things jace says

As a parent, with every age your child reaches there are both ups and downs. Every year I sentimentally exclaim, oh this is my favorite age so far! And then the next year comes and I say the same thing. But now that I have two kids, it's more about the comparison of ages. You know, aside from the fact that we could own another HOME with the amount we pay towards daycare for two children, having two is kind of the best.

Have I told you how much easier the second is, by the by? I feel like a pro. I’m not, but I feel like one. I often think about how hard it must be being the oldest! You are the experiment of what not to do and what to do better for the next child. With B I know what to expect, how to really man things like a boss, and I also worry much less this time around. It’s all very nice! I like two. One was fun and three would probably push me over the top, but two...that's the stuff.

Right now, for example, I have moments when I wake up at 4:00 in the morning to feed or when I’m changing an extremely rancid diaper that I think to myself: isn’t it nice that Jace is so independent?! And in the same regards, when Jace sassily talks back to me or when he interrupts mine and dan’s conversations EVERYTIME WE ARE TALKING because CAN’T WE SEE THAT IT’S MUCH MORE IMPORTANT WHAT HE HAS TO SAY, or when he gets his tender feelings hurt by a boy who doesn’t want to play with him anymore and it breaks my mama heart in two, I think to myself: isn’t four months a wonderfully refreshing and easy age?!

The truth is, while both of my boys are growing at an alarming rate, the one I’m having the hardest time with about it all right now is Jace. He lost all of his baby fat. All of it! He’s tall and lanky, he sleeps in his underwear and refuses pajamas, he chooses his own outfits, and he is becoming ever more picky about when he wants to cuddle and give kisses. And it is hard. I see him growing into a boy right in front of my eyes and I can’t stop it. I love the independence, I love that he can tag along with us more and more, that we can teach him things and he can really enjoy all of our adventures. But it is hard. Sometimes I look at him and it’s this sudden shock of, wait, who are you?! It’s scary and emotional and I love him so much I could burst.

Slow down time. Slow the heck down.

BUT ANYWAY.

Jace cracks us up on a daily basis. That’s probably my favorite thing about this age, the funny and random things he comes up with. In fact with all of the attitude that comes along with three years old, THANK THE HEAVENS for all of the funny things he says! They really make up for it. Most of the time. So I try to keep track of them all and my list is too good not to share sometimes. Without further ado, may I present: THINGS JACE SAYS.

(the cleverest of titles, no?)

• “Dees bugs are fighting over dare mom! Hurry! Get dem, dey are fighting!” (I walk over to investigate and he is squatted over a pair of box elder bugs that are mating)(don't worry, I decided he is too young for that talk yet.)

• (pointing at each of my boobs) “You got two babies in dare?”

• (standing inside with his head poked out of the back door and shouting,) “I sorry, you can’t come inside. I sorry! You can’t! You just hafta play outside. I sorry.”
Me: "Who are you talking to baby?"
J: Jus' da wind.

• (while I am playing with Rockie) “Mom. Pweese don’t talk to my dog. Dats MY dog. Pweese don’t talk to huh, okay? And danks.”

• (randomly in the car, after a few minutes of silent driving) “Mom? Member how gwandpa’s not here in our car?”

• Dan: Okkayy buddy, that’s enough soda.
J: (genuinely laughing) Hahaha! You're funny dad!”

• (sees me drinking a glass of water) "What da heck?! You hab waters too? Let’s cheers!” proceeds to hit my cup with his and says, “CHEERS!”

• (Dan drops something on the floor while in the other room and says, “Darn it!”, J comes running into the room) “Knock it off, dad!!”

• (Ingrid Michaelson’s “boys chase girls” comes on the radio) "HEYYY DIS IS MY SONGGGG!”

• (sees a dollar bill on the tv) “Oh look! He got a million dollahs!”

• (walks into the bathroom that still stinks from the previous use) "OH! MY! GOSH!"

• (turns on beck’s swing music which plays a little Mozart ditty) "dats a yoga song. I need to do da yogas.” Proceeds to do handstands and summersaults across the room to the music.

• (a story he told me while driving the other day) “da banana spit on da police man. And he had to take him to jail, but he couldn’t reach him, so da fireman had to get da banana. Da fireman jus reached him and got him, da banana dat spit on da policeman, an he got da banana. da fireman did."

• (whenever he does something that he knows he shouldn’t have done) “pweese don’t be fwustwated mom! jus' be happy!”

• (every morning this week) “I go to school in da mountains today?”



This kid, itellyouwhat.