New Year's Eve Wish from Chase

Chase would like to write a New Years wish to you all.  He has become quite computer savvy:

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chase

Merry Christmas!

We had a very nice Christmas morning. Here are a few highlights. Sorry the pictures aren't better. Because it was DARK outside (ha ha), I had no natural light to work with!

Chase got the very specific space ship he wanted from Santa (though he did ask where the wheels were and we had to explain Santa isn't perfect!):

He also got a bike from Daddy and me...

...which he had to ride around the house after we were done opening presents:

Chloe had a good Christmas, too:

Chase had to demonstrate for her how her toys worked. This gift is from Chase, which I think he picked because HE likes it so much:

We hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Have a wonderful New Year!

Santa is Coming!

Chase wrote his first letter to Santa a couple weeks ago, with my help (I wrote exactly what he told me to write):

Now, let's be clear about the spaceship he wants. He wants a space ship "that's big, but not heavy, has wheels and a square button that lights up and makes noises and flies." He was very specific. I hope Santa got him exactly what he wanted!

He also requested that Santa get Chloe a teddy bear.  How sweet is that?

Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!

Cookies for Santa

Today Chase and I made cookies for Santa.  Mom, you will be so proud of me....  I did not use the pre-made Pillsbury cookie dough this time!

I got a mix.

OK, OK, I know it is not the same as your homemade cookies, but I did have to mix in an egg, butter and a tablespoon of flour, and then I had to stir it.  So it was closer to the "real deal" than last time!

And I even took frosting a step further this time.  I still used a can (like last time - part 2)...

...but I added food coloring to spice things up a bit!  That also required stirring.  Phew!  What a workout!

Anyway, here are our masterpieces:

He picked out two for Santa and I guess he and I will be picking at the rest of them over the next day or so. Great. And I just got back into my pre-pregnancy pants!

Oh, the DRAMA of Shots!

Chase had his 4-year checkup at the doctor's yesterday.  We talked to him about it before the appointment, to prep him for the four shots he was going to have.  Chase did great with the prep and he loved the doctor and was having a great time in the doctor's office.  They came in to give him the shots and he was very cool about it. 

"Is it time for my shots?  OK!" 

He laid down and I asked if I could hold his hand (translation: hold his hands down) and he said OK.  After the first shot his expression changed and he said in a very meek voice, "Mommy, I don't want to do that again."  From that point he went downhill pretty quickly, but it was over with fast and we made a big deal of it.

"You're all done!  Good job!  What a big boy!  Let's get some ice cream!  Woo hoo!"

He would not stop crying.  The aftermath was so much worse than the actual shots.  You would have thought the boy was scarred for life.  We finally got him to calm down and start walking out.  Omigod....

The boy walked like a penguin, creeping forward a whopping two inches with each step.  He would not move his legs.  He whimpered the whole time and then occasionally he would stop and cry again, saying "I don't want any more shots!" to which we replied (over and over again), "Chase, you're done!  There are no more shots!"  We would creep another foot and he would burst into tears again.  "The band aids are hurting me!"  It was drama, drama, drama.

So we checked out and started the very slow, treacherous walk to the car.  When we got there and opened the door for him he just stood there and stared.  He was trying to find a way to climb into the car without bending his knees, and he burst into tears again, "I can't get in the car!"  I helped him and he cried harder, "Mommy!  Don't touch me!" 

We got to the ice cream shop and the poor kid couldn't figure out how to get out.  He finally did, then penguin waddled to the curb and studied it, once again trying to figure out how to step up without bending his knees.  He attempted it.  He failed.  Tears followed.  Brian tried to hold him up in the ice cream store so he could see all the toppings.  Wailing followed.  "Daddy, don't touch me!"  He then had to climb into the chair all by himself (because every time we touched him, we hurt him, apparently)... once again without bending his knees.  *sigh*

I managed to convince him as he penguin waddled through Wal-Mart afterwards that the awesome thing about ice cream is that it's magic, and as it goes through your body it finds the shot spots and fixes them so you can go super fast again (That's kind of his thing... "I can go super fast!  Watch!") and lo and behold... the ice cream found the spots and the kid was soon running through Wal-Mart like a madman.

I always knew ice cream was magic.

Chase had many dramatic lines throughout the day that were worthy of Academy Awards, but my favorite one was this: We were playing on the floor later that night and he had to get up to get something.  He looked at me before he moved, very concerned and serious, heaved a great sigh and said, "Mommy, I hope I can stand up."

Brian almost fell over.  I said back, very seriously of course, "Me too, Chase.  Good luck."

Yes, he gets his dramatics from me.

Superhero Birthday "Party"

For Chase's birthday this year we had a small family party (just us), and then debated whether or not to throw a big "friends" party.  Chase has one good friend outside of his daycare friends, and they were going to celebrate his birthday at daycare already.  So the thought was, "Do we pay a ton of money to entertain daycare kids and parents we don't even know?"  The answer we came up with: No.  We invited that one other friend (Nathan) over to play and they had a mini birthday play date, which Chase loved.

Nathan got Chase a super cool superhero dress-up set.  It came with three superhero costumes: Spiderman, Iron Man and Wolverine.  They had tons of fun playing superheros together! Here is Chase as Wolverine:

And here he is as "Iron Wolf," the newest superhero, bred from an interesting relationship between Iron Man and Wolverine, I guess:

They found some swords and had a ball battling each other:

And then they joined forces and attacked "Daddy Man:"

In the end I'm glad we handled his party the way we did. He had a lot of fun, and it was a lot less stress for us (always a bonus)!

Conversations with a 4-Year-Old: My Little Comedian

I have taught Chase a couple of knock-knock jokes recently, which I find hilarious.  Check out the video on the previous post to hear one, if you haven't already.

So last night when I put Chase to bed he said to me, "Hey, Mommy!  What did the taco say to the burrito?"

I got so excited.  He was telling a joke!  One I didn't teach him!  Is this going to be his new thing?  Do I have a future comedian on my hands?  I couldn't wait to hear the punchline.

"I don't know, Chase.  What did the taco say to the burrito?" I asked, excitedly.

His eyes lit up and he said, "a light!"  And then he burst into hysterical laughter.

*crickets*

Yeah....  I don't get it.

Today he tried the same joke but the punchline was "a door."  Still not working for him.  But at least he's trying, right?  Ha ha!

Happy 4th Birthday, Chase!

Mmmmm.... Carrots!

Here's a little video of Chloe's first experience with baby food!

Chloe: 5 Months

This post is almost a week late.... Sorry! Here is Chloe's 5 month photo with her "growth chart bear!"

Click here to compare it to her 4 month photo!

I seriously cannot get over how good she is.  She is always happy and content.  It blows my mind!

Today she had her first "hair cut."  I put that in quotes because I did it myself.  She had the craziest, out of control mullet going on in the back and I just had to cut it off.  I didn't touch anything except her hairline along her neck, and this is what I got:

Told you it was long!  I am so happy to have all that off her neck!

School Pictures

We're usually not big into school pictures, but this time both kids' photos turned out great!  Enjoy!