Happy Halloween!

Trick or treating here we come!

Chase was Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

I thought it was a brilliant costume... complete with the volunteers in blue! However, it was lost on most people.

While we were trick or treating, at least 3 people asked if we were either a. part of the PA build that just happened a few months ago... or b. here doing another new build. So apparently our t-shirts were a little too life like.

I even got Chase to say "Move that bus" on command (not an easy feat for this shy guy) but that didn't seem to make a difference.

I ended up explaining the costume and well, like a joke, it's just not funny if you have to explain it.

*sigh*

At least I had fun putting it together.


Riding in style for trick or treating!


I was so impressed with Chase. He really seemed to catch on quick to the whole deal. As we were walking up a driveway he would say "I wanna go knock knock knock". Once someone answered the door, daddy or I would prompt him to say "Move that bus" or "Trick or treat" (which came out something like "Tritch or treee")... which unbelievably he would say! They would let him pick (which we quickly taught him 1 or 2 pieces, not as much as will fit in your hand) and then we would say "Thank you" and move on.

He actually kind of delighted in putting the candy in his bag and heading off to the next house, he didn't once ask to eat the candy right then and there. Though if a bag of pretzels had come through, I am they would have been consumed immediately.


Picking out candy at a familiar house... hey, that's Uncle Nick!


So we've actually had Halloween stuff happening all week but I didn't want to post because I didn't want to show Chase's costume before I got a picture with the 3 of us. It really takes the 3 to complete the costume, in my mind anyway!

So a few scenes from the week.

Monday is story time at the public library and Chase and I are regular attenders. This past Monday was wear your costume day.

I love my little Ty.


Frankenstein and Ty hanging out.


Ty and Lexi the Chicken checking out their trick or treat bags.

Friday morning our group had a Halloween party complete with costumes, pumpkin painting, cookie decorating and tons of good food. Dear sweet Jessica hosted the chaos at her house... 11 moms and 13 kids under 3... and we are ever expanding!

The classic line up shot... older kids only... way too dangerous to put the newbies in there!

2 kids were AWOL for this shot... it's pretty impossible these days to get all the kids sitting at once... nevermind actually looking at the camera. We take what we can get ;~)


The next round of kiddos! Baby Ryan who just joined us 6 weeks ago and baby Chloe.


Pumpkin painting... and very intently at that.

His masterpiece:


So funny story... I looked for a smaller table size pumpkin the day before but couldn't find anything... soooo... I brought the pumpkin from the front porch. Daddy didn't get around to carving it so I thought we would put it to good use!


My little shirtless wonder vacuuming... Sadie seems to like that in a man... errr, toddler.

In addition to Halloween, we were also celebrating Laura's impending arrival and Katrina's birthday!

Laura is having a girl this time around so we were sure to load her down with lots of pinks and purples!


Cookie decorating... now who wouldn't want to eat that???

Actually... the answer is Chase. Took one bite and was done. I think he out sweeted himself.


Another favorite toy at Jess's house, the baby swing. Chase had a blast opening the tray, taking the baby out, putting the baby back in, closing the tray, adjusting the knobs, rocking the swing, opening the tray... you get the idea. He stood here for at least 10 minutes (aka, a lifetime in toddler time).

It was a great lead up to Halloween but I am glad it's over... I've had enough Halloween now... seriously... someone needs to come take the leftover candy away from me...

no more tootsie rolls. ever.

Inside Outside Upside Down

Just a little light reading for you...

Big day out...

Saturday was all about the kids... 2 years old and the in utero kind.

Chase's friend Claire had her second birthday party at the Jump Zone in Owings Mills and boy was it fun! I only wish they had this closer to Hagerstown, we would be there for free play at least weekly. (I should mention there is another bounce house around here but it isn't nearly as cool ;~)


The star of the day!


Chase climbing...


then getting a little help from daddy!


Down the pirate slide with mommy! Yeah... I had a little bit of fun!

The Sesame Street bounce house was the best...

Chase bounced through these doors for at least a good 15 minutes... absolutely LOVED them!


The girls... Victoria, Claire and Minhae enjoying some quality time together!


