Photo Album Password

I have password protected our Photo Album on Snapfish. Just send me a message if you want the "room code" required to log in and I'll email it to you. Thanks!

A Very Merry Christmas

We are back from St. Louis, where we spent the holiday at Brian's parents' house. We did a lot in our few days there! For Brian's birthday this year I got him tickets to the Mizzou vs. Illinois "Braggin' Rights" basketball game, so we went to the game on Saturday (they lost, but we're not going to talk about that)...

...while Grandma and Grandpa entertained Chase. They had lots of fun with him. Grandpa shared all of his Christmas toys (Rock N Roll Santa, his Christmas train, and Chase's favorite: the motion censored musical snowman)...

...and Grandma got him dancin' to Barney!

While we were in town we also got to have dinner with our friends Todd & Toni, who are expecting their own little one in May! We had a good time, but Chase was not very cooperative! We're hoping we didn't freak them out entirely with our embarrassing "what's to come" display!

We did our traditional Christmas light display outings at the Lady of the Snows and Rock Park. It was past Chase's bed time each night we went but he was such a trooper. He really liked the lights and each place had a petting zoo which kept him entertained!

Chase also had his picture taken with Santa which went just fine. No big fits or anything to report. Phew! I'll try to scan the polaroid and put it here at some point.

Christmas morning was stretched into Christmas afternoon, as Chase opened his gifts in 3 shifts!

Chase was generously showered with fun stuff by both of our families, while Brian and I mostly got him the boring stuff like socks, shoes and a new stroller!

(Yes, it was 3pm when I took this photo and my child is still in his PJ's.... It's the only way to do Christmas!)

One of Chase's favorite gifts was a basketball hoop, and I think Brian got into the game even more than Chase did!

(In Brian's defense, Chase really had just made an incredible shot!)

I hope everyone had as nice of a holiday as we did. For more photos, check out our Photo Album!

Happy Holidays from Chase!

Click here for a holiday greeting from Chase!

(5 more days!)

12 Months!

OK, folks, here it is.... Chase's 12 month photo!

Click here to compare it to his 11 month photo!

He went to the doctor for his 12-month checkup Monday. He is now 21lbs 12oz (35th percentile) and 30" long (55th percentile).

It is impossible to get this kid to sit still for these photos. I got this shot right as he was diving for me. So, I hereby declare this the last monthly bear photo. From here on out I think we'll do yearly photos (well, maybe I'll sneak an 18 month photo in there, too). ;)

The slideshow of all his month photos has been updated at the bottom of Chase's Info Page if you're interested in seeing the progression. [Update 1/18/08: This page no longer exists. If you would like me to email you a slideshow of the progression, let me know!]
Random photos taken over the last month are now in our Photo Album (labeled "Chase: 11 Months - Misc.").

P.S. 6 days til Christmas!

Kiddy

We had a jam-packed weekend at our house!

First, my parents came to visit on their way out to California to spend Christmas with my brother and his family (yes, they are DRIVING)! Dad spent most of the weekend at a flying workshop and Mom was nice enough to babysit Chase while Brian and I spent all day and overnight in the city Saturday! We had MAJOR shopping to take care of (we are SO behind this year!) and we got my family done (phew!) so now just have to work on finishing up Brian’s.

The city was so beautiful, all lit up for the holidays. We did our usual State Street and Michigan Avenue thing that we do every year (last year I was hugely pregnant so it was nice to be able to walk vs. waddle around downtown this year). We also caught a movie while we were downtown because we discovered a movie theatre just 2 blocks from our hotel. We saw “I am Legend.” It was really good, but VERY intense. Will Smith was great in it.

