"I DID IT!"

The title of this post actually has little to do with it's content- other than we heard this phrase about 100 times this week. It's Chase's new thing. Every little thing he accomplishes- to climbing on the couch to turning off the TV with the "memope" (remote)- he exclaims "I did it!" And we all congratulate him and tell him how smart and wonderful he is. My favorite was a few days ago when Chase grabbed the mouse from my dad's laptop and tried to use it to change the channel on the TV from football (my dad's choice) to Mickey Mouse (Chase's preferred viewing choice). While Chase was intently pushing that mouse button at the TV, my dad changed the channel with the real remote, unbeknownst to Chase. He looked around in excitement and surprise and said "I DID IT!" He looked super proud of himself, and I think in his little head he was thinking, "Huh- that wasn't supposed to work. I know it's for the computer not the TV...I must be really awesome!"

Anyway- here is a quick recap of the last few days of my parents stay with us. Chase had a major cranky day on Wednesday in the Everglades, but turned out to be quite well behaved as we ate dinner at Macaroni Grill. He was especially thrilled that they had crayons at the table. I wrestled him into this cute Halloween shirt my mom brought for him. We discovered that Chase's real problem with his Halloween costume is how much of it there is- Chase is NOT a fan of long pants, long sleeves, anything that is more than shorts and t-shirts. This child has spent the vast majority of his life living in the tropics in a onesie. This winter in Utah might be quite the adjustment for the boy. 

 Thursday we went back to the beach! I loved this beach so much, it was just perfect. Chase, again, refused to go in the ocean, but did order my dad around and told him when he needed to go get more water in the buckets. I kind of sat back, enjoyed the beach, and let my parents help Chase build sandcastles to his heart's content. I think it was a win-win-win for all those involved.

 Chase loves having two extra adults around who a) think he's adorable no matter what he does and b) will do anything to make him happy.

 My son, who would burst into tears if the tiniest wave washed on his feet, thought it was absolutely delightful when Grandpa would pour buckets full of ocean water right on his head. Chase would squeal with delight. Shortly after this Chase rolled all over in the sand, giggling like crazy and covering every inch of his body in beach!

 After a quick lunch my dad took Chase to get a donut. This boy LOVES donuts (and so does Grandpa). Chase was so intent on eating this donut when I tried to get him to look at me and smile, he just said "Cheese" while he kept going at it. I'd say Chase can get anything he wants from his grandparents.

 And after a long day at the beach, here are Chase and Grandpa putting their feet up. Chase was trying to do exactly what Grandpa did. They've bonded.

Friday we planned to go back to the beach. About 5 minutes after we got there it started raining- so we grabbed some lunch waiting for the rain to stop. It wasn't really letting up, so we went up to the hotel room for Chase's nap and afterwards went to the pool. Chase loved the pool, and didn't want to get out even when it started raining again. Nana coaxed him out with the promise of ice cream- which of course worked instantly. After ice cream we headed back to Miramar to pick up Ben and go out to dinner, at Cheesecake Factory again, at my request. Even though it was a rainy day, it was still fabulous!

My parents flight left early this morning to head back to Utah- the week went by far too quickly! I enjoyed every second of it, I felt like I was on vacation too! So many fun adventures, so much help with my energetic little boy, other interesting adults around to talk to, lots of good food- it was all wonderful! I'm sure Chase will be a delight the next few days as we adjust back to our normal boring life- but we are sure glad they came!