Happy 2nd Birthday Ace!

Two years ago today Ace made his first appearance in this world.  It’s amazing how fast time flies…can it really be two years already?

Momma is sad that her little baby…is not so much of a baby anymore.  I am excited that my little boy is becoming…well, a little boy.  😀

So, what has happened in Ace’s 2nd year?  A whole lot…

Ace has figured out that the world extends much farther than the walls of our home.  The boy loves to be outside, at the park, riding on the mowerswimming in the pool, swinging on the swingset, or at the zoo

He no longer fits in the kitchen sink for bath time, so we had to actually finish installing the bath tub in our upstairs bathroom.  He has some foam letters that float in the bath tub, and at only two years old, he can tell you what every single letter is…both upper and lower case.   (He’s a genius)  😀

Ace spent his summer going new places and doing new things.  Remember going to COSI, doing the chicken dance on the field at Cooper Stadium, going to Iowa for vacation, and swimming at the beach?  We had a blast last summer…

Not everything last year was cheerful and happy though.  We had to put down our family dog, Buddy.  And after trying for 11 months, we got pregnant, and then mis-carried.  Ace was young enough that he wasn’t really affected though, which is a good thing.   

Last fall Ace drank his last bottle, went to his first fly-in and demo derby, went to Circle-S-Farms, and dressed up like a Vampire for trick-or-treat.

Winter time brought on Wildlights at the Zoo, an amazing Christmas, a new fish tank, and locking Momma out of the house.  😀

So what will next year bring?  So far we have a two week vacation planned at the end of summer, which I’m sure will provide some good blog fodder.  Other than that I’m sure there will be some more mower riding, swimming, playing, and hopefully….some potty training!  😀

Ace’s birthday party is planned for this weekend, and I know of at least one present he is getting that will get some exposure time here on DadThing.  Stay tuned to hear all about his newest big boy toy!  😀

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy!

Every time I go fishing, while sitting there waiting for a fish to bite, I always think about the Bert and Ernie episode on Sesame Street from when I was a kid.  I sooo just want to try the infamous fish call.  😀

One thing I have been patiently waiting for is the day that Ace gets old enough to go fishing.  I’m sure he would go now, but I would spend more time keeping him from jumping in the water than actually fishing.  😀

We were walking though the store on day and happened to stroll by the aquariums.  Ace was immediately amazed by the colorful fish he kept pointing and saying “FIIIISSSSHHHH”.  Then he had to grab my finger and pull my over to show me.  From that day forward Ace is hypnotized by fish in an aquarium.

So, when Christmas came, Momma and I just knew what Santa was going to bring Ace.  And Jolly ole’ Saint Nick pulled through for the little guy…

Ace Watching The Fish

Ace Watching The Fish

So, while we can not yet go fishing and try the Bert and Ernie fish call…we have been practicing on the fishies at home.  By the time Ace is old enough to go fishing with me we should have the fish call down pat.  😀

Around The Web:

I’m going to try and link out more often to other interesting things I find on the web including new sites I find, funny posts, or anything I find interesting and think you may enjoy or find useful.  So, here goes my first attempt at “Around The Web” …

Dad-Blogs.com – Remember Joeprah?  He’s been AWOL for the past few months, but I have recently found out there was a good reason.  He was hard at work making his new site…Dad-Blogs.com.   Go check it out.  It looks very promising with the ability to create your own profiles, upload images, share videos, create groups, and comment on everything!  Come on over and join the community.  😀

Dude To Dad – Dude To Dad is another group for Dads that I found recently.  You have to check out this site as well.  The reason behind this group site for Dads is to help explain the transition between being just a Dude and growing into a Dad.   My favorite part of the site was the video…Boobs Or Bottles.  😀

Say Cheese!

I promised, a few posts (and weeks) ago that I would put up some of the pics from our latest photo session with Lotz Photography.  These are some of my favorite shots yet of our family, and Ace in particular!  He is becoming the little-man-of-1000-faces.  Enjoy… 😀

Locked Down and Locked Out

For the past couple of months we have had to keep our doors locked.  Not to keep the bad guys out, but to keep the little guy in.  😀

Ace, you see,  is a master escape artist.  It never happens when Momma or I are in the room.  He is sneaky.  We could be in the kitchen, or in the basement…anywhere but in sight of the front door…and Ace will make his move.  He reaches up, pulls down on the door handle, and out the door he goes.

Now, he doesn’t get very far.  First of all, because our door squeaks when it is opened.  As soon as one of us hear the squeaky door we know something is up and bee-line it for the door.  He would have to be fast to get away, and he is, but he has a few obstacles in his way.

