what a dashing fellow!

i couldn't decide which photos are the cutest, so i'm posting them all!  thanks, uncle jon erik, for the most adorable hat and onesie!

wee-oo bed

pace calls firetrucks "wee-oo's" because of the siren noise.  when i found this firetruck toddler bed on ksl, we just had to have it!  pace took one look at it, and loved the fact that it was a truck, but was hesitant when we told him it was his new bed to sleep in.  he sat on it at our prompting, and then said, "no."  we rearranged his room sunday morning so the bed would be ready for his nap after church.  we got home, had lunch, and then went upstairs for his nap.  everything went without a hitch--he laid down, had his blanket, binkies, and stuffed animals all around him, and closed his eyes.  david and i were expecting some resistance!  we left his room and went downstairs.  

30 minutes or so later, we heard pace's bedroom door close.  david went upstairs to check on pace and when he opened pace's door, pace was running back to hop in bed.  "do you want your door closed?"  david asked.  "yeah!"  pace said.  so david closed the door and came back downstairs.  another 30 minutes or so, and we heard more noises upstairs.  usually pace crashes after church and we have to wake him up around 6 or 630 so he'll actually go to sleep sunday nights.  this sunday afternoon was a nap-free one.  pace was very excited about his new sleeping arrangement and decided to play on it instead.  he was in bed early that night, to say the least--and stayed there! 

monday night i got home from swimming laps and checked on pace.  he had pulled about 10 books in bed with him to "read", and then fell asleep on them.  also in bed?  about 10 stuffed animals, his three binkies, bulldozer, etc. ... ...too cute to pass up a photo opportunity!  i also expected pace would love his new freedom and leave his bed at will, wander into our room and wake us up, go into the playroom, etc., so we now always keep the gate at the top of the stairs closed.  however, pace has surprised us all once again!  he'll get out of his bed to retrieve a book, but then go promptly back to his bed to sit and read it.  monday morning when i went to get him changed for the day, he was sitting in bed, trying to fit his shoes on his stuffed animals.  yesterday morning when i went to get him changed, he was reading the hungry caterpillar, pointing at and naming all the fruits and their colors.  he asks to go up to his "wee-oo bed" to play and sleep now!

hose water tastes best in the summer

pace has learned how to push the spray nozzle on the end of the hose, which is slightly dangerous because he can now spray water at will without much aim.  his face is hilarious--even though he is the one controlling the off-and-on water, he is always surprised when it comes out of the hose!  i think at one point he was even trying to give himself a drink, thus aiming it directly into his face!

pie?

an older couple from another ward we lived in see david at the mall every day.  he is mall-working, and they are mall-walking.  they know all the mall workers--they chat with everyone, know the every day details of what's going on, they even brought dinner to a shop owner the day they were moving their store to another location within the mall.  so when we had max, they told david they wanted to stop by and check out our new addition.  when they came over, they brought us a delicious homemade peach pie with a can of whipped cream.  whenever we offered some pie to pace, we always topped it with a squirt of whipped cream.  for whatever reason, pace got it into his head that whipped cream is "pie".  

well, we very quickly finished the pie and whipped cream, and when pace asked for some pie, we told him it was all gone.  usually that's an ok answer--out of sight, out of mind.  a week or so ago pace saw me use some mousse on my hair, and he thought it was whipped cream.  he took one look at the mousse in my hand, and his eyes lit up, "pie?"  i explained i was using mousse for my hair, and that it wasn't pie, but he still eyed me like i was wasting all that yummy "pie" on my hair.  the rest of the day pace was fixated on having some pie.  he even had a full scale melt down at lunch time when i told him that the pie was all gone, but after his nap we'd go get some more.  there is no reasoning with this kid when he is in full meltdown mode.  so, after one bite of lunch, i put him down for a nap, crying for pie all the way.  he woke up 4 hours later and the first thing he requested was "pie?"  

we promptly went to costco for the costco-sized cans of whipped cream, and pace now gets a squirt of "pie" on oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, etc. etc. etc.

and, of course, no day is complete without a dose of watching elmo and playing in the dirt with his trucks.  we know what pace would request if he were on a deserted island...

max seemed quite concerned that pace did not lick his face clean before playing in the dirt.  i'm sure max would have been more than happy to help pace polish off the rest of his "pie"!

lincoln logs drum set

dear pah pah, 

thanks for the lincoln logs!  my mama said we were supposed to build a house, but i was more interested in playing the drums.  

i'm still trying to convince her to get me a real set.

love,

pace

balance bike for pace

balance bikes are supposed to be safer than tricycles, so we went ahead and got a bike for pace!  balance bikes don't have pedals; the kids are supposed to use them like the flinstones used their car--foot power!  the whole idea is to get the feel of the bike, how it moves, how to lean, and eventually learn to balance when going downhill.  the transition from balance bike to bike with pedals will then be a snap.  

we thought we would have to play the little you tube video for pace so he could see how kids were riding the balance bike, but as soon as we opened the box, he knew just what to do--and he wanted to ride that bike as soon as possible!  don't you love how he sticks his tongue out when he's really concentrating?!  he loved putting on his helmet and walking around with the bike, so we graduated to going outside and having david push him around.  he immediately propped his little feet up on the foot rests and said, "go!"