{Pictures}

Decided to get a few pictures before baby boy #2 arrives in a couple months.  I also wanted to capture Chase's cute smile at this age.  Too bad Chase was in a TERRIBLE mood and never smiled.  Grr...I was very frustrated but still glad I found a great photographer at a great price! Check her out: karabarrattphotography.blogspot.com

On a side note:  I am 29 weeks along and feeling pretty good!  Only 7 more days of teaching until I get to be a stay-at-home mommy!

yes, we are still alive. {part 2}

{January}
In January we celebrated Chase's first birthday! I'll be honest, putting a birthday party together while having daily bouts of morning sickness wasn't the greatest, but I am glad that I stuck to my guns and had a party with Chase's friends from church.  Due to Chase's allergies, I really struggled about his cupcake...I ended up substituting a bunch of stuff and he probably only ate 1 teaspoon of the whole thing anyway. He's got major food issues. Don't get me started! Here are some shots of the BIG DAY:

 Chase is playing with two of his little friends from the ward.

 I simply love this face--he looks so mad at us.

Yay for presents!

{February}
In February, Chad's family always goes to Bryce Canyon for President's Day weekend.  It's called "Winterfest" and there's a lot of people that go.  There's classes (kayaking, archery, arts & crafts) and skiing/snowshoeing.  It's really fun and this year was the first year we had a baby with us.  The night we got there, Chase got really sick.  And Chad.  And me.  It turned out to be a bad weekend and we were super bummed that none of us felt well.  :(

 This one actually wasn't in Bryce, but I just had to include it because of his cute smile!

 I had just ended my morning sickness so I was feeling good in that department :)

 Oh darn, Chase has his eyes closed!

 Yay! This one is better!

 We had a little birthday party for Chase because his Utah family and cousins weren't able to come to his birthday party in January.

 Yummy chocolate cake and cousins!

Here is mostly everyone that came, minus Steve, Brett, and Taylynn.  We loved seeing everyone even if we were sick the whole time!

{March}
I was very excited for Spring Break in March.  It was so nice to be home with Chase during the day and get things done around the house.  There always seems to be projects to do but we love doing it! At the end of Spring Break, we went to find out the sex of our baby.  The ultrasound tech unfortunately wasn't the nicest and made the whole experience a bit awkward, but we found out that we are having another BOY! We were very surprised, but couldn't be happier to have another healthy boy joining our family.  I am due August 2nd but hopefully he will come a few days sooner in July :)  Here are some cute shots of our little man:

 This is how my house looks now.  Toys all over the place! When baby boy #2 is old enough to play with toys, I want to convert the guest room into a playroom so I won't be stepping on toys all day!

 Soooo cute :)

 Chase loves to go over to the mat in front of our sliding glass door and just sit down.  He sometimes brings toys, sometimes looks out the window, but sometimes he just sits there and relaxes against the window. It is super funny!

 This is Chase's first camping chair.  He loves putting things in the cup holder (like snacks) and just sitting there for a few minutes. 

Before we childproofed the cabinets, Chase's favorite thing to get from them were the spices! He loved shaking them and carrying them all over the house. Perhaps we have another chef on our hands?? (Chad is an amazing chef!)

{April}
We went camping with some friends at Tortilla Flat, near Canyon Lake.  We've gone camping with Chase before but he was a lot younger and it was harder because he was so little.  Now it actually was easier because he just wanted to wander around and explore and we could let him!  

 Daddy and Chase at Canyon Lake

 Chase loved laying on his little turtle tube.  He is definitely a little beach/water baby!

 He really likes putting EVERYTHING in his mouth...

 We decided to bury him in the sand...haha

 That's pretty much how he felt about the whole situation.

Here's our campsite.  Chase is rocking it out in his sweatpants!
Chase really loved helping Chad put in the tent stakes.  When Chad was using the hammer to pound in the stakes, Chase came over with a little flashlight and started pounding on them too!  He loves being Daddy's little helper. :)
Here is one last shot of this cuteness:

 "Hey guys!"

