slept in.

We missed seeing Mom before she went to work at the Health Fair and Dad was gone to work. We did get to see a cardinal out the front window! We got around slow. I was bummed to find out that the Cranwell family had been sick this week. We were planning to stop at their house for a visit today. We will have to stop there next time. Get Well you guys.

Dad made a trip in from the field to see Jace before we left. Grandma and Grandpa Courtney stopped by too.

Today's photo: Bird watching with Grandpa Doug

Bathroom remodel is coming along. The tile looks great and the plumbing is hooked up. Mom is working on stripping paint off the cabinets. They have a shower door ordered. Next step is to choose paint colors.

Mom says it is the guest bathroom now (not the "kids bathroom" anymore). It will be more formal than that crazy old foil striped wallpaper.

(Not sure why the video of Grandma and Jace doesn't have sound. Grandma was determined to get Jace to take some steps. He did not agree.)

Dad's in NM - day 5

Jace is tucked in for the night. We had a full day: lunch with my Grandparents, running errands around town, visiting my Dad in the field and lots of playing with Jace. I'm more tired than usual because my allergies kept me awake some last night. They are often bad in Wray.

I'm off to bed.

Missing Joel lots tonight. (and every night)

Today's photo: Lets clean out the kitchen cabinet. (While Grandma Joy watches)

Dad's in NM - day 4

Jace woke up early today. He took a long morning nap and then refused to rest this afternoon. Instead of resting this afternoon he stayed very busy playing. It was obvious he was tired because be had the binky (pacifier) in his mouth. He only uses it when he is tired or upset. It was pretty cute. My Dad set up a little platform in the living room in front of the window so that Jace could climb up and see out. He really enjoyed it. Also, it was good practice for him climbing up and down on it. I only saw him tumble off of it once. It was slow motion so no tears.

My Dad worked a very long day today so we only saw him this morning when he packed his lunch and late this evening right before Jace went to bed. Mom and I and Jace had lunch at La Familia and then visited my Grandparents. Jace enjoyed exploring the toy box at the Courtney house. He danced when Grandma Courtney rang the wind chimes for him. It was nice to visit.

Today's photo: He left a lot of fingerprints on the window.

Dad's in NM - day 3

Jace and I made it to Wray.

We didn't get a very early start this morning. Jace slept in! I got to sleep in! I woke up before Jace! It was great. I snapped a photo of the little man still sleeping. He must have been awake at some time because the pacifier and the stuffed elephant (Winks) were on the edge of the crib when I put him to bed. He is so sweet.

Our morning started out so well.

While I was making breakfast I looked out the window to see the tree trimmer was working on the little tree that shades our back yard. I figured he was cleaning up the small limbs that broke during the weekend snow storm. However, he just kept cutting. I totally freaked out. I didn't know what to do. I just watched (and cried). When I got myself together I called our management company and yelled at some random guy who just answers phones. Then I sent an angry email. (It was surprisingly well worded) The trimmer guy didn't cut down the whole tree. I overheard a shouted discussion about whether the tree was supposed to be trimmed or removed. Apparently they were just supposed to trim it because he stopped cutting. Too bad he had already cut lots of limbs. The tree never looked great. Now it is just sad. I'm so pissed. In the 8 years we have lived in this townhouse they have cut down 3 trees from around our house. They have yet to plant any new trees. I'm upset because this ugly little tree is the last one left.

Poor Joel. I was on the phone with him when I noticed the tree trimming. He had his own problems to deal with. A piece of equipment he rented was not working and a tire on the truck was leaking air and needed repair. He was feeling like he couldn't get anything working right.

Our day improved.

Jace did great on the trip to Wray. He was asleep when I loaded him in the car. He slept about 2 hours then was mellow for the rest of the trip. The weather was beautiful this afternoon so we played outside. My Dad is working long hours planting corn so we didn't see him much. I'm not sure what we will do tomorrow. Jace has lots of room to explore.

Joel is slowly getting the work done in NM. He sounded more optimistic tonight.

Dad's in NM - day 2

I used to love spring days when you notice the daylight hours getting longer. This year I'm dreading it. Jace has slowly been going to bed later and waking up earlier. I keep staying up too late doing stuff like cleaning up the kitchen and playing on the computer. In the morning I am not as bright eyed as he is.

Today: I finally got the evites out for Jace's birthday next month. We had our last swim class. We made a trip to Babies R Us for diapers. Jace figured out he could walk around the house by sliding the box of diapers ahead of himself. Joel had a long day fighting with rented equipment.

I'm going to try to get to bed before 11.

Good Night.

Today's photos: He was excited about the big box of diapers even before he figured out how to use it to walk around.

He may be to big for the baby swing.

