Not so Lazy Days of Summer

This summer has been one of the busiest summers in a long time. We’ve been to 5 lakes and 1 river in 5 weeks, 3 weddings/receptions, and have done quite of bit of swimming.

May 25, 2010

15 Month Well Baby Visit

Chase had his well baby visit which included shots and a weigh in. Everything looked good; especially his ears (Praise the Lord!). He weighed 24 lbs. and was 30 1/4 inches long. He is starting to wonder about that place, I think he’s remembering the shots.

He Loves playing outside!! His little car rolls down the end of the driveway, with him laughing all the way. (Don’t worry, MiMi, we watch for cars first)

June 4

We had a shower at Myra’s for newlyweds Drew and Stacie. Chase had a great time in the pool once Daddy got in. Guess momma wasn’t letting him swim and jump as good as Daddy. He sure didn’t want to get out of the pool.

June 5

We went out to Piney Bay with some friends from church. Chase had his first boat ride and tube ride. He loved the boat, but wasn’t too sure about tubing. I guess it will be a little while before he enjoys getting thrown off the tube and end up with a couple of dozen bruises like his momma.

June 12

We went up to Rogers for my sister-in-law’s wedding. It was a small wedding for immediate family at St. Vincent de Paul Church and then we went out to Beaver Lake on the HUGE party barge. Luckily, the roar of the motor put Chase to sleep for a couple of hours, because it was a while before we could get out and swim. He had fun swimming with his cousins and then hanging out with the family for a post-wedding cookout.

June 17

Chase took his first long road trip with Momma, Aunt Julie, Cousin Lillie, Mimi, and G.Aunt Linda. He did pretty well on the road, especially with the portable DVD player. We went to a baby shower for my cousin Justin and his wife Tabitha who are expecting their first child, a boy, due in August. We went to a beautiful home North of Dallas for a pool party/shower, spent the night at a hotel, and drove back the next day.I just needed to have a couple of days off work and it was nice to go visit family.

June 19

Just as we got back home, Robert and I took another road trip to Rogers for a friend’s wedding.It was the first night I have ever spent without Chase. Mimi, Julie and Lillie came and he did just fine. Momma did fine, too.We came back early the next day, since most of the stores didn’t open until noon anyway.

June 26

Third lake of the summer was Lake DeGray. It sure was hot! We went down for a family reunion on Robert’s side. We swam a while in the swimming area, but we are sure to spend more time down there in the future since Chase’s great Pa-paw lives really close. Can’t wait til he gets old enough to do a little fishing with his Daddy and Pa-paw.We even got to swing through Uncle Bob’s for Hamburger night, a Barrett family tradition, on the way home.

June 27

Maw-maw and Paw-paw got a new blow up pool and Chase loved playing in it while it started to fill up.He’ll get a lot more chances to swim this summer!

Well, that about wraps up June. I wish I had posted this sooner so I could write a little more about what was going on, but oh well.  The summer post turned out longer than I thought so I will try to wrap up month by month until I catch up, which will probably be never...

Catching Up!

Well, it has been For-ev-er since I blogged about anything.  I guess it's not because there is nothing to blog about, I just can't seem to find the time.  I don't have much of a theme to my blogging, well, except for my pride and joy, Chase!!  He's growing so fast.  I try to write down the new things he is doing, but that gets so hard, too.

                                        Spring Recital at Daycare in the Bye-Bye Buggy                                          

                                             In the hall for the Tornado Warning during the recital

He'll be 15 months old on Sunday.  Just a few of the wonderful things he is up to these days:  

* Signs "please" and "more"

* Blows the sweetest kisses

*Can say: bubbles, thank you, dog, duck, quack,quack, and Dad's favorite "Touchdown" (well I think that is what he says with the football, it's pretty close)

*Eats with a spoon, but very,very messy

*Favorite food is still bananas, but a close second is mac and cheese

*Loves playing outside and in the dirt (all boy)

                                                                 At Old Post Park

                                                                Eating with his Spoon

                                                                    Enjoying a Ride

                                                     Let's see what this baby can do!!

Chase still has trouble with his ears even though he has tubes.  We've had to put drops in a lot in the past few weeks after he runs a fever, but it seems to clear up.  However, today he had drainage and his right ear looks yucky.  We'll have to take him to the pediatrician tomorrow.  Looks like he is in store for some suctioning.  Sounds like fun :(  On the bright side, he's not running a fever yet.

Other highlights of the past few months:

Our new niece Ryleigh was born on April 1st.  I had the chance to take some pictures when she was about a week and a half old.  She did so well; she's a beautiful baby.  I did get peed on, though.  But it's just cute when a little newborn does it.

