Me and My Boys!

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2010-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

thevintagepearl.blogspot.com for an awesome giveaway that ends sooooon!

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2010-11-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

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One Great Night!!

2010-10-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

So my pictures go backwards, so scroll to the bottom and work your way up! :)

So after the show, we got told by a member of the sound crew to sit aside and wait. We were kinda like, well okay. We figured we were going to get to meet the band, we were SO excited. After the center cleared out the guy, Mike, told us to follow him. So we followed him out back along with two other girls and we climbed up onto their tour bus. Pretty sweet! Sadly, the band never came, but we hung out with the sound crew for a little while and met the oldest brother of the band Hansen. Pretty cool. There were two other girls on the bus who were beyond trashy...sad. But we just kinda ignored them and chatted with the guys. Finally, we decided we better go. Although we were disappointed we didn't get to hang out with the band, we still had a blast. This by far has been the most amazing concert I have ever been to! Both bands were amazing and put on a really good show!

Such an amazing concert!

So, Jimmy V (the guitarist with the long blond hair) was right in front of us. I yelled at him to throw us his pic and he threw one...it fell between the speakers. Then, he threw another and it didn't come far enough for me to get. Then, it happened again and again! AH! Lex spotted one and ran over and snagged it. WHOOP!

Is he beautiful or what?!

Maroon 5! They are all so musically talented.

This guy can SING!

Amazing!

Ry Cummings opened for the bands, and he was way good! You should check out his music. We definitely enjoyed him!

So excited!

Here we are with OneRepublic. There were about 50+ people there to meet Maroon 5, some won from other stations and some paid big bucks to meet the band. With 106.9, we got to meet BOTH bands. The lead singer from OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, (to the right of me in the picture) is actually from Tulsa. We got to sit in a room of about 15-20 people, including his family, while they played us a little concert. Talk about musical talent. WOW! Sitting there and listening to them made me fall in love. The lead singer got the beat with an egg shaker, sang amazingly, and used the tambourine. The guy to my left played the cello, the guy right in the middle played out the beat on a wooden box (SO COOL), the guy next to him played the guitar and during the actual concert the violin, and the guy right next to Lexi played the xylophone and guitar. They played Secrets and All the Right Moves for us right there. So so so so so amazing!

First, we got to meet Maroon 5! I guess I should start out by telling you how I won the tickets. I knew Maroon 5 was coming to town and wanted to go from the very second I knew they were coming. They are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE band. Well the day was coming faster than I realized and hadn't gotten any tickets yet. One day, Monday, I was driving to class and I heard about a contest on the radio. You had to be the 9th caller and choose an envelope. Well I called and called and called, and didn't get through. I gave up and was totally bummed. Then on Wednesday I was on my way to class and heard that the contest was still going on! SO I TRIED! I called 5 times, but didn't get through and I was getting ready to turn into the school so I decided to try one more time, and whaddya know?! I GOT THROUGH! I told him my name and the radio guy had me pick an envelope...I chose "I" and it was 2nd row seats to Maroon 5 and meet and greet passes! I was STOOOOOOKED! The other option was Lady Gaga tickets, which woulda been fun, but let's be honest...Maroon 5 is way better...only my FAVORITE BAND! And top it off with OneRepublic...can't complain right?! I was so excited. So anyway, Tuesday (Oct. 19) we got to the BOK center and waited for forever to meet the band. We weren't really allowed to have cameras out while meeting the bands, which stunk, but they took our picture for us. They ended up kind of blurry, but whatever! It's still a picture with Maroon 5! :)

2 nights in a row...impressive!

2010-10-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Nothing too exciting happened, but I made it through the day in one piece. I found out I got a 94 on my last chemistry test (1 of 4 A's in the class!) and a 105 on my last biology test (1 of 4 A's in the class!) WAHOOO! So all my studying and going to class is paying off for something after all! :) I am not quite halfway through this semester, but I am getting closer. I didn't get to spend much time with the boys today, which I hate. We had a good family night. We watched Extreme Home Makeover and then read a story in The Friend about loving your neighbor. The two tied in great together. Chase enjoyed it. We then read a book together about Jellyfish that he checked out from his school library. He read some of the words to be and I read what he couldn't. I am pretty impressed with what he knows and is learning. Never thought this day would come! We then started our first chapter of the Book of Mormon stories together. I am excited to start reading this with the boys!

Baby D said his first prayer last night, with my help, or course. But he did so good and repeated almost every word I said. I can't believe how big he is getting! Time seriously flies WAY TOO FAST!

Anyway, it is getting late, at least for me, so I better head to bed so I can wake up in the morning bright and early! Good night!

2010-10-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR ME TO BLOG?!?! Oh, maybe because I work 8+ hours a day, go to school full time, and have 2 kids. Good reminder. I wake up at 5:15 or so in the morning and usually go full throttle until about 10:30 or 11:00 at night. It sucks, a big one, but I just gotta get through a few more years and I will be DONE. DONE! I keep telling myself it's for me and the boys and our future and I know all I am doing now will be well worth all the hassle and late nights for a better future for us. Anyway, that's about where I am at in life...work...school...eat...kids...sleep. Repeat.

Davis was quite the helper at the pumpkin patch!

D loved checking out the chickens!

The boys and I at the pumpkin patch!

