Chase is 8

My sweet first born is 8 years old! I don't know where the time went, because 8 years have gone past in the blink of an eye! I can still remember so clearly those early days with him as a newborn. They were seriously some of the best days of my whole life. He was (and still is) a dream come true. And amazing as it was to hold my brand new baby, I wish I could have known then what an incredible, smart, talented, driven, hilarious kid he really was going to be.

He wanted a Harry Potter birthday party this year. So I made him this golden snitch cake and we invited 12 kids over for a fun party! We started the morning with presents. We got him scriptures and he has loved looking through them and reading them. 

 We started a little tradition last year that I take the birthday boy out to lunch and he was super excited for us to do it again. We went to Old Grist Mill, just like last year. As we walked out of school he said, "You know why I love this? It's JUST US!" He's the best big brother and is so nice to include his little brothers all the time, but it is so nice to have some time with just him. I love hearing about all his thoughts and ideas.

 And then came the chaos of the party! It had been a really crazy week leading up to his birthday with Davis getting so so sick for so many days, the errands I planned on running didn't happen quite like planned. Luckily things still came together pretty simply! We did a potions lesson, shot dementors (I made out of trash bags and hung from the ceiling) with dart guns, played a quidditch relay game, played "pin the scar on harry" and then just played with balloons. We did cake and presents and Chase and his friends had a great time!

 The next day was his baptism! It made for a crazy weekend, but I think overall he felt well celebrated.

 Chase got baptized with his buddy Luca Bacciocco and McKinley Porter. It was a pretty simple program so we could just focus on the baptism and ordinance and it went great! I got a little emotional leading the opening song, looking at my boy all dressed in white, so excited and eager. This boy tries to choose the right all the time. A few weeks before as we were talking about his baptism and what it all meant, I asked him what happens after his baptism and he said "I will never make a mistake again!" I told him it's still okay to make mistakes!

Chase asked Ben to baptize and confirm him. In the circle were both his grandpas, Reed Smith and Ray Hugo, Uncle Will Smith, our friend Jesse Joseph, and Brother Hurst from our bishopric. I didn't get to hear most of the confirmation since Davis got really loud and I hurried him out to the hall. Luckily, Ray recorded it so I got to read it later.

This is a good shot of our daily life. Davis being crazy, Hudson not cooperating (in reality- I was back in urgent care with Hudson later that night with a major ear infection...and by the time I got home Davis was also running a fever that lasted for several days- neither of those poor boys were feeling well). I had told myself over and over before the baptism that no matter what, we were going to enjoy the day and not focus on the "fluff" and everything going perfect. And although things went really smoothly, I'm glad we were able to feel the spirit and love of the day. Chase had so many family members and friends there to support him- he's one loved kid!

Chase at 8 years old:

• Loves math and has a great mind for numbers. He's doing so well in school. He's still loving reading and recently read and loved "Wonder" and has started the "I Survived..." series. He also loves the Dogman books and reading various Minecraft books.
• Wakes up early to get his piano done before school. Most days I hear him down there playing the piano before even realizing he's up for the day! He has a "get it done" attitude. He so takes after me on that one. Just get it done, then you don't have to worry about it.
• He's very responsible about getting ready for school in the mornings. I hardly have to remind him of anything and he goes about quickly getting his jobs done and getting himself ready pretty independently. Most mornings he has time to do his jobs, eat breakfast and get ready, do his 30 minutes on the piano AND his 20 minutes of I-Ready on the computer (homework). He likes to get it all done so he can play with friends after school.
• He's loved having his own scriptures. He reads them sometimes without being prompted by me. With turning 8, and church shortening, we told him he's done bringing entertainment to sacrament meeting. He mostly spends that time just looking through his scriptures, which I love.
• He's just the best kid around. I adore this boy. He's a great big brother and a wonderful friend.