Random Pictures

Chase is such a character and some days I wonder if he is even my kid. I constantly think what on earth is he going to come up with next. His newest thing is to blow/spit when you put his paci in his mouth. Why, I have no idea but he thinks it's the coolest thing ever. Better yet today he learned that if you blow hard enough you can spit the paci half way across the room! Isn't that cute?!?!? He is always making new faces and sounds and grabbing at everything in sight. So I am sure you all know how it is with your first child, you just can't help but click away with the camera. Here are just a few of the thousands of pictures I have taken lately. Some days I forget that he is a baby and not my dress up toy/personal model!

Say Cheese!!! Could that grin get any bigger?!?!?

This is his gangsta' look.

Precious close up

Monkey see Monkey do? That's what Aunt Meggie claims he learned at the zoo.

Loving his new bath seat.

Sporting a mohawk!

Memorial Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend we were able to visit with a lot of our family. We started the weekend off in Oklahoma City to visit some cousins and my mom and dad. My cousin Jeffrey got married and it was a fun celebration. We were able to meet Gavin and Kannon who were born 2 months before and after Chase. Chase is smack dab in the middle of them age wise. It was fun to compare all of the boys and see them in there different stages. We got some really cute pictures after the wedding on the cutest bench ever. It is a kid's size bench with Noah's ark animals on the back. It was so cute I wish I could have taken it home with me, but the pictures we got were even cuter. It was also fun for Grandma Ree and Papa Dave to spend some time with Chase. They haven't seen him since Christmas and he is totally different. We also get to add another state to Chase's list! Even though Jonathan said that OK shouldn't count we are now at 7 states in under 7 months.

We left Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon and continued the drive to Texas. We were able to spend a few days at the lake house with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Bri. Chase went swimming for the first time but preferred sitting on the edge playing with a toy boat. (He has gone swimming since and enjoyed it a lot more the second time) He also got to drive and ride on Papa's boat! He loved it for the first five minutes until it quickly rocked him to sleep.

Mother's Day and More

My first Mother's day wasn't the best. First off, we have 9am church, I had to get myself and the baby ready, and I had to teach in Relief Society. The lesson went ok but I wasn't as prepared as normal and for some reason the class wasn't as chatty. I had to scrounge for some reading material to take up the remaining time. Then we got home and Jonathan made me Easy Mac for lunch. What a great meal, not! When more than half the day was over and I hadn't been relieved of baby or diaper duty we decided that we would switch Mother's day and Father's day this year. Jonathan just had too much studying to do considering his exam is on Friday. I did get a rose from both Chase and Jonathan and I also bought myself a new swimsuit. Let's just say I hope that my Mother's Days get better in the future.I know our outfits clash. I unfortunately didn't plan that far ahead.

Chase learned how to drink from a sippy cup tonight! I don't give him juice very often because he doesn't particularly care for it. However, I put some juice in a sippy to see if he could figure it out and for awhile he just played around with it and used it as a teether. Then he finally got it and the look on his face was priceless. Not only was he shocked that he got some liquid out of it but the fact that it was juice really shocked him. He made a silly sour face that was really cute. I didn't get a picture of the sour face but I did get a couple other cute ones.

My big boy sitting on his own drinking from a sippy!

Chase also found a couple of new favorites. Shoulder rides from his dad and the wonderful remote with tons of buttons! Not quite sure how I feel about the second one. I did figure out that if I push the VCR button before he gets a hold of it that he can't change the channel. Watching Chase grow has been so much fun. I just can't believe all of the new things he is discovering and the raw emotions he shows. I am blessed every day that I get to stay at home and raise such a great little guy!

Six Months

Today Chase is six months old and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. He is the joy of my life and has provided me with the best job in the world, being a mom!

He has just started sitting on his own but is still a little wobbly. He recently experienced sitting in a high chair for the first time. It was at lunch with his friend Benji at Chic-Fil-A of all places, and yes I cleaned it off before putting him in it. He really seemed to enjoy himself, he thinks he is such a big boy.

His personality keeps getting stronger by the day. Laughter/Squealing has become a common sound in our home. He has really melted our hearts and taught us how to truly love again. He has been the best baby in the world and we can't wait for the many months and years we have ahead of us!