Chase is L-O-V-I-N-G kindergarten. He loves his friends and he comes home with stories out the wazoo. He likes to buy his lunch, but will take his lunch every so often. One day, he threw up at school "because he ate too much chocolate cake and pizza and two mountains of corn" and ended up making his classmate throw up too. Silly boy. He is getting better at writing his letters and name, although he still has a long long way to go! :) We are working on it though. He can spell "stop", "Chase", and "pop" off of the top of his head. He is recognizing sight words such as "the", "and", "at", "a", and "I" and he will read those words in stories for us. He LOVES books. His favorite time at school is recess (of course!) He thinks it's pretty cool to be able to ride the bus home, but sometimes asks if he can go to afterschool care with his friends, "because they have free food and you get to play the wii!" We didn't get in to any sports this season yet, mainly because I am so so so so busy and just don't have the time, but hopefully this next round we will get into something. Chase is a delight to have around, he will drive you nuts in a second with his many questions and non-stop (seriously) talking. Lately he has been into asking me what certain combinations of letters spell, like "Mom, what does z-r-t-b-n-y spell?" Of course, I respond, "nothing!" His most recent one that cracked me up was, "Mom, what does b-o-o-b spell?" Totally out of the blue. We were in Taco Bell and Chase is not the quietest kid to ever talk. I busted out laughing. Crazy kid. He always has something to say about something and will make friends with the wall. He loves his doggies, computer games, friends, and TV. He is a sensitive boy and definitely loves his family. He plays so well with Baby D (most of the time) and has a great imagination. He loves going to church and learning and singing. He is a sweet and caring boy and never wants to have any one hurt or left out. I am proud of this little guy and couldn't love him more!

Chase and Riley...best buds!

DAVIS IS TWO! I can't believe it. Time seriously flies way too fast. I can't believe it's already been two years since I was blessed with such a sweetheart. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but at the same time it seems like years ago. It's so bittersweet to watch your baby grow up. Davis is a quick little boy and is in to EVERYTHING. He loves ride on toys and cars. He is completely potty trained and he has even been waking up from naps and bed time DRY! He tells us when he needs to go potty and sometimes will even pull his own pants down and get on his potty by himself. YAY! His favorite food is spaghettios. Oh and we are NO MORE BABAS! WAHOO! One night I put him to bed with a baba full of sour milk and he puked up everywhere and for a few nights after that I tried to get him to take one and he wouldn't have anything to do with it. So I just quite giving it to him. He has asked for one a few times but I just tell him "No, you're a big boy now!" He'll just kinda look at me like what the?! and lay down and go to sleep. Yay! He has started to enjoy TV and will watch a show here and there, especially Yo Gabba Gabba (heaven help me!) That show is just weird and whoever came up with was on drugs. Honestly. It does have good lessons though, just done in a WEEEEEIIIIRRRRDDDD way, but D loves it so what can I do? He talks quite often and usually in comeplete comprehensible sentences. My favorite is when I come home from school or work and he goes, "HI MOM! How ya doooooooin?" His intonation is the absolute best. It goes up at the end and is just so darn cute. He also says "sup?" My favorite is "sup pop?" Usually when you give him something he will go, "thank you. thank you mom. welcome." And then be on his merry little way. The other day we were at the gap and D got a big yellow purse and it over and said, "i love dis puwse. i jus love it." So funny. He had the best intonation. Davis has really been interested in letters and he calls them all "ABCs". Whenever we drive by McD's he will say, "I wann nuggets! I wann nuggets!" He loves him some nuggets and "fwes fwies." He also loves water. That is his drink of choice. He's not one for juice and soda, but he loves him some "waaduuh" and "miwk." D loves his big brother and will often copy what he does. He loves to try and help papa in any way he can, often times much to papa's dismay. He will come and cuddle with me and loves to be kissed and hugged. Sometimes, out of the blue,he will come up to me and say, "gimme kiss mom!" and pucker right up. He loves him some shoes and will often find high heels and just clomp around the house in them. Pretty hilarious, and actually quite impressive that he can walk so well in them. He loves his "nigh nighs" and we have about 6 of them...one in ever color...pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, and red. Often times he climbs into bed with 3 of them and when I check on him at night he is usually caccooned in them. D has been such a blessing in my life! We love him tons and wouldn't have him any other way! :)

two years old!

feeding the sheep...

and pigs!

"I wan get iiiin. I wan get iiiin!" (with the goats!)

sweet smile on a sweet boy!

smooshy cheeks!

We had a fun day for Baby D's birthday. We went to Carmicheals pumpkin patch with Lacey, Riley, and Asher, and climbed the pumpkin mounds, went through the dark hay tunnel, and fed and pet a lot of animals. Then, we picked out some pumpkins to take home. We stopped at our favorite ice cream store, Braums, on the way home to buy a couple of gallons of ice cream for his party. We enjoyed a yummy "fwes fwies" snack and then headed home. D took a good long nap, then when he woke up it was time to party! Lacey, Riley, and Asher came over to party with us. I made him a Plex cake (the robot from Yo Gabba Gabba) and we had chili (D loved it!) for dinner. He got a cozy coupe car to ride in, which he has basically been in since he got it. You can't keep him out of it! He also got some Yo Gabba Gabba books along with a few others, a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and a Blues Clues DVD. The Yo Gabba Gabba soundtrack and a fun Thomas the Train tubby toy (thanks Lacey, Riley, and Asher!), and a fun race track with 2 shake and go cars. All in all I think D had a great day and we had a fun time celebrating his birthday! WE LOVE YOU BABY D!

Plex birthday cake!

taxi service? Asher and D...best buds! :) This was the age Riley and Chase started hanging out and becoming best of friends!

Stinker wouldn't look at me!

This is the "i gooya go potty moommmma!" pose

awesome!

there are just no words for this sweet face :)

Man oh man...

