Egg Hunter in Training

After we all got home this afternoon, we decided to give Chase some practice hunting Easter eggs as this will be the first year he'll be participating in some hunts! I threw a few eggs in the backyard from our stash from last year and let him go!  He is an eggs-pert at hunting some eggs! :)  He would find one and then bring it over to us and then go out and find some more! 

Also, Aunt Sherrie dropped off some cute clothes for Chase this week that used to be his older cousins clothes.  This chicken shirt was a hit at school today!  Thanks Aunt Sherrie!

18 month stats

We visited the pediatrician this afternoon for our well-baby visit.  Chase got one vaccination for who knows what (I've totally lost track!) and did great!  He was a wild man in the exam room running from one side of the room to the other and got upset when anyone made him sit still!

18 month stats:

Weight: 29 lbs 3 oz (85th percentile) - up 1 lb 15 oz from 15 month checkup
Length: 33" (75th percentile) - 1" longer than month 15
Head: 48cm (50th percentile) - 1/2 cm larger than month 15
 
I got the approval from Dr. Owen to start Chase on 2% milk very soon.  We'll be starting that as soon as we run out of whole milk in the fridge.
 
In case you want a visual of how much Chase has grown in the past 6 months, here's a little picture from our growth chart!  The only evidence I've had of this over the past few months is how much shorter his pants have gotten!  It was really interesting to see it on the chart.
 

18 months!

Chase is now 18 months old...or 1 1/2 years old!! I don't know exactly how these past 6 months have gone by so quickly, but I do know we had a lot of fun with our little wild one!

18 Month Stats:


Unofficial weight: 29.5 lbs (hospital weight last Thursday...fully clothed)
Unofficial height: 2' 7 3/4"
Clothing size: Now that we are buying spring clothes, we have him in either 18-24 month or 2T shirts and we're buying him 18-24 month pants.  We tried on size 2 pants and it was ridiculous how big they were on him!
Shoe size: same as last month.  His foot is offically the same size as my iPhone! :)
Diaper size: Size 4
Favorite toy: He still loves all the same things from last month.  In addition, he loves bubbles and his new fridge magnet toy.
Favorite foods: He still loves all the same foods from last month.  New foods he likes are cereal bars and teddy grahams.  I let him take a small sip of a Chick-fil-a milkshake a couple of weeks ago.  He did not want to let that cup go!  They need to make a small milkshake that is toddler size because I did not like having to share! :)
Least favorite foods: He's not rejecting too many foods we give him at the moment, but we don't offer a too big of a variety.  When he does reject foods, he shoves the food down beside him in the highchair seat...or he throws it on the floor for Weezie.  In other news, Weezie has gained a ton of weight recently!
Words: Chase said "bubbles" about a week ago.  Then he followed it up with "baby" and "hi" after his surgery. I think he's really close to maybe even saying Weezie's name ("Wee").  He's speaking a little more baby "Chinese" which I LOVE!
Teeth: No new teeth.
Tricks: Chase will now "kick"!  I kicked my leg up for him one day while we were playing around, and he surprised me and mimicked me.  His "kick" involves him lifting his right leg up in a really slow, exaggerated marching motion.  Then he'll start walking and kicking at the same time, which ends up looking really silly!

Other happenings:

• As I mentioned above, Chase said "Hi" on Sunday.  We were at Target on Sunday morning and when we were in checkout, Chase started waving to the cashier.  Then he was saying something that sounded like "Ha" but really slow and drawn out.  We then realized he was saying hi to the cashier!  We were thrilled!
• Chase loves to collect and put away items.  His new big thing is finding shoes lying around our house (there are tons of them!) and he will individually go get a shoe and bring it over to Drew.  Drew will say thank you and then Chase will go back and get another shoe and start the process over again until Drew is holding 6 pairs of shoes!  What is also interesting is that he'll also bring them over to Drew in matching pairs!  He also will stuff the shoes in a little tote bag.  We play this game a lot!  We've played it with magnets, taco shell boxes, books, and countless other things!
• He loves being up in Weezie's business.  He will follow her around the house and try to pet her.  When we have them both together outside, he loves squealing and trying to go get her!
• Chase is now just a once a day napper!  About 2 weekends ago, we started going down to just one nap a day to be consistent with daycare.  They have their naptime immediately after lunch from around noon to 2.  It's worked out well on those days we can get him to nap.  Some weekend days he refuses to nap longer than 45 minutes.  Those end up being some long days!  Other days he'll nap for over 3 hours!

