December Merriment

We've had a pretty wonderful and pretty busy December.

Chase is absolutely loving having so many people around who adore him and want to play with him! Here he is making faces in the office doors with Nana one morning before work.

 He's been taking piano lessons from "Unky Wheel"- the name Chase gave him

 I put a tie on him for church for the first time and it was so cute I could hardly stand it.

 We've had a few fun family parties and I failed miserably at taking pictures at them!

Here is Heidi with our little cheeser before the Smith family party a few weeks ago.

 Chase still loves to help cook- 

here he is helping Ben make almond cake for our White family party last weekend!

 Chase with his Uncle Nate doing one of his favorite things-

watching youtube clips of "big trucks"

 Heidi with the aforementioned almond cake that she decorated so beautifully for the party.

We made one almond cake and one red velvet cake- Chase was a huge fan of the red velvet cake.

The leftovers were sitting near the edge of the counter the next morning and Ben

came upstairs to find Chase hastily shoving cake in his mouth with tiny fingerprints in the cake!

I came upstairs to find Ben washing Chase's hands and face at the sink and Chase adamantly demanding "I want more CAKE!" (Only he pronounces it "take")

 Chase and my cousin's little boy Ian at the White family party- this was the best picture I could get of them! At least they are hugging! We didn't even plan the matching jammies!

 The moment I'm pretty sure Ben has been looking forward to since we found out Chase was a boy- taking him for a ride on the four-wheelers! Chase really really loved it!

 Saturday night we did a family outing to Christmas village in Ogden, which was wonderful!

Chase pressed his little nose up to every window and loved looking at the "pretty lights!"

Afterwards we went to dinner at Union Grill where Chase loved seeing the big trains. It was a wonderful evening!

This month has been full of contrasting feelings for me- while we definitely have our own problems and disappointments in our lives, recent events in the world are a constant reminder to me that others have it much worse. My heart aches for all those families that lost loved ones in Connecticut. I know there are many others around the world who are suffering similar heartache and whose worries are much greater than mine. This time of year to reflect on our Savior and his life and sacrifice has brought me great solace and perspective. Amid the sadness, December is a magical month for me and I'm grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life to share it with! 

Utah

Chase and I are so happy to be back in Utah! There is snow on the ground, the air is crisp and cold, and my parents house is decorated so beautifully for Christmas! Our first few days back have been packed full of fun activities:

• A doctor appointment for me and baby #2. After going 14 weeks without seeing a doctor I was very thankful to see our little boy on ultrasound and hear the news that he's doing well! The doctor said his head is measuring big- a week bigger than the rest of his body, so I guess we have a smart boy on the way!
• Christmas shopping! In my nesting mode I have been wanting to shop for over a month now and I love it! Aunt Heidi was a champ by playing with Chase throughout our whole shopping trip on Saturday so that my mom and I could focus on the shopping. Chase laying on his stomach playing with toys in the middle of Babies R Us was priceless!
• Spending time with family- both Will and Heidi have been able to come visit and I love seeing them! My parents house feels so cozy and safe and I really love being here. 
• Friday night we attended the ward Christmas party and it was amazing! The food was incredible, the entertainment was fun and the decorations were incredible. After being in charge of a few branch functions in Dominica that never seemed to go smoothly, I can appreciate how much work went into that night.
• Sunday night my mom and I attended the stake Christmas concert and it was absolutely incredible! I love Christmas music and it was so wonderful to just sit and listen to beautiful music about the Savior and think of him during this time of year. 
• Visiting with dear friends- I love reconnecting with people we've missed so much while we were away.
• Ben joined up with us on Thursday night! I was so happy to get him back from the East coast!

The rest of our Virginia Trip

After Santa's visit on Monday night, we did an early "Christmas morning" on Tuesday so that Ray and Diane could see Chase open the presents they got him- and boy was he spoiled! The first gift he opened was actually from his uncle Nathan, who has us in the family gift exchange this year. It was this little pack of toy John Deere tractors. Chase was so excited about them that he had a hard time opening anything else! He just wanted to play with his tractors!

 His other favorite gifts were the toy Little People Airplane (Chase LOVES "aweplanes") and puzzle. He also has loved the book they gave him, Twas the Night before Christmas- with Papa and Grandma's voices recorded reading it to him! We have listened to it many times since. It was so fun to see Chase open presents and his excitement at new toys, and just that he "gets it" a little more than last year.