2010-06-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind in the blogging world. I need to be better, and I know I always say that. We will see how it goes. So far, this summer has been a busy whirlwind! I feel like I haven't stopped and gotten anything done that I had planned to in my little mind checklist, but the business has been well worth the many memories made. I ended the school year with a letter of reasonable consideration that I will get my job back next year. YAY! I am excited about that, because it was kind of up in the air for a while with all the education cuts that are going on. Anyway, I packed my room up at the end of the year and will be getting a new class room this coming year. I am looking forward to a new school year, but can't believe my precious time this summer is already halfway gone! Where does the time go? About a week after school got out I headed out to UT for a fun 10 days to spend with family and friends, with no kids! :) I had a great time, but I sure did miss 2 little boys! While I was gone, Davis and my mom both got sick. I felt awful, but there was nothing I could do so far away. Luckily, I have an awesome family that helped out a ton, especially Lexi. I came home for four short days and then packed up and headed off to AL to visit family and bring back my nieces and nephew for a few days. It was good to see the many friends and family in both UT and AL. We came home with 3 extra kiddos to kick off "Camp Nuna." We spent 2 days at Big Splash and just had a good time with one another's company. Then, the family started to roll in to Tulsa. Alisha and Carly came with their babies on Tuesday, Jarom, Beth, and Addi, Kiara and Alan, and Mike all came on Wednesday, then, on Thursday Grams and Gramps, Aunt Linda, Aunt Mary, and cousin Thomas came into town. We had a FUUUULLLL house to say the least. I think there were 27 of us all living under one roof. We spent on day at Big Splash, then mainly enjoyed one another's company. We crafted, visited, took pictures, played games (QUELF!), and watched movies. It was pretty chaotic, but I think the time was enjoyed by everyone. I sure am lucky to have such a fun and close family.

Chase and Davis are getting bigger by the second. It is killing me. Chase is getting really excited about kindergarten and Davis is talking more and more as the days go by. He really never shuts up! Haha. I am often called "Nuna" by him. He always says, "i want up", "hold me", "thank you", "welcome", "where are you?", "hello", "i love you", and many more things. He really babbled a lot, but looks at you like you are having a serious conversation. He loves to run, but almost looks like he is marching when he runs because he brings his knees up so high. It is hilarious. He hates to be left alone and will cry out like he is lost when he notices no one is around. He loves his "gaga" (water) and will hardly drink anything else, besides milk, of course. He will be 21 months on July 9. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! He is such a fun little booger! Chase is busy working on things to get ready for kindergarten, and like I said, he is getting more and more excited everyday. He has been so excited to Avatar: The Last Airbender to come out, and talks about it constantly. He knows what toys are at what restaurants in the kids meals and always tells me we need to go to different places to get those toys. FYI: McDonald's has Avatar toys. Is that bad that he knows that? Haha. He knows his ABC's, can write his name really well, and so now we have to work on knowing our address, phone number, and tying shoes. This should be fun! Our pups are doing great too. They are getting so big and are full of energy. They loving little pups and really want to please. So far, they have been a blessing to have and have really brought the family, Chase especially, a lot of joy. They are a lot of work though! We sure do love them though!

We are doing well and are happy! We are looking forward to enjoying the rest of our summer and to see family again while in UT for Chia's wedding! YAY!

Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

I love this kid! He keeps me on my toes and laughing all the time! He is so special! LOOOVE HIM!

Me and my sweet little D. LOOOVE HIM!

Pretty roses from Sam, Dad, Chase, and Baby D for me. It made me feel pretty special! :)

We just have the best nursery leader in our ward. Davis wasn't so sure about nursery at first, but he is adjusting well because he has Sister Gish and Sister Barker to love on him. For Mothers Day, Sister Gish made these delicious and darling little cookies for them to give us. I brought it with me to snack on at work and realized I didn't get a picture of it yet, so I had to use my phone on my camera (which I hate...) but I got the picture and then enjoyed the cookie! There was like a chunk of snickers in the middle or something..they were SO good! And look at his cute little hand! :)

This is a necklace from thevintagepearl.com. I LOVE her website. It is a lady here from Tulsa that hand crafts these little charms. When I saw this one I just had to have it because Chase always tells me, "Mom, I love you to the moon and back, to outer space and back, to Jesus and back, around the world a 'souzand' times and back, etc." and it just melts me heart. I couldn't pass this up and received it just in time for Mothers Day. What a special thing. :) This will forever be a treasure of mine.

How come I got so lucky to have such two beautiful little boys? These boys bring more joy into my life than I ever could have imagined. The joy and happiness definitely outways the frustrations and stresses of being a mother. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has placed these two sweet spirits in my trust and care. I certainly am lucky.

We had a wonderful Mothers Day. We had a yummy waffle breakfast (we had my favorite, biscuits and gravy, on Saturday) and then headed off to church. There is always such a sweet spirit in the church building on Mothers Day, especially after the primary children sing. I was choking back tears the whole time they were on the stand. Their spirits are so incredibly strong and you can certainly feel it through their singing. I received a little baggie of kisses from the church, as did all the mothers, a "date night" kit from Chase that he got in primary where we choose a color of M&M and answer a question according to the color chosen. We also got a popcorn bag in it so we can have a movie night. I am excited about that! :) The priamry presidency handed out cute cute plaques that said "Mother, I love you" to all the mothers that work in the primary. I love them! Then I got roses from the boys, baby D's cute flower cookie, my necklace, and a new pair of TOMS shoes...YAY! My best sweet friend, Amy, got me a SUPER cute Coach purse and wallet...I AM IN LOVE! She is pretty amazing! I had a wonderful day and was just in a good mood all day long. For dinner, we had the missionaries over and enjoyed a yummy ham steak, green beans, new potatoes, and ambrosia salad dinner. Daddy bought some angel food cake and strawberries for dinner. Yum! We topped the evening off with a lesson on faith from the missionares, and how we can help it grow. I am excited to work towards that and increase my faith. Then, we got to talk to the Adams family on gmail video chat. It is so fun to see them! Not as good as seeing them in person, but better than just a phone call! We can actually see P's and A's chubby cheeks! :) We had a lovely mothers day and I hope all of you did too!

Ooooh Chase...

