Jace

What a kid! Life with Jace is never dull. He is always doing something that will either make you more frustrated than you have ever been or laughing so hard that your sides ache. My top 7 favorites characteristics of Jace are:

1. His personality and smile. This kid definitely is one of a kind. I call him my ray of sunshine because even if he is in a bad mood you can more often than not get him laughing just by pulling a silly face. One night he had coughed so hard that he made himself throw up so he was laying in bed dead asleep with puke all over in his hair and face. I took him out of bed and while Trav changed the sheets I gave him a bath. He was so tired and you could tell that he still didn't feel well, but after I got him out and made him warm again he looked up at me and said, "Thanks for making me warm and cozy again mom."
2. His sugar addiction. Sugar runs through this kid's veins. I seriously don't know how this kid get away with stellar dentist appointments every time. For a while I would catch him underneath the dining room table eating contraband candy. I would call out to him (because he was way too quiet) and he would say, "I'm putting it back!" Lately however he has gone to hiding under his bed to eat the candy. I have found yogurt cartons and wrappers under the bed every time I change his sheets.

3. His idolization of his older brother. He adores Shane and tries to mimic everything that Shane does. They are great friends for the most part and play together constantly. I love the way that he wants to show Shane something that he just thinks is so awesome. He'll do something that he thinks is awesome (a funky dance move etc) and yell out over and over again, "Look Shane, look Shane!" He is going to have a hard time when Shane gets to start school and he has to stay with boring mom.
4. His love of green. "My favorite color is green." This is what he says to you over and over again whenever he sees the color green. He will remind you of this fact over and over again as well. I think it is adorable though and have really catered to this obsession though buying him clothes, toys, etc that are his "favorite color".
5. His excitement with life in general. I love seeing the reaction to gifts with Jace. No matter what it is his whole face lights up, he looks at it with a gaping mouth and says, "That's awwwwesome!" Travis often comments on how Jace never disappoints with his reaction with a gift that you have gotten for him. When we got home from our cruise recently he gave us the warmest welcome home you could ever hope for.
6. His inquisitive mind. Although frustrating at times this kid never lacks for questions. We read a short section out of the Book of Mormon every night with the kids and a section that would normally take little over 5 minutes to read often takes more than 10. He stops us at every word that he doesn't know (which for a 3-year-old is alot) and asks what it means. I love that he remembers things so well though. It often amazes me just how much he remembers from what we read.
7. His credo of "full speed ahead". This kid is never in slow motion. I often say that he has "all go and no whoa". Which is why he has visited the emergency room quite a few times this year with his head split open. He loves to get at the top of our hill and just cruise down it on his scooter or tricycle yelling out "Whooooo hooooo! Whooooo hooooo! Ya!" the whole way down. He is in constant motion and when he crashes he crashes hard. I have often gotten him out of bed and fully dressed without him showing any sign of life.

We love our Jace and don't know what we would do without him. He is such an integral part of our family that life without Jace would be very dull indeed.