Dad's in NM - day 1

Joel left very early this morning for NM. He and Sage flew down because the truck is already there. This means that all 3 of the Denver office survey guys are currently working for the NM office. This arrangement stinks. There does not seem to be any hope of jobs in Colorado any time soon, not because there is no survey work to be found in CO but because it is no one's job in the whole company to go out and find work in CO. Does this sound stupid to anyone else?

Anyway, Jace and I had a normal Monday. I got tickled with Jace this afternoon. He was playing under the kitchen table and got himself stuck. He crawled under the chair and could not maneuver back out. He wiggled around and then looked at me like it was my fault. He was so mad. He frowned and yelled at me. I thought I was really nice because I resisted my first instinct to get the camera before helping him out. He recovered quickly and at Palmer's house he crawled under Grandma Elaine's chairs. They were easier to move underneath.

Tonight we are at Palmer's house after enjoying dinner with Jessica's family and Dancing with the Stars. Jace gets excited when his cousins are around. Tonight he went for a walk with Uncle Don and Alyssa. They walked to the nearby pond to check the water level. All the snow that fell Friday and Saturday is almost gone after the temp today reached 70. During the Dancing show Janae was laying on the floor watching the program so Jace pulled her hair and drooled on her head. We enjoyed the cake that my Grandma Courtney sent for my birthday. Jace had banana instead of cake but he didn't mind. He loves banana.

Today's Photo: Grabbing the Camera

(yes, the shadow is his finger)

32

Happy Birthday to Me.

I definitely feel older this year. It has been a really amazing, life changing year for obvious reasons. Last year I was 8 months pregnant and had just stopped working at the preschool. Today, I am enjoying the daily changes that I see in Jace.
We spent the weekend celebrating my birthday. Mom & Dad came up on Friday. They drove in the rain and arrived in Denver just before it started snowing. It snowed like crazy most of Friday night and into Saturday. The heavy wet spring snow looked like something out of a movie. We all spent the night at Palmer's house where Jessica and Don joined us for dinner. We had take-out Chinese because most other restaurants had closed. On Saturday Joel & I and my parents saw Tang Concubines at the Temple Buell. It was an amazing show combining costumes, music and dance to tell the stories of two famous Tang Dynasty Concubines. Dinner at Bonefish grill was a delicious end to the fun day.
Today was more mellow. Jace had a better time in the nursery at church this week. He took a nice nap then we had a quick lunch before story time at the library. The story time was fun but a little disappointing. I expected it to be really geared to babies (it is called "baby story time"). I found that it was the same as the story time we did with the preschool kids. There was one little boy Jace's age but the other 3 kids were older. The librarian tried to read 2 books and sing songs while we (parents) tried to keep the kids engaged. Jace and the other baby just started crawling all over. The older kids (who should have done better) were grabbing at the librarian's display and talking over the story. It wasn't bad, just chaotic. The librarian was sweet and patient. I learned a new song about a turtle that is super cute. We will try story time again but, until then, I won't worry that Jace is missing anything amazing.
Joel and Jace got me photoshop software for my birthday. I spend so much time taking photo's. Now I have a new toy for organizing and editing them. I can't wait to start learning how to use it.
Tonight Joel is getting ready to leave again. I'm sad facing the next 10 days with him gone. Jace and I will stay busy and hopefully the time will go fast.

visiting the Marsik family

bath sculpture

There was a robin outside the window this morning while Jace and I were having breakfast. Jace got very excited. He was kicking and talking to the bird. He watched the bird and sucked on the pieces of toast I gave him. I'll just have to remember this moment without a photo.

Last night we had a great time visiting the Marsik family. Jace was a little nervous when we first got there. He took some time to get used to the older boys. Once he got comfortable, he was all over the place. Jayden and Sage built a cool train track all around the living room. Jace crawled all over it and chewed on the little pieces. LaRae made us a yummy dinner. Joel and Jayden played nerf dart tag. Sage was the referee/enforcer. He promised to shoot any rule breakers with his nerf dart gun. Jace got to explore the new place and different toys. He had so much fun and fell right to sleep in the car on the way home. We can't wait to visit again soon.

Today Joel got home early and starts a long weekend before he travels next week. We have lots of things to do before he leaves but it was nice to just relax a little today. The cool, rainy weather inspired me to bake some oatmeal cookies. This evening Joel and Jace enjoyed the swimming lesson.

It looks like snow is coming.

I hope Jace sleeps through the night.

Jace got noodles all over his face at dinner tonight.

Joel creates sculpture using bath toys.

Let Grandma In

Today, like many Tuesdays, we spent most of the day at Palmer's house. We spend the night Monday then get around really slow on Tuesday. Jace decided he didn't want to take the morning nap that he so badly needed. Luckily, Grandma Elaine was able to rock him to sleep when he got super tired. After his nap he was having fun crawling all over the house. When Elaine went out the front door Jace blocked the entrance. He was laughing and kissing the glass while Grandma waited for him to move.

