A Very Merry Christmas

I can't believe we are on the other side of Christmas, there is so much anticipation and build up for the big day and then in the blink of an eye it's all over. Is it just me or is everyone in a hurry to take down the decorations this year? Not me, I'm going to leave them up for another week or two, the house looks so festive and I know Chase will be sad to see the twinkling lights go.

We had such a great Christmas this year and Chase was way more into that I expected him to be. Our first Christmas activity was making salt dough handprint ornaments for all of Chase's grand and great grand parents. It was so easy and he had a blast getting messy in the flour. We made one for our tree and it is by far his favorite ornament on the tree. We also attended a live nativity at my parents church and he watched the animals intently the whole carol service, while breaking Grandad's glasses..whoops! Of course we took Chase to see jolly old Santa Claus but he was not impressed and cried hysterically as soon as he was sitting in his lap.

This year I started a new tradition for us and that is the Christmas Eve box. Inside the box are pjs for the whole family to wear that night, a Christmas movie (one for the adults and one for Chase), and a Christmas book for Chase to add to his collection. It was fun putting it together and Chase enjoyed watching his Thomas the Train Christmas movie.

We met up with the Smith side of the family for an early dinner at a favorite restaurant of ours and then went to service. As soon as the music started Chase started clapping and oooing. He especially loved the candles we got to light at the end and he even got his own candle, aka a glowstick! Genius idea there. To end the night we went back to Dad and Jen's house to exchange gifts and have dessert. Chase was a trooper and was going strong even at 10pm! I have to say being a parent at Christmas and getting to play Santa is so much more exciting that being a kid at Christmas. I loved setting up all of the gifts around the tree and making it perfect for when Chase came down in the morning.

Christmas day started early! I was hoping Chase would sleep in seeing he went to be so late, but no such luck. His face when we came down the stairs more than made up for the lack of sleep. He slowly looked around the room and a smile spread across his little face and oo-oo oo-oo was being said on repeat. I then made the mistake of trying to strap him in his highchair for breakfast, BIG FAIL!! Lets just say breakfast was dry cheerios in a snack cup lol. He had so much fun tearing off the wrapping paper and moving from one box to another. He decided he should also get to open James gifts lol. Our little boy was so spoilt with gifts, but you know what he deserves it :) With not going to my Dad's house this year, it was the first time I was cooking Christmas dinner. Mom and Bill came up in the afternoon to join us and we all had a great time playing with Chase and eating an English Christmas dinner, Christmas crackers included! We ended the day with watching a Christmas movie.

Boxing day we were catching up with ourselves but got to have a nice lunch with Dad and Cathy as they came up to see us. Chase was clearly exhausted still as he fell asleep in his highchair but quickly found a burst of energy when it came time for opening presents.

And so let the countdown begin for Christmas 2014!!!!

15 Month Check In

It has been a busy few months since our last update on Chase. He has developed such a little personality since turning one, and along with that came the lovely tantrum. We still love him to death though. He is finally walking and he is so proud of himself whenever he does it. His affection for Cisco has grown and he throws a fit if Cisco doesn't co-operate by being right by him at all times.
My favorite, melt my heart moment is when Chase now squeezes my neck ever so tightly while giving me a hug, nothing beats it. Well it's a tie for first place with a kiss from the little man, but either or makes all of the craziness worth it.

We have started attending storytime and music class on a regular basis and Chase goes nuts when we pull up outside of the library, lots of 'oooo's ' can be heard from the back seat. He also just finished his first swimming class at the Y. He was too cute in his little board shorts and is most certainly a fish. I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time at the pool this coming summer, and that is ok with me! Chase also has made some new friends in our neighborhood, two boys, both of them are also 1 and it's so cute watching them play together. I think both of them had talks with Chase about the whole walking thing and that it's a must do!

Our little man was not much of a fan on Santa this year, but he is all about the Christmas tree and the lights. I can't wait for him to come downstairs on Christmas morning and see all that Santa has left for him, as he was such a good boy this year. It is crazy to think that last Christmas he could barely hold his head up and this year he is walking and tears into presents like it's his job.

We hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!!!!!

Bestie Time

Back on August 1st, my best friend (and her hubbie) had their first child, a little girl Ellie. They live in TN, so unfortunately I was not able to be there for this amazing time in their lives, but my wonderful hubbie decided we should drive to TN in November to see them, and their new house! Of course I was ecstatic (as was Leona) .

I'm not going to lie I was a little nervous about how Chase would do with the drive (10 hours plus stops) but he did great!

We spent 3 days with Shawn, Leona and Ellie and we had so much fun. We didn't do any sight seeing, or go anywhere really, but we had the BEST time. We got to do what best friends, that live near each other, do. We hungout with our babies, ate amazing food, watched girly shows and talked ALOT. I am so blessed to have a friend like Leona. Besides James, she knows me better than anyone and our bond has only grown stronger since having our babies. Ellie is the cutest, sweetest little girl and is such a good baby. I'm so happy we got to spend time with her. Our husbands, rock, they get that we need our girl time together and would pretty much do anything to make sure it happens. Oh and they are highly entertaining when they are together.

Here are some pics of our time together

Leona, Shawn and Ellie



Best friends!

Lil Bestie

We are so blessed

Us in TN

Love this girl!

Birthday Celebrations

 

As previously mentioned our family in England were arriving in the afternoon on Chase's birthday. After spending the morning at the park and a long nap we headed to the airport to pick them up. Unfortunately the drive there was a disaster; rush hour and an Eagles game made a 45 min drive take 2 hours. Instead of coming home to BBQ we at out and the service was terrible. We didn't get back home until 9pm. I felt so bad for the family as they have been up since 5am UK time. We couldn't let Chase go to bed without opening gifts and singing happy birthday, so we quickly snuck it in before everyone crashed. Even though things didn't go as planned we had a good time and of course excited that the family made it here safely 

The day after Chase's birthday was decided to take Chase to the zoo. Unfortunately David was working and couldn't make it, but the rest of us had a great time. Chase was fixated on the penguins and leopards. We got to check out the new KidsZooU and it was pretty cool, we got to pet and brush the goats and get up close to the mini horses. Chase seemed to enjoy it but I think was the one who was a little more excited lol.

Of course no birthday is complete without a birthday party. We had our family and closest friends over for a Dr Seuss 'Oh the place's you'll go" party. I spent a lot of time making the decorations and ordered poms from my friends business Simply Nesting (on Etsy). We also had amazing cupcakes and a smash cake for Chase, who went to town on that. I know Chase will never remember this party, but when he is older he can look back at the photos and video and see how much fun he had and also how many people love him. I'm not going to lie I was exhausted by the end of the party (and still had to pack for the vacation we were leaving on the next day) but it was so worth it. Thank you to everyone who came and/or sent gifts. We love each and everyone of you and are so thankful Chase has you in his life.

One Year Old

Well here it is, the last monthly post about Chase! Let's see if I can write this without tearing up...

When I think back to one year ago today I find it hard to believe this amazing little boy had just been born. I can still remember how it felt to hear his cry for the first time, holding him in my arms and feeling so complete and getting to bring him home where his life was in our hands. Being parents has taught us unconditional love, and what is truly important in life. When the 3 of us are playing on the family room floor and Cisco is running around James and I look at each other and say 'this is what it's all about'.

Chase has just amazed us at how quickly he learns things and he is extremely headstrong. When getting discharge from PT we were told he is doing a lot of things that 18 month olds are doing. As you can imagine, we were your typical proud parents lol. I've been around a lot of babies and I've never met a happier one in my life. He always has a smile on his face and is constantly babbling away. Being home with him everyday is a joy that nothing else can even come close to bringing.

As he turns a year, part of me is sad to see the baby in him disappear entirely but, seeing him interact with us and learn at rapid speed is so much fun. James also reminds me, he is going to need us for quite some time still, and he is a mama's boy so I predict many more snuggles are in the future.

