Modified Dress Shirt for Jace

We're getting very excited for our trip to Maryland next week! While we're there we'll go to a ball for all the graduates. Jace is going to look so handsome in his little suit (which also matches his cousins' suits).
The only problem with the suit is that the shirt didn't stay tucked in very well. And if it didn't stay tucked in well in the few minutes Jace was modeling for this picture, I knew it would be bad news at the ball! But then I remembered a tutorial I had seen on a blog a week or so before that showed you how to make an "always tuck me in shirt." Check it out here.

We started with his nice, white dress shirt:

And then I cut off the bottom of a stained onesie that he's outgrown and sewed it on to the bottom of the shirt (I did it with his Easter shirt first to make sure it worked knowing it would be a great improvement for that shirt as well). In just 5 minutes, I had transformed his shirt in a way that no one at the ball will ever know (although I'm sure they'll all be so impressed by how good Jace is at keeping his shirt tucked in).

Ta-da!

Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

So there aren't really shoulders, but there's an attempt at Jace's gums!


HEAD
We're headed to Maryland next week for my brother Tim's graduation from the Naval Academy. Since we'll be seeing a lot of sunshine, and Jace hasn't worn a hat since the day we brought him home from the hospital, I thought it would be a good idea to start getting him used to a hat. We went for a walk on one of our rare sunny days, and he didn't fight it at all!

GUMS
Guess who's teething! Jace had some really fussy days last week, and sure enough, there are two little teeth starting to make their appearance. That means that during 80% of the time he's awake, his hand is in his mouth. His first finger has been the favorite. I tried to capture a picture of his gums, but after three unsuccessful tries, I figured you can just wait to see them.

KNEES & TOES
Our little guys legs aren't so little any more. I had to get a picture of these chubbers!

A little something work related...

A while back I was asked to contribute to an e-book called, "What Matters Now in Children's Ministry." I was really excited to be a part of something that fellow Children's Ministry leaders from around the world that I highly respect would also be contributing to. The only thing that made this less than wonderful was the fact that I had to choose one word that represents, to me, what matters most in ministry to children. Oh, and I had to explain it in 200 words or less. Several drafts later and after many reminders of how much I'm a longer-winded story teller, I finally had my main point and 200 words that explained it. I got a sneak peak at the book last week, and today it was fully released. Imago did all the art work as a gift to the project, and the whole thing looks beautiful! And since the book is free, I thought I would share it with all of you. Even if you have no connection to Children's Ministries, it's still great to read through and see such a great representation of people who are passionate about seeing today's children grow up to be leaders in the future. Enjoy! What Matters Now in Children's Ministry

Three Months Old!

I can't believe Jace is 3 months old already! He's changing so much every day. Our latest exciting accomplishments are: a consistent bed time at 8:30, with a feeding between 5 and 6 am, he loves sucking on his hands and fingers but still has a hard time getting his thumb to stay in his mouth, he's started actually noticing his hands and likes holding them together and looking at them, when put on his back on the floor, he'll arch his back and look around like he's getting ready to roll over, he loves to squeal and giggle, especially when Daddy plays peek-a-boo with him, he enjoys hearing himself speak and talks very loudly, he still eats every three hours, but eats a lot more at each feeding, and he brings us so, so, so much joy every day!

Getting a smile was quite the accomplishment as he is mesmerized by the camera and was also in a grumpy mood today. Notice the wet belly--this boy is ALWAYS spitting up.

We finally changed clothes when his previous shirt got soaked. This outfit is a 6 month size! A little baggy, but not too much. Jace is long and lean.

Jace turned 3 months on Uncle Mike's birthday! We met up with Mike and Amanda at King Tin in Corvallis to treat them to lunch for Mike's birthday. Mike and Amanda are pretty fond of our little guy.

We took a happy picture just before this, but Mike and Amanda were out of focus. Jace was pretty content to sit with them until he remembered he was hungry.

Josiah stayed with us for the weekend, and Jace LOVED talking to him and smiling at him. It was sweet to watch Josiah love on his little cousin. Josiah had a soccer game on Saturday, and Jace discovered that he hates sunshine and wind. This was a brief, peaceful moment. We eventually just put him back in his car seat with the blanket blocking the wind, which made him very happy and talkative for the rest of the game.

Josiah did a great job of kicking the ball and keeping up with the game!