I also jogged my first 5K on May 8th.  I have walked many 5Ks before, but this is the first I jogged the whole time.  I'm pretty slow, since I never really ran much in my entire life, but a friend helped me A LOT along the way.  Without her encouragement, I would have never made it.  I had a sinus infection the week before and didn't get to run any, so it seemed especially hard, but we FINISHED.  We plan on continuing to do more 5Ks and who knows how far we'll eventually go.  We also went to a wedding for a coworker that day.  Chase was sick and I could hardly move, but it was nice to see them tie the knot.

 

Mother's Day 2010: Motherhood keeps getting better and better.  I'm so proud of our little boy.  He is sweet, lovable, and fun.  His laugh just melts the heart.  I don't know what occupied my time before he came along, but now my time is just sweeter spent with him and my husband. 

We've been visiting a new church, Fellowship Bible Church, a non-demoninational here in Russellville.  My running buddy invited me, and we've felt very welcome.  My husband and I already know several people in the church.  It has been so hard to find somewhere to belong, especially when I am not from here and I'm Catholic and Robert is Protestant.  Chase has also done well in the nursery there.
 
I would also like to lift up some prayers this week: for my Uncle Bob who underwent surgery for colon cancer today, that he has a speedy recovery and that the Cancer is GONE! I pray that Chase gets better soon and can have a happy and healthy summer.  I pray that some special friends also get some healing power from God to help their recovery.  

Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for his mercy endures forever.
Psalms 106:1

Yellow

Chase is starting to get better and that means we'll start feeling better soon, too, I hope.  He's still on his antibiotics, but had a great day.  We've had a busy weekend. First, Daisy, our female lab, acted funny starting on Wednesday.  She worsened and finally got her to the vet on Friday.  She ended up with exploratory surgery and they found an infection at her uterine stump.  She had been spayed 11 days prior, and this was a complication.  She was at the vet all weekend on IV fluids and antibiotics, but got to come home today.  She's feeling much better, back to her rowdy self. 

I needed to take some pics for my photography class and Chase was my subject of course.  He's been so sick and the weather hasn't been great (except when I'm working), so we've had a hard time to fit it in.  After we knew Daisy was doing better, we headed to Wye Mountain on Saturday.  We met Mimi and G-aunt Linda there.  It was 7 acres of daffodils.  Here are a few pics:

I took about 250 pics, so to narrow it down was pretty hard.  He'll be ready to take some Easter pics next weekend!  We then got to see the Barrett Family for Hamburger night, the Saturday tradition. Chase just loves being around family.

Just another day in paradise

We have had a great couple of days, despite Chase running a low temp since Friday afternoon.  Friday, Robert and I had the chance to go out on a lunch date.  We don't get many of those anymore due to his schedule.  He starts outage on Sunday, working 72 hours per week.  It'll be mostly Chase and I on our own for the next 5 or 6 weeks.  It hasn't started yet, but I'm already ready for it to be over.  That afternoon was so nice, and we knew the weather was supposed to be bad the rest of the weekend, so we got out the bike trailer Robert gave me for Christmas.  I had to go buy a helmet, but they all were for ages 3+.  I was hoping it would still fit, being Chase has my big head, but it kept falling forward.  I guess I'll have to buy one online.  We went for a ride around our neighborhood, and Chase loved it.  He was asleep by the time we got home.

Saturday, I went out for a walk/jog at the trails with a friend.  We started training for a 5K in May.  I haven't jogged in years.  I haven't even worked out much since Chase was born.  Hopefully it will go smoothly without any injuries, especially no more stress fractures.  Chase still ran a fever all day, but he had a good time playing at home.  He loved having Daisy in the house to point at and say "Dax" (even though that's the wrong name), but he wouldn't get too close.  Chase's new thing is to blow kissess; he's been doing kisses for a while, but now he puts his hand to his mouth to "blow" them towards us.  He's just too darn cute for words.  

I've started a photography class at Tech.  I've got to get out and take some good photos, whenever I have time.  Hopefully next weekend will be nice.  I think this weekend is a bust with the cold weather and rain.  Chase is my subject, of course.  But I'm not sure what to do, I need to take some outside in some pretty scenery.  Guess we will have to see.

P.s. My bracket just got busted.....who seeds these teams anyway?

Ouch! Make that a Quadruple Ouch!

Another trip to the doctor's office today, but not because Chase was sick.  He was due for his 12 month well-baby visit and immunizations.  I think he has lost a little weight since he started walking all over the place. He weighed 22 lbs 1 oz and was 30 1/4 inches long, both in the 50th percentile.  Maybe I'll lose a little more now that I'm chasing him all over the place.  His ears are still clear, but we have to get some new ear plugs. Even Dr. P couldn't get them in right.  Then, dun, dun, dun, came in not one, but two nurses.  It took two of us to hold him down and then another nurse to give him the shots.  He had the first two in both legs and then I let go of him, thinking we were all done. But no, she had two more, one for each arm.  I thought two was bad, but four? That's just ridiculous.  But after it was done, Chase is such a trooper with shots.  He quickly got back to normal, running around the waiting room and flirting with all the ladies.  

