A few pictures to share...

I always forget that blogger loads your pictures backwards...this isn't the best picture to start the post with, but some people (mistakenly) have the impression that Chase is a perfect child. He's really, really close, but he does get grumpy on occasion. Here's the proof:

I still think he's cute, even when he's wearing his grumpy pants. :)

Chase LOVES the bathtub! I'm wondering if he will be a swimmer because he LOVES to lay down in the bathtub and kick his feet around like crazy. Most kids hate getting their ears wet, but he loves it! Funny kid.

This is a random picture of the bread sticks I made a few weeks ago...I took a picture because they turned out so perfectly (which NEVER happens!), so I wanted to document it. I was really proud of myself that night. :)

I asked Chase to get me a diaper. He did.

Winding down, watching Signing Time with Tigger and his car blanket. He loves these things!
That's all for now...I probably need to import the pictures from my camera so I can post more recent ones, but that's what I've got for you tonight. I really am trying to be better about blogging!

"Monster"

We borrowed Monster's Inc. from Mom and Dad, so Chase and I have watched it a few times the last couple of weeks. He has never showed any signs of being afraid because of it, and he usually only watches for a few minutes at a time before going back to his toys for a while, then he'll watch a few more minutes, then play again. He's not one to sit glued to the TV for very long (thankfully!)

Anyway, tonight I put it on for him while I made dinner (I know, I made dinner!!!) and he was doing his normal watch/play/watch/play thing. When it got to the part where Sully has to say goodbye to Boo, Chase was riveted on the screen. When Sully gave Boo the final hug, Chase turned around and looked at Wayne and I with super-teary eyes and the saddest little face and said, "Monster". We were so confused, because he wasn't scared at all and we couldn't figure out why he was upset. We were asking each other, "Seriously? Is he sad that they have to say goodbye?!?!" I really think he was! There was no other explanation for it...it was the cutest thing! I wish I had a picture of his sad little face and teary eyes, but it was so unexpected the camera was nowhere near. I just love this little guy. He's full of surprises and he melts my heart a million times a day.

24 Weeks

Here are a few pictures of the belly these days...it's coming along!

Me and my buddy...

Life is going well here in Barrow. Not much new to report, just keeping busy playing with Chase, growing the baby, and keeping the B&B going. I've found that Chase gets really grumpy if we stay home all day long, which is sometimes unfortunate because I have NO problem staying home all day long. So we've been looking for activities to do to get us out of the house...it's just a little inconvenient because of how cold and windy it is all the time. We can't just go play in the yard for a little while (what yard?!?!), and most days it's too cold for a sled ride around the block. I can bundle Chase up really well so that he stays warm, but the wind is so strong that the one little part of his face that's poking out to breathe gets cold and wind burned. Last week we walked over to Mom and Dad's to play for a little while, and it was fine on the way over, but coming home the wind had really picked up and it was awful! I had to totally bury Chase in a blanket and tuck it over his head and face to keep him out of the wind...I'm sure that takes most of the enjoyment out of his sled ride. :( Anyway, the point of all that is that we need indoor activities that get us out of the house, so we've been trying to go to the community gym during family time the last month or so, then we have toddler story time at the library on Saturdays, we go play at Mom and Dad's house for a change of scenery every once in a while, and we usually have one or two days a week that we go to the post office or some other little errand just to get out. The nice part is that the sun is back, so it's a lot more enjoyable to be out and about these days! We are very grateful to have some daylight shining through our one little window again...it makes for much brighter days in so many ways.

Wayne and I are both taking classes this semester, so it seems like every evening we get Chase to bed and the studying begins. It's not the best quality time together, but at least we can do it together! It's nice that Chase goes to bed early enough that Wayne can study at home instead of staying late at the office every night to have some quiet study time. It's just nice to have him around, even when I'm not allowed to talk to him...too much. :)

Well, I think I'm done rambling for now. Hope you have a lovely day in whatever crazy climate you are in!

2 Months Already?!?!

Wow, I don't know how the time goes so quickly between my blog posts. I guess it's time for an update...although this is going to be short because it's 11pm and I'm trying to go to bed earlier these days. The last 3 days, to be exact. It worked 2 of the 3 days! I'm taking a couple class at the college that are actually quite time consuming, and it seems that 9pm-12am are PRIME homework hours around here. Not ideal, but when else are you supposed to concentrate on a book with an almost-2-year-old running around? Speaking of that almost-2-year-old (well, 20 months to be exact), I just happen to have a few photos to share. I'm under no illusions that people check this blog to hear about ME. :)

Chase loves "skitchers"...we gave him his own Book of Mormon and this is what he does! I know, where did he come from?!?!

We ordered some cardboard can organizers in early December and they finally came in a few weeks ago! Chase and I spent the better part of 2 days putting them together and loading them up. Chase was quite the helper. We have random V8 juice cans spread through all 20 can organizers! He just kept grabbing cans and saying, "helper, helper". Oh, I do love him. :)

He may appear sad and bored in this picture, but don't be deceived. Coloring is his new favorite pastime. Well, it's probably still second to playing with cars. He comes up to me about 50 times a day with puppy-dog eyes and the cutest little voice saying, "Color, color". Coloring is a 100% supervised activity at our house, so I can't always accommodate his requests, but I try. We spend a good portion of every day coloring. And just to clarify, what he really wants when he asks to color is to hold a crayon and see what YOU can color. He certainly does his share of scribbling, but if I stop coloring for a few seconds, he immediately shoves a crayon my direction and says, "Color, color!" I really am not very creative in this department, but my artistic talents are expanding thanks to my Chase-man.