The rest of our Tuesday was pretty relaxed, eating Thanksgiving leftovers and Chase had some time out in the yard looking for sticks, which is pretty much his favorite activity. Tuesday night things got a little exciting/worrisome when I started having some fairly intense contractions. Luckily, after Ben gave me a blessing they slowed down, but I spent Wednesday mostly lying in bed and drinking lots of water, per doctors orders. Ray and Diane played with Chase all day and I was very grateful for the help!

Thursday morning came and it was time for Chase and I to fly back to Utah. Ben is staying in Virginia for a few more days to study before he flies to Florida to take one more big test and then he'll join us in Utah! We snapped a few pictures Thursday morning before leaving, I love this first one of Chase with his grandparents. He adores them! And I think the feeling is pretty mutual.

 We got a four generation picture of Ben and Chase with Ben's sweet Grandmother and Ray (and of course, the beloved Andy joined in the picture)

 And a quick shot, that didn't turn out that great, with his Uncle Nathan

 Then Chase and I were on the road! When we planned this trip back, knowing that I'd be flying alone with Chase at 32 weeks pregnant, I wanted to fly directly back to Salt Lake if at all possible. The cheapest direct flight I could find was out of Baltimore, Maryland, which is about a 3 hour drive from where we were staying in Virginia (there are about 5 airports closer than this one, but all required 1 or more stops along the way). We came up with an idea that worked out wonderfully- my really good friend Caitlyn is living in Washington DC these days, and I really wanted to see her anyway on this trip. She was willing to drive all the way down to Powhatan after getting off work on Wednesday night so that she could drive me to the airport the next day. Not exactly a normal fun day with a girlfriend, but Cait is pretty much up for anything, so it worked out great! I was even able to get her a gate pass so she could help me haul my two carry-on bags, heavy and awkward carseat, and get my busy toddler through security and to the gate. I don't think I could have made it without her help! She's amazing.

Chase was thrilled to be on an airplane, and exhausted for the days journey, so he luckily slept for the first 90 minutes of our 5 hour flight. We lucked out and there was one empty seat on the plane, so they let me bring on Chase's carseat and gave him his own seat! He turns two next month, so he was still technically a lap rider, and his mom doesn't quite have as much room on her lap as the last time we flew! It was fairly easy to keep him happy for the next couple of hours with snacks, movies and little games. About one hour before we were due to land, Chase had had enough! He started screaming "I all done! Go home!" over and over again. Luckily, we worked through that distress and somehow made it all the way to Salt Lake! I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to get all those bags, the carseat and Chase out to baggage claim where my wonderful parents would be waiting. I was a little worried when I realized we were docking at the farthest gate away from baggage claim. The sweet lady next to me on the flight offered to carry my bags out for me. She was seriously such an angel! I felt so blessed that we had made it home, in one piece, and for all those people who helped me out on the way.

Chase was so excited to see his Nana and Papa waiting for him! He hid behind me in shyness for about 5 seconds and then was happy to be in their arms! We are loving being back in Utah and can't wait for Ben to join us next week!

We made it to Virginia!

After our day at Disneyworld, we all went to bed pretty tired. I woke up around 12:30 am (which is really normal for me at this point) and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't have to lay awake for nearly as long as I anticipated, since Chase was up and chipper and ready to go at 3:00 am! Poor kid, I'm pretty sure he thought we were going to take him to Disneyworld again that day! I tried to keep him quiet so that Ben, our driver, could get a little more sleep, but Ben quickly woke to Chase's little jibber jabber of "I see daddy! Wake daddy!" Ben got up and decided that since it was going to be a long day anyway we might as well pack up and hit the road. Chase was so hyper and happy as we packed up, and kept saying "I see Mickey Mouse!" He was fairly devastated as we pull out of Orlando around 3:45 am and did not head to the Magic Kingdom. 

All in all, for a 12 hour road trip, Chase did extremely well. He would hardly nap at all, but he did stay fairly content watching movies, playing little games with me, reading books, coloring, and looking for big trucks out the window. Here are the only pictures I snapped during the trip- of Chase mid-tantrum. I was hoping that if I pulled out the camera he would think it was a funny game, which wasn't actually the case. 

