Just like his dad

A man loves a drill. Cruise found one of his dad's toys and was fascinated by it. He was very sad when I took it away from him.

But then again, 10 minutes later he got into some of my makeup. =)

HALLOWEEN

Halloween was fun this year. Cruise was a tiger, okay, actually he was Tigger. And just an FYI, the tummy on the suit was stuffed--it added about 5 pounds to him. =) Eric and I did what we usually do: we wait 'till one day before and try to figure out costumes for ourselves that are as quick, simple, and cheap as possible. We're so boring. Maybe next Halloween we'll do better. We decided to be cat burglars. Or ninjas. We had gloves and a flashlight but on the way into the ward Halloween party someone asked if we were ninjas and Eric said, "Yep" and threw the flashlight back in the car. He was like, "Sweet, now I don't have to wear gloves or carry a flashlight." Whichever one people called us, burglar or ninja, we happily agreed to. My mask definitely looked more like a ninja mask because the eye holes were bothering me so much I had to make it into one big eye hole.

Cruise, on the other hand, was pretty clearly a tiger (=) okay a tigger), even with the hood off his head. His hair blended nicely. He even started growling a couple days before Halloween; I have no idea why.

The day before Halloween Cruise and I joined most of the other dental school moms and visited Eric at school for lunch. It was fun seeing all the kiddos running around in their costumes. The other kid-less students get a kick out of it.

3 Amazing Years

Eric and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 14th. We didn't do anything extravagant, but we found a fabulous sushi place and enjoyed a Cruise-less night. It's funny, but I think one of the best parts of the night was actually coming home so we could see Cruise again. =) We don't leave him much.

Eric is the best thing that ever happened to me. I always say that he chased me until I caught him. I truly believe that I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I also tell him that life without him would be colorless, black and white, and that's not just because of his flaming, copper hair. =) I love you, baby. Thanks for making me so happy.

Catch-up

I haven't posted anything for awhile, so here's some quick recaps.

For our week off we decided to stay here and enjoy what San Fran' has to offer. It was fun playing tourist and taking it easy. Here are some pics from the Palace of the Legion of Honor.




We also got out to some neighboring counties. Marin is so beautiful. It's only minutes away but it is an entirely different world. It's great to go to a park out there and relax... let Cruise see some grass.



It was wonderful spending time together as a family. It was only a few weeks ago, but it already feels like it was last year!

Random pictures:

Cruise loves strawberries-
I love Cruise-

By the way, he took his first steps a few weeks ago, but hasn't progressed much since then. He trusts us to catch him too much. When we tell him to walk to us he basically takes one step and then a nosedive. I'll try to get some video for the grandparents. Another funny thing he's been up to is mimicking our words out of the blue. Then we won't be able to make him say it again. One time I said, "That's insane!" And he said, "sane." This morning after we said "Amen" to our prayer he said, "men." It always catches me off guard.

Just in the last 2 weeks he's definitely grown up quite a bit. He's being very outspoken about what he wants to do and doesn't want to do. He throws little tantrums. Eric and I keep exchanging looks like, what happened to our sweet, sweet child? He is still sweeter than sweet, but he's acting like other babies now. =) No offense. Up to this point he hasn't been like other children. Haha. Is that not okay to say? I guess Eric and I are finally rubbing off on him.

Oh, and I LOVE baby gates. Thank heaven for them.

Baker funniest home videos

I haven't posted this until now because this video makes me embarrassed. I look like such a bad mom--first I accidentally kick Cruise in the face, then the recliner I'm sitting in pops out at the very end and decks him, also in the face. It's just so funny that I had to share it. Cruise is fascinated by my hot pink toenail polish and is laughing while he tries to grab my toes. The TV happens to be playing a song that climaxes right at the face-wallop. My favorite part is that he laughs as he gets decked, and then smiles afterward. Enjoy, and please believe me that this was a rare accident!

Just some cute photos

I actually found him asleep like this! He's holding a teddy bear and that's the only thing between him and the play-pen. The picture doesn't do it justice, really. Of course when I moved him he woke up.