Another one of Chase's favorite things to do is push the little blue stool around to whatever he wants to climb on. He's figured out how to climb up onto his chair and somehow squirms himself around in a really awkward way (but without falling!) to sit facing forward. I don't know how he does it without crashing on his head every time, but he's got a system. I think this picture is a Cheerio hand-off. You can also clearly see my kitchen...the whole thing. We're a little short on counter space (well, we're a little short on ALL space) but it works!

Chase got a parking garage play set for Christmas from G&G Elbert, and he LOVES it. This was the night Wayne put it together for him, and Chase was in car heaven. He lets the car down the ramp and says, "Whoa, car!" Boys...how do they know they are supposed to like cars?!?!

Okay, that's it for tonight. I've got more pictures to share, but it's now 11:23pm and I'm definitely not getting credit for going to bed early tonight. However, I WILL get credit for blogging finally, and that's worth staying up late for...every two months or so. I'm tired of all the complaints I keep getting! But I'm glad you all love my child. We love him too. :)

Thank You, Patti Lloyd!

We have an LDS (or Mormon) church here in Barrow, but there are several members of the church who live in the outlying villages (like Kaktovik, Wainwright, Atqasuk, etc.) The members who live in the villages are able to "call in" on the phone to listen to and participate in our church services and other activities. We have members in the villages who teach lessons over the phone as well, and we listen in and participate from Barrow.

So today my mom was teaching the Relief Society (the women's organization in the church) lesson, and Patti Lloyd called in from Atqasuk! She isn't online with us very often, but she called in today to hear Mom's lesson and it seriously brought so much joy to my heart! I just love and adore her...she was such a good influence and friend to me during my Young Women years. She was one of the ladies who taught our Young Women classes at church and planned activities with us and for us. I don't remember many of the specific lessons she taught, but I remember knowing that she LOVED me. As she taught our lessons, she helped us feel the love that our Heavenly Father had for us, and the confidence he had in us to be strong and choose faith and virtue over all the things the world was throwing at us in high school. SHE had a similar love and confidence in us, and knowing that empowered us to be the young women she knew we could be. I know that each of us girls felt those things from her. Patti just radiated love. She was always happy to see me, always welcomed me into her office at the high school where she worked, always had a snack if I needed one, always had a smile and a hug and a word of encouragement. She always had time to talk whenever I wanted to, and even though I'm sure I caught her at a bad time many a time, she never let me know it. I LOVED stopping in to visit Patti because she made me feel like I had brightened HER day, when in reality, she was the one brightening mine.

I realized today when I heard her voice online that I had I probably never told her how much she means to me or thanked her for being such a bright spot during my high school years. The wonderful part is that she still is that bright spot! It doesn't matter that she hasn't been to church with us in a while, and that I hardly ever see or talk to her anymore. Whenever I do get to see her, I still feel loved. I know she is happy to see me, and she always brightens my day just as she always has.

A few years ago when I was traveling to the villages as a Public Health Nurse, I went to Atqasuk and got to see Patti at the school where she works. She immediately invited me for dinner while I was in town, and I got to spend a few hours catching up with her and her husband in their home. It was wonderful and made me so happy, like I was spending time with my second mother! When Patti was in town a few months ago she saw a bunch of cars at the church and stopped by to say hello to old friends, and I was so thrilled to see her! I seriously lit up inside when she walked in the door! I had the same feeling today when I heard her voice say, "Patti is online, too, Kelly!" She makes me happy because she just bubbles love and acceptance all over the place. She can't contain it. I hope I can be more like Patti Lloyd. I love her dearly for the example that she has been and continues to be to me. Thank you, Patti Lloyd! You are so loved!

Halloween

Okay, this wasn't on Halloween, but what is this face?!?! Too funny not to share, that's what it is.

We had a fun Halloween party at the church this year. They had an adult behind every door in the church and the kids got to walk around trick or treating. We actually missed that part, but we tried to recreate it for Chase with a few doors when we arrived. I didn't think he really caught on to it, but since the party he's been knocking on every door we come to! It's his new favorite game.

Love this face, too. Not sure what was going on here, but he was cute.

Close up of Chase eating a piece of candy....mmmmmm....he loved it.

Wayne was a chicken and Chase was an Air Freshener. No, there's not supposed to be any correlation there. Me? I was lame. I didn't dress up as anything.

Chrisann brought her guitar and we had a group sing along...one of my very favorite things! Chase loves music, which makes me very happy. We went to the middle school / high school band concert the other night, and he was so good! When the music first started playing, he just turned and STARED at the stage and listened! It was so cute...he sat on my lap for at least 1/3 of it just watching the instruments on stage. Ahhh, I love him.

Well, I really thought I had some more costume pictures, but I guess that's it! :(
Maybe next year we'll do a cool family theme...probably not though. I'm not very creative, nor am I terribly crazy about Halloween. But Wayne is, so maybe he'll make the costumes next year. It could happen. No, really, it could.

Today I Feel...

About a month ago we went to the local health fair and I got this fun little magnet in my goody bag. It has different faces and labels the emotions, and there is a magnet frame that says, "Today I feel..." that you can move around to identify how you are feeling at any particular time. We've been using it at our house as a fun way to communicate about our day and our feelings (my cheesy idea, not Wayne's...just in case anyone was questioning his manhood.)

A few weeks ago, this was mine:

Can you tell what it says?
Here's a closer shot...

PREGNANT!!

Wayne's response??

(Ecstatic!)

Baby is due June 2...we are so happy! Chase is pure sunshine and we want a whole bunch of kids just like him! (I know, we're not holding our breath... )

And the really fun part?!? My sister Holly is pregnant also, and their baby is due just two days before ours! It's like having twins (without having to cram two babies in one belly!)
So, SO, SOOOOOOOO FUN!!!

And here's a picture of Chase---just because he's cute. :)