Happy holidays everyone -
Well, we have just endured our first snowstorm of the year - and it was a record for 24 hour accumulation... 24 inches in 24 hours. Jody spent the better part of 3 days plowing and Jace tasted his first snowflakes. Buddy dog just ran around and tried to find all of his toys that he left in the yard before the snow fell. We put up our Christmas tree and, surprisingly, Jace has not pulled it down. He actually ignored it for the first week and now he lightly touches the branches and the soft stuffed ornaments that we put down at his level. We thought that he would be hanging from the limbs by now. Jace isn't quite walking yet but he shows off by standing on his own for up to 10 seconds and he is doing a bit of furniture walking. He runs his little shopping cart all over the house and now thinks it is pretty funny to run it into the tree. He makes us laugh constantly and we just can't imagine a single day without him.

Love to you all - wish we could see all of you over this holiday time,
Jen, Jody, and Jace

Well, you haven't heard from us in awhile, but we are doing well. Jace has been going through his run of "daycare colds" and got his first ear infection. Fun for mom and dad. He still continues to be an absolute joy and makes us laugh everyday. What did we ever do before he came along? Here are a couple of pictures from October... the top two are of Jace on his first Halloween as a bumblebee. In Coeur d'Alene, all of the downtown merchants sponsor trick or treating. He was sweet and donated all of his candy to momma and papa. The picture on the right is with our neighbors Kelsie and Nathan. The bottom left picture is from our trip to Greenbluff - a great agriculture area about an hour away that has pumpkins, corn mazes, caramel apples, pick your own fruit and vegies. The bottom right picture is from a visit from Jody's folks. Jace had a great time taking walks with Grandpa Rick. We hope you are all doing well, we love and miss you all! Jen, Jody, and Jace

September Catch-up

Well it has been awhile since we last posted to Jace's site. Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Cynthia came up to visit and attend Jen's 40th B-Day party. The following action shots were taken by Grandpa and Grandma. The boy is now 7 1/2 months old, crawling like crazy and into everything! Enjoy!

what's new...

Well, it's been a long time since we checked in. Jace is absolutely growing like a weed and learning new things on a daily basis. We spend most of our time just watching him and laughing. He spends most of his time smiling and cooing and is really only fussy when he is hungry or sleepy. He absolutely lights up our lives and we have no idea what life was like before him (besides well rested!). So many things have happened to tell you about. He started daycare which is going surprisingly well (even for Mom). The teachers at his daycare are wonderful and Jace is spending lots of time with new people and new kid friends and is becoming well socialized. Everyone at the center loves to visit the new baby (especially the 2 year old little girls - it is in their genes!). Right now there is only one other baby, Ethan, in his class and the other day when Mom went to visit, they were sitting across from each other having some sort of baby gibberish conversation and just giggling at each other. Very, very cute. Of course, the same afternoon they went for a buggy ride outside and the teacher couldn't figure out why they were being fussy until she peaked in and saw that they were pinching each other's arms and unwilling to let go. Boys will be boys.

Jace has been blowing bubbles like crazy, grabbing everything within reach, and trying very hard to get anything and everything into his mouth. He is somewhat successful but it sure keeps him busy trying. Lately he has been sticking out his little tongue nonstop - it is very pointy and he makes funny faces. He is learning how to activate some toys that require his motion to operate (i.e. he must kick a footplate to get the buttons to light up). He is starting to take interest in books and is working hard at sitting up. He tries to push himself along during tummy time and mostly gets frustrated because he just ends up digging his forehead into the ground. He loves to eat breakfast and take baths in the big bathtub with his dad (Papa). Speaking of bathtime, this week he found the fun in splashing and managed to splash water over everyone, including his mom who was sitting outside of the tub!

We went for our 4 month check up this week. It seems that we have given birth to one little chunky monkey. He measured 26.75 inches (95th %!), 17 lbs 2 ounces (85th %!). This kid will be bigger than mom and dad by the time he is in 3rd grade at this rate. He had a round of shots and tolerated them incredibly well.

We love you all and can't wait to see you. You will be surprised by how our little guy has grown and developed.

Love,
Jen, Jody, Jace

Jace's new puppy

This is Jace's new puppy, Buddy. We just adopted him after my Uncle Lane and cousin Montie found him lost and wandering. He is a very good dog and although we don't know his exact age, we guess that he is probably between 8-12 months old. He has plenty of puppy in him and loves to run around our property. He will be a great farm dog. He stays very close and doesn't try and run away. We know that Jace will have many adventures with his puppy in the years to come!

Jace's first road trip

Jace made his first road trip to Great Falls, Montana on May 16 to attend his cousin Luca's wedding and to meet his great grandparents and many other family members. The trip took a little longer than normal (7 hours compared to a normal 5 1/2) because of food and crying stops but Jace was able to take a few short naps along the way. In addition to his first long drive, Jace also stayed in his first hotel and did very well. Great Grandma (Amy) and Grandpa (Pete) Zahara were very happy to meet their 14th great grandchild and Grandma Pauline and Grandpa Rick were happy to see their newest (4th) grandchild. All in all it was a great trip.

Jace's week

Jace had many new accomplishments this week - he is really changing on a daily basis! We took our first walk with the big jogger stroller around our property and down to the lake. The "town" stroller doesn't work so well where we live because of bumpy gravel roads and the big jogger stroller has large wheels but is not supportive enough for him at this age. We were able to find an insert that would support his head and trunk in the jogger stroller so that he fit in it and didn't fall out. He really likes being outside in the stroller and fell asleep on both of our walks. Mommy is happy because she likes taking walks with him. Jace fell asleep on 2 different car trips to town. I realize that doesn't sound like a big deal but as most of you know, Jace is not a fan of his car seat or taking car trips, so this really was quite an event in our household. We'll see if it sticks. Friday morning after he woke up at 5:30am he laid in his bassinette and babbled nonstop to himself for about 45 minutes. Mom and dad just sat in their bed and listened and laughed. It was absolutely the cutest thing you could ever hear! He was telling quite a story. I wish we could have tape recorded it but it will stick in our minds forever. He is melting our hearts daily with many many smiles and babbles. He is really changing from a newborn to an amazing baby. You will all be shocked the next time you see him!

These attached pictures and video don't really have to do with anything, just Jace and his dad having fun together.

Love you all!
Jen