I Smell Trouble

 Don't try this at home.

Jace was seriously stuck.  I had to get a few snaps with my camera from all angles before pulling him out.  Luckily it was after bedtime for the younger 'uns and, except for Kyle, who always has a hard time staying in his bed and promised not to try this, no one saw. 
What was he doing?  He said something about seeing how far he could go.  If he tries this again, I'm going to grab his toes and pull!

Jace Stats



Mom, please don't make me smile again.



As of Dr. Appt on 3/21/11:



BP: 108/62

Temp: 98.8

Height: 57.8"

Weight: 80 lb 8 oz

BMI: 16.94 kg/m2

Weight Percentile: 60.49%

Height Percentile: 75.07% (Which is right where he was as a baby!)

BMI (Body Mass Index) Percentile: 48.65%

Just Us

This is the photo I used to put Evan into our Camo pic.  I just changed his shirt :)

We were going to a ward Luau in '04.  This was just months before he was diagnosed.

I love this one of him in our flower garden with the tulips at our home in Layton, UT.  This was the spring before he was diagnosed in July.  I loved all the tulips we got at that house!  They grew almost like weeds, even in the backyard grass!  As I'm watching our bulbs ascend in our garden here, I'm reminded of springtime at the Layton house.

I will probably use this one to put above our family someday as he's "watching over" us.

Jace's Science Fair Demo

 ...And he got a blue ribbon!  Way to go, Jace! 

He really enjoyed doing this project.  He's already making plans for next year's.

Stealing the Show

Tonight was Jace's 5th Grade Musical Program, and we (including Jared) got to go together to see it.  It was a great program, the kids did an awesome job.  Cami was clapping her hands and laughing.  At one point, it was quiet, and Cami let out a loud giggle that turned heads in the whole auditorium followed by the loudest laughter from the audience that we'd heard that night.  It was hilarious.  She seemed to like the attention.  Even Jace's classmates on stage saw her and were laughing.  Luckily, after that, her giggles usually came while there was music playing and the show went on.  Thank goodness!

We Have a Violinist

Jace came home one day and said he wants to be in the 5th Grade Orchestra! So as soon as we could leave the kids home with Jared ( about a week and a half later), we went to the music store and rented this violin. He can already play the beginning of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star!" A friend in his orchestra class taught him.
He remembered playing with his Grampa Gilland, and he also took a bit of piano lessons from his Gramma. So I had to pull this out:I made this a while back for my parent's music room. Jace is 5 years old, playing a violin duet with his Grampa Gilland, then listening to them both, then making music with his Gramma Kimmy, who is a talented pianist and teacher of many years.

Hurray for music and talent in the genes!

Jace's First Soccer Game of the Season

Dribbling away.

The game didn't turn out the way Jace would have liked, but it's the fun and experience that counts, right? Daddy went exploring with the kids while I got to sit back and enjoy the game. It was so nice to have Jared with us during the game. When I told him it would be great if he could work his schedule so he could be with us for all the games, he just laughed at me.

The End. The key to good photography is getting the best angle. At least I had it right for Kyle's shorts that he put on backwards.

Reverse Roles Again

Jace and I seem to be having some confusion with the parts we play in this family. Last time it was about the floor that he'd just mopped. This time it was the noise. We were going for a drive together after the kids were in bed and Jared was home. We headed out to pick up a boxspring, making Jace's bed complete. (Yes, he has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor until now!) It was a great deal. (Can't beat free!) Only had been used about 6 times because it was in someone's guest room. I love Craig's list! I was definitely way more excited about this than Jace, who was perfectly content with his mattress on the floor.
So we began our drive, and a really good song came on my favorite radio station here, "The Arch". I pumped up the volume and began jamming to the music. From behind me, I heard a voice in the distance,
"Could you please turn the volume down?! I'm trying to read!"
Oh, well. At least he likes to read.

Gotcha!

In this case, it was actually Jace that got me. He was pretending to be asleep with his Harry Potter book one evening, and as I tried to sneak up with a camera.... he couldn't hold it in any longer!