2010-05-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

tonight after everyone had come and gone to dinner, I called Chase back in to finish his dinner. He decides to sneak away from the table when there is a lot of commotion going on. We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight and it was a busy evening! Chase didn't want to eat his gumbo and, like I said, got away. When he came back to eat he was sitting at the bar just a rambling away. His mouth did not stop! (Imagine that one!) I kept telling him to shush and eat! Finally I said, "Chase! Close your mouth and EAT!" He quickly responded, "Mom! If I close my mouth then I can't put food in it to eat!" Little STINKER! :) Oh, how I love him and his witty words!

WHERE IN THE HECK DID THE TIME GO?!

2010-05-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

So I always say I am back to blogging...then I am a total slacker. I seriously come up with something to blog about daily but then never do it. And I hate it. I have GOT TO BE BETTER! Stay on me people!
This past Monday, May 3, Chase turned 5 years old! I cannot believe it! We started the birthday “celebration” a few days early. I decided that this year I was going to get Chase a dog for his birthday because this child loves dogs. I mean he LOVES dogs. So, on Saturday after Chase’s soccer game (Chase scored his first goal EVER at this game!! I was so proud of him…soccer videos coming soon!) I dropped him off at home and headed to Sand Springs to pick up a little 9 week old black lab from a lady I found on Cragslist. Lexi and Abby went with me to get our new little pup. After we got him, he wasn’t so sure about the ride home. I don’t think he had ever been in a car before. He whined and tried to hide behind Lexi. It was pretty cute. On the way to get the pup, we stopped at Target to buy a big green bow for him. Cute idea, huh?
Chase knew I was going to get him a surprise, but he had no idea what I was going to get him. When we pulled into the driveway I honked the horn on the way down and he and everyone else came running to the car. When I first got out, Chase was kind of befuddled with the fact that I had a dog in my hands because I have told him no dogs, etc, etc. He kinda just giggled and I think he was thinking, “is this real?” Then, I finally told him that yep! It was his dog for forever and ever! He giggled and jumped with excitement. He had the sweetest expression on his face.  After him and Davis played with the dog for a little bit, I gave him some names to choose from and his choice was Rooney. So Rooney it is! We have a new little family member and Chase and Rooney have been SO CUTE together. Roon basically follows Chase everywhere and is right by his side. I love it. So far, seeing their bond has been well worth the potty breaks, etc with Rooney. He is a really pretty mild mannered dog, but he hates to be left alone. He sits when petted, knows his name already, and so far we have only had 2 accidents in the house. He is a sweet little pup that loves to be loved. And he is getting plenty of it around here. I have been told that he is going to push 90 lbs when he is full grown, so he is going to be a big one! I am excited to train and watch him grow. I wouldn’t think that I would love him so much, but I already do…even at 4 in the morning! Davis loves him, although he tried kicking him the first day we had him…more than once. Turd. Now he likes to try and drag Rooney by the tail. This kid is tough, I tell ya. He also tries to pick Rooney up by his ears, and Rooney doesn’t like that too much. Chase gets up and loves Rooney every morning and tells him good night every night. I think this is going to be a good match and a good thing for the boys and me. A lot of work and money, I know, but well worth the love and bond that has already developed. Needless to say, I am excited to have a pup in our lives.
On Monday, we actually celebrated Chase’s birthday. Since I wasn’t at home when he woke up (I was at work) I covered his floor in balloons and hung a Spider-Man happy birthday sign! I think it made him feel pretty special! I was able to sneak away from work for about an hour that day to go to his class to have a little party! One of his best friends at school, Larkin, has the same birthday as Chase so her mom and I got together to celebrate. We ordered donuts from a little donut shop out here (The OK County Donut Shop) that said “Happy Birthday Chase and Larkin” with a lot of cute little starts since the students are Mrs. Nicar’s stars! That night, Chase chose to go to Burger King for his birthday dinner since they had Iron Man toys (Imagine that!) We had a yummy dinner and Chase got the Wii game Superhero Squad from Abby. We ate and then Aunt Lexi went and played in the play place with the boys for a little bit. That was pretty awesome to Chase. Then, we headed home for cake and ice cream! I was lame this year and bought a cake from Wal-Mart for his birthday..but it went with the theme of Chase getting a dog. It wasn’t the best, homemade cupcakes are definitely better. Oh well…it served it’s purpose and Chase enjoyed it! Chase got an Iron Man Watch and a cool superhero shirt from Aunt Lexi. And then of course, Rooney from me. Mom and the rest of the family got him some supplies that were needed for his pup. It turned out perfect and I think Chase had a wonderful day! I can’t believe that he is already 5 years old! Next year he will be in Kindergarten…where in the heck did the time go?!?
5 years ago, I remember being absolutely terrified when I was headed to the hospital. I had no idea what was going to happen and I can just remember being in complete and absolute fear when I was told by Dr. Nix that I was heading over to have a baby and that no, I could not go home before I headed over. I just remember my heart sinking and thinking to myself, “can I PLEASE just keep this baby in here?” I also remember turning to Carly and saying, “I mean I knew this day would come, but I never really thought it would come…” You guys know what I am talking about? It was a stressful night and day, but five years later, I can see that it is all worth it. 
Chase is such a special little boy. I am thankful to have him in my life. Our heads butt quite often, but for the most part we make a good team. He loves to play Wii and computer games and to watch TV. Right now he is enjoying soccer and taekwondo. He is improving and learning a lot! He loves going to school (pre-k) and does quite well there…especially socially! He can write his own name and we are venturing into other letters and numbers to learn to write. His favorite color is green…and sometimes orange. He is one ornery child, but he is so much fun and never stops. There is never a dull moment when he is around! He is growing and growing! I can’t believe how big he is and how fast he is growing. Time really does fly fast! I am such a lucky girl to have such a wonderful little guy in my life! I love you to the moon and back Chase!

