A Baby BOY it is!

We got a pretty official verdict yesterday at our ultrasound that #2 is for sure a BOY! Chase is getting a little brother! More importantly, the baby looks healthy and is measuring right on schedule.  Chase is not at all excited about the new baby, and tries to avoid babies whenever they are around. We are really hoping he feels a little different about this baby! (Although he LOVES other kids, so hopefully once the baby grows up a little they'll be friends) I'm actually thinking that these two boys will have a blast growing up together and I'm excited to see their little friendship.

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the thought of two little ones these days (Chase has been a little hard on me lately), so if anyone has awesome advice on having a second baby I'd love to hear it! Also- baby boy names? We are super stumped on this one. We knew Chase's name right away, so any ideas would be welcome!

More Utah Fun with Idaho People

A few weeks ago we had a fun little visit from our favorite family in Nampa- the Izatts! They have three adorable boys and Chase had a blast running around with their little guys. He was so happy to be one of the "big" kids! It made me so happy to watch. Unfortunately, Chase did not show the same delight in their baby boy, which doesn't bode well for his baby brother on the way.  Maybe we should have ordered him an older brother instead?

 Clyde so sweetly sat and read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! to Chase. It melted my heart!

Then all three boys played a loved piece together on the piano.

 This was before we took away the binky- oh I miss that thing!

We had a fun mid-day swim in the pool! The little boys mostly all loved it,

Chase was so entertained watching those boys splash and swim. It made me wish they were always around!

 After our swim my mom brought out a delicious picnic for us

complete with Heidi's famous cookies.
Chase tried his first PB&J, which was a major success.

The highlight of the whole day though was getting to see my BFSC Jana!

I hadn't seen Jana since before we left for Dominica- 

and I'm used to them making at least a semi-annual trip.

Although- Jana and I did exchange several hundred emails while I was in Dominica.

She was basically my emotional support while we were there,

listened (or actually read) all my worries and complaints, encouraged me to get through the hard stuff, and made me laugh a ton. She's basically wonder woman.

Heidi and I love her so much we've made her an honorary sister.

Sunday

I have no real reason behind this blog post, 

other than we snapped a few pictures before church on Sunday

and I can't get over how adorable Chase looks in them.

I mean seriously- look at this little face,

it melts me.

Now that I'm on my 4th week back in Utah, things have slowed down a little. We've gotten most of the fun things we had planned in, which was a blast. Chase has been binky free for one week. It's been a little rough, but he's mostly done great. Naptime and bedtime have been hard. He needs to be rocked and cuddled now in the middle of the night to go back to sleep. This pregnant mama would really like to sleep more at night, but on the flip side, there is probably nothing sweeter than rocking my cuddly baby (who isn't that cuddly, or that babylike anymore!)

Yesterday I took Chase for his 18 month well-child check (eh. . . 19 1/2 months) and I'm happy to report he's healthy! His current stats are:

Weight - 27 lbs - 70th percentile

Height - 35 inches - 95th percentile

So apparently, his genes finally kicked in. A year ago he was below the 5th percentile in both! Talk about a growth spurt! Since I last had him checked out in February he's gained 5 pounds and grown 5 inches! I asked the doctor about Chase's eating habits because he's recently gotten really picky and will hardly eat any fruit or vegetables (apples, cucumbers and the occasionally broccoli, and that's about it). The doctor assured me that with as well as he's growing he's probably getting everything he needs and to just keep trying to get him to eat the good stuff. 

They had me fill out a questionnaire about Chase's development (he's perfect, by the way) and one of the questions was "Does your child like to play peek-a-boo/hide and seek games?" Um- YES! This kid will play hide and seek forever if you let him! He had a pretty intense game going with Will yesterday that was just about the cutest thing you've ever seen!

 "I found you!"

Then Will taught Chase all about his iphone and how it can show you Elmo Youtube clips.

Chase is a fan.

Last night Chase was having an awful time at dinner,

nothing could make him happy.

We figured out that what he really wanted was more milk-

out of the carton.

So Ben taught him how to drink straight out of the carton.

Ben was so proud.

We're so glad that DADDY is HOME!