My sweaty little boy enjoying some pizza.


and digging into an Elmo cupcake!

After the party we headed to Annapolis and made it there in record time (with Chase napping in the back of course ;~). So we drove around our old stomping grounds... specifically...

*sigh* I miss it so much. I really had no idea how good we had it at BACC. I thought you move and just find another church but it really isn't that easy. We were so invested there and had so many friends... it's hard letting that go. Even after a year and a half.

Eventually we made it to Samantha and Tim's baby shower!


Chase and Mary fist-bumping.


Baby Aaron is set to arrive in about 7 weeks!

Congrats Tim and Sam! You're going to make wonderful parents!

In stark contradiction from the morning, Chase was an absolutely dream all day. Sans the whining before we left the house, he was cooperative, pleasant and sweet all day. I am seriously in love with this kid!

The reason I was late...

I am warning you now... although you have probably already seen it... but the first picture will give you the willies for hours... if not days.

So I am leaving our house to head to the in-laws house for Chase's birthday party... which means I have presents, balloons, food to make the pizzas, a diaper bag and a toddler... and I am meeting Adam there. So my hands were a little full.

I get us into the garage, get our shoes on and open the garage door, only to be met by this guy...


So the ick factor strikes you first... he just looks like a creepy spider. What you don't get as the viewer is the size. He was easily the size of a tennis ball.

My first thought was I am moving back to Crofton... I never ONCE saw a spider like this in Crofton. In my mind the house was packed and we were moving far away from these ridiculously large freaky country spiders.

My next thought was 'How the heck am I going to get out of here??' He had me trapped.



I threw a shoe in his general direction but he didn't even flinch. I banged the shoe a couple times in his general direction and nothing. I pushed him with the shoe a little bit and he just stood there. Oh he moved enough to let me know he was alive but he just stood there mocking me.

Then I started thinking that I didn't want him running off... because then I would know he was still out there... just waiting for me.

He needed to die.

The shoe wasn't an option... that put me WAY too close to him and the killing. This needed to be done from afar.

Enter Adam's golf club.

Ok... I can't just wail on this thing with a golf club... I can't see that.

So for his sake (so he didn't see it coming) and mine, I threw an envelope on him. Then I just beat the crap out of the envelope.


The weapon.

I am women, hear me roar.


And this is how I left the house... there was no way I was touching that envelope! Adam did the dirty work for me when we got home. Maybe it's not so much a roar as it is a dainty meow.

Whatever, I killed the sucker.

Family Party

We had a much more low key and quiet family party for Chase on his actual birthday. Bam-ma and Grandpa made sure to pile the Birthday Table high with gifts... which Chase promptly dug into.


Trying to get a good shot in front of the table/gifts... he's fairly uncooperative with the camera these days. Not to mention the fact that Adam's old camera sucks (sorry honey but it does) compared to mine... which I lost on the 3Day... which is still a sore subject. The point being, the pictures aren't nearly a good as I would have wanted. And with that... enjoy!


Chase blowing his new train whistle... well trying at least. He had just opened his haggled for set of Thomas trains!


Clearly he loves opening presents... he got very good at it!


Singing Happy Birthday with his name candles stuck in some leftover pumpkin cupcakes (thanks Bekah!)


I am pretty sure this truck was made with Chase in mind. All the cars and trucks that get put into one big truck that he can carry around with a handle... oh the never ending joy!

Slight issue I didn't think about when I bought it... we now have tiny little matchbox cars littering the house... on hardwood floors. Someone is going to bite it soon... just not sure who. Tip if you come over to the house, look down when walking!


Long hallway + bowling set = more fun then should be legal!


Roof Shampoo's youngest employee finally got his uniform!


John Deere tractors set... that's my country boy!


Remote controlled ATV... I think Adam just got a present!


Even our youngest employee doesn't take time off from fielding phone calls...

Monday night was really a lot of fun... just family, homemade pizza and Chase happy as a clam. It's a good life.

Coming up... the story about why I was late to the in-laws for Chase's party...

Happy Birthday Chase

Dear Chase,

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to you.