Cruise and James.

Still got some rolls.

Mom, I tried to have this up for your birthday. It was all I could do to get him to look at the camera; all he wanted to do was tear that paper apart. =)

White Coat Ceremony

I'm way overdue getting these pictures on here. Here are some photos of Eric's white coat ceremony. Eric's now seeing patients in clinic. Another step closer to getting out of school!

Eric posing for his picture with Dean Ferillo after being presented with his white coat.

We even caught the former Dean, Arthur Dugoni, walking by!

Eric and some of the other second years.

Me and some of the other second year wives. They have made this whole experience sooo much more fun! You guys are great!

Dare-devil

Make sure you look at all the videos I posted below this one...I have a bad habit of posting a million things all at once. These videos are absolutely A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. I might be biased, but I doubt it.

Stay tuned to the end to hear a possible first word.

lovin' the beach

Come get me, mom!

Unlikely Toy

8 months and cruising

Cruise has really hit an age where he's progressing by leaps and bounds. He's expanding his vocabulary--we get him to say da-da-da-da all the time--and he makes the cutest yelling noises. He's starting to piece things together, like he'll remember when we hide something from him and go back to get it later. He's eating a ton of food (and actually digesting it well).

He's doing what looks like the worm wherever he wants to go and climbing up on (and in) everything in his path.

I let him explore sand for the first time the other day. I was surprised that he only tried to explore it with his mouth 2 or 3 times. He was fascinated by it. I thought it was cute to get the bridge right behind him. Cruise's hair puts the Golden Gate to shame.. he makes it look like a dull brown =). On days like the one when these pictures were taken, I love living in San Francisco. I can't believe how gorgeous it is.

When he hits a rug with his walker he'll lift up the tray with his hands so the wheels go over the edge of the rug. He's also starting to exhibit the first signs of major frustration. When he can't get his walker to go where he wants he clenches his five teeth and makes a noise somewhere between a growl and a squeal. He'll try and try to force his walker to move while he makes that noise. It's so interesting to see him showing such real-person emotions. It makes me realize that I'm actually going to have to start parenting soon. Better start reading some books.

Pace family photos

Here are a couple pictures of the entire Pace fam, sans Eric. It was a bummer not to have him home for James' homecoming. As you can see I'm still a novice at holding a squirming baby in a picture. Cruise wants to grab Isaac's hair so bad. =)

Below that are pics of all the Pace grandchildren.

Summer Break

Eric's summer break flew by, of course... except for his two week externship. Those two weeks were pretty hard--Eric missed Father's Day and my birthday--but I had a great time at my parents' and at my brother's home in Texas. I only have a couple pictures from Texas; hopefully I'll get some more to post from my sis-in-law. We had fun at the pool, looking for Alligators at the Alligator park, mini-golfing, making amazing food (actually having amazing food made for us by Natalie), having a b-day party for me =), decorating shirts and onesies, and hanging out. They were fabulous hosts. Thanks, guys!

Getting presents. =)

For the rest of the break we hung out at our parents. It really was great. It felt like paradise--such beautiful weather and so much relaxation. It reminded me how much I love home. Beach. Family. Sun. Tan. Pool. Golf. Tennis. Spa. Mom's cooking. I'm getting a little homesick just thinking about it. ANYwaaaays.... It was very cute watching Cruise roam our parents' houses in his little walker. After our little apartment I could tell that he was delighted that there's more to life. He would just wander off by himself and I'd find him in a hallway or dining room exploring. He didn't seem like he cared if we were a mile away.






We've had a couple new babies in the family. Eric's brother just had a little boy, Blake. He's adorable:





Here are all the Baker grandchildren:

And grandpa

My brother, Josh, just had a beautiful little baby girl, Laura Rose:

It was so much fun to see all of you!

One more piece of news: Cruise is pretty much crawling. It's a little more like an army crawl, but he's definitely getting around where he wants to. Buff little arms....

I love seeing this face in the morning.