(I tried to put this pictures in order the best I could, but blogger is being weird for me...anyway...enjoy!)

Rooney's first ride home!

Happy Birthday Chase! :)

His face when he first saw what I had in my hands!

First meeting with Rooney!

Probably one of my most favorite pictures. This was after I told Chase that Rooney was his to keep for forever! His expression is priceless!

Three best buds!

The morning after we got Rooney, he was the first thing Chase went to!

Chase's first walk with Roon!

Cute pup!

Big Paws!

Rooney!

aaaannd Davis sat in a cupcake! Imagine that!

Coolest watch ever!

Make a wish!

Puppy cake!

So happy!

Lexi earned the title of coolest aunt for playing on the play place with Chase!

How did I ever get so lucky?! :)

Chase and Abby with the gift she got him!

Chase and Larkin!

Chase and Larkin's Donuts!

The big birthday boy!

Beautiful baby boy!

2010-04-11T19:49:00.001-07:00

Easter Pics! 2010

2010-04-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures Alisha and I took while she was in town for spring break. The pictures are a mix of ours, but I edited them. I'm new to this editing, so what do you guys think? Some of the pictures came out a little blurry and I was told that was because the shutter speed wasn't set right...darn it. Oh well! Live and learn! They are still cute! :)

Check out...

2010-04-04T14:07:00.001-07:00

my cute family at the bottom of my page! :)

APRIL FOOOOOOLS DAY!

2010-04-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday was April Fools I knew I had to come up with something good to play on my students. I come to the conclusion that I should find a word search online that had a list of words that were not in the puzzle. I gave them 10 minutes and told them that whoever completed it or had the most words before the time was up would get a prize. This really got them going…anything with “prize” or “treat” in the sentence gets their attention like nothing else. Sooo..I handed out the sheets and set my timer to ten minutes. I busied myself around the classroom as they worked so I wouldn’t be caught laughing or smiling as they all tried to find the words. They worked SO hard to find the words and they kept telling me, “are you sure they are in here ms. F? I can’t find any!” In which I would respond, “yep! They are! Keep looking. It’s a challenging puzzle but I was able to find all of the words, so just keep looking.” They looked and looked and looked. Not a single one of them stopped looking for the whole 10 minutes. Finally, the timer went off and I yelled out “APRIL FOOLS!” They looked at me for a second then told me I was the meanest teacher ever. They said, “you made us look at a sheet of paper for 10 whole minutes to find NOTHING?!?!” They all laughed about it and got a jolly rancher. I’m a pretty good jokester if I do say so myself. I got all 26 of my students with it and they took the word search to their friends to do. I saw a couple of students working hard on the word search during their lunch. Haha! Today, I had a teacher tell me that she owed me one because one of her students got her with that word search! A, one of my students, who goes to art after my class, gave Ms. L the word search. She was all about it because she said she loves word searches. She told me today that she waisted a good 10 minutes trying to solve that darn puzzle and she couldn't. HAHA...sucka!

So my good joking skills have obviously rubbed off on Chase. Today, when I saw him after work he told me, “MOM! I lost a toof!” I said, “you lost a what?!” “A toof!” he said. I just kinda sat there for a second and he yeleed, “APRIL FOOOOOLS DAY!!!” Too funny. Then, for the rest of the evening he tried to pull little jokes on me…some of them were..”Mom, did you know it’s snowing outside?” (As I am driving in nice sunshiney weather with glasses on…) I said, “WHAT?! It is…I didn’t know that!” Then Chase said, “APRIL FOOOOLS DAY!!!” He got me on that one. ;) Then not even a minute later he said, “Mom, you have a flat tire on the car!” (again, as I am driving down the road.) I said, “UH OH!” His response yet once again, “APRIL FOOOOOLS DAY!!!” What a goob. He then told Nuna the loose “toof” joke and it just made me giggle because she is the one who helped him come up with that. She practiced and practiced with him so that he could get me. He thinks he is one clever cat. Gotta love that kid! :)

On a different note, Chase started a new season of soccer today. It should be lots of fun. We have a couple of friends on our team so we are looking forward to a fun season. His first game is this Saturday!

And, just for the record, I am SO ready for summer…

Never EVER thought I'd say this...

2010-03-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

...but I have actually come to like and enjoy running. Yep, that's me, Lacey, that said that. Big surprise, huh? I wouldn't say that I love it...I don't know that I will ever love to exercise (unless it's pilates or yoga...) but I have actually enjoyed running. I started a few weeks ago with Abby. She was going and made me want to give it a go. So, I did. I did it twice, then I didn't do it for a few days then, decided I needed to do SOMETHING, especially on the days I couldn't make it to the gym. So, alas, I started to run. Over spring break, I ran about a mile every day. Those days consisted of walking in between, but I am at the point where I can run a mile straight...not fast, but I am doing it! From just about 10 days of running, I have noticed my legs to be a little firmer. Not to where I want them, but they are getting there. It's definitely an encouragement to do it again the next day. And just in case you were wondering, our new neighborhood is chalked full of some serious hills and bumpy roads, which makes for a pretty intense run. I run about a mile, then walk up two GINORMOUS hills, then finish my run home. I have really tried to focus on my stretching before and after running and today, I added in some abs and arm workouts.

A challenge I faced today while running was the wind. I swear it was going at least 20 miles an hour. Seriosuly. And I was running against it. I felt like I should have been one of those cartoon characters who runs and gets nowhere, ya know what I am talking about? It was seriously pushing against me, but I made it!