I Have a Ten Year Old

I cannot believe...

My Yankee Doodle Dandy is 10!

• Jace's favorite day of the year is: Independence Day
• Second Favorite Day is: Christmas (then Easter)
• His favorite thing to do is: learn about how things work
• He loves: his family
• He really doesn't like: brussel sprouts
• His favorite food is Shells 'n' Cheddar (seriously, I even reminded him of foods like steak and BBQ chicken)
• If he were an animal, he would be a Preying Mantis, "because a spider wouldn't be able to eat me". ( I thought he just liked to pray.)
• When he grows up, he would like to be: an NBA star
• If he has to have a real job, he would be: an NBA star (of course that's a real job, mom!)
• His role model is Paul Milsap because he's an awesome basketball player and he has a good attitude
• Hobby: Basketball, soccer, riding bikes, catching bugs, especially lightning bugs, swimming

Isn't he a great cheeser? Jace still lets me do flag cakes for his birthday. This year, I did a fruit pizza, too. Yummy.
He wanted a pool party, just as I was hoping, since we are members of this great pool around the corner from our house.

Jace has gained many immediate friends here. There are 3 other ten year olds on our street who have welcomed him right in and they are almost inseparable. He also invited friends from his primary class in church. We had their families come, too - we hadn't even met them yet! They played Watermelon Relay, where two teams see who can get the watermelon across first. By the looks of it, Jace is getting beat by a girl HOWEVER he assures me that his team was 3 people ahead of them and were actually winning.

Jace lights the candles
Happy Birthday to you...

I'm impressed with Jace's friend-making skills. Not bad for his first month in MO!
We are so grateful for our Dandy Jace! (Yankee Doodle, that is) (sorry, couldn't resist)

Jace Can Hunt Now

Jace passed his hunter safety course with flying colors today. He'd been studying the Hunter Proclamation all week, but was nervous because he didn't get to finish reading it. His dad gave him a crash course before the test.
Jared said that he peeked in at Jace while he was taking the test at one point and Jace was gazing around doing nothing when he caught his dad's eye and he excitedly clapped his hands (quietly) and had this big grin on his face. Jared heard the instructor asking question #34 out of 50, and Jared was like, "What are you doing, Jace?" He gave a hand signal as if he was writing like, "Get it done! Finish the test!" And Jace mouthed back, "I'm done!"
Soon after, he got back his score and he got a 100%!!
He also scored well on the shooting test ( they count how many you have within range of the bullseye).
Now he can hunt small game with his dad. Way to go, Jace!!

Jace Farewell/Early Birthday party

We had planned to move the day after Jace's last day of school, June 9th. Jared begins residency on June 21st. After looking at the calendar, I realized that, if I took Jace out of school for his last two days, we could be at our new house a WHOLE week earlier. Then we could have DAD home with us an EXTRA WEEK before we never see him. When I approached Jace about this idea, he wasn't big on it. Who wants to miss the last day of 4th grade and all the fun and parties? So we made a deal. It worked out great for both of us.

What a Party!!!

Great Food,Great Friends,

Great Games,

(Just a closer look at that nose that seems to be looking better)
Voting for Bowling Championships (Most Valuable Bowler, etc)

The bowling alley here at the U of U let me buy a used bowling pin for a buck. The kids signed the pin, the basketball (a gift from his good friend that played on his Junior Jazz team a few years in a row), the Atlas book(another gift from a friend), and the autograph book that Mom made (Hey, I thought it might be a good idea!)

It was so fun to watch Jace and his friends that he knew, many of them, since the first grade, when we moved here. We will miss Utah and the great friends we have made!

Reverse Roles

I was in the kitchen when I dropped the dish rag on the floor.

Jace: (exasperated) "Mom! I just mopped that floor!"
Me: "Oops, sorry."

Smoothies

Jace had a great idea when he got home from school today. He wanted to make blueberry smoothies and pour it into an ice cream cone. We used vanilla icecream, milk, and blueberries, with a little wheat germ sprinkled on top. YUM!!!