I cannot believe what is around the corner!

Picture Post

 For these two pictures, he noticed my flash and wanted to grab it!

 This is a face he makes a lot lately!

 He loves to take things out of containers and place them somewhere else.  He was a bit angry when I pulled him away from this!

These three pictures were taken over an 11 second timeframe.

Full of Surprises

If I gave you 20 guesses on what Chase did this weekend, you would probably never guess.

He weaned himself from his pacifier!!

Yes, my Chase...the one child that is rarely seen without his pacifier.

Surprisingly, it was not my decision.  It was not Drew's decision.  It was all Chase's doing!

He went to bed on Friday night loving his pacifier as always.  He woke up on Saturday wanting nothing to do with it.

At first I thought it was a fluke.  I kept handing it to him throughout the day Saturday, but he would just spit it out the moment it touched his lips.  We tried each of the 10+ paci's he has in the house.  He wanted none of them!  He even didn't take one at daycare today.  The teacher said he kept spitting it back out like he does at home!

We are just shocked!  Happy, but shocked!  Bedtime and naptime have been a little bit more of a struggle since the paci's are gone, but it's getting better each day.  Going out in public has gotten a little more interesting now that we don't have much to keep him quiet anymore if he gets in a fussy mood.  I guess I will need to start keeping goldfish in my bag all the time!! :)

Ear Tube Surgery

On Thursday, Chase had ear tube surgery.  We ultimately decided to go ahead with this surgery to help reduce all the antibiotics he's been on over the past several months due to these recurring ear infections and to get rid of all the excess fluid in his ears which has been causing Chase some hearing loss which has also caused some minor speech delays.  I have been super nervous about the surgery, but the more reading I did on the procedure and hearing feedback from folks about how much the surgery helped their kids, I was actually looking forward to getting this over with already.

The surgery was scheduled for 10am at Baptist Germantown Surgery Center and our ENT, Dr. Naidu, was going to be performing the surgery.  Baptist provided a great facility with great nurses who made us all feel at ease and Dr. Naidu is a fantastic doctor who came highly recommended from our pediatrician.  I highly recommend both of them. 

I was really nervous about the 10am start time of the surgery, since that meant Chase couldn't have anything to eat from midnight until after the surgery.  The night before we had "Operation Stuff Chase's Face".  We kept him up until about 9pm and kept giving him snacks and milk until he ready to pass out.  We were hoping this would cause him to sleep until about 8am and not be hungry the next morning.  Well, he woke up at like 6, but he never did complain about not having anything to eat that morning.  He was a trooper and we were so proud of him!

We got to the hospital at 9 and Chase played in the waiting room for about 20 minutes.  He loved the receptionist lady (I think her name was Ms. Mary).  She would play peek-a-boo with him from behind her desk area.  He had lots of eyes on him that morning and he was totally showing out.  He didn't have a care in the world.

After the waiting room, we went back to the pre-op area and changed him into his little gown, answered some medical questions, met the nurses, Dr. Naidu, and the anesthesiologist.   We were happy to learn that the anesthethic Chase would be given was only a gas and not through an IV.  That made us feel better since that was what we were most concerned about.

We waited in the pre-op area for about an hour.  Chase had a ball playing with the nurses and exploring this new area.  They had a little TV and we watched Toy Story for a little while to distract him when he realized he was getting hungry.