I might be biased but I think you quite possibly could be the cutest child on the planet. You have these deep cavernous dimples that sink in to your cheeks when you crack a grin. I could seriously get lost in there. Your face when you smile is the most angelic sight ever... I could stare at you for hours when you are smiling. On the flip side... your sad face. Oh my is it ever sad. Your lips pout, your eyes brim with tears and thanks to me, your eyes and nose turn beet red... sorry for that. Luckily the sad face doesn't come out too often. Even when you take a tumble and cry, moments later you are hopping down from my lap in search of a specific toy you just thought of and now have to have.

Lately you have been exerting some your very defiant will. If you don't want to do something, you definitely let us know. On more than one occasion you have stood at the end of the hall screaming at the top of your lungs for "Mamah and Daddy's rhoom!!" while banging on our door. Usually if I explain why you can't do something, you accept it and move on... it may take me saying it a few times in a row but you do get it. There are times when I feel silly talking so grown up to you but I feel better explaining why instead of asking you to just accept 'because I said so' as a reason.

And the screaming... boy do you have an ear piercing scream. I wish I could ignore it but something about your scream reaches through my ear and pokes at a part of the brain that just won't let me ignore it. Thus we introduced time-out. Don't get me wrong, you were in time-outs before you discovered your powerful scream... we just specifically went on a time-out/scream rampage. The moment you started screaming, your tushie went straight into time-out... and after a while it worked! Although lately it's been making a comeback... hmmmm... maybe I should start the time-outs more often. And now that you are 2, that time-out is 2 minutes long! Congratulations!

We also started telling you that the rule is "No screaming"... then asking you to repeat it so you will better understand. You complied... we would ask "what's the rule Chase?"... you would reply "no steaming". Then you took it one step further by telling yourself the rule before even being asked. On more than one occasion I have heard your ear piercing scream followed quickly by a quieter "no steaming pwease"... I didn't have to say a word. You are a smart little guy.

But for all your momentary discipline frustrations, there are thousands more lovable 'melt my heart' moments.

Yo routinely ask to "watch Chasey on Mamah's ta-bah-dah-ber (computer)"... and when I say routinely, I mean at least 10 times a day. I cannot open my computer without you climbing (forcibly if necessary) into my lap and insisting that we "watch Chasey on Mamah's ta-bah-dah-ber". And the word 'ta-bah-dah-ber'... you tried like crazy to say computer. You really did and I remember watching you try to figure it out and say it back to me... but it never came out quite right... and you couldn't remember it from one moment to the next. However, somehow you came up with 'ta-bah-dah-ber' for computer and it stuck. It's part of our vocabulary now.

Much like 'straw-bee-days'. You tried to say strawberries but it just didn't come out right... so you figured out your own way to say it... and it works. Funnily enough, you can say 'blue-berrdies' so I am not sure what happened there.

Just recently you have started saying "I wuv ewe" which has melted the hearts of anyone lucky enough to be on the receiving end. September 25th was the first day I said it to you and you said it back. No coaxing or prompting. Just a very sweet "I wuv ewe Mommy" as I laid you in your crib for nap. Life doesn't get much better than that.

When it comes to language, you have become our life narrator. From the moment you wake up you are telling us what is going on. "diaper change"... "mamah make poffee"... "chasey eat oatmeal"... "daddy shower all done!"... and on and on and on and on. I give the impression that it gets old but really it doesn't. Every day I listen to you and it just amazes me... just a few months ago you were just breaking the barrier on speech and now you could be on the campaign trail running for office. Amazing.

Equally amazing is your ability to learn new things... most recently your colors. It started with your paci's... "geen paci"... "bwue paci"... and the coveted "whiiiiite paci!". From there we just started pointing out colors everywhere we saw them... and you caught on quick. Now I hear you call out "back truck" from your car seat and after a quick scan I find a black pick up truck in your line of sight. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with everything you see and report on... you are extremely observant.

Oh and even more recently... as in the weekend Mommy did her 3Day walk... you learned to count all on your own! You counted to 10, unsolicited, twice for Daddy... boy did you make him proud. He wasn't even aware you knew anything past 3... neither was I for that matter! Ever since then 5 seems to get left out but I know soon enough you'll add him back in!