When we got home Sunday it was time for (dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn)… the CAKE! Some things I learned about birthday cake decorating this weekend:

1. Don’t forget to add water to your cake mix batter. Thank goodness for Mom who realized something was up when I wound the entire batter up the mixer and couldn’t get it out.
2. Don’t let your mom help you get the cake out of the pan with a big knife or you will have to spend extra precious time patching holes (love you, Mom)!
3. You need a “screw thingy” to attach tips to icing bags.
4. The fancy tips you buy at Hobby Lobby don’t screw right onto the frosting tubes (but they SHOULD! Someone invent that)!
5. You need more than a tiny tube of icing to cover a whole cake.
6. To thin out frosting you have to use corn syrup.
7. Sending your husband to the store for corn syrup is never a good idea. Especially when he has already gone through the checkout line once to buy you more frosting.
8. None of the employees at Jewel know what corn syrup is, let alone where to find it.
9. Corn syrup is in the aisle with the maple syrup on the very top shelf in a box.
10. Never let your son taste the frosting before you’re done with the cake or he’ll sit at your feet grunting and shaking his fists at you for more while you’re trying to control your decorating hand.
11. Never set your masterpiece on top of your gas stove where pilot lights continually burn and produce heat (thanks, Brian, for noticing the icing was starting to melt).

So we hit some minor roadblocks along the way but I did manage to pull it off. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you (drumroll, please)... THE CAKE!!
After that was done (it took me 4 hours, by the way…) Chase helped me wrap his presents (the state of our house should give you a little insight into the state of our minds these days):

When Grandpa got home we opened presents!!

And then my beautiful masterpiece was ripped to shreds....

And on his first birthday Chase spoke his first word. He’s been working on it for awhile now but we finally got it last night: Kitty. And not just “kitty,” but “kiddy,” and more specifically: “kiddykiddykiddykiddykiddykiddykiddy.” Once he said it he was so proud and excited he just couldn't shut up. He said it for the first time after his bath, looking and pointing at Boomerang as I put his PJ’s on. He said it over and over through his goodnights from Grandma and Grandpa, all through his 2 bedtime stories, all through his mommy’s lullabye and hugs and kisses... and then this morning when he woke up and saw the cat it started all over again. This boy LOVES his kitty.

Now that I know he’s a “repeater” (whoah, Seinfeld moment), I’m thinking we probably missed his first “mama” and “dada,” since we often hear “mamamamamamama” but previously dismissed it as gibberish!

I think that’s it, folks! I totally forgot to take his 1-year photo with his teddy bear yesterday but I will do that and post it soon.

I will also publish more photos of this weekend's festivities to our Photo Album once I've compiled them all from various cameras. I'll put an update here when posted. [Update 12/18/07: Photos posted!]
8 days til Christmas!!!!

Can't Wait!

Someone loves presents just as much as Mommy does!

Chase got his first birthday present in the mail and he just BEGGED us to let him open it! I got a cute video of it but for some reason Blogger isn't letting me attach it. I'll keep trying, so keep checking back for it! [Update 1/18/08: Still nothing. I'm starting to think the file is corrupt or something. I'm so bummed!]

P.S. 11 days til Christmas!

The Ultimate Mommy Test!

So Chase's first birthday is Sunday. I decided I was going to make a cake instead of just buying one from the store because, hey... that's what my mom always did and it just seemed like cheating to buy one on my way home from work Friday.

My original plan was nothing fancy, just bake a cake (from a box, I might add). Then Brian said, "you should at least make it in the shape of something." And I thought, hey... that can't be hard. I mean, you just dump the cake mix into the shaped pan and VOILA! Right?

So off we went to Hobby Lobby to find a cake pan. There were lots of choices, but it became clear pretty quickly that unless you did some decorating it was going to be hard to tell what the shapes were. So I took a deep breath, chose what seemed like a relatively easy lion, and bought all the icings and fancy tips I needed.

The thing is, boys and girls, I don't cook. I have a handful of easy (and I stress EASY) recipes I can pull out if I absolutely have to, but I'm not exactly handy in that department. It takes me forever to make something because I am literally lost in the kitchen. "Where are the measuring spoons?" "How much is a dash?" "I thought vanilla was a scent.... You can put it in food?!?"

So I have decided this cake will be my ultimate mommy test. If I can pull this off (with the lion looking relatively alive and happy when it's all over and done with), I can call myself a supermom. If I fail miserably I may just have to hand Chase over to Brian and pray he turns out OK.

Wish me luck!

P.S. 14 days til Christmas!

P.P.S. I must be nuts trying to bake my first ever fancy lion birthday cake sometime in the next 14 days before Christmas. Like I have nothing else to do than wander aimlessly around my kitchen for the 5 hours it's going to take me to accomplish this task!