At around 10:15, the surgery nurses came back to take Chase to the surgery room.  Chase went back with them without crying at all.  Drew and I started getting a little nervous as we headed back to the waiting room where we were to wait until called back after the surgery.  Once I sat in the waiting room chair, I looked at the clock and it was 10:15.  At exactly 10:25, the phone in the waiting room rang for us.  Chase was out of surgery and the doctor was waiting to speak with us already!!  People have always said this surgery is quick, but goodness gracious that was quick!

Dr. Naidu said the surgery went great and that he had to remove some excess fluid from his ears that had remained from his previous ear infection a couple of weeks ago.  Our post-op instructions included only giving Chase some ear drops to prevent infection for the next 7 days.  Also, Dr. Naidu told us to be quiet around Chase for the first few hours.  His hearing returned to normal once the fluid was taken out so sounds were going to seem much louder to him than in the past.

After speaking with the doctor, we went back to where a nurse was rocking Chase after the surgery.  When we walked in, Chase still looked pretty heavily sedated, but was coming to very quickly.  The more he started to wake up, the crankier he got (which is totally normal we were told).  He was miserable and we hated having to see him like that.  The whole time I kept thinking that this was just awful for us to watch and I couldn't help but think of all the parents that have to really watch their kids go through something a ton more serious than this and thinking that I don't know how they do it!  It was one of the worst 30 minute periods of my life watching him be that miserable.

After the 30 to 40 minutes in the recovery room, the nurse let us go.  Once the fresh air hit Chase's face, he was almost 100% again.  He moaned and groaned a few more times, but for the most part, he was back to his old self!  He took a 3 hour nap once we got home, and woke up giggling and laughing...well until we had to give him the ear drops!  Those drops are going to be awful!

 

Just a couple days past surgery, we have been amazed. Chase is saying consonant sounds we haven't heard in months.  Just yesterday, he said "baby" for the first time!  We can't wait to see all the new stuff he can do in the coming weeks!

Taco Time

Chase had his first soft taco this afternoon for lunch.  He surprised me and ate some of the shredded lettuce (which is something his father would NEVER do) but didn't eat any tomato.  As I expected, he loved the tortilla.

Finally Turned Him Around!

I have finally turned Chase around in my car.  If I had my way, he'd still be rear facing, but now that air conditioning is needed in my car again, we figured it best that he not cook in the backseat facing the sun with no access to air vents!  It's times like this I wish I had my dream car - the Swagger Wagon! :)

We took a little test drive down the street.  He just stared...at everything.  It'll be nice to now see him though when I drive him around.

Also, it was "silly day" at school today so at the request of the teachers, he wore pajamas.  I'm not sure why it wasn't just called pajama day though!

17 1/2 months!

As we approach a year and a half old in 12 days, I figured I would do a brief catch up on what Chase has been up to recently.

• We've been going to the doctor a ton lately.  Between Chase getting sick, hurt, or evaluated, I'm tired of co-pays and waiting rooms!  Unfortunately, we have at least two more doctor visits before the month is up.  As much as I really like Dr. Owen, I hope I don't have to see another doctor for at least a couple of months more!
• We are gradually getting better with speech, but not a ton better.  I think we've heard him say "Bub-bub" for bubbles and "Boo" for Peek-a-boo (his FAVORITE game!).
• I think I've mentioned this before, but our boy loves to walk.  On my way home from work on Monday, as I was approaching the corner to our street, I see two people standing there.  As I got closer, I noticed it was Drew and Chase! Chase had walked all the way down the street (at least 4 houses away, up a hill, to the corner).  It was funny to see his reaction when he saw me in the car.  So sweet!  When we take him out of the car now, he wants to walk the length of our driveway now before going inside. And bang on the garage doors. :)
• Chase can moonwalk and he can spin in circles to the point where he is dizzy.  He'll mimic us too if we start spinning in circles.
• I just bought him a pair of Crocs and they are precious!  They are a little bit big right now, but should fit great this summer.  I will have to get a picture of him wearing them!

