bye-bye Da - day 1

Jace has been saying bye-bye for a couple weeks now. I am calling it his first word because, even though he makes lots of sounds, his bye-bye (sounds like ba-ba) is always accompanied by a wave. He seems to be clear on the meaning. This past week he has started saying something that sounds like Hi (sometimes with a wave). One day last week he was trying to get Joel's attention. I kept telling Jace, "that's Daddy". Jace started calling out, "Da". In the last few days I have heard him using "uh-oh" (when he drops something or the time he accidentally opened a bi-fold door). I get a kick out of it cause he says, "uh-oh-oh-oh" pronouncing 4 syllables.

We have been so busy the last few days. Joel was home last week. Thursday, we had to go back to Children's Hospital and have the blood draw redone. That idiot (the guy who did it the first time) mishandled the sample he took on Tuesday. He called and had us come back in. We were so upset. This time went better but it was still really stressful for Jace. I'm not sure how we should have handled the situation but I'm glad its over. Friday we spent the day getting ready for the weekend and enjoyed dinner with Gary, Elaine and Aaron Strand at Amigos. It was nice to see Aaron. Saturday morning we got around early, dropped off Jace at Palmer's and went to the Marina. Joel and I gave a sailing presentation for Jayden Marsik's cub scout group. Joel showed the boys several useful knots and then took them for a short ride on the Santana 20. After the scout thing, I went with LaRae for an overnight scrapbook retreat. It was so great to get away for a night and get some photos put into last year's album. Yesterday, I was happy to get home. We took advantage of the nice evening and went for a walk in the park. Joel carried Jace on his shoulders. It was great. When we got home there was a little excitement when Jace got a hold of a drink cup that we thought was out of his reach. We found him sitting in a puddle of Mt. Dew, playing with the ice cubes. He was having a lovely time. When we picked him up he cried. I cleaned him up. Joel cleaned up the floor. We agreed, once again, that we will get rid of this carpet as soon as we can.

Today Joel had to leave again. He is working in NM again. This time he and Tim are in Angel Fire. For the first time ever, I am jealous of where he is. It is a beautiful area. We camped near there several years ago and I would love to see it in the spring. Jace and I had a normal Monday. We are at Palmer's tonight after enjoying dinner with the cousins and "Dancing with the Stars". The rest of the week we need to do the planning for Jace's birthday party. I hope that the week goes by fast.

Today's photo: Watching "Dancing" with Aunt Jessica