Decorating for Christmas

Last weekend we put our Christmas tree up, and yesterday we worked on our lights outside. Chase loves our tree ornaments! We're behind in our decorating and shopping this year partly because of my Soapbox show (which closes today). I cannot believe it, but...

16 days til Christmas!!

And only 1 week til Chase's first birthday. We really need to get on that, too. I hate being this disorganized, people!!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Yesterday was Brian's 30th birthday. I was able to get a night off during Soapbox's tech week so we could go out last night. We saw "Enchanted" (which was cute) and then went out for dessert. Yummmmmmm....

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

(25 days til Christmas!)

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was a good one! Brian, Chase and I spent the holiday at my parents' house with the step-family:

Chase also got to hang out with his cousins (all girls!):

(He looks a little overwhelmed, doesn't he?!?)

This may have been the last Thanksgiving with all my step-siblings at my parents' house because they are thinking of moving out of state within the next year. I'm glad we were able to make it.... It was shaky for awhile!

Our plans were to leave for Michigan early Thursday (Thanksgiving day) morning, because our family Thanksgiving wasn't scheduled until Friday. Wednesday night Chase surprised us by throwing up EVERYWHERE. Luckily he seemed to get everything out of his system before his bed time and he slept fine through the night. When I woke up Thursday morning Brian was moaning in bed beside me. Uh, oh.... Yup, he had it. We waited a few hours until things calmed down a bit and then loaded up the car (with a bucket... just in case)! Chase got through Thursday just fine so we thought he was in the clear, but then Friday night he got sick again, and then I was up all night with it myself. This might explain how I got the bug:

(I shot a ball out of my mouth at Chase and from then on he kept putting them back in there for me so I would do it over and over again!)

Anyway, Brian was sick the entire time and I was miserable this morning, so it is a MIRACLE we got home today without having to pull over every 20 minutes. Needless to say, we are not doing much this evening (except watching Mizzou beat Kansas in football.... WOO HOO)!

31 days til Christmas!!

P.S. I will be posting photos to our Photo Album, but it won't be soon. I'm about to enter Tech Week for Soapbox's next show and won't be able to breathe again until it opens next weekend. I'll put an update here when they've been downloaded! [Update 12/14/07: Photos posted!]

11 Months!

Chase turned 11 months old yesterday, so here is his 11 month photo!

Click here to compare it to his 10 month photo!

I swear he smiled for the camera with every picture I took. It's hard for me to believe it was a coincidence when every time I put the camera up he turned and gave me a cheesy grin. My mom will be so proud!

The slideshow of all his month photos has been updated at the bottom of Chase's Info Page if you're interested in seeing the progression. [Update 1/18/08: This page no longer exists. If you would like me to email you a slideshow of the progression, let me know!] He is pulling up on things all the time now. I can't believe he'll be a year old next month!

Random photos taken over the last month are now in our Photo Album (labeled "Chase: 10 Months - Misc.").

P.S. 38 days til Christmas!

Counting Down!

I do a Christmas countdown every year, so between now and Christmas every time I post I will be reminding you of how close we are getting to Christmas. Are you ready for it?

43 days!!!!

We just bought Chase's stocking. We didn't know what to do for him last Christmas since his due date was Christmas Eve and we weren't sure he'd be here by Christmas (plus the fact I was superstitious about embroidering his name on anything before he even got here)! So last year we bought him a generic "Baby's 1st Christmas" stocking, just in case. Now he has a "real" stocking with his name embroidered on it that he'll use every year, just like we do!

We are really excited to share this Christmas with Chase. I know he was around last Christmas but he was a week old, we were sleep deprived, and he spent the day like this:

(I can't believe that onesie ever fit him!!)

Chase's First Halloween

Chase was a turtle for Halloween this year! He didn't go trick-or-treating, just posed for a "few" (*cough* 52... *cough, cough*) photos for Mom and then headed off to bed. There are lots more photos in our Photo Album if you want to check them out!

(The little turtle feet didn't stay on very well!)

New Toys

Chase fell in love with this toy at Isaac's house so he just HAD to have one!