On another note, Chase and I have been able to get out and enjoy the nicer weather we've been having. Chase loves the outdoors. He loves going for walks, sitting by the pond, and his new favorite is sitting by the fountains. Our complex has several ponds with water features and our pool area has several fountains as well. He just loves being by them all. Today we were outside for five hours straight!

Ready to go for a walk

Taking a break outside

Chase's Favorite Place

May Day

On May 1st also known as May Day Chase and I went to Jonathan's work and delivered a May Day basket full of all his favorite snacks. The basket included Jr. Mints, Slim Jims, Sour Patch Kids, Good & Plenty, Cajun Trail Mix, and Chocolate Covered Raisins. Chase enjoyed getting to see his dad at work and all of his co-workers who adore Chase. That is until he almost stabed his eye out with a dry erase marker and started screaming! Yeah, I gave him the marker so he could draw Jonathan a picture on his board and yes I know what a stupid idea that was!

Anyway I was shocked to hear that no one had heard of the tradition of May Day Baskets which I grew up with. So here it is, on May 1st you make little cups or baskets full of goodies to give to your friends. You take it to their house and set it on the doorstep. Then you ring the door bell and hurry and try to get away before your friend catches you and pinches you or in some cases kisses you. Just a little fun to kick off the warmer weather. You should try it next year if you don't do it already. Who knows maybe you can start a neighborhood trend and a family tradition all at the same time.

Sleepy Head

When Chase was younger and waking up a couple of times during the night Jonathan would randomly tell him that if he slept in until ten he would give him something special. It could range anywhere from $5 to a brand new expensive toy. It always seemed to work and he would sleep for atleast an hour longer than usual.
Well, just last night I brought up the conversation again. How nice would it be to sleep in on a Saturday morning?!?!? So I tried the trick again. I asked Jonathan what Chase would get if he slept in until ten. He told him he would take Chase to go see the kittens and puppies at the pet store. It seemed like more of a reward for Jonathan but who cares if it would really work.
It worked! Chase went to bed at 9 and woke up at 10:30. I was shocked and naturally was up at 8 but was able to go back to bed and woke up wondering what the heck happened when I saw it was 10. I was wide awake and couldn't take advantage of this great opportunity any longer. I just sat and waited until my sleepy head woke up.
Jonathan partially followed through with his promise. We went to see the cats and kittens at his favorite cat place called Purrfect Pets. Chase wasn't to enthralled so we decided not to get one out and we just played with them through the cages. They were cute and we even found some that looked just like our old cats Bevo and Ally. As much as I hated those cats I really do miss them. Not enough to get another one though. When it was time to go see the dogs and puppies at Land of Paws Jonathan wanted to bail and Chase was worn out. Maybe next Saturday we can go there if he sleeps until ten again!

NCAA Gymnastics in NE

My best friend from High School called and asked if I wanted to go to the NCAA Gymnastics Championship and I couldn't say no. For those of you who may not know I competed in gymnastics in Jr. High and High School. I can't say I was a great gymnast but I can say my heart was totally in it and still is to this day. It was a great opportunity I couldn't pass up so Chase and I headed to Lincoln for the weekend.

It was a ton of fun to watch and made me jealous that I wasn't still competing myself. I will eventually get back into coaching so I can live it up in the gym again. I am secretly hoping Chase will want to do it too, but Jonathan says he can't. He says it's for girls and his son will do martial arts. We will just have to wait and see who will win that fight!

Go Big Red!

Chase thought it was funny to watch

While we were in Lincoln we stayed with Chase's Aunt Meggie, Uncle Jessie and his cousins Lucy and Charlie. Lucy and Charlie are pretty big boxers that Chase grew to love. They were very curious and protective of Chase. They would come and check on him anytime he cried and also let him grab at their faces. Chase even figured out that if he did his fake cough they would come running. It was a game he loved to play with them. Lucy even gave Chase a ride. All in all we had a great weekend and can't wait to come back and visit.

Chase riding Lucy with Charlie, Megan, & Jessie assisting