The step out of our front door is a wee bit longer than his legs.  He can make it out, but it takes a little bit…or else he falls after a failed attempt.

The second obstacle is the step from the stoop to the sidewalk.  This is even higher than the first obstacle.  I kind of think of these steps as a razor-wire fence that keeps in the prisoners.  However, Ace has no fear and will stop at nothing to scale our prison fences.

Luckily we have not had the little guy get too far yet because we do usually keep the door locked.  Every time we come inside the dead bolt gets thrown.  Ace is very observant and I’m sure he has seen this done thousands of times.

On Christmas Eve, I was at work, and Momma was home with Ace.  She went outside to get something out of her truck and when she went to go back into the house the deadbolt was locked, and standing just behind the smoky glass was Ace…with a shit eating grin I might add.  Momma said he laughed histarically as she fumbled trying to get into the door.   She tried to coax Ace into unlocking the door, but to no avail.

Of course Momma’s keys were inside…and we do not have a spare hidden away outside somewhere for emergencies like this.  Our spare key is at Grandma S’s house.  But, Momma’s cell phone was inside too.

So she went over to the neighbors to call Grandma S.  She was at work.  All of Ace’s uncles were not home either, so she had no spare.

Momma checked all of the down stairs windows, but they were locked.  We used to keep one unlocked for emergencies like this, but we recently had someone break in the house through a window…so they are all locked now.  😀

By now Ace is screaming his head off because he is stuck inside and Momma is stuck outside.  So, Momma starts looking for other ways to get inside and she notices the upstairs windows.

I have an extension ladder out back and so she grabs it, extends it, and luckily one of the upstairs windows were unlocked.  She dives in the window, and falls to the floor (creating some pretty nice size bruises on her legs, I might add), and runs downstairs to rescue her little man from his own demise.

So, you would think that we have learned a lesson and put a spare key outside?  Nope.  I had a few spares made and they are sitting on the dining room table…cause we usually lock ourselves in the dining room, right?  😀

WildLights at the Zoo

Did every one have a Happy Thanksgiving?  I sure hope so.  We sure did.  😀

Just like any other holiday, things get crazy at our house.  We go here, go there, see this part of the family, and then that part of the family.  This year Momma and Ace’s Grandma S planned and served Thanksgiving dinner, which was delicious!

After all of the planning, running, and eating we decided to have some fun!  The local zoo has an awesome display of Christmas lights called WildLights, so we packed up Ace and his cousin Olivia to go see what all of the fuss is about.  And it was COLD!!!

We dressed the kids in double layers, snapped them into their wagon, covered them up with blankets, and started pulling.

The lights were amazing!  I believe they had put up over 2 million lights!!! The following pictures do not do the light display justice…

After walking what seemed to be 10 miles through a crowd of 50 million parents (who apparently have never been in public before based upon their rudeness and lack of consideration for others) we arrived at the building where Santa was hiding.  Ace and Olivia both got their pictures taken with Santa.  I’ll leave that story for a future post.  😀

While Grandma was waiting for the pictures from the Santa experience to be printed and purchased, Momma and I took Ace and Olivia outside to burn off some steam and get warmed back up for the long walk back towards the car.

The area was wide open with no one else around.  Ace and Olivia (and Dad) ran around laughing and chasing each other.  People probably thought there was something wrong with us…  😀

On the way back to the car we had to stop at the carousel and take a quick ride on a ceramic horse.  For the record…ceramic horses are kinda cold when it is 20 degrees outside.  😀  I’m not so sure what exactly is so entertaining about riding in circles on a fake horse that goes up and down, but once I got past the dizziness I enjoyed it.  😀

Notice the blanky.  It goes EVERYWHERE!  This night it was a blessing in disguise though.

Ace has never tolerated the idea of a hat, hood, or gloves.  We managed to keep his hood on by snapping it in place and then rolling the edge so that it is so tight that he can not pull it off.   Gloves?  We haven’t figured that one out yet.  So, while the blanky kept Ace happy, it also kept his little fingers from freezing off.  😀

When we were done with the carousel ride it was late.  Kids were cranky, tired, and cold and we bee-lined it to the car.  Snapped everyone into their car seats and zoomed home.  The kids were zonked out not too long after leaving the parking lot.

The whole experience was incredible.  So incredible that we are going back in a few weeks, when hopefully it is a bit warmer, so we can see the rest of the attractions.  😀

Maybe by then we’ll figure out a trick to keep some gloves on Ace’s hands.  Any tips or pointers from you veteran parents out there?

Hostinger