Chase also got an early birthday gift this weekend. Well... 2, actually. He is only 13oz away from being too big for his infant car seat so it was time for a new one. And of course that meant we needed 1 for each car. Joy! The checkout guy at Toys R Us asked if we had twins (I wanted to say, with Chase on my hip, "yes, but we left the evil one locked up in the basement at home")! Apparently if you have twins you get a 10% discount there. Almost makes twice the work/expense/etc. seem worth it! You hearin' me, Barb? ;)

Anyway, to get the most bang for our buck I tried to entice Chase to get some use out of the boxes they came in (but I think I had more fun playing in them than he did)!

Blazin' Brother Update

Thanks to all who have expressed concern for my brother in the midst of the California blazes. I call him every day for updates and he assures me that it looks worse on the map than it really is in Vista. He now has clear skies and things are looking up. Assume no news is good news from me!

YAY!

Jack-O-Lantern Family Photo

Brian and I carved pumpkins tonight and we had an extra one to do this year! Here is our Jack-O-Lantern family photo. Pictured here, from L-R: Mommy, Daddy and Chase!

(Daddy is not very photogenic.)

Fire Map

Click here for a map of the area where my brother lives (sorry, it takes a little while to load). He lives in Vista, shown on the map just a little northeast of Oceanside.

Please keep thinking of him and his family!

California Blazes

Everyone please keep my brother and his beautiful family (new wife Julia and daughter Rhianna) in your thoughts as they watch the San Diego area around them drown in fire and smoke. I talked to Jeff this morning and he said they are evacuating areas all around them but they haven't had to evacuate where he lives in Vista yet. The photos above are from his camera. Creepy, huh? Anyway, please keep in your thoughts that their home, friends and family members remain safe.

Love you, J!
SIS

10 Months!

Chase turned 10 months old yesterday, so here is his 10 month photo! It is getting harder and harder to get him to sit still for these!

Click here to compare it to his 9 month photo!

The slideshow of all his month photos has been updated at the bottom of Chase's Info Page if you're interested in seeing the progression. [Update 1/18/08: This page no longer exists. If you would like me to email you a slideshow of the progression, let me know!]

He is all over the place, crawling like a maniac and pulling up on things. He has finally learned to wave "bye-bye" (we've been working on that for awhile) so that has been the highlight of my mornings this week. He's so much fun!

Random photos taken over the last month are now in our Photo Album (labeled "Chase: 9 Months - Misc.").

Weekend in Alma

Since Brian had to go to Columbus for a conference this weekend Chase and I decided to take a little road trip ourselves to Grandma & Grandpa K's house! On the way there we made a pit stop in Grand Rapids to see Brian, Becky and Isaac. Brian and Becky had not met Chase before Friday, and Chase and Isaac had never met each other! They had so much fun playing together (a.k.a. wrestling!) and it was really nice to be able to hang out with adults while the kids entertained themselves (pretty much)!

From there we headed to Alma, where we attended Alma College's homecoming parade! We bundled Chase up tight (it was SO cold!) and he enjoyed the parade up until the end when all the fire trucks came through, blaring their horns and sirens. That didn't go over too well!

We then went up to Mt. Pleasant to see Uncle Kory, Aunt Nicole, cousin Emma and brand-new cousin Addison!

Chase had a lot of fun playing with Emma as she tried to teach him not to put everything in his mouth (a wasted effort, obviously)!

Sunday we went to church with Grandma and I got to see my dear friend Krista and her sweet little girl, Ella, again! Krista told me in the middle of the service that she is expecting baby #2 (due in June), and I cursed her for telling me during church where I couldn't scream!! Chase spent the service in the daycare downstairs where he had lots of fun playing with the other kids. Afterwards we met up with Grandpa at the good ol' Main Cafe before hitting the road.

Chase normally does really well in the car, but about 25 miles from home he had decided he'd had ENOUGH of our road trip. I was only a few miles from work when he started wailing in the back seat, so we stopped at my office to stretch our legs and move around a bit. I have a window full of slobbery baby handprints staring me in the face today as a reminder of our fun at the office yesterday.

Photos of our weekend are now in our Photo Album. Enjoy!

A Visit from the Deck Fairy

Not that I'm calling Brian's dad a fairy (!), but what else do you call someone who removes the loose stain chips from your ratty old deck one day and then, in exchange, gives you something more valuable the next?

Elmer was kind enough to drive up from St. Louis this weekend to help Brian powerwash and re-stain the deck. It looks really nice now that it's done! Of course we managed to find time to go to the Scarecrow Festival and do some shopping (and eating!) while he was here, too! He was also kind enough to babysit for us while we attended friends Jill and Jonah's wedding and reception Saturday (Congrats, Jill & Jonah)!