When I run I feel SO much better. It's weird, actually. I always thought I would be so miserable while running, but have found out it's quite the opposite. My attitude is 100 times better when I get exercise in, especially towards the boys. Running is good for me physically, mentally, and emotionally. For one, I am so doggone proud of myself for doing it. For two, I have seen that I can get past and enjoy something I never thought I would. For three, I get time to listen to my music without anyone around and sing, think, stir, or just breathe all to myself. It's a pretty amazing feeling. I set myself small goals to accomplish like, "If you make it to the magnolia tree, you can stop," and before I know it, I am at the magnolia tree and my feet are still going. Then, I set my next goal in much the same way. The same thing happens, and before I know it I have reached my finishing point. It's a pretty awesome feeling. It feels good to know that I have control over something and especially something that makes me feel great. SO HERE'S TO RUNNING! Who else is gonna do it? :)

Next point of business...this summer I am thinking about joining an adult swim team. They practice 3 times a week for an hour. How perfect is that? The only drawback is that practice is held from 5:45-6:45 in the MORNING. YUCK! I am totally not a morning person. I really want to do it though, so give me some encouragement people! Alisha pointed out a good point to me though, and that is to get up and go, get my exercise out of the way and then, if needed, take a nap when the boys do. Sounds pretty easy, right? Right. I know it won't seem so easy at 5:15 during those summer mornings...because I don't even wake up that early for work...but, I have talked myself into it...80% of the way. I want to do it. I am going to do it.

Just a quick funny...

2010-03-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

So the other night I made enchiladas for dinner. They totally weren't spicey, but Chase, of course, thought that they were. After eating a few bites he went up and blew on mom's arm and said, "Is my breath hot? Because my mouth is spicey!" I just laughed. What a goob.

Today, Chase, Emma, Nathan, and I made some cupcakes to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (Pictures to come soon!) We had a blast! We divided the batter up into bowls so we could color them (they were rainbow cupcakes) and Chase had the green and Nate-dogg the blue. Every time I looked over at them, the stinkers were scooping a spoonful of batter into their mouths! We made a HUGE mess making the cupcakes, but it was totally worth it. Time well spent together. Emma spent the whole 20 minutes in front of the oven while the cupcakes cooked and as they got bigger, she claimed one to be her's, then when one would outgrow her previously claimed, she would claim that one. She didn't stop talking about them until they were done cooking. :) To be young again, right?

This morning I was explaining to Chase that today was St. Patrick's Day and since he didn't have green on (he was still in his jammy's) I got to pinch him. So we had a little pinching and tickle war for a while. It was fun. He later came up to me and declared that tomorrow is "Spiderman's Day" and everyone has to wear red, blue, and black. :)

This goes back a while, but just a few cute little things I want to remember...When we were moving into the new house, Chase one day turned to Davis and said, "I love you Baby D, I love you real bad!" Another day, as I was getting Chase into bed he told me, "Americans are SO lazy mom." He got that from Abby earlier in the day when she was frustrated with something that wasn't working right. It cracked me up. He then later said, "Mom, I'm the best there ever was, huh?" I responded, "Of course!" Gotta love that kid! :)

Don't you like how my quick funny turned into 5? :)

Life is good

2010-03-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

I am happy with my life right now. I am beyond blessed to have two amazing little boys, even though they drive me crazy! They make me so happy and I wouldn't trade them for the world. They make me smile every day...yell a little too! :) Gotta love it! I am lucky to have a job and be able to go to school. I just bought a new laptop yesterday and I am super excited about it! I have been so swamped and tired when I get home from work that I don't even want to think about anything, but I am really gonna try to get back into the swing of blogging. I don't want these sweet moments with my boys to pass by without recording them.

Davis is growing up so fast! He is such. a. turd. TO THE MAX! He destroys everything and pulls everything apart. He would rather tear the cabinets apart before he plays with his toys. He loves to dance. He picks on Chase all the time and likes to grab two full handfuls of hair and shake his head all around, whilst Chase screams at the top of his lungs. Davis just laughs about it. STINKER!

Chase is getting bigger everyday...it is pretty bittersweet! He loves school, even though sometimes he will say otherwise. His teacher has told me he is socially distracted, but he is just Chase. He is young and as time goes on I am sure he will get better...right?? One of his struggles has been facing the front in line without talking, so last week if he did a good job and didn't turn around and talk to the person behind him, we would go do something fun. As far as I know he did it, so we went to Chick-fil-a with some sweet and fun friends! Once a month he gets to bring home a teddy bear to take care of known as "Star Bear." He had Star Bear a few weeks ago and Chase had a lot of fun with him. We had him over a three day weekend and we lost Star Bear when it was time to go back to school, but luckily it was only for a day! When Chase gets to bring home Star Bear, he gets to be the "Star Student" at school the next day. He gets to be the line leader, feed Whale (the class fish), and help Mrs. Nicar and Mrs. Ruff with certain tasks. He loves it. Tonight, we had the babies in bed and we had told the kids multiple times to quiet down. Chase, of course, has a hard time with that concept. After about the 3 or 4 time, I called him over and made him look in my eyes. I said something to the effect of "Chase, I have told you 10 times to be quiet, that is too many. You need to do something the first time you are told." I then proceeded to tell him that he needs to be quiet, as that was my main point. When I got done telling him what I said, I told him to repeat it back to me. He replied, "You tell me something fifteen times and it's too many." Haha. He missed the be quiet part, but got the other part down. What a goob!