Ben got in late on Friday night- and it was a sweet homecoming! Not only to have him back in the states (he hadn't been back since we left 16 months earlier), but to know when he stepped off that plane that he'd passed 4th semester and we were officially done with Dominica. I was in shock on Friday afternoon when I got into his email to check something for his flight and I saw grades sitting there in the inbox. 24 hours after his final was complete we were sent grades? It has always taken a week, or longer, in the past. I checked the dates and classes several times before I actually let myself believe it was real! He was able to check email on one of his flights, so he already knew the good news when he landed. What a feeling of relief though, to be back together and to know that this major hurdle was behind us!

The next morning Chase seemed a little concerned that his dad was actually there. He warmed up to him quickly and then for the next 24 hours wouldn't let Ben out of his sight. Seriously, he screamed whenever Ben went to the bathroom. After a few days with daddy, now I think Chase has adjusted and just wants to be with his dad the usual amount- which is anytime he can! Chase showed Ben his sweet swimming skills on Saturday in the pool. Chase is basically fearless- the kid will just jump in head first if you let him. He also thinks he can swim. It's a blast!

Here are some pictures Ben snapped of him Sunday morning. On Saturday night we went to Fatboy's for dinner and Chase mostly just wanted to run around a play. Poor kid tripped over his own feet and hit the ground hard- with his front tooth taking the brunt of it. Our first major casualty- a chipped tooth. You can see it best in the bottom picture.

Of all the times he's fallen on his face, I'm so glad he didn't chip a tooth like this while we were on the island. On Monday morning I got a recommendation from my dentist for a pediatric dentist to take him to. Chase did awesome at the appointment and I could not have been more impressed with the dentist. He was so sweet with Chase. Chase even sat on his lap to take x-rays (since I couldn't be in the room because I'm pregnant). We are going back next week to have the chip fixed- hopefully it goes well! It doesn't seem to bother Chase at all, which we are so grateful for.

And as if Chase's life hasn't had enough change in the last couple of weeks (moving to another country, being away from dad for two weeks, meeting -again- a bunch of new people, a new crib, riding in a carseat) we took away his binky yesterday! We were wanting to get rid of it and doing while Ben was in school- and needing good sleep at night- didn't seem like the right time. We especially wanted him broken of it before the new baby comes this winter. Nap and bedtimes were pretty rough yesterday, but he did sleep all the way through the night and went down for a nap today without much struggle. With all the change we've put this kid through, he's pretty adaptable! Good thing too, since we are moving to Florida in a little less than 2 weeks!

As for news with the new baby, everything is going great. I'm still pretty sick, but I wasn't really expecting it to be different since I was sick up until the day I had Chase. I can feel the baby move now, which is the most incredible feeling. I think because our doctor wasn't positive it was a boy I haven't been able to wrap my mind around having another little boy yet. We are having our big ultrasound next week and hopefully we'll get a sure answer on what this little one truly is!

All in all, the Hugo family is just thrilled to be done with our first four semesters of medical school, have Ben back home, and to be embarking on a new adventure in a few weeks!

Final Thoughts on Dominica

I wrote this post back on August 4, right after I left Dominica. Now as I'm publishing it, Ben is on his way home, probably somewhere over Kentucky, having successfully passed his 4th and final semester on the island. Let the celebrating begin!

I'm sitting here in the hotel room in San Juan, sitting on a fluffy white duvet with four fluffy white pillows and the air conditioner humming away while my baby sleeps- it feels like luxury. In all reality, it's a tiny airport hotel room. After living in Dominica for the last 15 months, luxury it is.

Today was a whirlwind of emotions. I left Dominica today. My sweet Chase is with me, but Ben is still on the island. It sounds dramatic, but I felt like I left a piece of my heart on the island. Ben will be back in the states with us in 12 days, so it's not a dramatic separation, but after all we went through on the island together, I kind of wish we could have said good-bye together and given Dominica a proper send-off from the Hugo family.

As we took off I reflected on what it felt like 15 months ago to leave Utah. Honestly, it was one of the hardest days of my life. Saying good-bye to family just about ripped my heart out. As we took off from Salt Lake and I gazed out the window at those familiar mountains I felt like I'd never see them again. 15 months seemed so long. Tears filled my eyes as we took off, but as Ben gently reminded me, we were still together as a family, and that was what was really important. I had the sweetest 3 month old baby in my lap, my courageous and faithful husband by my side, and everything would be okay. We headed off into the unknown, not really knowing what was in store, and there was so much in store.