Photos of our weekend are posted in our Photo Album!

TheWorthams.com

Website Update: I'm phasing out our old homepage. www.theworthams.com will now bring you directly to this blog instead of taking you here like it used to!

He's a Singin' Dancin' Piano Man!

It was a Mother/Son bonding weekend for Chase and me. While Brian taught his weekend class at Argosy we got to hang out and play all weekend long, just the 2 of us! Of course he did get a fever Friday night which almost ruined our plans, but after a trip to the doctor on Saturday afternoon he was feeling much better.

Just thought I'd share this video clip of Chase jammin' at his piano (and this is the tame version)! He LOVES this video of himself, by the way. It makes him laugh every time. ;)

Now THAT'S entertainment!

P.S. I LOVE that I can download videos right to Blogger now vs. going through YouTube. I'm sure you'll see much more videos posted as a result!

Vegas, Baby!!

We just got back from Las Vegas! We spent 4 days there with our friends Katie and Ryan while Chase spent the weekend at “Camp Grandma & Grandpa W.” Highlights from our trip:

• Shopping with Katie at Caesars Palace while Brian and Ryan followed us around with drinks (so everyone was happy)!
• Stomp Out Loud. What an incredible show. I had seen Stomp about 15 years ago (yes, that does make me feel old) and it was pretty much what I remembered, but still incredibly amazing to see.
• We saw a comedy magic show (the Mac King Comedy Magic Show, though Mac King was out and someone else filled in), and the best part was laughing at stupid people in the audience. “Name one of the 50 states.” “Canada!”
• GOOD EATS. I’m sure I gained 10 pounds but I’m afraid to get on the scale to check. It was worth it, though! We got a chance to go back to Battistas for AMAZING Italian. People leave their business cards all over the walls there so I put one of my Soapbox cards up (I feel so special)!
• Dueling pianos at the Bar at Times Square in New York New York. Those guys have to make a fortune! We're sure in the 1 hour we were there they made a minimum of $500 in tips from song requests.
• Dancing all night with Katie at Polly Esthers in the Stratosphere. We were SO tired before we left (so much so that we had to “pep talk” each other into getting ready vs. climbing into bed... like we did the night before!) and when the boys dropped us off we told them we would probably be back in an hour, we were so tired. Well, we ended up dancing non-stop until they closed at 4am… just like old times! My legs are paying for it, though… they are SO SORE.
• Massages at the hotel spa the next day. The boys chose to watch football instead but it was just the afternoon Katie and I needed to recoop from our night of dancing before. The massage therapist asked me, "is there any particular area you would like me to concentrate on?" and I barely let her finish. "MY LEGS AND FEET ARE KILLING ME." It was heavenly.

Lowlights:

• We lost $$ (Oh, well.... It was worth it!)!

Highlights of Chase's weekend with Grandma & Grandpa W:

• Giving Grandpa the opportunity to change his first disposable diaper
• Giving Grandma the opportunity to scrub poop out of her carpet
• Waking Grandma and Grandpa up at 4am the last 2 nights he was there
• Getting new toys and books and clothes!
• Taking lots of walks
• Feeding the ducks and fish where his Grandma Janice is buried
• Meeting the Wilburs and Aunt Lauren

Photos of our trip are now posted in our Photo Album!

9 Months!

Chase turned 9 months old yesterday, so here is his 9 month photo!

Click here to compare it to his 8 month photo!

You can see more teeth in this photo than the others. He now has EIGHT of them! Chase also went to the doctor today and he is now 20 lbs (50th percentile) and 28 1/2" long (60th percentile).

His slideshow has been updated on Chase's Info Page if you're interested in seeing the progression. [Update 1/18/08: This page no longer exists. If you would like me to email you a slideshow of the progression, let me know!]

Random photos taken over the last month are also posted in our Photo Album (labeled "Chase: 8 Months - Misc.").