We had a busy day on his birthday. It started with his one year check up which went very smoothly, minus getting 3 shots :( It was a beautiful day so we took him to the playground where he had a blast crawling all over the equipment and watching the older kids. Our family from England landed on his birthday so it was off to the airport in the afternoon to pick them up. We were so excited for them to get here. They all had a smooth flight and are here with us now squeezing in every minute they can with Chase. We wondered if he would be a little shy around them but that hasn't happened. He cuddles with them, plays with them and is loving being around them.

Here is Chase's 12 month stats

Birthday week kickoff!!!

I absolutely love to celebrate birthdays and so in our house we do the 'birthday week'! A week full of fun activities and spoiling the one whose birthday it is. This week is quite possibly the biggest birthday week yet as Chase turns one!!! It is hard to believe it is here already, it just seems like it was a few months ago that he came home from the hospital.

We have a lot going on this week to celebrate our lil man and we began today by having his discharge meeting from early intervention/physical therapy. As I'm sure you all remember Chase was diagnosed with torticollis (tilting of the head and lack of rotation in one direction) back in November. He was scheduled to start physical therapy through AI Dupont in the new year but then with us moving to PA we had to find a new office. I found a wonderful therapy place called Theraplay, the only issue was the copay was extremely high. Our therapist recommended we apply for Early Intervention (physical therapy through the state). We were thrilled when Chase was approved for the services in February, it's a wonderful program. A physical therapist comes out to your house once a week to work with your child. We have been blessed with an amazing therapist named Becky. Chase took to her right away which is half the battle. Not only was she wonderful with Chase but she made sure I felt confident knowing all of the stretches and exercises so that Chase could benefit from me working with him also.

Fast forward 6 months and Chase no longer has any tilt issues and his rotation is great. Because of his neck issues we found he was having problems with rolling. Those are now gone and he rolls all over as well as crawling, pulling to stand and 'cruising' along the furniture. He isn't walking by himself yet but he will take steps holding our hands. Honestly I'm in no rush for him to walk by himself anyway.

We are just so proud of our little man and all he has achieved in this area. It wasn't a life threating or life long issue but as a parent you always want your child to have as few issues as possible. There were days when Chase hated the stretches and it broke my heart to hear him scream, but I knew it was for his own good. Even though we will miss seeing Miss Becky every week, we are thankful we have a completely healthy one year old!

Summer Days at the Beach

All of you who know me, know that I am a huge beach fan and I was so excited that we got the opportunity to spend the weekend in Wildwood NJ. Not only did I get to spend that time with my 2 fave guys, but also Mom and Bill. The reason for the trip to the shore was to celebrate Mom's birthday, and I don't like to brag but I think we threw her a great weekend at the beach :)

We stayed at an awesome motel, a block from the beach, called Nantucket Inn. It had a really nice pool and was very clean, I would highly recommend it to anyone heading to Wildwood. We had so much fun, mostly because Chase is highly entertaining every second of the day, but it was great getting to spend time with Mom and Bill also. We hit the boardwalk quite a bit; of course ice cream and pizza on the boards are a must. We also tried fried oreos for the first time, which are highly dangerous as they were soooo good.

As you can imagine I couldn't wait to get Chase down onto the sand. It is my goal to make him as much as a beach bum as I am, and I don't think it's going to be a difficult task. Now it wasn't his first time on the beach, but it was the first time going with him being mobile, which made it an entirely different experience. The kid was covered, head to toe in wet sloppy sand, that's what it's all about though right? If Chase could talk I would have to say his favorite thing was chasing after the seagulls, which he did doing his army crawl lol, it was a sight! Anthony and Anita were kind enough to give us their wagon from when Jenna and Justin were small and what a lifesaver that was. Not only did we put Chase in it, but it was piled high with towels, beach toys, baby goods etc. It was much easier to pull in the sand that the stroller.

We ended the trip with a nice dinner for Mom's birthday at the Wharf. We couldn't have asked for an nicer way to end the weekend than with good food, those we love and a beautiful sunset.