"See ya later!"

yes, we are still alive.

I wish I could say there was some wonderful, amazing, really spectacular reason why I have not blogged since...ahem....November.

Oh, ok, NOVEMBER. That's right, NOVEMBER.

But there's not. I am simply lazy.

Now that's cleared out of the way, let the catching up begin!

{October}
I am including October because I see that there are NO PICTURES from Halloween.  So, here is at least one:

Yes, it is blurry and yes, he is a very cute dinosaur, and yes, mommy was overly excited and bought this a month before Halloween only to find out that he GREW OUT of it before the big night.

So here is take two:

Look how THRILLED he looks to be a little Yoda.  I was Princess Leia (sorry, Star Wars fans, I don't actually know how to spell her name) and Chad was Darth Vadar.  Yes, we are one of "those families" that dresses in themed costumes!  We threw a Halloween bash at our house filled with yummy spooky treats and taco soup.  We went Trick or Treating around our neighborhood and ate all of Chase's candy. This year (since it is already May) for Halloween I want to get a little wagon to carry Chase around so we can hit up more houses without getting tired. (Look at me strategizing new ways to get free candy!)

Back in July we knew Chase needed a cranial cap (a.k.a. helmet) so we went to a place that specializes in them. After all the measurements and insurance issues, he FINALLY got it in October. He got it off at the end of February and it was a happy day!

Here is a shot of him sporting the helmet:

 Yes, his Daddy picked out the helmet WITHOUT Mommy. I came home to find out that it was a purple and white checkered (Chad promised it was black in the picture) helmet with a YING-YANG sticker on the back. Yes, that's right. My son walked around with a purple ying-yang helmet for 5 months. Oh boy.

We also were brave enough to take Chase to his first football game. Go ASU! (Sorry, I never actually went to ASU but I think since I was born here and raised here, it's ok)

Here is the cute family with matching shirts:

{November}
Chase received his first haircut! He has had probably 10 since then. His hair grows SO fast. Chad and I both have thick, fast growing hair so Chase has a double dose!

Here's a shot of Chad in action with his trimmer:

And afterward he looked like a little stud muffin!

Chase did this thing in his carseat where EVERY time I would put the handle up, he'd grip both sides like he was hanging on for dear life. Cutest thing ever.

Here is our little man:

Chase also grew lots of teeth and we started to brush them with a real big boy toothbrush and toothpaste.  He loved sucking all the yummy flavored toothpaste.  I like this picture because you see Daddy taking the picture and Mommy so happy to have Chase brushing his own teeth for the very first time!

We have these toy bins that we keep Chase's toys in.  One day I found him like this and he couldn't get out:

For Thanksgiving, we had our turkey lunch at Nana's house.  Here is a shot with the two cousins that live down here. Chase always has this worried, confused look on his face! haha

Side note: We also found out a few days before Thanksgiving that we were expecting baby #2!

{December}
Before Christmas we went to Tempe Town Lake where all of the boats are decorated with Christmas lights.  They have a "parade" and I think there is a winner, too.  It was really fun to walk around and see all of the festive boats!

Here is our car stuffed with Christmas packages.  We drove to Utah for Christmas and a day later, drove back:

While in Utah, we stayed at a friend's cabin and made gingerbread houses one night:

 The next morning we went ice skating.  A few horses came over and Chase got to see his first horse:

 Here is our family in front of the ice skating rink:

 Chase and Mommy opening his stocking.  He doesn't look too thrilled:

Chase got this cute hat from Grandma and Grandpa:

Daddy got this hiking backpack for Christmas. We have used it SO much!

Okay, I am pretty tired and hungry right now so I am going to finish up this "catching up" post tomorrow. (I promise!) I still have January, February, March, and April to do. Whew, I missed a lot! Sorry everyone!