Big Brother

Our little baby is going to be a big brother!  Josh and I are expecting baby #2 due in late September.  I wanted to wait a while this time to tell everyone..but Josh was really excited to spill the beans - so we did!  : )  I love that he is so excited about it though!

We went over to Dallas City yesterday afternoon to tell Josh's family.  We let Chase wear the shirt there and it took them about 30 minutes to even notice it!  Ruth finally goes "what does that shirt say?"  and it hit Taylor and she screams "are you pregnant?!".  They were very excited once they figured it out!

This was about the only picture we got of him smiling while wearing this shirt all day.  

We tried to get all my family together for dinner Sunday night for Mom and Dad's anniversary so we could tell everyone then.  That didn't work out so we tried again for Monday night.  Jeremy and Colista still couldn't and Josh couldn't hold it in any longer so we went ahead and had dinner with everyone that could come.

When Mom got there she gave Chase a big hug and made the comment "Grandma has empty arms ...we usually always are expecting another baby by now and I don't know of any yet".   Next thing you know I send Chase down the hall in his shirt to tell the news!  Vanessa noticed immediately.  Mom teared up and was so surprised!  Dad didn't know what was going on for a few minutes and then was like "what?!  really?!".  Good surprise!  Yay! 

Chase wouldn't cooperate for any pictures all day..but I guess that's just part of the memory.  We sent a picture message to the special people that couldn't be there in person to find out.  After that we posted it on facebook to tell the rest of the "world".  We have gotten many kind words and congratulations from everyone.  We are excited for what is ahead.  Updates will be regular!  : ) 

Really?!

Through the binky and into the nose.  Really?!  What a silly stinker!

What A Project!

Josh and I cleaned out our fridge yesterday morning for the FIRST time since we moved in!  I can honestly say - it will be that long before we do it again.  That is such a freaking project!  It took us 2 1/2 hours to do the fridge and freezer.  What?!  That's so dumb.  Do people really do that on a regular basis?!  Yes, it looks nice now..but not nice enough to make it worth all that effort. 

Dinner Delicious

For dinner Sunday night I threw together a cheater Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.  Josh and I agreed - it was super!  He told me I should put it in the cookbook.  What cookbook??  Yes, I still am (slowly) working on my cookbook.  Originally it was to be done it a year.  Well..now I say if I want to work on it for 5 years - so be it.  It is just sort of something for me to do in my "spare time". 

Not As Planned

On Saturday night Josh was working and I wasn't sure if he'd be home in time for church on Sunday.  Mom and Dad were out of town for their Anniversary so she wasn't here to go with me either.  (35 years by the way - go Mom and Dad!  They are a great example for us!)  I didn't want to have to wrestle Chase at mass all by myself so I decided to go to Dallas City and have Taylor keep Chase while I went to mass.  Well on the way to Dallas City it hit me that I may not have gotten Bella's cage latched correctly.  A few nights before when we didn't latch it right she ended up getting out in the middle of the night and pooping in the house.  Ewww!  So I was just trying to tell myself it would be fine and continued on my way.  I dropped Chase off..and drove up to the church...and then turned around and drove ALL the way back to Nauvoo because I was super paranoid.  I got home to find that I HAD latched it correctly.  So I ended up missing church and wasting gas for no reason!  Ugh!  After I got back to Dallas City Taylor and I called Ruth to see if she wanted to meet us in Ft. Madison on her way home from work and go out to eat.  We met at the Parthenon and had us some supper.  As we were leaving we saw Josh's train going through town - which made me giddy and excited!  We got home and in our comfy's by 7:30.  At 8:30 Josh texted me and wanted me to come to Burlington and pick him up at the train depot.  Back in the car we went!  Chase actually stayed awake all the way there and half of the way back too.  I was shocked!  Josh ended up being home so we could all go to mass on Sunday morning.  So long story short - even though things don't always go as planned, it doesn't always mean it's a bad thing.  I need to remember this sometimes...

Cheesy Chaser

I let Chase have a juice box at breakfast one morning.  I pulled out the camera to take a picture of him and he immediately but on his cheesy grin!  Haha - I love this kid!  His smartness is amazing to me yet again.  He could take that straw out and get it right back in that tiny little hole.  Good things!

My "Children"

Some days it is like having 2 little kids in the house.  They were playing together and Chase and Josh were both laughing so hard!  I love it!  Josh was chasing him down the hall way and Chase would just laugh so hard!  When Josh finally got tired, Chase still started running away from him and then would turn around and look at him like "hey, why aren't you coming?!".  Then Josh would feel bad and keep going after him.  Haha!  They love each other. : )

The Famous Tacos

Amanda came over and watched Chase for me all day last Thursday so I could go and get some work done for my Dad.  This was MUCH needed and far overdue.  Sounded like Chase was great for her and Bella was a pain in the butt, as usual. 

After I got back home she said she was going out to Grandma Jean's for tacos and asked if Chase and I wanted to tag along.  Josh was on the road so we were on our own for dinner anyways.  It was ladies night out there - Grandma Jean, her sister Marlene, Sandy, Amanda, Me ....and Chase.  Amanda's family makes their tacos a certain way and I had heard a lot about them.  They were very good!  Chase started getting into everything and being a little terror shortly after we were done eating so we didn't stick around long.  It was nice to see Grandma Jean and meet her sister Marlene, though. 

