No kisses for Chase

Last week I was putting away Chase's toys and saw this in his barn...


I was shocked and asked Brad what in the world is this? How in the world did it get in there? Neither of us knew. We were dumbfounded. Then I got thinking. That Saturday we had some friends over that have a four year old and six year old and they were playing with all of Chase's toys. So how did a Hershey kiss get in the barn? Well, I have (had) a bowl of them on the counter and it would have been easy for the four year old to grab some. This was our only logical reason. For sure Chase didn't do it, he can't reach the bowl and Brad or I would never do such a thing. We just laughed, because if you knew Mason, it made perfect sense. So I looked and didn't see anymore and just put his barn away. We were just thankful Chase did see it and possibly choke on it or eat it.

But the story doesn't end there.....

About a week later, Chase was playing with his toys and I was in the other room grabbing something and noticed it got real quite, we know what quiet means...trouble. So I quickly checked on him and he was quietly sitting on the floor facing the wall and really intently doing something. What was he so interested in?

Yup, more Hershey kisses. Apparently I should have looked around all the toys in the barn and I would have seen these, four more Hershey kisses. And this time we weren't so lucky. Chase had found them and started to try to eat one. He just had to figure out how to open it. As you can see he got pretty close. I was again thankful that he didn't eat it and choke on it. So this time I cleaned the barn out and looked in every nook and cranny. Clean. No more kisses. This time I am certain.

Let's play kitty cat

It's a love-hate relationship with our kitty cat. I know that sounds horrible but frankly, it's true. Brad and I got Baxter from a Humane Society in Florida almost 9 nine years ago. Wow, that was a long time ago. Anyway, he is a fiesty kitty cat but not all the time. He is loving and cuddly but when he is sick of being cuddled, he bites you. It's usually a quick, snake-like attack. He used to slap you first then bite, but before Chase was born we decided it was time to declaw Baxter. Awful and barbaric but it was that or Baxter would have to go and he's so "mean" no one would've adopted him. But I say "mean", because he isn't always mean only if you're a stranger and he is sick of being cuddled.

I say all this because the "mean" kitty cat is pretty tolerable of Chase, and Chase looooves his kitty cat. When Chase sees Baxter he lights up and go after him as fast as he can. We try to teach Chase to be gentle, yeah, not so much. But Baxter has gotten a lot better and doesn't bite him, right away I should say. He just gets up and walks away.

In these pictures Baxter wanted to play in the box and Chase kept following after Baxter trying to get him.

Toys are overrated

Yes, it's true, baby toys are overrated. Of course they are great for colors and shapes but frankly all you need to keep a 10 month old happy is a wooden spoon, pillow, remote control, box, a sock, pots and pans and a book. New parents only get suckered into buying there first child toys because they don't know any better. Up until about 8 months old the baby toys are great, then after that you might as well put them away. They don't want the toys, they want everything they are NOT supposed to have, i.e. remote control, magazines, really anything you have in the house that is not a toy.

Thankfully Brad and I didn't get suckered, too much, into buying many toys. Thanks to Chase's cousins before him, he got alot of hand-me-down toys, which is awesome. But I won't lie, when we go to the store Chase will get a new toy, not all the time, but we've got to spoil him now and again. He loves bath toys and we spoil him with those.

But don't worry, I will not deprive my child of the wonderful colors, shapes, and sounds of toys, only limit them. However, he loves to play with balls so much that we do totally spoil him when we see a ball, such as last night. We were at Target shopping for necessities and birthday gifts and that's when we saw them, a whole bin of big, bouncy balls. For $2.49 how could we not buy Chase this huge, big blue ball? In the cart it went. Chase played with this huge ball the whole way home, kicking and throwing it. Did I mention that it is the same size as him?

Future chef

or not. I knew this day would come. The fun, the mess, the yumminess. Chase loves to eat finger food but little man has yet to get his front teeth, well actually they just popped through a couple of days ago. But they are barely there. I try to give him as much finger food as I know he can gum, which can be very trying. He absolutely loves white Amercian sliced cheese among the many others. But since he can't eat cheese all day every day, I had to think of some creative foods that are more chunkier than the stage three food baby foods. I've been making about 75% of his food so he's had some Beechnut, Gerber, and Earthbest. But frankly, there is not a lot of variety out there and he needs variety just like daddy and I.