Chase got sent home from Day Care yesterday for being too fussy and not acting like his normal self.  I noticed it that morning, he just wouldn't let you put him down for a second.  I realized what was going on later.  We had gone out to the baseball field to watch his cousin practice, and Chase walked around constantly for about an hour and a half, even going up and down bleachers.  I think he woke up so sore Monday, he didn't know what was going on.  Good ole DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness, for those not-PTs).  After a couple of rounds of tylenol, he was as good as new.  Thanks so much to my mother in law for watching him Monday afternoon.

  

Big Boys at the Ball Park

No girls allowed in my room (except for Mommy maybe)

My uncle is fighting colon cancer. He's got a few more weeks of chemo/radiation and then surgery. Please keep him in your prayers.  He has an online journal to keep up with his progress at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/robertbarrett.  Even a blogger friend has sponsored a new campaign for "Team Robert" and getting t-shirts to go towards his medical bills.  You can find that info at http://notsosoccermom.com/?p=913.  She's a pretty experienced mommy blogger.  

                   Uncle Bob and I at my wedding

In other news: We have had some progress on our house plans, and should be working towards the final drafts soon.  Not sure when we'll start building, since Robert is in R.O. class and it is pretty demanding and stressful for the next 12 months. 

Later, taters,

Chrissy

Happy Birthday, Chase!

Chase turned One Year Old today, February 23rd, 2010. It's so hard to believe it has been a year already. He's come from a newborn, 7 lb 6 oz baby to a walking, talking toddler!  It's amazing the milestones he's achieved at this point.  He's now an efficient walker (except in big chunky boots) and his favorite words are Ma-ma (of course!), Da-da, Uh-oh, bye-bye, and ball which he started saying today.  He is learning some sign language like Please,  and he loves to dance to the Disney Channel.   His favorite toys are his little v-tech balls, big green ball, and football. He also loves plastic gladware.    He's got 8 teeth, four on bottom and four on top.  Chase loves to be "chased" by mommy and runs to daddy, laughing all the way.  He has had tubes in his ears for two weeks and seems to be doing well. He got a cold last week but it didn't turn into another infection, thank goodness!  Doc said his ears were clear. He got his first sucker which he wasn't happy when mommy took it away before he could make a big mess in the car.  We had his first birthday party on Sunday.  Many of our friends had the stomach bug over the weekend and couldn't come, but we had plenty of family and friends to help celebrate the big day! 

Waking Up from my Nap .... Surprise Birthday Party!

 

Playing some football to ease up to everyone

 

The Cake

Happy Birthday to Chase!!

 

 Making a little Mess

 

Yeah, Mickey came to my Party!!

 

And Violet, too!

 

  

 

Having some fun outside after everyone left

Chase also had a party at day care today. I took a disposable camera for them to take pictures with the cupcakes I brought.  They do such a great job taking care of him.  He has been hitting others though, so we need to work on that.  He's the youngest in the class, but he's learning to take care of himself so he doesn't get pushed around.  

Happy Birthday Chase and Many More!

We Love You, Mommy and Daddy

Chase got his tubes

The past week has been pretty busy.  We had a snowy weekend beginning on Friday, the 29th. Robert and I both went to work a few hours. Daycare was closed so Chase got to go to work with Momma, too.  He did pretty good, being entertained by the office staff.  That afternoon we went out in the snow. We put some boots on his little feet, but he was mad because he couldn't walk in big boots yet.  He didn't too much like the cold either.  Tried to get a few pics but we weren't out long.

 

I've had Enough!!

Friday, February 5th, Chase got ear tubes.  We were in Clarksville at 6am. It was very early for all of us.  Robert, my mom, and I were all there for Chase.  It wasn't too bad though. They gave him some medicine that made him silly and drowsy, and the whole procedure was about 15 minutes.  The doctors and nurses were great.  We went back as he was waking up and he was fussy for a little while since he didn't know what was going on, but he quickly snapped out of it and back to his ole self.  He took two good naps on Friday, and slept all night long without waking up!  YEAH!!!  We've been waiting on that for a long time. 

Like my new gown? 

 

This medicine is some good stuff :) I think there are two of you, Mimi!

Well, this coming week is sure to be busy.... Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, and planning for Chase's Birthday Party.  Got to get busy. Bye for now.

Chrissy