Cousins

Liam loves Chase.  Out of all of Chase's cousins Liam and Owen give him the most attention.  Liam just picks him up and goes.  The other day Liam came carrying Chase into the kitchen and said "look - Chase is upside down!"..and was totally carrying him upside down.  That freaked me out..but I suppose was cute!  Haha!

They were somewhat in love with the camera this evening.  I thought it was so strange/amazing that they all looked at the camera.  I didn't even try to get them to either - they just did! 

Baby Bullies

Kayla and I had a coffee date one morning.  We hadn't seen each other in a while so were just catching up.  Chase and Maci are only 6 weeks apart.  It seems to be that Chase actually doesn't play as well with kids his own age as he does with older ones.  He kept picking on Maci and hitting her in the head.  I don't think he knew what he was doing but it kept making her cry.  She is a little drama queen - but a cute one!  It's funny though because with Chase and Eden it's just the opposite.  Eden bops him in the head and he crouches down and cries.  Oh babies - they're so funny!

We Match

When Josh and I had date night last week we (entirely unplanned) ended up having matching outfits.  We both had on our converse and were both wearing black and purple.  We said people probably saw us both wearing our converse and would say "those people think they're cool"...haha!  We don't care - we are cool darn it!  : )

SNOW!

We took Chase out after our last "big" snow to play in it.  We had him all bundled up...and he even left his mittens on the entire time!  I was shocked!  He was really unsure of it and pretty sober until we had been out there a while.  Once he warmed up to it he was stomping around in it and making baby footprints all over the place.  Bella LOVED it since she wasn't on her leash and could just full of run through the yard.  She was pretty entertaining to watch too.  First of MANY times playing in the snow!

Big Stuff

Mom discovered Chase's love for popcorn.  She gives him his own little bowls of it at her house and he walks around with it and snacks like he's big stuff.  I followed the trend and let him have a cup of snacks at home too.  He is more entertained by taking the snack out of the bowl and putting it back in half the time than he is from actually eating it - but it's cute to see him doing big boy things!

Someone To Play With

I took Chase to Amy's to get his hair cut and she had a playmate there for Chase.  She had her granddaughter Marlia for the week so she was at the shop with Amy.  She is only a couple months older than Chase.  She was full of smiles and personality. 

Messy Face Chase

He had a bath before we went to see Grandma and Taylor that evening.  Guess who got another bath after supper?! 

Daddy's On The Phone

When Josh is on the road I always make sure he talks to Chase a couple times a day.  It is so cute to watch Chase.  He gets excited and just walks around "talking" to Daddy.  The phone is always held up to his ear backwards...but it works!  Haha! 

My laptop has a camera on it but the old laptop that Josh takes with him doesn't - so we are going to get one for it so we can start skyping.  I think Chase would really get a kick out of it and would be a good way for them to see each other to say goodnight and what not.  I'm determined to make this as "normal" of a lifestyle as possible. 

One evening when Josh was gone Chase and I went to Tristin's basketball game.  Mom and Dad went too.  We got there in the middle of the 5th grade game.  Tristin played in the next game with the 6th grade.  I didn't get to stay until the end because Chase was DONE sitting still and wanted to run everywhere ...so I can't say who won.  I was shocked with how good these boys have gotten though!  In 6th grade they officially don't look like little kids playing basketball anymore. 

In the middle of the game I had a "moment of adjustment".  That's what we'll call it anyways.  I was surrounded by my family (Tyson, Vanessa, the boys, Mom, Dad, and Chase) the whole time - yet I still felt SOOO alone because Josh wasn't there.  I tried to not cry but I couldn't help it.  A few tears later I was feeling a little better..sometimes that helps more than anything. 

Cleaner

I have a little cleaner on my hands!  He likes to "help" me clean the floor.  (this rag was clean and there wasn't actually anything gross on the floor..but he thought he was helping)  It was pretty cute.  Even cuter was when he saw that I was taking pictures and cheesed it up for me!  : )

Straw

I figured learning to drink out of a straw would be semi-difficult.  Apparently it's really easy!  Chase caught on right away.  His first few drinks soaked his shirt because it came out faster than he was expecting..but he did really good otherwise. 

A few nights ago Mom and I ate at Weber's and I got lemonade to drink.  I let Chase drink out of my straw and it was super funny!  His cheeks puckered because it was a little sour...gave me a good laugh!

Bison Football

Coulter's team played for the national championship in his division.  Josh and I went to hang out at Mom's and watch the game.  The kids were there too - and all excited to see Josh! 

During half time I decided to run home "real quick" and get Bella because I was feeling bad about her being in her cage.  Well - it wasn't so "quick".  Somehow I completely and totally did NOT see this van and pulled right out in front of it when I was crossing the highway.  She ended up hitting me and swinging my car in a circle.  I had to call Josh and have him walk my purse over to me because I didn't even have that with me.  My back hurt, our cars were damaged and I got a $120 ticket  on top of the insurance deductible to fix my car.  Ugh!  The goods news was though...no one was hurt, neither one of us had kids with us, AND we got back to Mom's just in time to see Coulter's team win the national championship!  Wohoo!  Go Bison!

Emily's Birthday

Emily planned a trip to the Quad Cities for her birthday over a weekend at the beginning of the month.  Amanda and I couldn't go so we asked her to go out to eat with us instead.  We went to Burlington and had Mexican and stopped at Target.  Emily got to wear the nasty sombrero and be sang to - BUT she ended up only having to pay for a margarita so I'd say that was worth it!  Good times with the ladies!