Just like Daddy

This morning while Ben was getting ready for school,

Chase showed a lot of interest in Ben's socks and wanted to wear them.

So Ben put them on him.

He was thrilled.

Coolest thing ever.

Then he wanted to wear Ben's shoes.

This kid keeps us laughing!

I love this stage.

Pure sweetness

I can't get enough of his one year old sweetness today.

He's been melting my heart all day-

 the way he's methodically unloading all my cupboards

cuddling up during story time today

splashing at the pool

giving away kisses

"BAA"ing at all the cows we passed today as they "MOO"ed at us

and my favorite- when i went to pick up him from his nap he smiled and clapped his hands!

(Last week I went in to get him, he took one look at me and said, "da da?"

I told him dad was at school, it was just mama.

"Da da?" again and again.

Finally he was convinced that it was just mama at home.

He furrowed his brow, said NO and rolled away from me.

I'm pretty used to being the slighted parent.)

I want to remember all these adorable memories,

you know, to get through the less than adorable moments.

Even the cutest boy in the world has a few of those.

What's a boy to do?

What is a little boy to do when he really really wants his mom to read

him his "Chuck the Truck" book?

And even though he repeatedly pulled on her skirt,

whimpered and grunted,

and signed please again and again,

she still kept working on the dinner that she was furiously trying 

to whip together on an extremely tight schedule?

And even though she did stop at one point and quickly

read through the book once with him,

He still wanted more.

Of course the answer would be to empty the pots and pans cupboard,

hop inside,

and read the book to yourself.

 

 Even though I can't always keep up with the demands 

of this little guy,

he sure makes me laugh.

Mothers Day Recap

I had a really wonderful Mother's Day this year. My sweet Ben cooked up some delicious grub for us. Ben has been attempting to make the perfect biscuits for the last couple of years, constantly tweaking and researching to make his biscuits the perfect flaky texture. On Sunday he hit the jackpot, with the most delicious biscuits he's ever made. He got extra points for cutting mine into heart shapes. Sadly, I was too hungry and eager to indulge that I didn't stop to take a picture. We headed off to church Our family doesn't struggle with that "frantic rush out the door" thing that so many do, thanks to our sweet Chase waking us up while it's still dark outside. On Mother's day I think he wanted to make sure we spent as much time together as possible, so Chase and I started our day at 4:30. It's a good thing he's the cutest baby boy ever.

Church was wonderful, wonderful talks and so nice to feel the spirit. The Elders Quorum had the traditional gifts for all the mothers in the ward- Milano cookies, which I love. As soon as they handed it to me Chase started pointing to it, grunting and signing please (his cues that he wants something). What baffles me is that Chase has never had a milano cookie, and the little note stapled to the packaging actually covered up the picture of the cookie. So how did Chase even know there were delicious cookies inside? I think it's Chase's super power. He can sense a cookie a mile away. 

At church I also got a new calling. I am now the Relief Society president in our branch. I was a little nervous about the calling at first, but after being set apart I feel much better. I'm really excited about the chance to serve and learn. We have some really amazing sisters in our branch, both wives of students and locals, and I'm excited to get to know them better. 

After church we came home to a relaxing afternoon of naps (for me and Chase) and cooking (for Ben). Ben made hamburgers, sweet potato fries and green beans for dinner. It was delicious. Ben made his hamburger into a "big mac". Chase mostly threw his dinner on the floor- a common problem at our house. I ate mine, instead of throwing it on the floor, and enjoyed it immensely.

 After we put the baby to bed, Ben and I cuddled up on the couch to catch up on our favorite TV shows on hulu and indulge in Ben's amazing banana cream pie. It was a wonderful relaxing end to the day.

 I'm so grateful for Ben, for being such a sweet husband to me and father to Chase. I'm so glad he supports me in staying home with our sweet boy and listens to me simultaneously complain about how hard Chase was that day and recount every sweet and hilarious thing Chase did that day. And I'm grateful for this little peek-a-boo boy for making my days so bright.

Mothers Day 2012

This was one of the greatest moments of my life- holding my precious baby for the first time. He has made me so happy. Being a mom is sometimes hard, there have been lots of sleepless nights and too early mornings, tears and tantrums (mostly from Chase), not to mention that by 20 minutes into sacrament meeting I'm usually ready to pull my hair out.

However,
those sweet smiles and giggles,
him sitting on my lap and cuddling while I read to him,
cradling him in my arms to sing lullabies,
seeing his excitement at each new milestone,
helping him learn new things and watching him grow,
getting kisses and hugs,
hearing him say his first words,
playing a hilarious game of hide and seek

makes it all worth it.

I'm so glad I get to be a mom to this sweet boy. There really isn't anything in the whole world I'd rather be doing with my time. I'm working hard to be the best mom possible for this boy, and I'm learning. I grew up with the best example. Ben will even tell you that meeting my mom cemented his determination to marry me- when he saw the kind, hardworking woman she is (and also an amazing cook- which is very important to Ben) he knew I'd shape up to be a pretty good wife and mother. I hope I can be as amazing of a mom as I was blessed with. I'm definitely grateful for the chance.