Our lives and hearts were about to be changed forever. We would begin to see the world through new eyes. We have really never had so little- we came with what we had in our suitcases and our one barrel that we'd shipped. 95% of everything we owned, including our car, was in storage at my parents house. We didn't have much, and when we looked around, we realized how much we really had. It was truly humbling to get to know the locals here, and get a glimpse of what their lives were every single day. To go to visit a sister in the branch, her tiny home that houses her family of 7 is no bigger than the kitchen in my apartment. There is no running water, a sheet hangs in the door, no screens on the open air windows. I could easily see the amount of food they had in the house- a small amount of rice, a little oil and a few rolls, and that was it. And this is not an uncommon Dominican family. Literacy is so low. Jobs are scarce. I realized how lucky I was that I could feed my son, that we had screens on our windows, and running water in our house.

In Dominica we road the biggest spiritual and emotional roller coaster of our lives so far. We would again and again be humbled by the Lord. We would pray, together and separately, with more earnest than ever before. Feeling so alone on this tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, I would come to understand God's love for me and my family in a new way. I'd truly learn the concept that He knows me and loves me personally. I'd grow in my love for the Savior. I'd learn many new things as I searched the scriptures for comfort and answers in the many, many trials I would face in our time there.

And although this may make it sound like this experience was full of trials and darkness- there were great adventures to be had. I will forever treasure the memories I made of playing with my baby on the beach, seeing him discover sand and squeal in the waves. We got to visit some of the most beautiful, incredible places on earth as a family in our trips to Emerald Pool, Titou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls. There were many nights of eating a picnic dinner as we watched the sunset over the ocean. I also would grow to appreciate the simple pleasures of enjoying my husband and baby boy. We would get to celebrate all of Chase's first holidays together as a little family of three and start new traditions.

I made some wonderful friends on the island that made all the difference for me. There were many days that these friends kept me sane and made me laugh. Chase made his first little friends there too. It was so hard to say good-bye to them, although I have a feeling it isn't good-bye forever. I think our paths will all cross again at some point. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.

I wish I could somehow reach back through time to 15 months ago, and give my scared self a hug and tell myself it would all be okay. It would be more than okay, it would be amazing. It would be amazing in a hard, fun, adventurous, beautiful way. 

Utah Part II

To say I'm loving being back in Utah would be an understatement.

We are having a blast!

This week things slowed down a little with the wedding and everything being done,

so my mom and I have been taking Chase to enjoy some of the fun 

things in the area.

Wednesday we hit up Hogle Zoo-

I hadn't been there since about 4th grade and Chase had never been.

He mostly loved it. Although he was equally excited about the little finches flying around

as he was about the tigers and giraffes. He's doesn't really appreciate how cool it is yet.

Here he is seeing the elephants for the first time,

he thought that was pretty cool.

 He loved the sea lions. He just parked it right here in front of the tank and was so thrilled whenever they swam by. Once they swam away he would exclaim "Oh no!"

We sat here for awhile.

 This just cracks me up.

He was more interested in the zoo brochure than in the 

3 live grizzly bears behind him.

He did, however, love the polar bear.

His favorite animal was a white cockatoo,

it came down off it's little perch, sat right in front of Chase

and they had a little conversation. It was darling!

Thursday we took Chase to the Treehouse museum. 

He really really loved it.

The first room we went to had four little train tables.

Basically Chase-heaven.

Once he figured out how they worked he never wanted to leave!

We did venture over to the little farm area. He was deathly afraid of the big horses,

but thought these little animals were fun. Here he is exclaiming

"A Moo!" [COW]

 "A NEIGH!" [horse]

 Then he drove the fire truck for a little while.

Before going home we stopped at my dad's restaurant for lunch.

Chase loves it there. Mostly because lately my dad has had an excavator

and a dump truck in the lot behind the restaurant while he's working on clearing the land.

(Apparently it had become a homeless campground which caused some problems)

Now whenever we are at the restaurant he anxiously seeks out my dad,

grabs his hand, and leads right through the kitchen and out back to see the big machines.

Is this kid all-boy or what? My dad is so proud.

