Addyson's 2nd Birthday Party

Saturday we celebrated cousin Addy's 2nd birthday!  She had a cowgirl theme, so Jace wore his cowboy hat (for 2 seconds atleast) and his western shirt.  I'm not sure Addy was too thrilled to have Jace playing with her new toys.  When she is around Jace her vocabulary is "MINE" or "OW" (as in ouch). 

 Yummy cupcakes made by Monica: Pink Champange rasberry, chocolate expresso peanut butter, and red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  Of course I ate way to many of them...

Jace playing in the tent at grandma and grandpa Loan's.

found a window!

Get me out of here!

Dancing to the music!

The sunroom decorated

The birthday cowgirl!  The hat and bandana came off immediately of course.  Great-grandma Lura made the outfit.

Eating beans- Mexican catered from Los Portales in Iowa City.

Addyson sharing her new wagon with Jace, but not so happy about him touching her baby carseat.

MINE!

Addyson has a love/hate relationship with Jace.  Smooch!

 Eww, just got kissed by a girl and my cousin!

Got a bath after a big day!

 I really need a haircut one of these days!

Making Farting Sounds

Jace discovered this new sound and he thinks its pretty cool.  He spent the morning covering everything in spit and making "farting" sounds...silly kid.

High Five!

Jace learned how to give high-fives! 

The Kissing Elmo

Jace making his kissing sounds.

Walking Sponge Bob!

He's Walking!

A bittersweet moment in the Gent house, our baby is walking, and he hardly seems like a baby anymore.  Last weekend I went to Briar Cliff University in Souix City to watch Tim play in his last home basketball game as a senior.  Adam went to St. Louis for a work party, so Grandpa and Grandma Gent babysat Thursday through Sunday.  I knew Jace would walk anyday, I had been saying this since around Christmas, he was taking steps on his own for awhile, but the most he could do was about 5 before he wiped out.  I had a dream Saturday night at the hotel that I came home and Jace was walking, guess it was motherly instinct because it was true!  Seeing him walk brought tears to my eyes- happy tears of watching how fast he is a growing and becoming a boy.  We are so proud of our little guy, always eager to do more!  Hard to believe in a month and a half he will be a year old!

First Valentine's Day for this little heartbreaker!

Happy first Valentine's Day Jace!

We will love you forever Jace!  I cannot express how blessed we are to have such a beautiful, healthy, loving baby boy.  Adam and I are very lucky that we get to spend so much of our time with him.  It is worth all the sacrifices- we may not be as rich financially as we could be, but we are rich with joy and happiness from seeing him grow and change everyday.  And with Jace there is never a dull moment in the Gent household!  A quote I saw hanging in Uncle Jesse's house that I like:  "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."   Adam always puts his family first, before work, even though if he worked all the time we could have a lot more money.  Jace and I love him for that. We love our life as a family and wouldn't trade it for anything!    

Bath Time Fun!

Jace has come along way from his first bath in the hospital, which according to my husband was not so pleasant.



Once the cord fell of and we could bathe him in the tub, he has been in love with baths.  He drinks the bath water, eats the bubbles, splashes, and chews on his bath toys. 

Jace is 10 months!

I decided to work my photos skills one night while Adam was home so he could help me keep Jace from crawling all over!  These were taken right at 10 months.  As you can see, he loves stuffed animals, and his friend Gus from Build-a-Bear got to be in a few shots. He also loves his John Deere pedal tractor, but is not near big or strong enough to pedal.  He enjoys sitting on it while someone pushes him around.  Jace is almost walking now, he takes a few steps on his own but then wipes out.  He now "power crawls", crawls so fast like he is running :)  It is pretty entertaining.  He makes the biggest mess ever when he eats, throwing almost everything on the floor or missing his mouth and food ends up on his lap.  Jace will not let you feed him, he must do it himself!  An independent little guy, if his mind is set on something that it how its going to be :)  He is a big hugger, if he warms up to you, he will give you lots of hugs; it is so sweet.  I'm sure that will all change in few years so i'm enjoying it now!