YO GABBA GABBA!

After the last downer blog, I decided to post something FUN! Chase and Daddy went to their first concert together! Daddy got Chase front row tickets with backstage passes which was WAY worth it! Chase's buddy Etan was right there with him and both boys had a lot of fun!

Playing the Waiting Game

Well, we have about six more weeks before our new addition arrives. I am getting into panic mode because I procrastinated (which I never do) and now have a ton of things to get done before Chase's little brother gets here! I decided to also take on the task of redecorating Chase's room into a sports theme which was a lot more work than I anticipated and I still have a long way to go. Hopefully, I can get it all done before the new year! Also, I am having such a hard time at this point in my pregnancy. It is so hard with all the exhaustion I am experiencing to keep up with my VERY active two year old. I seriously feel like I move at a snail's pace lately which is frustrating! By 3 pm I tend to hit a wall and get into zombie mode. I am starting to drink coffee only because I cannot even keep up with my usual daily activities! I cannot wait to be my normal self at my normal energy level in a couple of months!!

In Chase news, a lot of exciting and not so exciting stuff has gone on. First off, he now LOVES school which is awesome! He is progressing at a rapid rate and is turning into a little parrot. Of course, this means, Cory and I now have to watch what we say. In a not so happy light, we have had some pretty traumatic things happen in the past three or so months. First off, we had an instance at Chipotle where Chase was choking. It was so scary! I do not ever want to re-live that day. He was choking so bad that he stopped coughing and was turning blue. He was making no sounds and Cory and I were freaking out. Luckily, a stranger at a table nearby jumped up to help and turned Chase upside down. He proceeded to pat his back until the food came out. The whole restaurant was concerned and everyone seemed to be trying to help after that. Before Chase was born, Cory and I took baby CPR but in the heat of the moment, anything we learned was definitely forgotten. I will tell you this, I will never forget now!!!! Another scary instance we had was that Chase got his second case of Croup (croup can be pretty common in kids and consists of a virus or several viruses that cause a distinctive cough). This time he had stridor along with it. Stridor is when your child's airway is closing. Chase woke up with the barky cough that croup brings on in the night but this time sounded like he was having an asthma attack even as I was holding him. I had no idea what was happening to my little boy. We called the nurse and after going thru Chase's symptoms she said, without hesitation, for us to go directly to the ER. Now, I was not prepared for those words to come out of her mouth. I was in shock and of course got worried immediately! Cory and I jumped in the car after running circles around each other and drove up to Children's Hospital in Plano at 1:30 am. Upon arrival they checked Chase right in because they could tell his symptoms were pretty bad. The nurses gave him a steroid medicine orally and put a breathing apparatus around his mouth which of course he protested the entire time. They kept us there for two hours to monitor him and finally sent us home at 4 am. Again, that was very scary! Cory and I looked at each other after both these events and confirmed that we can only handle two kids after those instances. Being a parent can be really scary at times!! Now, to lighten things up.....Chase turned two on November 10th! We took a cookie cake up to his school and celebrated with his friends there and had a birthday party that Saturday at Pump it Up in Frisco with all his other friends! Needless to say he had a blast and definitely seemed to understand it was his birthday!!

Well, that's all for now and I will try to update before the new baby is here if I have a chance, so STAY TUNED!!

Baby #2 and Chase Starts School

Cory and I went yesterday to my doctor's appointment and we found out the sex of the baby. Now, before I just give the good news away, I want to say that all those old wives tales are bologna! There is no truth to the way you carry the baby, nauseous or not nauseous, etc. All pregnancies are different! So, that being said, Cory, Chase and myself are proud to announce that we are welcoming a new baby boy into our world at the end of this year! When the doctor told us, I was in serious shock. I was 100% sure as were anyone I was ever around that it was a girl. I was carrying low, I was nauseated, I felt so different than when I was pregnant with Chase. After the initial shock set in, I was and am thrilled! I love having a little boy so I know I will love having two! Little boys are sweet, fun, crazy, destructive, and active. They do not normally bring any drama and tend to be tough. To be honest, while I was in the doctor's office before our appointment, panic was starting to set in on having a little girl. Cory is ECSTATIC to say the least. I had him convinced it was a girl but he was so happy to have another boy. However, it would be nice to have one of each so that we can see the difference in dynamic. Who knows, maybe MANY years down the line (and I mean many) we can discuss if we want to add another child into our hectic lives. I still have to get through this pregnancy first! Also, upon watching Baby #2 on the monitor, this baby is VERY active! More so than Chase and anyone who has ever met Chase knows he is very active as it is. So, I have my work cut out for me!!

