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!

Sneak Peek

We recently had some family pictures taken...here's a little sneak peek. More to come!

So cute!!

Hey ya’all. I am writing this blog piece to share the story of the awesomely awkward adventure that went wrong this weekend. Katie and I went camping thinking it would be a good getaway since I have been unemployed for six weeks and life has been on the stressful side. Unfortunately when I booked our camp site I thought the weather would drop down a bit but I was wrong with my hopeful assumption, it was bloody hot! It was around 106 when we got to Lake Pleasant, AZ (North of PHX) and the temp dropped to a whopping 93 at night just the right formula for an awful night’s sleep. Some unfortunate things happened like a skunk spraying our dog KC after he and I tried to defend our territory for over an hour in the dark, the wind picked up at 1 am and woke up Chasers, KC stunk up the tent so we all were hot boxing skunk-weed, our air mattress had a slow leak and I stuck to it since it had a suede top but since Katie was sporting her silk garments she was all good but my cotton was stuck in its tracks so no matter the movement it was tight and bunched. The good news is the next morning KC learned how to swim, he has always loved water but would never fully submerse himself. I was such a proud father of our first born. haha. I seriously got happy tears when he did a lap around a tree in the lake. He got good in a matter of an hour and decide to not only show off his two doggy style strokes but also was able to pull me on an inner tube! Good times! I also found out on this wonderful day that I was hired as an adolescent trauma therapist; which has been a dream of mine since I was 22 and has been a long time coming!

Chase is rockin' his sleeveless shirt and has his camping treats with him!

The picture of the lake was taken at 530 am from our campsite. I only was up since it was so hot and stunk in our tent. On the website it showed the lake being about 600 ft higher so it was a good little trek to go swimming and fishing. I had envisioned the water being only 25 ft from our camp site. If only we would of arrived 3 years earlier. lol. So Katie was just starting to warm up to camping after 2 years and now I'll probably have to prep her for another 2 years before we go again! JK. She is a trooper and we are going again on October 7th!!! Yeah!

Better late then never, right?

I know, I know. I have been VERY absent from the blogging world. SO much has happened since I last posted. Chase turns 8 months old next week. I love having an 8 month old- he is SO funny! He's got such spunk. He DOES NOT like to play by himself anymore and will let me know (very loud screams) when he sees me watching TV or doing something on the computer and I am not paying attention to him.

He is getting more teeth on the top (it's all white and swollen) so I think he'll get some more teeth soon. He whines all day. Poor little guy. He likes his food cold because it feels good on his teethers and hey, I don't have to warm anything up! Yay!

He now puts consonants in front of his babblings so it sounds like he's saying "gaga" and "dada" (yes, Chad was VERY proud of this one.) He loves being swung around high and then low in his Daddy's arms and squeals with delight. He absolutely loves KC's wet slobbery kisses and adores his dog book. When I read books to him, he lets me know if he likes it or not. When he likes a book, he'll slam his pudgy little hands on the book with delight and if not, he will reach to his bookshelf and give a squeal as if to say, "not this one, THAT one, mom.." So cute. We went to a gently used children's store and I showed him lots of toys but the one he reached for and wanted was a little electronic book! My little boy loves books! My job here is done. :)

Let's see...what else is new with Chasers...he sleeps on his tummy now and loves his dinosaur blankie from his Auntie Marnie. He eats solids 3 times a day and liquid feedings for the rest. He goes to bed at 6--I know, super early but I guess I'll keep counting my blessings because he sleeps through the night and doesn't get up till 7. He rolls all over the floor and reaches for all sorts of toys. He likes to sit sometimes but would rather roll. He LOVES baths, especially his rubber duckie toys (he has FOUR. Sheesh.). He is still pretty small but now fits into 6-9 month clothes and I kinda like it because he gets to wear his outfits for a long time before I have to pack them up. I also packed away his baby vibrator chair and swing.. sniff sniff. Super sad!

Today we went for a walk and he loved it. He gets SUPER quiet and looks around at everything. He really loves to be outside! (Just like his Daddy)

Here are some pictures but I am too lazy to put them in order. Sorry....