Right now, life is good. I am happy and know I am loved. I have met an awesome girl and her daughter, Amy and Adi! I am super excited because we have a lot in common and my boys adore her daughter and vice versa. Chase and I went to Chick-fil-A with them on Friday, (Davis stayed home with Nuna because he was sick) :(. Chase and Adi had a blast and Amy and I talked forever! It is always fun to find someone you have a lot in common with. :)

Work is work, but going great. The students and punks, but to be expected, I guess. It always makes sense when you meet a students parent. It explains EVERYTHING! Today, there is such a threat to the school with lawsuits, etc. that the parents have so much control over everything, even when their student is in the wrong. This can be so frustrating. It seems that today most parents tend to believe that their child is the best thing in the world, and never does anything wrong! I must say, I BEG TO DIFFER! It just makes it possible to have any form of discipline, or even order, when parents are in your face constantly. Oh well. All I can say is that you better believe my boys will be well disciplined and if they ever act up in class or at school, their punishments will be served. If parents are always there patching up their kids wrong doings, nothing will ever be learned! Anyway, I'll stop ranting about that now! :)

I am excited for summer, who else is?

SNOW!

2010-01-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

For some reason, blogger won't let me move my pictures around how I want them anymore. So, these pictures aren't in the order I wanted them to be, but oh well. You'll get the idea. On Christmas morning we woke up to a good 3+ inches of snow. It all started Chrismas Eve and it got bad fast. A lot of people were getting stuck and running off of the road. We were supposed to have the missionaries over for dinner, but dad ended up having to go and pull them out of a mess in their big 15 passenger van. They came a little later and were able to do the nativity scene with us. Anyway, on Saturday, the day after Christmas we ventured out into the cold and played in snow. We went sledding and had a blast. We didn't have sleds so we did it the Haynie way and went on cookie sheets. It was completely slick and icey so we were able to go pretty quick. Later that day, Chase and Lexi built a snowman and the boys played in the snow.

All Baby D wanted to do was eat the snow!

and this is how he ate it...

look at the snow on his hat from bending over

what a goob!

love this smile!

There was a thick coating of ice on the roads everywhere.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for at this time of year! We are truely blessed and fortunate for all the we have. I am lucky to be able to spend this holiday season with those that I love. We hope you all enjoy your holidays! :)

Those dang big lips...

2009-12-09T16:02:00.001-08:00

I have this one little girl in my first period class that is just the sweetest girl who says the most random things. On Monday, she gave me a friendship bracelet and that made my day. I have worn it every day since.

Today, I was sitting in my classroom with her and three other students when she asked, "Ms. Freeman, do you think you look like a super model or a chubby little kid?" You all know I wanted to scream, "A SUPER MODEL, DUH!" but, I refrained and I replied, "Well, you know, I don't really know. What do you think? Do you think I look like a super model or chubby little kid?" She then replied, "well, I think you look like a super model, but you have really big lips so I think that kind of makes you look like a chubby little kid." DANG IT! I just laughed and said, "well dang it. I was hoping you wouldn't say that. People always tell me I have big lips." She just smiled and got right back to work. Little terd.

I'm a Lucky Girl

2009-12-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

I just felt the need to express how lucky I am! I have two little amazing boys that I love oh so much! (and I am pretty sure they love me back :)) I have an amazing family that support me through everything. Awesome sisters and brothers and parents and in-laws. I also can't forget my amazing friends that I have. They are wonderful! I am a lucky girl!

2009-11-22T14:43:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2009-11-21T12:51:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Cute, cute boys! :) and THE RATS DID IT!

2009-11-15T14:46:00.000-08:00

So these pictures don't make much sense until you read below and watch the last video. For some reason, I can't move my pictures down on here. Anyway, enjoy!

So I wasn't here when this all happened, mom was

the one who saw it all, but I just had to post it. Apparently, Chase asked for some scissors just to cut string while mom was sewing and she specifically told him to ONLY CUT THE STRING. About 10 minutes later, she looked over and this is what she found...pretty hilarious!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-11-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Blogger is frustrating me and won't let me move this picture down so I give up and am just going to leave it. Anyway, Halloween just wouldn't be the same if Chase didn't spill his whole bag of candy on the ground. This has seriously happened EVERY single year since he has gone trick-or-treating. Makes for a good laugh! :)

So, this year I decided to join in on the festivities and dress up with the boys. Chase was Scooby Doo, Davis was Shaggy, and I dressed up as Daphne. (I lost my headband and was pretty mad that I couldn't find it because it finished the outfit but oh well...the night went on!)
The cutest Scooby Doo ever!

The cutest Shaggy ever!

Me and my sweet little guy!

Typical Chase...inhaling his candy as fast as he got it!

Baby D was absolutely hilarious this year because he wasn't quite sure what was going on. The first four doors we went to, after he got his candy, I would say thank you and he would copy me and say "dee doo." It was so cute. After that, I couldn't get him to say in anymore. Whenever we went up to a door he would get up to get his candy and the person would hold the bowl down and Davis would just stare at the candy like, "what the heck?" He would then look up at me and then at the person, and then look around them into their house. Then, he would look back up at me again like he was asking if it were okay to get some candy. He wasn't so sure about it all but enjoyed some yummy candy after he got it!

The full Shaggy effect.

Me and my wonderful boys!

Scooby's cute spots and tail!

What a goob!

Best Brothers!

We enjoyed Halloween with some friends from our ward and headed over to a friends house after trick-or-treating for some yummy chili, cornbread, and candy popcorn! We are so blessed to have such awesome people in our ward here in Tulsa!

Thanks to my talented mom we had some super cute costumes this year! She made all three. I contributed by stitching the spots on Scooby! Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We sure did!

Pumpkin Patch FUN! :)

2009-11-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

So about a month ago, my friend (Lacey M) and I headed out to the pumpkin patch with our boys. I was on fall break and so it was pretty much our only chance to go. Little did we know that it was going to be a HUGE. MUDDY. MESS. I was wearing a cute new pair of cheetah print flats that I wasn't about to ruin, so I trekked through in the freezing mud! I saved my shoes...it was totally worth it. We were at the pumpkin patch for about 30 minutes and then decided to leave because it was such a mess. We went home and got the boys clean clothes then headed to Carl's Jr. for a yummy lunch where I was hit on by a workere there. It was pretty funny, but completely awkward at the time. He kept just talking to me and making weird comments. One time I went to ask for a spoon and he replied, "I got all different kinds of spoons to give ya." and my face turned bright red. SO WEIRD! Anyway, below are some pics I took of the boys (Chase, Riley, Asher, and Davis) at the pumpkin patch! We had a fun time!

the sweet little boys!

the two monsters!

i just love this little guy.

sweet asher!

i kinda like this little guy too!