 The drive itself was beautiful. We watched the sun come up as we drove through Savannah, Georgia and all the way through North and South Carolina we were surrounded by beautiful trees.  We had to stop often (pregnant lady and toddler on board!) but still managed to make pretty good time. By 4:30 pm we were pulling into Ben's parent's home in Powhatan- and boy were we happy to finally be there!

Despite Chase's lack of sleep and naps, his attitude quickly turned fairly sweet as he greeted his Papa. He got even happier when he was introduced to Andy, the family dog. Andy is a really sweet little shih tsu, and Chase loves to get right down on the ground next to him, look him in the eye, and say "Hi there doggy!" We are still working on being "soft" with the dog and I'm pretty sure that Chase thinks a little dog like that is the greatest thing in the world!

Monday we headed out for a special outing for Chase. Knowing of Chase's love for donuts, Papa planned to take him to Krispy Kreme, so he could watch them be made and then, of course, eat one. Papa was swelling with pride as he took Chase over to show him the choices of which donuts he could pick and Chase pointed right to the chocolate covered creme filled donut, Papa's favorite!

 Chase with Papa and Grandma

 Watching Donuts be made- Chase was pretty mesmerized.

Monday night we had another Thanksgiving dinner, since we got here just a little late for the actual holiday. The dinner was filled with Southern traditional Thanksgiving dishes- aka Ben's heaven! We had turkey of course, with sides of green beans, collared greens, corn pudding, sweet potato casserole and homemade stuffing. Ben thinks that all the other stuff are just ancillary to sweet potato casserole and devoured several helpings of it. We were delighted that Ben's good friend, Brent Gunn and his little family were able to join us! Here are Ben and Brent with their little boys- Chase and Tanner- with Brent's little girl Layla in the front. 

 Grandma spoiled us by having a pie there corresponding to each of our favorites- a German Chocolate pie for Chase (well- it's Papa's fav too), a pecan pie for Ben and a mixed berry pie for me! They were delicious! Chase was all business about devouring his piece of chocolate pie!

 After dinner we had two surprise guests- Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by! A couple in Hugo's ward dresses up as Santa and Mrs. Claus ever year and Ray arranged for them to come see Chase! This was his first exposure to Santa, and it was a pretty great first exposure. Chase was very unsure at first, and was clinging to Ben, but after a few rounds of jingle bells he warmed up a little. He loved that they gave him his own little jingle bells to hold!

 Once Santa got down to sit on the ground, Chase eventually worked his way closer and closer until he was sitting on Santa's lap. As long as they talked about the jingle bells and not anything else, Chase did fine! (We've noticed that Chase's coping mechanism when he's uncomfortable is to divert all his attention to something else, and jingle bells were the perfect outlet- after all it's his favorite song these days!) He warmed up enough to give Santa a hug before he left!

The first half of our Virginia visit has been awesome! Lots of yummy food and Santa Claus- what could be better! Stay tuned for Part II!

Disneyworld!!!!

Shout it from the rooftops- Ben is officially done with FIVE semesters of medical school! This pretty much marks our half way point through the program. The biggest hurdle is still yet to come (Step 1 of the USMLE- board exams!) but we had to take this opportunity to do a little celebrating! These last 5 semesters have been hard for our family, rewarding, but very difficult at times. Living abroad AND moving across the country, adjusting to all new things so often and making new friends- it has been quite the adventure. Since we were driving right through Orlando on our way to Virginia to visit Ben's parents, we couldn't NOT stop at Disneyworld! Ben and I realized that this is our first time doing a family vacation just the three of us. We've traveled (obviously) a lot, but never just for fun since Chase was born. With the impending arrival of our little #2 and the demands of medical school, this will obviously be the last time we do a family vacation with just the three of us. It was definitely a day to remember!

Friday morning Ben had his final exam from 8-noon. I worked all morning to pack and get the car all loaded up. Chase, of course, helped. And by helped I mean unpacked previously packed bags, zipped and unzipped zippers, and followed me (quite slowly) as I took 11 or so trips out to the car to load it up. When Ben got home from his test we handed in our key and we were OFF! The drive from Miramar to Orlando was about 4 hours. Chase did great on the first half, and really really was done being in the carseat after that. However, we still made it, smoothly and in one piece! We checked into our hotel, got cleaned up, had dinner and we all went to bed early. I could hardly sleep I was so excited for Disneyworld! I just couldn't wait to see my little one's face light up at all the excitement! We were also a little worried. This whole Disney experience could have ended up being a really expensive day of us hauling an uncooperative 23 month old through a hot theme park. Luckily- that was not on the menu for today!

