The Whale Outfit

My mom has bought Chase a lot of adorable outfits, but I think this one might be my favorite. I think Chase looks so cute in it. So I tried to do a little photoshoot with him in it. He wasn't feeling photogenic. This was the best we got.
The other thing I love about this outfit is every time he wears it, I laugh a little because it reminds me of my Uncle Dick. It's way too hot to wear a onesie under it here and the buttons are pretty far apart, so with his top button undone it stays open kind of low showing his bare chest. (Kelly? Ella? Does anyone else see it- Ben says it wouldn't truly be and Uncle Dick shirt unless it was Hawaiian print. We are searching for one of those)

I love this little guy so much!

I'm so glad I get to stay at home with him every day!

Proof

Proof that napping does happen here occasionally

Some days it's just to hot to have to wear clothes AND be swaddled in order to nap.
And the swaddling is a must for this baby.

We sure love this little angel!

Tuesdsay Morning

There isn't really a point to this post, other than I took some pictures of Chase this morning. I love the jammies he was wearing and he was in a happy mood (although he stops smiling right when I pull the camera out- got to love that).

Ben had his first test in medical school yesterday morning, which meant he got to take the rest of the day off! It was hot and sunny, so we went to THE BEACH! We don't get there often because Ben is so busy and Chase can't really be in the sun yet, but we sure had a fun afternoon there yesterday. Chase was in heaven having his dad around. So much that he wouldn't waste any time of their day together and refused to nap. By 6:30 last night he was falling asleep between bites of cereal. He's such a funny boy.

So since Chase is seriously a lightweight, we consulted with our pediatrician (via email) and decided that he probably needs more calories. He's a totally happy, healthy baby, but just a little on the tiny side. So I've started adding a full scoop of formula to his milk/rice cereal combo. I tell him he's just being like his Uncle Will (who adds protein powder and supplements like that to his drinks). I think it's working! The first week we did it he gained 7 oz! Just for comparison sake, and because I'm thinking he looks bigger, here a picture of him in his high chair this morning:

And here he is two weeks ago when we first started cereal:

Doesn't it look like he's grown? Also, don't you think his hair is starting to look redder? Maybe there is a little Courtney in our mini-Ben baby.

And just because I thought it was funny, here is a picture of my boys eating breakfast this morning. Notice how neither of them are looking at me, and both are focused on something in the corner? Yeah, that's the TV. ESPN. My boys love ESPN. Ben couldn't be more proud that Chase has already taken a liking to watching sports.

Happy

I was recently reprimanded from my sweet, ever-loving little sister on my lack of blogging this last week. Mostly, because we've settled into a groove here and I haven't done much that seems blog worthy. Instead of some blog worthy outing or milestone accomplished, I'll just share the recent thoughts I've had on my mind interspersed with pictures of Chaser and his ball.



Last night as I was walking home from dropping Ben off on campus, with a happy baby in the stroller and a cool ocean breeze blowing in the air, I looked up at the gorgeous green mountains and thought: I'm happy. I'm so happy I get to be on this beautiful island with my little family. I'm happy that Ben is finally in medical school, something he's been working toward for so long. I love the way we've bonded more as a family since we've been here. I'm so happy that Chase has been such a little gem lately (as in a little gem that day- he took two awesome naps! yay for progess!). I'm just really happy we have Chase. I'm happy to see my sweet husband working so hard in school. I'm happy that he takes short breaks from all that hard work to play with me and our baby. I'm happy that I'm making friends here. I'm happy that IGA went in a month before we got here making cooking and general life on the island a million times easier than it used to be. I'm happy that we choose to live in the cute little cottage we decided to rent. I'm happy that we have such great technology today and I still get to talk to my family back in the states regularly.


There have been days here, and I'm sure there will be to come, that I feel like I'm just enduring this life and dreaming of the time when we can be back in the states, close to family and all that is familiar. Somedays I just long for normal tap water and an oven that can be turned on by turning a knob. But for today, I'm happy.