Edwards Apple Orchard

It was a perfect fall day yesterday for our annual trip to Edwards Apple Orchard, and this time we had an extra person in tow! Chase got to try some of Brian's favorite apples (Honeycrisp) and a little of my apple pie (and MAN did he like THAT)! We saw some animals and listened to the band for awhile, and just because we couldn't resist, we stuck him in a barrel of pumpkins in the middle of their country store and snapped this quick pic. If I hadn't been in such a hurry to get out of there before someone gasped, "What is that mother doing putting her kid in the produce?!?" I would have taken the time to try to get a better one!

Photos of our day are now posted in our Photo Album!

Scrapbooking and Such

Last weekend Brian had to teach a weekend class at Argosy so my mom came to Chicago to do some scrapbooking and play with her favorite grandson (I can say that because he's her ONLY grandson)! We bought out Archivers and I finally started on Chase's baby album. I only got through the first three months of his life but at least I got started!

To see the photos my mom took this weekend, click here!

Atlanta

(I tried to come up with a more clever title but my brain is not functioning.)

I had to go to Atlanta for an all-day meeting yesterday. I flew in Monday night and out Tuesday night. It would have been a pretty boring trip but I took the opportunity to have dinner with my wonderful friend Janet while I was there! She is doing an internship about an hour and a half away and she was kind enough to drive all the way over to have dinner with me! As always, I learned so much from her... about horse acupuncture, camel dentistry and the unbelievably exciting (*drum roll, please*)... World Rabies Day!! (Next year I'm totally throwing a party for it.) I'm afraid all I had to offer her were stories of boogers and poop. Come to think of it, she had some of those stories for me, too.

So, anyway, Monday night in Atlanta was fun. Tuesday night was not. My plane was delayed and I spent many hours in the airport watching a special on Osama Bin Laden that was playing on all the TV's. Now maybe I'm overreacting but it just seemed a bit tasteless and insensitive to play that on 9/11 in the airport. At any rate, I came out of it all with just a mild case of sleep deprivation (hence my lack of brain function for a snappy title to this blog).

Z z z z z z z z z z z z . . . .

Nesting and Forbidden Toys

I'm finally nesting. Leave it to me to procrastinate nesting, which I should have done a year ago... BEFORE Chase was born! But now that he's crawling around I'm freaking out about our incredibly messy house and starting to go nuts cleaning stuff out and everything. I just don't need to turn around one day to find Chase has swallowed a lost tube sock or something. So this weekend I got brave and looked under the bed to see what fun things Chase could find there. Let's see... A pack of gum, underwear, a couple cat toys and a slurpee cup top. All of which were Brian's, I might add. Well, except the cat toys.

But seriously.... Anything Chase can't have, he wants. Everyone told me this but now that I've seen it with my own eyes I feel like I can pass it along as advice: When you have kids, don't buy toys. They will want to play with the stapler instead. The photo above illustrates my point. Aunt Jen's credit card was the ONLY thing that would get him to quiet down while we were all out to eat in St. Louis a couple months ago.

Chase's new favorite toy is a prescription pill bottle. He found it from when I had the flu this summer and it was apparently a really fun rattle. So I cleaned it out and filled it with Cheerios just in case he was a super genius and figured out how to open the childproof cap. It wasn't until we went out to Taco Bell yesterday and everyone was staring at us funny that I looked at my son, the bottle shoved in his mouth, and thought, "This probably looks really bad...."

Last Zoo Trip of the Summer

I took some time off work Friday afternoon to join Brian and Chase on their last zoo trip of the summer. We pet the stingrays (Chase pretty much just splashed in the water) and checked out some of the other animals. Goodbye, summer! Can you believe it?!?

More photos of our day are posted in our Photo Album!

8 Months

It's hard to believe, but Chase turned 8 months old on Thursday, and commemorated the event by learning how to crawl on Friday! Here is his 8 month photo.

Click here to compare it to his 7 month photo!

You can also see a slideshow of all his month photos on Chase's Info Page, FYI. [Update 1/18/08: This page no longer exists. If you would like me to email you a slideshow of the progression, let me know!]

Random photos taken over the last month are also posted in our Photo Album (labeled "Chase: 7 Months - Misc."), FYI.

New Car!

Yesterday I finally got a new car to replace my 1999 Oldsmobile Alero, which screamed at me every time I turned the air on! It's a red Mazda CX-7. I can't quite park it yet and I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable pulling it into our tiny 1-car garage... but I LOVE IT!!!!