Enjoying some chicken and squash. He would grab a handful and squeeze real hard. It was so cute.

So he pretty much eats what we eat, before the salt and junk that I add. Yesterday he had yummy homemade minestrone soup, the ingredients included sweet potato, egg noodles, white navy beans, green beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. He loooooved it. It was quite yummy actually. The next few days he will look forward to homemade mac and cheese, chicken, broccoli, apple, and tomato medley, avacado and cream cheese, grilled cheese and lots more.


There was more on him and the floor than in his tummy. Sierra (hoover) was happy. :)

What deals

I took the day off today to spend some time with both my men. Half day with Chase and the other half with both. Brad got out of work early and we headed up to the Outlet Mall. I haven't been there in years, I mean probably 10 years, yes, that long. But they have some great kids stores so Brad and I decided to venture out. I got some amazing deals (steals) at the Children's Place. Chase already has many clothes thanks to cousins, but I wanted to buy some 24 months for the fall/winter. I purchased some flannels, cordoruory pants, fleece pull-overs, pajamas, and more. Best of all, the clothes were all $2.99 and under. I walked out of the store with 11 items for $30. Yes, I am bargain shopper. I didn't even look at the regular clothes. That was not my intention, he is set for the summer so no need to shop the current season, full-price items. Enough bragging.

But poor little man, as we were shopping, I noticed that Chase kept pulling at both is ears. Now he does this every time he gets sleepy and is about to zonk out, but this was different. He wasn't cranky or miserable, but I could tell something wasn't right. So I called and made an appointment and they got him in at 7pm tonight. Sure enough he has an ear infection in his right ear. This is his first one ever and he is in a pretty good mood. It was a little more difficult to put to sleep tonight but eventually he zonked out. He's so sweet. I hope the medicine works fast and he feels better.

Just for fun...

I see you

It has come time to transition to 12 months clothes. So we while I was up in Chase's room switching out 6-9 to 12 months, Chase was playing. He loves to open and close his door. While I was out in the hallway, he would close the door then open it and giggle. We played this game all night. Then he snuck out to the hallway and I played his game. He was thrilled and laughing so hard. It was so much fun.


Mommy playing Chase's game.





He was trying to close the door but didn't realize he couldn't do it when he's in the way. He quickly learned and turned around. So smart.

Friend time, finally

Today was a full, fun day. It was finally a day that Katie and I were able to spend some time together. She didn't have to work and the kids were well. It was so much fun. It started out interesting, trying to work around nap times and lunches. Gracie was easy since she has decided to switch her napping time, like not napping at all. And little man, well, let's just say he went down at normal time but was playing for about 20 minutes and then I heard he was standing and shaking his crib. So I ventured upstairs, opened his door and smelled poopy! The little stinker, literally, wouldn't nap because he filled his diaper. So after a clean diaper and shower/bath later, he was zonked out.

Gracie's Birthday. Chase was exactly 10 weeks old.

Katie and Gracie arrived to go shopping but Chase was still napping, so we visited until he awoke. Finally around 1pm we headed off to the mall, our first venture out together with the kiddos. What a chaos it was at the mall. We figured it was beautiful out so it would be quiet. Wrong. It felt like Christmas, I guess they were having some kind of home show displays and it was nuts. Kind of annoying actually, especially with strollers. But we looked passed that and enjoyed each others company and the kids.

Checking each other out. Gracie around 6 weeks and Chase almost 4 months.

Gracie is a riot, she is just so full of life and exploring everything. She got so excited when she saw Chase and just wanted to touch, hold, squeeze and chew on him. She is so funny. Chase didn't know what to think at first. Since he is at this "shy" stage he wasn't so sure. He just looked at her but he did warm up and started smiling. It was so cute listening to them "talk" in the backseat.

They were perfect angels the whole time. I couldn't of asked for better babies, even as Chase put out both arms as we walked by clothes and pulled on them. Or when we were in the bra section and he pulled about 10 bras off the rack. I just love him so much, mischievousness and all.

What a fun day and such a blessing to have a BFF with a baby too and so close in age. And we didn't even plan it, believe it or not.

