Forever, I thought that ace was never going to talk. But here lately he has really been jibber-jabbing about everything under the sun.
I recorded this video at dinner time the other night. Ace had been saying PIIIZZA all day, and so I figured he was asking for it… Momma wasn’t home to cook dinner, and I didn’t feel like cooking again, so we ordered some Donatos!!
Looks like he likes pizza just as much as me! He ate 6 pieces… 
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 mower, swimming 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!
Many of the commercials and TV shows that I have seen in the past portray Dads as nimwits when it comes to taking care of their kids. I’m not going to give examples. If you want some, just watch prime time TV…or read TipDad’s Devolution of the American Man.
I saw this Huggies commercial and cracked up! While this Dad can not successfully change a diaper without making a mess, at least Huggies has recognized that Dads change diapers too… Progress?
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I’ve recently joined a “Man Panel” where I take periodic surveys to help improve the image of men in the media. Hopefully my opinion helps…
ASIDE: I’m on Plurk! I like it much better than Twitter so far! If you are on Plurk too add me as a friend! My username is DadThing. Visit my profile here.
Feel like taking a peek inside the womb? We did!
When Momma was pregnant with Ace, we had a 3D / 4D Ultrasound performed at 29 weeks along. I wrote a post about the 3D / 4D Ultrasound back when we had it done, but I only posted a few pictures.
I was looking back some of the old pictures and videos we have of Ace and I came across his 3D / 4D Ultrasound video. The video was a recording of our entire 20 minute session.
I reduced the 20 minute video down to about 2 minutes of the cool stuff. You know, like moving around, making faces, and of course showing us how he can kick the crap out of Momma. (Not literally 
)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and if you decide to have another baby definitely consider having a 3D/4D Ultrasound done. It was something I will never forget…
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From Momma: We thank God everyday that Ace was born “on time”, perfect and healthy, but so many babies are not. Won’t you help those babies have a better start?
Momma is walking in the March for Babies on April 27th.
The money she raises for March for Babies will support life saving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start in life.
I’m asking you to help Momma reach her goal of $125 (only $40 more to go as of 4/14). By participating in March for Babies, Momma will help the March of Dimes fund the fight to ensure the health of babies. It’s easy, safe and secure – just click on the link below (or the picture in the right sidebar) to make your donation.
http://www.marchforbabies.org/shoylman
Not sure what the March of Babies is all about? Watch the video below…
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Here’s a quick video for your entertainment needs…
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Also, I wanted to give a quick thanks to Alltop.com for listing DadThing.com in their directory! You’ve probably already heard about it from one of the other dad bloggers, (I’m behind the ball as usual) but just in case you haven’t…check out their cool new Dads section.
Friday I left work early because the roads started to get slick and snow covered. What usually takes me about 45 minutes to drive, took a bit over 2 hours.
Central Ohio was hit Friday and Saturday with about 20.4 inches of snow, which broke a previous snow fall record of 15.3 inches for a single storm in this area, set in 1910 .
Large amounts of snow are not shocking to Momma and I because we lived in Colorado for about 4 years. It was nothing to get a couple feet of snow overnight and then be expected to be on time to work the next day. 
Here, the whole city tends to shut down if we get over 2-3 inches of snow, but I loaded up Ace and Momma into the truck and we slowly made our way across town to Grandma’s house. It was pretty nice to have hardly any traffic to deal with.
Since there was no traffic, and people without 4 wheel drive couldn’t really get around, there were tons of people walking down the middle of the road because the sidewalks were knee deep! I’m not talking about side streets here. I’m talking about the main routes through town! BRILLIANT! I did have to stop a few times and wait for people to get out of the middle of the road just to get through..!
Anyways, we made it to Grandma’s with no problem where Ace’s Uncle Mike and three year old cousin Olivia were waiting for us to take them sledding. It was way too cold for Ace to go with us, so he stayed home with Grandma.
We had a good time sledding. Olivia wiped out hard! Then Olivia and Momma sat in the truck, while Mike and I were trying to kill ourselves on the big hill.
Here is a quick clip of Mike and Olivia’s wipe out…
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Well, when we got back to Grandma’s, Momma took Ace sledding down the sidewalk. We just couldn’t have him miss out on all the fun. Here are a few pics…
So anyways, with all the snow and bad roads we decided to postpone Ace’s birthday party until next weekend. Hopefully the roads will be clear by then…
PS: The prank caller returned tonight at about Midnight. Momma answered the phone this time. There were three young girls laughing in the background. Momma asked for their names and they said, “Guess!”. Momma let them know that they are disturbing a sleeping baby and to not call back here anymore…and so far they haven’t.
This weekend was slam packed full of fun. We went down to Charleston, WV to see Sara Johns, Little Big Town, and George Strait in concert!
Not sure how many of you that read this site are country music fans, but have you heard George Strait’s new single? It is called “I Saw God Today”. Have a quick listen to the song…
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I remember this feeling like it was yesterday. I remember when Ace was first born I just stood there in total amazement. I didn’t say a word. The nurses had to tell me it was OK to come over and touch Ace, say hi, and take his picture.
After everything settled down and I went outside for a breath of fresh air, I was like WOW!
The world seemed to be a better place…
Ace has loved to stand up since he was about 2 months old. He would rather be standing in my lap than sitting. His legs have always been very very strong!
At a young age he started standing while holding onto furniture. Shortly after that he began to walk around the furniture while holding on.
A few months ago he began to let go and stand without holding on. He would maybe take one or two very wobbly steps before falling down.
The past few weeks he has made some BIG progress. Two steps turned to three. Three steps to four, and four to five. He sometimes walks with his arms straight out and he doesn’t bend his knees. He looks like Frankenstein! We call him Baby Frank when he walks like this.
I am so proud of the little guy! He acts like it is no big deal…
As promised in the previous post…a video of Ace taking a few wobbly steps! Enjoy…
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I while back I mentioned that I destroyed our bathroom. Well, the bathroom is kinda scary and cold now so we have been giving Ace a bath in the sink.
Check out this video that demonstrates why I seriously need to finish the bathroom!
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Ace is learning that he has a voice and likes to exercise his right to speak! While he has yet to say a “real” word, his favorite way to express his joy for Daddy is shown in the following video…
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