Panda Whisperer

We took Chase to the zoo for the first time on Sunday morning.  I would be lying if I said he loved all the animals.  He's just not into animals yet.  He did love the people watching though...although he hated that we confined him to the stroller most of the time.

Our first stop was the monkeys.  We had high hopes at first because he seemed to like the first monkeys we came across.  We took him out of the stroller and showed him the monkeys and he said "Mon" over and over.  Since I'd never heard him say that before, I assume that is Chase-speak for Monkey.

After the monkeys, he just seemed annoyed for a little while after that.  I think he was getting sleepy and was tired of us pointing out animals to him!  I couldn't get him to pose very well with the elephants.  He wanted to stuff all of his fingers in his mouth instead.

Sometime on our walk from the grizzly bears to the pandas, we came across the carousel. That seemed like something Chase might like so we stopped for a ride.  Of course, he picked the tiger to ride!  Although he looked very intense on the ride and didn't smile, we think he had a good time.  Drew said he was very "focused".

After the carousel ride, Chase had pepped back up...just in time for the pandas!  We walked over to the panda exhibit and first Chase is taken with the Budda statue.  He beelines straight towards it and then rubs Budda's belly and then tries to stick his hands in Budda's mouth similar to what he does with me.  Once he got a giggle from us, he kept going back to the Budda over and over again and doing the same thing.

I tried my best to get Chase away from Budda to go look at the panda.  As Chase is standing against the glass wall and I was pointing out the panda on the other end of the enclosure, the panda spots Chase (seriously!) and starts walking across the entire exhibit over to Chase.  He touches the glass with his nose right where Chase's hand is, then he stands up and turns around like he's doing a little dance for Chase and then walks away.  People were running over to where Chase was at the time to see the panda closer.  It was really cool!  Drew didn't get any pictures of this, but we did get a picture of the panda and the general area where Chase was.  In the picture of Chase, he's staring down a man who was looking at the panda.  He loves to stare down strangers til they feel uncomfortable. :)

Finally the one picture of me and Chase from the day.  We had a lot of fun and hope to go back again soon.  Thanks Nini and Papa for the membership!

Daddy Post

This is Chase laughing with a golf ball in his mouth...which is pretty hilarious.

How I feel 5 days into March

17 months!

Chase is now 17 months old!  He is just such a sweet child.  When I ask him to give me hugs, he'll walk over to me and gently place his head on mine and then just sit with me and cuddle.  Love! Love! Love!  

When I tried to take pictures on Monday night, I was solo since Drew was in class and had a hard time trying to get him to look at me.  I bribed with snacks, toys, funny noises...not much of anything worked!

 

17 Month Stats:

 
Unofficial weight: 28.4 lbs
Clothing size: same as last month
Shoe size: same as last month
Diaper size: Size 4
Favorite toy: He loves his police car and moving the steering wheel back and forth.  He also likes to remove things from a container and put them back.  For example, in the mornings and evenings, he likes to totally unload his diaper changing organizer and place all of those items in his Diaper Champ (i.e. diaper pail).  Then he unloads the items from the top of the Diaper Champ and puts them back in the diaper organizer.  He does the same thing with his book shelves, Drew's DVD basket, etc.
Favorite foods: Hummus, popsicles, yogurt, oranges.
Least favorite foods: At times he gets tired of foods when we overdo it.  At this moment that includes bananas and grilled cheese.
Words: No change.  I'm bracing myself for the first official mention of "speech delay" next month.  We've already talked to our pediatrician about it.  I'm not really sure what the next steps are, although we do have an appointment with another doctor to check hearing and such next week.  I know I had similar delays when I was younger, so maybe it's just a genetic thing.  Maybe I don't talk to him enough after I get home from work!  Lots of mom guilt on this one.
Teeth: No new teeth - a total of 12.  His four canines should be coming in any month now. 
Tricks: He loves to turn the water on in our bathtub in the master bathroom and then stick his hand under the flowing water.  The hot water faucet is his favorite.  ::Sigh:: To counteract this, I took the handle off the hot water faucet to make it a little harder to turn.  That worked for about a day.  I have to watch him like a hawk!