I think I made a mistake

See those sweet little curls?

 They are gone now.

And I am so sad.

What was I thinking?

I've been saying for over a month that Chase really needed a haircut.

Ben kept telling me he was fine, it looked cute the way it was, and we'd do it later.

But it's been really really hot lately. The hair was just getting matted to poor Chase's face.

And the part in front was completely in his eyes.

So yesterday I decided on a whim to cut it.

I stuck him in the high chair with Cars on the laptop-

and once we established he would NOT be wearing the cape (his idea, not mine)

he didn't move a muscle, except to repeatedly try to push my hands away from his hair.

I didn't know how to trim the front and keep the curls on the side

without giving him some sort of mullet.

Actually, I had no idea what I was doing all together.

But here's what we ended up with:

It's a good thing I think he's cute no matter what.

Still, I hope it grows out fast.

4th Semester

The First Day of our LAST semester on the island

See that super happy baby Chase in this picture? It's because he thinks he's going to school with Ben. As soon as Ben handed him back over to me there were lots of tears and lots of screaming. Chase keeps sporadically running to the door, saying DA DA and re-mourning his dad's absence. Hopefully in a few days we'll all get adjusted again.

I'm so proud of Ben. He has worked so so hard to get to this point. And there is a lot of hard work still in store. He's one dedicated guy.

I've had a lot of people ask what's next- the answer is FLORIDA! In September we will be moving to Miramar, Florida (just North of Miami). We'll be there for three months, then back to Utah to study for the 1st Step of the USMLE before we can start clinical rotations. We are already getting excited to be back in the US and have a new city to explore! 

The End of our Break

Well the semester break is over, Ben is back in classes as I write this. 

We really had a wonderful time together-

nothing like a super busy semester to make you appreciate what

little time you get together.

Chase stayed extremely attached to Ben the entire time,

he wanted to be wherever Ben was. 

I love how much my two boys love each other.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days of the break-

first I had to document how cute Chase looks when he sleeps.

Arms spread, knees tucked in, bum in the air. Makes me smile every time.

Notice the blanket in the crib with him? Two weeks ago Chase decided he 

likes a blanket. In February I took all the baby blankets back to Utah since we weren't

using them at all. I kept one back, just in case. Chase is super attached now, and I'm 

wishing I had the other three blankets that were part of the set. 

It's so cute to see him cuddle up with it though!

Chase is getting really good at climbing stairs,

whether they are at our apartment or on the playground.

He thinks he's pretty hot stuff.

Last night Chase was having a ball stacking these blocks on Ben's toes,

he had almost all his toes covered at one point, but as soon as I pulled out the camera 

he pulled them back off. I love the way his mind works!

And here is Chase watching Cars.

I bought the cars movies on amazon awhile back and had them

shipped to Ray to bring down with him. 

Chase LOVES them!

It's amazing how still he will sit when we turn the movie on.

I'm really trying to limit his screen time, but last night we had a traumatic event* so

in efforts to calm him down we let him watch Cars. 

His favorite character is Filmore- the hippy 60s van.

One of his friends has all the little car toys, Chase always plays with Filmore.

He zoomed Filmore around the chairs and floor of the chapel yesterday in church

for a good 20 minutes. 

*Traumatic Event: Chase is in to EVERYTHING these days. And he's a little taller than he used to be. He's been trying to play with the fans for months. We tried to always stay on top of it, but it was really only a matter of time before an injury happened (parents of the year right here). Last night Chase figured out how to get his little finger in the fan and cut it. It was so sad. We got the bleeding stopped and bandaged. If you look at the picture above he's holding the little bandaged finger. We're hoping he's learned his lesson and this NEVER happens again. 

Breaktime Update

The most exciting news from the island is that Ray is here! Chase is loving time with his Papa! We've been doing some fun things, showing Ray the island and enjoying more time with Ben around. 

One day the boys took a trip out to Fort Shirley- I think we've accumulated quite the assortment of pictures of Chase on this cannon with various family members. I'm glad we can add Ray to the lineup now!

 Ben found this coconut down on the beach and was determined to crack it open himself. However, we don't have the tools normally used for this (machete), but Ben went to work with the tools he has- and an hour later- had the thing cracked open!

 We did a trip to the pool to show Ray Chase's sweet splashing skills. I love this picture Ray took of our little guy.

 A sweet family in our ward had to leave the island unexpectedly- which Ben and I are still so sad about. I offered to take their kids with us to the pool so they could have some time to pack. Their three boys are some of the sweetest kids you'll ever meet. Ben had a blast throwing a ball with the older two, Jonah and Micah, in the water and Chase loved  playing with their youngest little one, Christian. I was glad that we got one last playdate in before they left today.

 And of course, we introduced Ray to our beach. Chase showed him how he loves to shovel and fill his little bucket with dirt and just explore the beach. Chase is especially loving the 3:1 adult baby ratio and all the love and attention he's getting!

We had plans for more fun outings this week, but it's been raining a ton, and most of the outings we had planned aren't much fun in the rain. Oh well, it's always fun to have family in town, even when the weather doesn't quite cooperate.