Now, in regards to Big Brother Chase, he started school last week at a Montessori school. He goes three times a week (although currently he has been going for half a day because I want to get him situated and not just throw him to the wolves). So far, he seems okay but it breaks your heart when you drop him off. All he's ever known is to be home with me during the days so I know this is hard on him. He stuffed his face (I attached the picture) when he got in the car because he was on a hunger strike. The second day was better than the first (probably because they have gym that day and were playing with balls). The third day by far was the worst. The teacher had suggested that we bring in a picture of us so Chase can look at it throughout the day. Well, when I showed up before their nap time to pick Chase up, the poor little guy was in the middle of the floor staring and holding on to our picture crying. It was SO sad. This week he had a tough time but that was mostly because he is sick so I let him play hooky today. I do think school is going to be great for him because he loves to be social and you can totally tell that he is very bored at home with me. Once he gets the hang of it, I'm sure he will be begging to go everyday!!

Aye Ya Ya!

Well, the terrible two's are amongst us! Apparently, they can start anywhere from when a child is 18 months old all the way up until they are three! And my child, or the exorcist as I like to call him, is definitely going through this awesome and joyful time! He's come to the point to where if he does not get what he wants he screams bloody murder like that from a horror movie and kicks and falls to the ground like a wet noodle. He is definitely learning to test my patience and of course this screaming is heightened when we are in public! For example, today we went to target to get some groceries (my second trip this week since he threw a tantrum mid-way through my first shopping trip). I foolishly decided to stop and look at some shoes for him. Yes, oh silly me. Well, as I proceeded to walk away from the shoes, my little angel (and I use that word very loosely) decided he wanted those shoes. He screamed as loud as he could for a good 10 minutes as I walked up and down the aisles. I have read and have been told by other moms to ignore this behavior and it will teach him that he can scream all he wants but mama will not respond. I got the most scathing look from some stock lady that worked there throughout this ordeal and I was mortified but decided not to give in. He finally got distracted and quieted down! Man, did I feel a sense of accomplishment! But believe me, I'm fully aware the worst is yet to come!! Oh the JOYS of parenting! Luckily, it's just a phase!!

Good News!

Chase is going to be a BIG Brother!! We are all thrilled! The next baby could be a Christmas or New Years baby so now we just play the waiting game! In regards to pregnancy, anyone who has ever been pregnant knows that you either love it or hate it. There is NO in-between. AND, anyone who knows me, knows I am not to fond of it. My last pregnancy with Chase, I had severe sciatic pain (I had it before I was pregnant and being pregnant made it impossible to walk at times--I had a waddle before I was showing--you can go ahead and laugh out loud!). I was so uncomfortable the whole time! However, I did not have any nausea. Not the case this time around. I have been EXTREMELY nauseated the entire first three months ALL DAY LONG! I do not know how these women who get pregnant over and over again can make it through the nausea...IT's AWFUL! I am just now starting to feel normal and have more good days than bad so I will hopefully keep everyone updated on baby #2's progress! And according to myself and everyone in passing, the running bet is this baby is a girl...I will definitely be following up with another blog the second we find out so stay tuned!

Regarding Little Chase, he does not understand that Mama is incubating a baby right now but he has grown extremely fascinated with babies. Everywhere we go, if he sees a kid smaller than him he points and says "baby". Hopefully this fascination is a good thing! He's such a sweet boy that I know he will look out for his younger sibling, boy or girl and will love them so much! Currently, we are touring several different Kindergarten prep schools so Chase can start making friends and letting some of his energy out in the best way possible! I know it will be SO much harder on me than him. I can already see myself crying thanks to all these crazy pregnancy hormones!

I can't keep up!!!

I know, I know, it's been 4 months since I wrote an entry but we have been SOOOO incredibly busy and so much has happened that the thought of sitting down and writing it all out was a little overwhelming. Sooo, I am going to make it short and sweet! We have had so many kiddie birthday parties that I am convinced my one year old's social calendar has now exceeded mine! We went to LA in March for my big 3-0 and got to be on set at our hotel (Beverly Hilton) while they were taping a show that comes out this fall with Dustin Hoffman and etc. We grabbed drinks at Chateau Marmount (so cool) then left Chase with my parents for the weekend and drove to Vegas, stopped at Inn N Out burger on the way (two new locations opened next to us last week in Frisco and Allen and believe it or not the wait --so I heard---is up to 3 hours--FOR A BURGER! Texans are CRAZY!). My mom hooked us up with a suite at the Bellagio the first night then the Wynn Tower Suites the second night. Needless to say, it was an Awesome birthday and Cory and I enjoyed the one on one time! I also had one of my friends, Sara, come and visit from Austin which was SO nice and now that we live closer, I hope to see more of you AUSTINITES! One of the best parts about being back is that we can finally take advantage and go out to Cory's parents' lakehouse! It's so relaxing and serene out there!