We've had other fun adventures this week in the pool and with some friends that came to visit, but those will be detailed in a post all of their own, coming shortly. [As soon as you send me the pictures Jana:) ]

Utah Part 1 (or as Heidi entitled this post: Two bridesmaids, a baby and a bishop)

Getting here:

Chase and I left our home in Dominica on Saturday morning about 10:30 am and arrived in Salt Lake City 33 [long] hours later! The trip started off rocky when Chase got carsick and threw up all over himself and me multiple times on the way to the airport. When we finally got our luggage checked and got on the plane I was thrilled at the thought of NEVER making that drive again!

The plane was pretty turbulent, which mixed with the pregnancy nausea and already being queasy from the ride to the airport, resulted in me throwing up my fair share as well. By the time we arrived in San Juan both Chase and I were a mess! We got checked into our hotel, got cleaned up and went to bed early. That hotel in San Juan looked so clean and luxurious (and seriously- it's an airport hotel). I was so thankful that part of our journey was over!

The next day went much smoother (translation: no one threw up) but included way more flying- about 9 hours in the air with a 3 hour layover in Dallas. I was a sight to see trying to get myself, Chase (strapped to me in the Moby wrap), my super heavy backpack, two large suitcases and one carry-on suitcase through the airport. Luckily, a few kind souls took pity on me and helped me get my luggage all checked in. Chase did pretty well on the flights. We walked up and down the aisle a lot, had lots of snacks, played with cars, read books, watched most of the movie Cars, and Chase even napped a little. I bought this little puppy backpack for him in anticipation for the trip (it's a puppy, whose tail is a "leash" for me to hold) and I got a lot of weird looks going through the airport with it. However, it seriously saved my arms and Chase liked feeling independent. When we weren't in a hurry to get to a gate I let him walk and get all his little one year old wiggles out. All in all, the trip went smoothly.

 I was so so excited to see my mom and sister at the airport in Salt Lake! It felt so good to be back! The drive home was a little crazy when Chase decided he didn't want to be in a carseat anymore about 15 minutes before we got home. He repeatedly signed "all done!" and cried the rest of the way home. We came right home and had an amazing dinner, which I think was the best thing I'd eaten in months, put my very ornery baby in bed and had a nice night relaxing after our long day!

The next few days are kind of a blur- we went to a dress fitting for my bridesmaids dress, went out to lunch, swam with Chase in my parents pool, visited with some friends, ate at Fatboys, and basically everyone just sat around adoring Chase.

Thursday night started wedding festivities! This was the whole reason I came home early from Dominica. My cousin Kelly got married on Saturday to her sweetheart Tommy! Kelly and I have been best friends since we were babies. She is one month older than me and apparently from the first time we met we were already bosom buddies. Her beautiful wedding was up at Park City, so Thursday night Chase, my mom and I headed up there for a pre-wedding party! It was so fun to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins and enjoy the beautiful scenery up in the mountains! Friday night was the rehearsal dinner thrown by my parents and aunts and uncles. I left Chase with a babysitter that night (sweetest 12 year old girl I've ever met- he did great!) so I could just enjoy myself and get caught up with all the family that was in town. The dinner went great, despite some rain that threw a kink into the plans.

Saturday was wedding day! Kelly asked me to be up at their rental in Park City by 1 to start getting ready. I asked if it was okay if I brought Heidi to help me get ready, which Kelly was fine with. Heidi ended up not only making me look as beautiful as possible, but helping with all the bridesmaid's make-up. She's a talented girl:) It was fun all getting ready together, and then we headed up to Silver Lake Lodge at Deer Valley for pictures. Kelly slipped into her dress and looked absolutely gorgeous! She was seriously the most beautiful bride and was literally beaming all day. Tommy is such a great catch and we are so happy to have him officially in the family! The ceremony was beautiful and so was the reception. The whole wedding was just a fun, beautiful party!

 With Kelly and Erin (Kelly's little sister and maid of honor) right before the ceremony

 Since Ben couldn't be there, my dad and Will saved me

by helping keep Chase happy. He mostly wanted to walk around and explore,

here is Super-Uncle Will happily obliging him.

 With Ella and Eleanor

Sadly- these are seriously the only pictures I have from the wedding.

I was so busy catching up with people and keeping up with Chase

that I hardly pulled out my camera.

Trust me- it was beautiful!