Growing Up

Jace and I on his 4th grade field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts a few weeks ago; Seemed fitting to this post :)

I think Jace grew about an inch or so in just one day. It began when I was putting Kyle to bed and asked Jace if he would get me some lotion for Kyle. In the midst of the chaotic bedtime-for-Lance-and-Kyle-routine, Jace randomly asked me if he could take the recycle stuff upstairs. (We usually grow a pile of recycle-able items by the front door every day). Then he came and told me that there was a surprise waiting by the front door. I went to find that all the shoes were placed on the shoe racks and the recycle stuff was no longer there. I could see carpet! (I know, I need to help my family develop better habits upon coming home; I just hope our next house has a mud room for us to enter and un-pile our stuff - oh, I mean, keep our new habits of putting things away as soon as we walk in the door. :)

So Jace was doing unselfish and kind acts, and I asked him what brought this sudden growth spurt. He told me that he felt good when he helped me out while I was putting Kyle to bed, and he wanted to do more things like that that made him feel happy. Then he helped me clean the kitchen, and even folded Lance's pile of laundry for him! I asked him who he was and what he did with my son. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. I assured him I was kidding and so proud of him!

And then we danced. The kind where he twirls me around. We usually have a dance like that when he mops the floor, just to break it in. I think it's important for a child to see how happy a clean floor makes a Mom. And this Mom is quite pleased and proud of a son that will soon be taller than her! What a big little man!

In the Gym

If you're on the floor when Jace has the ball, watch out! This speedster's shootin', stealin', passin' and takin' names at the speed of light (which is 186,000 miles per second, he might add).

Okay maybe a few itty-bitty-proud-mom exaggerations, but when he made 12 out of the 18 points made in the first game, the Martin Crowd went a little wild. Even Cami was clapping. Go Jace!

In the Classroom

Jace gave his 3rd presentation Wednesday. At the beginning of the year his Fourth grade teacher asked the students to present anything of their own free choice, and it's been fun to see what topics Jace has taken an interest in. His first presentation was "How to Make a Bag Pop" (with baking soda and vinegar); his second was "How to Make Maple Syrup"; and this week, he presented "Light" (and also how light bulbs work).

I took him to the library and he found about 5 books about light. He read them, and practiced on us during Family Night the Monday before. I couldn't believe the numbers and specific details that he remembered. I was surprised when he said he was nervous and his voice was shaking. I couldn't tell as Lance, Kyle, Cami, and I watched him in the classroom, presenting the facts about light.

(sidenote- the librarian in the hallway saw us while we were on our way and, after looking at the kids, said, 'You've got Jace Martin in each of your faces,')

What a joy it is for me to watch him up there. It makes me emotional to think about the talent that he has in retaining information like that. When I told him about his talent, he thanked me, but I don't know if he realizes what a blessing it is to retain information like this. Ah! If I had it, I'd go find my keys...

Just My Cup 'o' Tea

My friend let me borrow her teacup last Friday. I couldn't wait to use it. That night, before dinner, I had the boys quickly throw on their suit coats and ties over what they were wearing. I was impressed that they were such good sports about it. Especially since I pulled them away from playing video games. (Jace gets to play every Friday after he mops the floor - it's a great motivator). They loved getting onto the kitchen table for these shots. Thanks, Jess!

Jace Got the Spirit!

My Mom was so cute to send me home with some things inside of a BYU Bookstore bag. Thanks, Mom! However, Jace thought it needed some touching up: It's too small to see, but everywhere that it says, "BYU" in small print, he crossed out the "BY" with his red pen, leaving the "U".

First Day of School

Waiting at the bus stop in his camo jacket ($3 at a thrift shop!) and matching camo shoes (don't remember price at store). This boy is stylin' and doesn't even know it.

Waiting...

Still waiting ...

Wait! I'm not ready yet! That was too quick!

At least he turned to look when I called his name. Oh, well. There goes my Fourth Grader. *sniff* sniff*