Trucks are HUGE around our house these days. You have even started to demand to know which truck is which. You can tell the difference between Mack trucks (any big rig), dump trucks, tow trucks, garbage trucks, cement trucks, pickup trucks... and if you don't know then you ask once or twice and commit them to memory.

You delight in pointing out "police tars", bus", "fire truck" and "tack-doors" (tractors).

You know your animals and their sounds.

Your favorite chore is to push the shopping cart (grocery store, target, ect) back to its appropriate place... you get upset if we forget and put you right into the car.

You absolutely love to "gind da beans" when I make coffee in the morning... Daddy taught you that one. You even insist on "smell... nose... smell" once the beans are ground. You might be the only 2 year old that smells his parents morning coffee.

You also still get a kick out of feeding Riley... most of the time.

You love to read books. You happily call out which book you would like to read next... "Happy", Nigh nigh moon", "weft foo, weft foo"... the list goes on. You can be very particular about what book you want to read next. You can recite several of your books and often read along with daddy and I.

You have the best phrases... lately I hear "Hi (insert Mamah, Daddy or Riley)... How you doonan?" If someone (or something) is in your way you very politely say "Es-toose-me (Riley, Mamah's chair, truck, ect...)".

You copy us like a parrot these days. Just in the past few weeks you have started to mimic me while I am working. I frequently talk with Grandpa, Bam-ma or customers and as soon as you see me on the phone, you pick yours up and start talking as well. "Hi cus-toe-mer... yeah... yeah... ok", "Hi Grandpa", "Hi Bam-ma". A lot of times you end up just talking up a storm into the phone... most of it completely unintelligible.

It's almost alarming how fast you learn... I feel like I can't keep up with you and your ability to soak up knowledge.

I love watching you with your Daddy. His interaction and involvement with you makes me so happy I could burst. He's great with you. He encourages me to have time for mommy... he even pushed me to have a whole weekend for mommy when I did the Breast Cancer 3Day... and he is so wonderful that I didn't once worry about you guys. I missed you like crazy but I knew you were in good hands.

I can't believe that I have had you in my life (this side of the uterus) for 2 whole years now. Sometimes it feels like yesterday that you came home but other times you feel so natural, I can't remember life without you. I am honored that God chose your daddy and I to raise you... for that I feel like the luckiest parent ever.

Happy Birthday Chase

Happy Birthday (Party) to Chase!

Even though the party was on Saturday, Chase and I made the cake on Friday... per some good advice from Christine!


Chase loving the mixer.


Such an intent big boy... standing on the stool nonetheless!

Then Saturday at breakfast we got him in the mood for a birthday with the 'over the hill' hat!

No one wears it better!

We ended up with 20 adults and 13 children! I actually envisioned it being more chaotic than it was... I had a great time and really enjoyed getting to see and chat with everyone.

This gives you a little idea of how crowded it was ;~) We had just finished singing Happy Birthday!


Chase's birthday cake designed by yours truly! The candles are his name spelled out in the back! Oh and I didn't actually find his name with the candles... I bought 'Michael' and 'Scott' and made my own 'Chase'!


I think Daddy had something to do with this...


Opening presents... arguably Chase's favorite event at the party.


Chase showing off his new 'monkey boots!'... which we used today to splash through a few parking lot puddles. I have a feeling I will get more use out of those than I thought!


Trucks...


and tractors...


and lions! Oh My!

If you like his shirt you should totally shop HERE!


Checking out his new 'truck' shirt by Namoo.


As I type a caption to this picture Adam and I are both sitting on the couch, mactop in lap, concentrating on our computer... enough said.


Chase and Andrew sharing a moment over a mutual love of Elmo.

It really was a great party and somewhat a redemption from Chase's first birthday. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time but I was so stressed out that it really put a damper on the day. For those of you that don't know the story, maybe I will share here one day... it really was a doozy. But this party... it was all about Chase and how grateful Adam and I are to be his parents. It was kid sounds filling the house with attempts at adult conversation... just how life is supposed to sound now.

I loved every minute of it.