Here's how it went down:

 Chase and I in front of City Hall-

The weather was gorgeous! Warm and Dry! Absolutely perfect!

Our first stop was Peter Pan. We talked it up to Chase, who only knows

the characters through Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Chase did really well-although half way through the ride he climbed right up on my lap.

It was a tad scary for him- but he still was just wide eyed with amazement taking it all in!

Next we went on Small World. As evidenced by his smile here, 

Small World was just right for this little boy!

 And from then on he decided rides were fun! In every ride he was just wide-eyed in wonder at everything going on around him. I loved watching him experience it all!

We did try to take him on the Carousel- he flat out refused to hop on one of those horses and we left before the ride even started. The carousel was the only ride he wouldn't do!

Here he is outside the teapot ride, just laughing with his dad. Ben and I loved spending this whole day just focused on Chase. He is really such a fun kid and we feel so blessed that he's ours!

 Chase really wanted to do the racecar track, although Ben informed me that right after I snapped this picture and went to get in my car Chase got very concerned about where I went and spent the rest of the ride looking for mama. He only really got excited about driving the car at the very end. 

 The Buzz Lightyear ride was a hit, and we knew it would be. Buzz is a favorite of Chase's already. He was pretty excited to meet him. A little shy at first, but he did give him a high-five.

 I mostly didn't want to be photographed in all my enormous glory today,

but I couldn't resist documenting at least a little that we were all here together!

Chase loved seeing the Castle! It was so fun to see how magical it all was for him.

 We took Chase on Pirates of the Caribbean and he did great. His favorite part was seeing the pirate ship (which he calls "Bucky" thanks to Jake and the Neverland Pirates). Ben and I, of course, reminisced about our own Pirates of the Caribbean adventure down in Dominica (where the movies were actually filmed). We had to laugh when I filled up our water bottle at the drinking fountain just outside the ride and had to dump the whole bottle out because the water came out brown. So fitting right? The water DOES come out brown in the Caribbean!

 Chase was a little concerned during Jungle Cruise,

and might have been the only one on the boat,

despite the over-enthusiastic skipper's lame jokes and puns.

 Chase was very interested in the flying carpets-

even though he hasn't ever seen Aladdin, he still thought they were pretty cool.

He was even more impressed with The Tiki Room. The kid loves birds, so we shouldn't have been surprised there.

 And at this point Chase hit a wall. It was wonderful really, we wheeled him into a more quiet corner and he slept for about 30 minutes...

 ...while Ben and I devoured this masterpiece! 

Ben had a dream to eat a funnel cake at Disneyworld. I will admit, it was delicious. 

And I really love how everything at Disney comes shaped like Mickey Mouse.

 Chase woke up chipper and happy and we were off to fly on Dumbo!

Chase hadn't seen Dumbo either, but once we showed it to him he kept repeating "Dumbo fly!"

This ride is kind of ingenious, instead of waiting in line you go into a big circus tent and they give you a pager. There is all kinds of fun stuff for the little guys to play with while you wait. Then they page you and you get to ride. This was a major highlight for Chase.

 We were worried how Chase would handle waiting in lines. He exceeded our expectations and did great! We had to work a little harder towards the end of the day to keep him happy, but these next two pictures show that Ben can keep this boy pretty happy with silly little games! 

 Chase loved meeting Goofy and Donald!

 And as soon as we said good-bye to them, Chase started asking about Mickey. Our last stop of the day was seeing Mickey Mouse, and I can't think of a better way to end the day! Chase was completely enamored with him! Mickey had started playing peek-a-boo with Chase, when Chase sweetly said "Mickey high-five?" Here is Mickey meeting Chase's request.

 The pictures don't really do it justice,

but Chase was all smiles for Mickey! 

 All in all, it was a perfect day! One I'll keep tucked away in my memories for days that are a little less whimsical than this one (like possibly tomorrow, when we make the 12 hour drive to Virginia!) It was the perfect way to celebrate the accomplishment it is to have made it this far, and so fun to enjoy our little boy before the attention gets split two ways. I'm so grateful that we had this opportunity, and grateful to Ben for going along with my plans- even the slightly crazy ones. The Magic Kingdom lived up to it's name- our day was magical!