This might already be the longest post ever. Don't worry- there's more! After a crazy weekend of wedding fun, never making it in bed before 1 am, we expected that Sunday would be our day to relax. It was actually just the opposite. We found out last Tuesday night that my dad was being called as bishop of their home ward! He's been serving in a singles ward bishopric for the last 18 months and has loved it. When they announced a week prior that the bishop of their home ward was being released, we thought he was "safe" because of his other calling. Turns out, the Lord had  other plans. Among all the wedding craziness, my mom and dad spent some time in the temple and praying to help him pick councilors. On Sunday he was called. I was glad Chase was good enough for me to at least hear him talk. I think he'll be such a wonderful bishop. He's so kind and caring and will do anything to help anyone. After he was set apart, Chase and I went home for naps (one of us was melting down) while the rest of my family headed over to the singles ward for him to be released from his calling there. It was an emotional Sunday! 

This week so far has been much calmer. Yesterday my mom took us downtown to check out City Creek! I loved it! It's beautiful! She bought me some new shoes and some new jammies for Chase. Chase really loved playing in the fountains- once he got them all figured out. He was soaked by the end, but he had a blast!

Here's Chase and Grammy last night in his new jammies

It has been a crazy first week in Utah! I've had so much fun though. It is so nice to be around family again. Chase and I are both missing Ben like crazy- but luckily he flies in to join us Friday night! I feel a little guilty enjoying all the luxuries of the states while he's suffering away in the insane heat of Dominica. He's just studying hard for finals right now. He takes his final on Thursday morning. Any prayers you can send his way would be much appreciated!

The Tale of #2

It's true! Baby Hugo #2 will be joining our family this winter! We are so so excited for this little baby to come. Our journey with this baby so far has been a little crazy- and we knew it probably would be. When we decided we wanted another baby we knew the pregnancy might be hard, knowing we'd be moving three times during the pregnancy, and knowing how sick I was when we were pregnant with Chase. However, we felt it was best for what we wanted for our family long term- we wanted another sibling for Chase, another little buddy close to his age. It was definitely a leap of faith deciding to have another baby while living in a third world country, but we felt at peace with our decision.

We were ecstatic when we found out this little one was on the way- it was May 23rd. As soon as I saw that positive pregnancy test I felt the same depth of happiness that I felt last time around two years ago, but immediately worry set in. I worried that I wouldn't be able to care for Chase if I got that sick again. I wanted to do something fun to tell Ben the news- but being low on resources I didn't have a lot of options. Cookies seemed like the best way to go, so I spent the rest of the afternoon creating this:

Ben had told me about a week earlier that he knew we 

were already pregnant- so I thought I'd throw him a bone and just openly

admit he was right.

The whole first trimester was pretty dramatic and kind of an emotional roller coaster. I was sick, maybe not quite as bad as last time, but still fairly miserable for weeks and weeks on end. We had a couple of scares where we thought we might lose the baby, but I'm happy to report that I went to the doctor today and everything looks perfect! I'm 15 weeks and the baby is measuring right on schedule. It was such a wonderful relief to see a healthy little baby on the ultrasound machine today- our sweet little miracle!

I was hoping to find out today if we were having a boy or a girl, the doctor said the baby wasn't positioned very well for him to be able to tell, but his guess was another little BOY! We'll need to wait a few more weeks and confirm it at our big ultrasound, but for now we think we have another little man coming to be Chase's best friend! 

Priceless

Our good friend Crystal took these pictures for us a few weeks ago.

I can't even begin to express my gratitude for her sharing her skill with our family-

I mean, seriously, she won't even let us pay her-

and for me, documenting my family at this stage of life,

and in this place,

is just priceless.

It was a pretty gray day, so we didn't get the gorgeous sunset colors we have in the past,

Chase was super uncooperative,

and it was super hot and humid (so we turned into a sweaty mess pretty quickly)

and despite all of that, she still managed to get some awesome shots.

This one of Chase is my absolute favorite, and is definitely going in a frame when we get home.

This is her third time doing this for us (see previous photo shoots here and here)

and every time I'm so pleased with the cute pictures she seems to get even when my kid will not look at the camera. This time Chase was just way more into playing in the sand and in about 5 minutes he was completely covered, but as happy as can be!

Thank you so much Crystal!