Whitecoat ceremony

Well Ben finished his first week of medical school! Yay! It was a busy one. Ben woke up early every day and made it to campus around 7ish. Luckily, Chase has liked getting up early too so he can spend time with dad before school:) Ben studied every night until 10, most nights he came home for dinner and then headed back to campus. Chase and I love getting to see him for what little time we get!
On Tuesday night Chase and I were having a less than stellar day and I had high hopes of having a delicious dinner ready for Ben when he got home. Chase got really fussy around dinner time, so I stuck him in his high chair (I'm SO GLAD we brought it, it's been a lifesaver) and fed him his rice cereal while I worked on cooking dinner, a new recipe I was trying for making a calzone. Here's a nice mental image for you of what our kitchen looked like, me-hot and sweaty from a seriously hot day + some awesome frizzy hair from the humidity, Chase- somewhere between fussy and devastated with rice cereal all over his face, dinner coming together somewhat smoothly, although almost every dish in our kitchen is dirty. Then as I went to transfer the calzone onto the cookie sheet to bake, it pretty much fell apart. I almost lost it, then chose not to. I figured it'd taste the same even if it didn't look pretty. Then I had to light the oven- oh the dreaded part of dinner. My previous (and only successful) attempt took me 9 matches to get it lit (not to mention that after it's lit I have to re-insert the sheet of metal that goes along the bottom of the oven, while not burning myself and it ALWAYS gets stuck). I'm pretty proud to say I got the oven lit in 3 matches! I looked up at Chase (who was fussing) and said in a really excited voice, "Mama lit the oven Chase! I did it!" and he stopped fussing and gave me a huge smile. Oh that boy just melts my heart.

Ben came home shortly after all this, gave me a big hug and kiss, played with the little guy, and we sat down to dinner. Ben went on and on about how delicious the calzone turned out (which, for the record, it didn't. We'll call it edible and leave it there). I'm grateful for these two sweet boys helping me get adjusted to island life and cooking and celebrating small victories with me!

So after a week of medical school and some serious studying and hard work on Ben's part, Friday afternoon was the whitecoat ceremony, where another doctor dons a whitecoat on the new medical school class. I was so proud of Ben and excited for him to start on this journey! He worked so hard to get here, which I'm now realizing is just the beginning of the hard work to come. I'm so glad I'm married to someone with such a great work ethic and dedication to whatever he sets his mind too! And on top of all that, will take out a few minutes a day to come home and have dinner with his wife and baby.

Me with the handsome Dr. Hugo

I was a little nervous to leave my sweet Chase to go to Ben's whitecoat ceremony, but I knew it would be a nightmare if I brought him. My sweet next door neighbor watched him for me, and apparently he was a little angel for her. Here's the evidence:

I can tell Chase has missed having his daddy around this last week, we've both been spoiled up to this point in Chase's life. Whenever Ben has been around Chase has been so snuggly and happy with him. Here is a picture of them playing together on Saturday morning before Ben left for 10 hours of studying on campus:
and Chase and Ben waiting for me to serve dinner last night.
I sure love my two boys!

Our Morning Walk

I've been enjoying putting the little guy in the stroller and taking long walks most mornings. Chase loves riding in the stroller, I get some exercise, and it gets us out of our little house at least once a day. This island is so beautiful and these pictures truly don't do it justice. Here are some shots of our walk on Friday morning.

The view leaving our house

The little pond at the end of the sidewalk

There are beautiful wild flowers everywhere

This little river runs right near our home. I love listening to it.

Some more beautiful flowers on the hill I climb

The jungle

And of course, the ocean.
For some reason, I'm still surprised whenever I see the ocean.
You would think seeing it every day I'd get more used to it.

The last few days...

The last few days have been pretty eventful. We had a huge downpour the latter half of last week. On Saturday it poured and poured for at least 12 hours straight with no let ups. Every time we went outside we got completely drenched. We hung out at home together. All was well, until about 3:00 when I was right in the middle of making bread, our kitchen was a mess with lots of dirty dishes, the water shut off. Apparently that happens in Dominica when it rains a lot. The water supply gets muddy so they just shut the water off. Yikes! We knew this could happen and we had a small store of purified water, but we were a little nervous as to when the water would come back on. We knew we had enough water for Sunday, but not sure if we had enough to last several days. We cleaned up as best we could, Chase got to skip his bath and we went to bed hoping it would be back on soon.