Some of the latest happenings:

• He loves crayons.  He loves to color with them and he loves to take them out of the package and put them back in the package.  He loves to put them in his mouth and taste them.  He loves to have the mother of all tantrums when I tell him "No" to putting crayons in his mouth.  He loves to have a tantum when he just touches the crayon to his cheek and I shake my head "No".  He loves crayons.

• I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but we think Chase is going to be a lefty.  That is the hand and leg he tends to favor the past several months.

• Chase LOVES to walk to the mailbox with daddy.  He also really wants to continue walking out into the street.  He really hates when daddy pulls him back.

• Chase is starting to show more interest in books.  He still doesn't want us reading them to him, but he likes to look at the pictures now.  I also considered myself "Mother of the Year" last week when all he wanted to do in the morning was look at his books, and I kept pulling him away to get dressed and rushed out the door.  That was one of the few times he really showed a great interest and I was pulling him away.  More mom guilt.

•  He's starting to "play" more with Weezie.  Weezie might call it torture though.  While Weezie is lying peacefully on the couch, Chase will notice her and go over to her and grab her face and lay on top of her.  When she's outside and she comes to the back door to come inside, he'll go over to the window and bang on the window and stare at her.  She hates that! :)

One Year Ago...

Here's a picture of my little sweetie from one year ago today. So cute!

That is all!

Evening at the Park

In an effort to take advantage of the nice weather and to do our best to wear Chase out for the evening and to ensure a smooth bedtime, we decided to take Chase to the park before dinnertime.  We had only intended to go to the park down the street that has a couple of swings, but as we drove by all the swings were occupied so we headed to our favorite park instead.  This park was practically (and literally) Drew's backyard growing up.  The entire time he reminisced about playing football, his tree house, his neighbors, and on and on.  Even though I had heard all these stories before, I just let him tell them again.  I guess Chase hadn't heard them yet! ;)

When we got there the swings were occupied, so we walked around instead.  Chase was immediately taken with the light posts.  He hugged 3 different ones as he approached them.  I tried not to think about all the dogs that had also "hugged" those light posts recently (as soon as we got back to the car, we soaked his hands in hand sanitizer!).  He also enjoyed watching the kites that people were flying...and the wind blowing in his face.  He had a ball!

We walked around the pond trying to get him to pay attention to the geese.  He chased them around for a little while.

Drew looks a little solemn here, but he's alright...probably just lost in his childhood memories. ;)

This picture makes me laugh because this is so "us".  I can't quite put my finger on it, but we live this everyday!

We noticed the playground was not as crowded as when we arrived, so we headed over to the smaller of the playsets.  We plopped Chase on the slide and prayed that it wouldn't end in disaster.  He really enjoyed himself!  In fact, he started playing on it like a "big kid".  Some of the other smaller kids still zoomed past him as he was struggling to get on the equipment, but he did so well! We all had a lot of fun!

Also when we started to leave the playground really started clearing out, so we nervously tried to put him on the BIG slide on the older kid side of the playground since he wasn't at risk of being run over by 8 year olds any longer.  It was a swirly slide.  We placed him about half-way up the slide, crossed our fingers, and let him go.  He loved it!!  The second time we did it, he ended up on his belly and the plastic rubbed up against his forehead and left a little red spot, but he didn't care!  He just thought it was hilarious!  He's such a brave little boy!

Then he played on the swings, since that's the reason we went there in the first place! 

 On a totally unrelated note, we now have a little boy that knows how to pick up food with a fork!  It's been something we've been practicing and in the middle of dinnertime, he stabbed a ravioli right in the middle and his fork got it!!  He then did it again 4 other consecutive times!  He was so proud of himself...as were Drew and I who were cheering him on.  Ha!  The silly things we cheer over nowadays!