Boy it seems like it's been forever since we've updated folks on what's going on in our lives! Where do I start?
Ace is still growing like a weed and I couldn't be more in love with this little face. He's been experiencing a lot of firsts in the last month. Of course the cute little things like blowing bubbles with his mouth, recognizing and smiling at mommy and daddy, and 'talking' in his sleep (seems like he's a chip off the old block!), but what's even more exciting is Ace's first baseball game, concert and airplane ride!
Matt was so stoked when he got tickets from work to take Ace to his first baseball game. It was a beautiful sight watching a dad take his son to his first game and sit and explain every single baseball term. We were lucky enough to get some great seats along the warning track. We got to be in the shade and be really close to the game. It was such a relaxing time and exciting to see Matt cheese from ear to ear with joy. It made my heart happy :)
After the game we decided to go to the Taste of Colorado to watch Boyz II Men! I'll be honest, we didn't stay because it was a mad house and not the best place for a baby. We got to listen to one song, barely see the stage and my pits flowed like Niagara falls, but I have to admit, it was special to me. My first concert was Boyz II Men with my mom when I was like 13. Someone will appreciate that fact someday, it sure wasn't Matt, poor guy was not having it! We came home and Ace slept through the night, poor little man was all tuckered out!
The very next day Ace took his very first airplane ride. We went to visit Nana, uncle Jesse and our cousins in Washington. Ace was the perfect child! Slept the entire time and ate when he was supposed to in order to avoid ear poppage and one cranky baby. I was so proud of him! We stayed with Nana 3 nights and went to visit her and grumpop's cabin on Lake Kachess. I thought I would go crazy with no TV or internet, but it was extremely calming and exactly the 'break' I needed before returning to work. We took Ace to Leavenworth one day, a first for me too! What a beautiful little German town! We walked around, shopped, ate and even got to put an everlasting stamp on Leavenworth itself. The cafe we ate lunch in collected dollar bills that people wrote on. I wrote one for Ace and taped it to the wall (picture is below). I thought it would be cool for him to see where he was spending the day when he was 85 days old :) The last two nights in town, we stayed with uncle Jesse! Friday night we went to the Puyallup Fair with Nana, uncle Jesse and the twins. What a fun experience that was! It was opening weekend and the first time the twins were tall enough to ride any of the carnival rides. We found out that Jude does not like the mini roller coasters or the rides that go up in the air. I got to hang out with them, eat gummy bears, scones, strawberry short cakes, BBQ, sausages, popcorn and all of the things you should and should not eat when partying with 3 year olds. We had a blast and I'll never forget the way their adorable little faces lit up at the sight of rides, lights, horses, the petting zoo and food. I felt very special to be a part of that night for them. Something I'll cherish forever! The next day we got to have brunch with Lane, Priscilla, Laila and Lane Jr. It's amazing how their babies have grown, not babies anymore! After that, Ace and I got to hang out with Lisa, the twins and Cade, Allison and Rylee. We went to lunch, went shopping and went to the park. Afterwards we went to dinner at Shad and Lacey's and hung out with Tuff. We are so blessed we got to see so many of our family members and have Ace meet his extended family. We were two busy bees, but worth every minute!
Sunday 9/11 was the day we flew home. I was nervous because of the 10 year reunion of that horrible day, but Nana calmed my fears by telling me it was probably the safest day to fly. Boy was she right! Getting checked in was no problem, I wasn't too thrilled with the security line. No one told me there was a special line families got to go through, so I stood in line with the rest of the singles for about 20 minutes until I got close enough to notice the stroller and wheelchair on the sign near a line was supposed to me. I gracefully (and by gracefully I mean spun myself into those little rope barriers trying to get out of line) moved myself, Ace and his carseat/stroller combo to the empty line. I got up to the conveyor belt and, no problem, just like before, broke everything down and set it up to go through. I'm holding Ace and before I could go through the metal detector, they made me take off Ace's shoes. Ok no problem. Put those through the detector with the rest of our things. Got waived through and then the damn thing beeps at me. Really? I know I have nothing on my body (or Ace's) to set that thing off. The agent standing in front of me says I've been selected for a random screening. He steps aside to reveal a cubicle sized area, with walls that are complete glass. Sure did feel like a zoo animal I tell ya what. We stand there for 5 minutes while they're hollering for a different agent to come to a 'random'. Meanwhile Ace decides it's a good time to throw up on mom. AWESOME! I'm standing with no burp cloth, baby puke on my shirt, no shoes and hot as hell... so 'no shower' sweat on top of it. We finally get out of our cage and get our 'screening' done. Nothing major, just a swipe of the hands to test for God knows what... all that for that? Yet again AWESOME! We get to the gate and are called to get on, dude who scans my ticket says I can't sit in the isle I'm assigned because infants can't ride in that isle. I go to get my seat changed and THAT guy tells me if the baby is a lap kid, I can be on that isle. Ok great, let's get on the plane. I go to get Ace all set up, and guess what? I can't find his baby Bjorn! I left that thing in uncle Jesse's car! UGH! So I have to hold this heavy boy the entire ride home, which would be fine if he would just get comfortable and stop yelling at me :) We had an awesome time! Daddy was happy to pick us up and love on us for en extra day before I returned to work. More on that later... for now, everyone really just wants to see pictures :)