In Chase news, he is doing fabulously! He's definitely ALL BOY! He's rough and tough on the outside but my sweet little boy on the inside! He LOVES basketball! He has a hoop in every room and he's become an expert at making baskets. Everytime we drive by a house with a basketball hoop outside (and almost every home in our neighborhood has one) he yells "ball". The kid LOVES balls! He actually will sit and watch a little bit of basketball on TV and enjoys it! My girlfriend even made a comment that "most boys like balls" but my kid "Loves balls and is obsessed". To be honest, I wouldn't want him any other way! I love his determination when we go to the park and he tries to throw his basketball up to the regulation 10 foot hoop over and over again (us yelling "almost" knowing he isn't even close!). I cannot wait until the day when he actually makes it!

The Holidays Came and They Went....

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year because I LOVE decorating the house! And this year was especially fun because we got to put outside lights in our yard and etc. Living in Florida for so long, we forgot how it was to see Christmas lights on houses. The majority of people in Florida (or at least where we lived) live in Condos or Townhomes and no one really decorates outside not to mention it is warm normally so it never feels like Christmas really. Another joy of Christmas is taking Chase to see Santa Clause. To jog your memory, last year Chase slept from the moment Santa held him to the moment we placed him back in his stroller. NOT THE SAME OUTCOME THIS YEAR! Chase was not happy when we handed him over Mr. Clause. He freaked out and started screaming right off the bat as he was pushing and trying to escape from the grip of this poor jolly fat man. In conclusion, the picture (I'm sad I didn't get a digital copy) was hilarious and we loved it! It totally showed my little protesting one year old's new "my way or the highway" personality. I have my work cut out for me already!

Christmas Day was so much fun! Even though Chase did not really grasp the concept of Christmas morning yet, we did try to make it special. We walked into his room once he woke up at 8 am and he had the biggest grin seeing both of us (as opposed to the usual one of us while the other one sleeps)! We walked down the stairs trying to hype him up. We had the tree lit and the presents from Santa unwrapped under the tree for our little man. My wonderful Husband put together a talking/singing rocking horse that we got for Chase and Chase LOVED it! Well, for a second. He then was busy playing with the assortment of balls we bought him. The kiddo LOVES balls of all kind! He loves them so much that his first word is ball! Well, he says it more like "baaaah" to be exact. We preceeded to show him the wrapped from Mommy and Daddy that were still under the tree and he watched me open each one with a sense of excitment. I really cannot wait until next year when we get to actually use the "Elf on the Shelf" and hopefully he will understand how fun this time of year can be!




Another thing we did last month was try out MY GYM and join GYMBOREE. Both are just glorified mommy and me's. Lots of singing and bubbles and fun stuff like that. The only difference from these and our mommy and me in Florida is that they work on strengthening your baby's muscles in a sense. My Gym is kind of like baby gymnastics. Chase seemed to really like it but I thought the moms were a little weird. Maybe it was just the class and time we went but the vibe was all off for me. The teacher (who was wonderful) did put Chase up on a mini high bar that he held on as she helped him do a flip. He was so proud of himself (and so was I). Gymboree on the other hand is more like crawling through tunnels and learning how to go down slides and etc. And there are balls all over the classroom so you know Chase was happy! There is one thing that freaks me out about these classes, my son has a very short attention span. Both teachers said it is perfectly normal for a baby Chase's age to not want to sit and listen for a long period of time (they have several times where you all sit in a circle throughout class) and boys are less attentive than girls are. AND let me tell you, my son is ALL BOY! Now, I want you to imagine all these moms (and some dads) gathered in a circle and me holding Chase while he's kicking, screaming and throwing his head back until I put him down so he can escape and play with a ball. OH YES. It's awesome. I could see a mom of a little girl glaring at me out of the corner of my eye and I was MORTIFIED. Apparently I am raising a total Alpha Male. I am told this is just him showing his independence and trying to test me. And it's normally only me he tests! He's an angel when I leave him with the caretakers at our gym or his grandparents or anyone who is not me (haha). (On the flipside, he loves giving me hugs and kisses which I love!) I did read that children who are strong minded at a young age tend to be great leaders so hopefully that is just the case! LOL!!!