Sunday morning the water did finally come back on- but not until right before church. I think every man in our branch came with a little scruff on his face. We were just thankful for water! Church was lovely, I love our little branch. We had a relaxing Sunday together.

Monday morning Ben started medical school! We were all pretty excited about it! He had an awesome first day- hopeful that first of many! After we sent Ben off to school, Chase and I packed up and headed to the beach. Chase had his morning nap there on the beach in the stroller in the shade, and I laid on a towel in the sun and read. There was no one else around. It was so peaceful, I loved it.

Chase and I went up to campus to eat lunch with Ben during his break. Chase loves his daddy. Ben held Chase the whole time and played with him. Then we went home and Chase refused to nap. It was so so hot here yesterday- I think it was too hot for him to sleep-poor little guy. I didn't even make dinner until 8:00 last night because I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the oven in the heat!

And just a little afterthought:
I love these pictures of Chase after his bath on Sunday night.
I was embarrassed when we got to church, I noticed he had rice cereal smudged all along his neck. Ben informed me that Chase is a boy, he's supposed to be dirty. A little rice cereal on his neck probably isn't the worst its going to get.
Needless to say, I was glad when the water came back on and we all got showers, including Chase.

Mothers Day 2011

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.
~Abraham Lincoln

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

"Making the decision to have a child, it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

-Elizabeth Stone

I'm so grateful today for my wonderful mom who I love with all I've got,

for my mother-in-law who raised the wonderful man I married,

and for my sweet Chase who made me a mother.

Appreciating the Miracle of Human Flight

This video was helpful in putting things into better perspective during our journey to Dominica.

Mailing & Shipping

Our mailing address here on the island is the following. Please address everything exactly as outlined (anything addressed to Courtney will NOT find her because the school only has Ben on file).

Benjamin Hugo
Ross University School of Medicine
POB 266 Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
West Indies

Cinco de Mayo and sleep

Ever since we got here Chase's sleep has been totally thrown off. He was sleeping a 6-7 stretch every night before we moved, now I'm lucky if I get 4-5 hours out of him, then he's up every 1-3 hours for the rest of the night. This has made me kind of tired and frustrated. He was in a semi-good napping routine before we left, which has been basically non-existent since we got here, not for lack of trying on my part. A few mornings ago, when Chase got up way too early and wasn't going back to sleep, I stuck him in the stroller and took him on a long walk. Chase usually doesn't last ten minutes in the stroller before he falls asleep. I know sleep in a stroller isn't considered high quality sleep, but at this point I'm thinking it's better than no sleep at all.

We did the same thing again today. At least he's getting some
sleep and I'm getting some exercise right?

FOR ALL OF YOU MOMS:
ANY ADVICE???
It would be much appreciated.

and...

We couldn't let Cinco de Mayo go uncelebrated.
Even if it did just mean Mexican food for dinner.

Our lovely grocery store, IGA, has a lot of things that used to be unavailable on the island. Last time I checked I couldn't get tortillas there. So I decided to make them myself. (Turns out, IGA DID have tortillas yesterday, but by that point I was committed to doing homemade tortillas, so I stuck with my original plan)

Behold: Chicken quesedillas on homemade tortillas

I put salsa inside one and on the outside of the other.
Ben loved it. I was super proud of myself.
And I lit the stove all by myself this time- I'm learning!

4 months

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I had Chase, it went by so fast. I love this little boy so much. He has turned my world upside down and I love spending my days with him. Here are some pictures I took of him this morning. Sadly, the bear (see 3 month post) did not make the cut on coming to Dominica, so there is no size comparison in reference to his bear.

Also, another big accomplishment for Chase- he finally fits (using the term "fit" loosely) into this cute 3-6 month outfit his Grandma Hugo bought him months ago.

Ben and I laughed at this last picture. Chase is such a funny baby sometimes.

Also, the rice cereal is going really well. He gets kind of excited when he sees me bring over the little bowl and spoon. And I think he actually ingests most of it now. And he's spitting up less. All in all, I'd say it's been a success.