Fantastic Five!

"I'm FIVE YEARS OLD!!" ~Jace Michael, via Facetime with me this morning =)

These pics are from his little birthday party at pre-school today. Off-the-charts cuteness all around!!

The little ladies in his life -- his sister, Miss Kyndal Faith, and his first girlfriend, Miss Claire! =)

A collage of pics from his party this past weekend! The one of Miss K picking her nose while he's in sunglasses holding up his birthday board cracks me right up!!

So many fun memories and funny quotes flood my mind with the Jaceman... He's so very lovable and full of life and confidence and joy and energy!!  I remember the day Mom called to tell me Rach was pregnant, asking "How do you feel about being an aunt?" and me initially thinking that she meant to Triston and Carter. I remember T-man asking if he was gonna be black as he pondered the black-and-white ultrasound pic, and Babah joking that Rach would have some explaining to do! lol I remember painting the argyle nursery and co-hosting the baby shower with Mom!

I remember the day he was born... getting the call that Rach was in labor, rushing to Merritt's to get a bday cake, then driving to OKC and hoping I made it on time (I did!). I remember them telling us to leave the room as Rach finally started pushing, then being on the phone with Malori when I heard him cry for the first time just minutes later. I remember Josh calling me in to take those first pictures, then getting to hold him for the first time the next morning and him grabbing my finger with his little hand. I remember our discussion and thinking it was pretty cool that Rach's birthday was 2-11, Josh's birthday was 11-21, and Jace's birthday was 2-2-12. :) 

I remember nicknaming him Bubby Jace and loving to hold him in his cozy little onesies and footsie pajamas!  I remember us all being so excited when he learned to clap, walk, say hi, etc. I remember the first day he saw me and said my name "Winzey!" as Mamaw was pushing him in the baby swing in their backyard (which is now the Parrish's backyard).  We all laughed when he copied Gene calling Aunt Nancy, "NANC!!"  And when he got kidding and killing confused and asked Rach, "Are you killing me, Momma!?" I remember (and still get to see from time to time) the major battle of getting him to try new foods, including craaazy things like mac n’ cheese, steak, potatoes, and non-Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets. Lol

I remember him saying "Aww-uh" when he would see a truck because that was how he saw Mom and Rach react to so many things. lol  I remember him thinking the full moon was a ball and asking us to "geet it" for him! And when he asked Rach if they'd made it to heaven because he saw a statue of Jesus at the catholic church where Emily was getting married. I remember being on the phone with Chet, who asked if Jace was okay because he heard him having a crying meltdown in the background, telling him, "Oh, he just ran out of french fries!" lol ...I love that he sometimes decides to eat his fries with a fork like a classy gent. :)  I remember when he first met Chet, and all the following times he asked about him and Karli, and the time when he said, "Hey, lemme talk to Chet!” in one of our phone calls and was very confused about why that wasn't possible. lol 

He's an adventurous little thing!  He's only five, and he's already gone ziplining twice! He always wants to do whatever T&C can do in the pool, and he's already telling me about his plans to play every sport! He's excited about his birthday this year... getting presents, eating cake and ice cream, playing games with his friends, and getting to pop the balloons were all pretty exciting to him!  He's a funny one - kids are just so honest - it can be endearing and at times a little frightening. lol When someone showed up at his party with just a card, he immediately said, "Hey, you forgot my present!" And when another girl showed up while they'd started eating pizza, he said, "Hey, Katelyn! You're late!!" lol We got back to Mamaw's house, and he saw the sack with some balloons left in it and said, "Mamaw, you forgot to blow up these balloons!!" lol

The childhood stage is all so much fun to witness. He's gotten cuter and more fun with every year, and I'm excited to see what God has in store and who he grows up to be! 

Here are a couple more pics with fun memories:

Dancing with T-Rex at LifeChurch! lol

Finally, a happy Flipagram that attempts to cover five years in five minutes! I LOVE it -- the boy, the pictures, the videos, the song lyrics, all of it!! =)  Happy 5th Birthday to my nephew, Jace Michael!