Joel has had a long week already. He flew to Dallas very early Monday morning to collect the truck and all the equipment that he and Tim left there two weeks ago. They thought that there would be more work for them in Dallas but something changed. Things are so unpredictable. Joel drove all the way back by himself. He was able to make pretty good time but he was so tired. The plan now sounds like he is headed to Albuquerque for 10 days starting next Monday.

He is so pleased with himself. The pool has a shallow, walk in surface that is perfect for Jace. He can crawl around and sit up by himself in the water. (Joel is just outside the photo.)

We only have a couple more swim lessons left. They are so fun. I'll sign up for them again sometime. Until then, we will have to plan times to go swimming on our own and keep practicing the stuff we learned. I am looking for other activities we could try. We are going to check out baby story time at the library later this week. Jace loves new activities and new places to explore.

This face cracks me up. He has a whole range of sounds now. He was "talking" to me. He babbles, coos, yells, growls and makes this little sound I call Parseltongue. Harry Potter fans will know this is a mix of whispered hissing sounds. It is fun to converse.

Easter

Thank you to the Sullivan family for hosting an awesome Easter dinner.

swingin' & swimin'

Jace swings with cousin Janae.

Jace had a full day today. We spent most of the day at Palmer's house. Joel is off of work this week because of all the time he put in traveling last week. He spent most of the day trying to get the computer at Palmer's house running again. It quit working on Monday after a power flicker at the house. We were all really worried that there might be major damage and loss of memory but it turned out that only the power pack needed replacing.

We enjoyed spending the afternoon with Janae. Her school has an extra week of spring break so she is still vacationing even though Alyssa and Dustin are back to school this week. She got to hang out with us today while Jessica had a meeting to attend. Jace loved having someone else to play with (and show off for). We walked to the park and played on the swings and other equipment.

Joel and Janae tried to get Jace to crawl through the tunnel but he was nervous.

Tonight was the first swim class in 2 weeks because of snow and spring break. Jace continues to get more comfortable in the water. We arrived a little early for class so Jace got to play in the shallow, walk-in part of the pool. He liked that he could crawl around in the water and sit and splash in the shallow area.

During class he got tickled with me trying to teach him to blow bubbles.

what day is it?

When Joel is traveling I always know what day it is. I am always counting the days, even the hours until his return. When he is home, like he is now, every day feels like Saturday. I was actually surprised when I realized today IS Saturday. I love having my family together at home. It seems like we didn't do much today. It was cold and icy. Joel went to work out this morning at the club but the rest of the day we all stayed in. Joel made some progress on the list of honey-dos. He installed the cabinet locks in the kitchen and hung some pictures for me (with the complicated safety hooks so they can't fall off the wall). I had a little time to work on organizing photos (I take so many photos!!!) and take a long shower. We offered Jace some new foods. Joel made waffles with soy milk. They were delicious but Jace didn't care. He preferred his Cherrios. I used my new steamer to prepare apples and carrots for Jace. He preferred the chunks of bananas that require no preparation. It is fun to offer him new things even if he is not as excited about it as we are. We did a lot of playing. It is great fun chasing Jace around on the floor. He does laps around the living room. He likes to tackle anyone foolish enough to lay on the floor. There is a lot of drool and hair pulling involved. (Jace does most of it) I guess we had a full day even though it seems like we didn't do much.
Today's photos: Check out those teeth.
The baby collage is hung in the nursery.
Jace calls his shot.

Joel is home

Welcome home Daddy!

No nap! Maybe Jace could sense that something was up this morning because he refused to take his nap. He was so tired. I tried putting him down twice and each time he started crying moments before I got in the shower. When Joel got home around 1 this afternoon I was still in my PJs and Jace was so tired he was having trouble eating lunch because he had to keep rubbing his eyes. I was really annoyed with Jace but somehow when Joel walked in everything got better. Jace smiled and clapped. He could barely hold his head up but it was obvious he was glad to see Daddy. I finally got my shower while Jace and Joel played. Jace took a short nap this afternoon but still seemed extra tired tonight.
We had another meeting with the allergist this afternoon. We didn't get a lot of new info. She explained the results from the blood test. She seemed to think that the milk allergy would be something he would grow out of and the peanut allergy is not so severe that there may be some improvement with that also as he grows. For now, we are not introducing any milk products or peanuts. We will test him again later this year (around 18 months) to see if there is any change and discuss doing some controlled food tests. I would say she was cautiously optimistic.

Tonight it is cold and snowy again. I love this weather because we don't have anywhere we have to go in the morning so we can enjoy this latest snow together in our warm comfy house.

The cold weather blowing in.