Chase 4 months and Gracie 7 weeks or so. Both of them have since grown out of these car seats.

I am just sad that I forgot to get some pics from today because they do not look the same. Gracie has caught with Chase in height and weight. Next time.

Mmmm...hmmm pizza

Yummy. I love pizza dough.

Daddy you like pizza dough too?

Mommy, I want my cup there

After a few bites of lunch Chase would take a few sips from his cup and then he would put it on his side and it seemed stucked. So I grabbed it to put it on his tray and he went "Ehh" and grabbed it and shoved it right back to his side. So I did it again and again he grunted at me and put it back. So this became his personal cup holder.

A day full of discoveries

Today was another "sick" day for Chase. Starting Thursday he has been really stuffy and his nose has been non-stop running. Yesterday he woke up with a lovely green nose, well not really his nose, :) but he was also irratible and seemed to have a slight fever. So this morning he was fine, no runny nose and happy as always. I was all ready...makeup done, hair done and Brad yells "yucky Chase" and grabs a kleenex. Chase's nose was still running and green. So we stayed home all day. I had a big day planned of cleaning and re-decorating after painting the living room.

I started at 10 am and didn't sit down until 8:30 pm. Yup, a looong day. While I was washing dishes, Chase was in his walker exploring the house. He is pretty fast and loves "driving" throughout the house, except when he hits the carpet and the brakes come on. Anyway as I was washing the dishes, I turned around and saw that Chase "discovered" that the cabinets open. He had a blast opening and shutting them. He had "discovered" a new toy. That means "baby proofing" the cabinets, I knew it was about time.

But that wasn't it for his discoveries. Later in the evening after daddy left for church, Chase was playing in the living room while I hurriedly mopped the kitchen. I left the baby gate open because the next room was baby proofed as well and he likes to crawl on the hardwood. As I mopped I listened to him as he opened and closed the baby gate and babbled, but then it was quiet. We all know what quiet means...trouble. I put the mop down and checked on him and this was his new "discovery."

He was so excited, something new. And he knew how to get down. He just slid down on his belly until he hit the bottom. He was up about three steps, that little booger. He is so mischievous, definitely keeps me on my toes.

Sierra you can have some of my Cherrios.

The other day I was preparing dinner and Chase was in his walker eating Cherrios. Well, I thought he was eating his Cherrios. I looked over to check on him and Sierra and him were enjoying a snack together.

Sierra was in doggy heaven as she munched handful after handful of Cherrios. It was so cute, Sierra is such a gentle giant but a big oaf at the same time. It was such a precious moment between a little boy and his dog.

Before I had the chance to clean off Chase's hand, he managed to eat some Cherrios. Yuck, doggie germs!
But that's not the end, Chase loved sharing his Cherrios but when it came to his animal crackers, well that was a different story. The next day he was in his walker eating an animal cracker, Sierra walked by, Chase put his hand out and Sierra, well, ate it. But not after a fight, Chase didn't let go, Sierra won. And huge crocodile tears from Chase ensued. It was so cute and sad. Sierra didn't understand, he was so happily sharing the other day. So we gave her a few and told her no when he again offered his cookie. Chase kept following her but Sierra is so smart she walked away. We taught her well. :)

Sierra why did you eat my cookie?

He was so upset, it broke my heart. So sad.

But they are still best friends.

Grammie and Papa time

On Friday Grammy and Papa came to visit. It's been awhile since they've been over and Chase was so funny at first because he has started his stranger danger and was shy. He is so cute as he shyed his head down and gives a sly smile. Finally about 15 minutes or so later he warmed up to both Grammy and Papa.

Finally it was time to eat, for all of us. As I sat next to Chase to feed him his yummy avocado, his favorite, he kept staring at me as I ate my pizza. He wanted some so bad but I wasn't ready to let him experience pizza. I didn't want him to be distracted with pizza when he needed to eat his dinner and dessert. He was so funny though as he stared at everyone eating.

After dinner it was time to play. Chase was crawling all over Grammy, something he has found fun to do, he loves obstacle courses. He has these bath squirter balls that are squishy and he loves to put in his mouth. He bites down on it and waves his hands crazily. So funny.

He's started this new thing with his tongue. He sticks it out and leaves it out. It's too cute.