Yo Gabba Gabba

Move over Bob the Builder, there's a new TV king in our home. Yo Gabba Gabba is rockin' our house something fierce. The characters are great and while the music sticks in your head for days and daaaayyyyys, it's actually NOT BAD. Watch this and get back to me tomorrow. Still stuck in your head? Yeah, we can sing it together.



Oh right, and the other cool thing? Chase likes it too. I'm so proud.

He was so excited

He was so excited to be among all the shiny new toys.



Until I reminded him that we were at Jackson's birthday party and they were
Jackson's shiny new toys. It wasn't much fun after that.

Cousins

What I have been doing

We've been pretty busy lately but I'll spare you the wordiness and just show you in pictures.

Chase went to his first Royals game.





We celebrated my aunt's husband, Clayton's, 50th birthday.



We watched Gary's first parade in the Oriental Band as a Shriner on the Fourth of July.



I went to the lake with family last week.



Had some drinks...not as many as them, though.



And just because I can.

Now THAT kid has some timing!

Today was the big day. Chase started preschool. *sigh* I'm not going to go into the fact that he ALSO had to start big boy underwear today because his school doesn't allow pullups but really I'm ok with that because we weren't getting anywhere with them anyway but I did have to bring 50 pairs of underwear and shorts because the kid will just NOT tell us when he needs to use the dang potty even though I KNOW he's a genius and that he's just being stubborn. But like I said, I'm not going there.

Instead, let me tell you how our morning drop off went. Wait. FIRST let me tell you how I EXPECTED it to go.

EXPECTED VERSION:
I take Chase to his classroom and he throws a crying fit, grabs my legs, pees his pants, refuses to let go and I have to peel him off me to make a mad dash to my car. There I sit sobbing in the parking lot for an hour while I can see him at the window still crying and wanting me to take him home. I finally make it to work where I have to leave early because I just can't take the pain. I rush to pick him up, find him still bawling uncontrollably and we decide we will just have to homeschool. A little dramatic? Hell, no.

REALITY:
I took Chase to his classroom and he immediately takes off for the toys. He was very excited to see the other kids and smiled at his new teacher, Miss Leah. I dropped off his belongings and asked him if he was going to be a good boy for Miss Leah. He replies "Yes" and continues moving some beans that Miss Leah had set out for them to work with later in the morning from one bowl to another. I told him to give me a bye-bye hug and kiss and that I had to go to work. I thought to myself, "Ok, this is where it all starts." He hugged me, kissed me and went right back to the beans. At that point I found MYSELF getting a little teary. I was appalled at myself and quickly stood up to shake it off. Miss Leah must have noticed because she said to me so sweetly, "He'll be just fine, don't cry." I gulped, told her thank you and walked out of the classroom.

As I was walking up the stairs to leave a little boy stopped me and asked me who's mommy I was. I told him and then he said to me, "You look very beautiful today." It was so sweet, so genuine and so thoughtful that it caught me completely off guard. I almost didn't notice my heart breaking. It was just what I needed.

Toilets, Hogs, Boxes and Germans

This was a big weekend for us, folks. One that will require multiple exclamation points. You've been warned. BIG WEEKEND! Guess what we did this weekend!! We pottied in the toilet for the first time!! Hoorayyy!!! No, not me. I'm very skilled in this area already. Chase! Chase pottied for the first time this weekend! I'm a proud mama and have been telling everyone. EVERYONE. He is embarrassed, of course.

So embarrassed in fact,that he decided to move out. He and Ashtin hit the open road and headed to his Papa's house.



Good thing his Papa had a wide assortment of boxes to make a home.



He shacked up with some German chick and has refused to take my calls. (Please note the fabulous home furnishing drawings... and the family self portrait. Skills, People, I have mad drawing skills.)




In the end, I promised to stop embarrassing him with my pride. He left that German bitch and moved back home. So I guess I'll stop gushing about it. Except for this one last time of course. Good job, Chase!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!

Hope Everyone Had a Happy Easter!

Chase the Builder

Chase's newest obsession lately has been Bob the Builder. It's a television show for kids on PBS about Bob (a builder, obviously), his talking machines and their daily adventures and lessons. It's not too bad of a show, the first 500 times you see it. Chase loves it so much however that he's even memorized the theme song and will sing it at any opportunity. It's a cute little song but unfortunately will stick in your head like a bad commercial. I finally caught him on video singing it and while it's very adorable, don't blame me when you find yourself singing it at unexpected moments. Just call me up and we can sing it together...like good friends should.





Bob the Builder, can we fix it?
Bob the Builder, yes we can!

Scoop, Muck, and Dizzy
Roley too
Lofty and Wendy, join the crew
Pilchard and Bird, Travis and Spud
Playing together, like good friends should!

Bob the Builder, can we fix it?
Bob the Builder, yes we can!

My Little Snowman

The snow is finally almost gone here, thankfully. I've never been a big snow person since I became an adult. As a kid, though, I loved it. All the snowmen, snowballs and the sledding-loved it. These days though, I'm usually pretty happy to see it go. However, there is one small thing that happened this year to make me enjoy it again. Chase discovered it.









I guess it's time to invest in a new pair of snow boots.

One of these things is just like the other.

I'm sorry for the delay in doing Chase's birthday post but this past weekend was a rough one. Not only did Chase turn 2 this weekend, we also lost my grandfather to cancer. So it's been hard deciding which one to post about. It just felt wrong posting about one and not the other. Since Chase (and I) wouldn't be here if it weren't for my grandfather, doing both in one post seems right, in the end.

I love you and will miss you, Grandpa. Thank you for all you've ever done for us, which was so much.






Chase's two years in review:

October 2004



November 2004


December 2004


January 2005


February 2005


March 2005


April 2005


May 2005


June 2005


July 2005


August 2005


September 2005


October 2005


November 2005


December 2005


January 2006


February 2006


March 2006


April 2006


May 2006


June 2006


July 2006


August 2006


September 2006


October 2006


Happy Birthday Chase!

Shakin' it like a Salt Shaker

This morning Chase and I decided to clean out his bedroom of outdated toys and clothes. With his birthday coming next weekend, we (I) figured it was probably time. While spending all this time in his room, Chase came across a toy that he hasn't played with in a while and was so excited. It's a little basketball goal and each time something goes through the hoop, music plays or people cheer. Chase quickly figured out that you only have to hit the little lever with your hand to make the music play. As you will see in the video below (assuming YouTube has decided to be kind today), I think what they say is definitely true. He is a dance, dance, dance, dance, dancin' machine. Watch him get down.



By the way, Chong the cat does not enjoy Basketball Music Playing Toy. And yes, during the video I may have given him a little tap (I did not say "kick") around the one minute mark to stop the meowing. You'll notice it only worked temporarily.