Just a little bit about us this last week...

2009-10-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to write a few things for future memories!

Chase has informed me that he likes to go to "faraters" to watch movies. :)
Chase is doing pretty good in his pre-k program at the school. He is going from 9:20-11:50 and he really seems to enjoy it. We are working on our letters and numbers. He says his favorite part of school is "going to the park!" Imagine that one!

Davis, as we speak, is crying at my feet. The poor little guy is cutting his molars and has just been MISERABLE! He has had ear infections, rashes, and soar throats due to his stinkin molars. Hopefully they will come in soon and we can move on! He has had a rash on his whole body going on about 2 weeks now. He was treated for scabies, but it was not that because the medicine didn't do a darn thing for it. We have decided that it might be eczema and so we are working with some of Chase's cream and eucerin to *hopefully* get rid of it. Wish us luck.

As for me, I am still busy as ever with work and school. I got myself a Nikon D80 for my birthday and I haven't had a single chance to sit down and figure it out because I am either doing school work, working, or in desperate need of sleep. Hopefully I will figure it out soon! I think I have pretty much decided to finish my schooling online through Ashford University. They have a program for elementary ed (K-8) that I can do online. It will take me about another 2 years to finish, but it is in sight! I think I am going to start this spring. I talk to an advisor on Monday to register and all that fun stuff! For me, online classes are easier and just fit better with my schedule. So, hopefully Ashford will work out! And one last thing...I have a student during my 5th hour that is just hilarious. He is the type of kid that is always saying something and, usually, he is pretty funny. Although, sometimes he will drive you nuts. Anyway, he walked into my class the other afternoon and boldly stated, "I'm here!! Now, what are your other two wishes?!" I just had to laugh...

We are excited for Halloween. Chase is just beside himself and cannot wait. He is going to be Scooby and Davis is going to be Shaggy. On Halloween morning Chase and I are going to go and do a fun run downtown! We are excited about it!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY D-STER! :)

2009-10-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Chase was ready to party! It was hard for him to sit back and let Baby D get all the attention, but we got through the party with out too much drama! :) I love this little guy!

So I really want to be consistant with blogging...maybe now that I am done with one class for the rest of the semester I will have more time. :) We will see. Life gets pretty busy when you work 40 hours a week, are taking 9 hours of school, and have church callings, and two little gremlins to keep up with! But, all is well...I love my job, am glad (and pround of myself) for going to school, I love my church callings (primary secretary and part of the enrichment comittee), and I wouldn't trade my boys for the world...(even though sometimes I might think otherwise! :)) Anyway, last Friday, October 9, my sweet little D-ster turned ONE! I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! It is such a bittersweet time! The little goob started walking at about 10 1/2 months and is now trying to run---from me---everywhere we go! He is a busy little boy! Some of his most favorite things to do are to brush his teeth (on his own, of course), pull everything out of every cabinet he can get into, pull the laundry out of the washer, and he always has to be carrying something in his hands, which often makes me nervous since he is always trying to run. He also LOVES anything electronic. Anything. Phones, cameras, computers, etc. His most favorite thing to do with those things? Slobber on them. :) Who woulda thought, right? He actually has quite the little vocabulary, but will only say things when he wants to. Among these are: kenk-oo (thank you), mama, chssss (Chase), nanana (Nuna), hi, and duga duga doo doo (chugga chugga choo choo!). He walks around and is quite the little babbler. Who knows what he is saying, but it is super cute! He loves to get the phone and hold it up to his ear and walk around and say "hiiii!" along with a lot of babbles. Another favorite thing of Baby D's right now is to get into the cat food and spread it ALL over the floor. ALL OVER. Not only that, he througholy enjoys packing his little chubby cheeks full of that nasty stuff (so he looks like a chipmunk) and then getting two handfuls (for later, I suppose) and walking around with it. Nasty, I know. He also LOVES the potty. He enjoys splashing in it, no matter what. We have to be sure and keep the lids down and doors closed which is hard with Chase. He now has 7 teeth, 4 on top and 3 on bottom and I have a feeling more are on their way. JOY! He is definitely a little cuddle bug (when he wants to be). He loves to be held and he will lay on your shoulder and pat your back and say "awwwww." So sweet! :) He seems to be a little more mellow than Chase was, don't get me wrong, he is still as busy and active as ever, but he tends to sit still longer and doesn't always try and get out of the shopping cart. He is still eating baby food and he is practically weened. BUT, he still doesn't sleep through the night, which is okay, we are working on it. (NO JUDGEMENTS!) Even though he eats baby food, he really enjoys big food and he does an awesome job of getting little chunkies to his mouth by himself. If you try and put baby food with chunks in his mouth he will spit it right out because he wants to do it by himself! :) D has quite the attitude. He grit his teeth and shake his whole body when he gets mad or wants you to know that he doesn't like something. It's actually pretty cute! :) Well, I think this pretty much sums up my little guy for now. He is such a sweet little boy and I couldn't have asked for better! He definitely loves his momma and I love him just as well! Happy first birthday D-ster! :)

I think I'm back...

2009-07-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

Okay guys, I think I am going to try and come back and be a blogger again! I hate that I have slacked and I told myself I was going to be so good about it this summer because I had nothing to worry about...the summer is more than half over and I have failed miserably...school is starting in a month! AH! I have tons of catching up to do! Anyway, I will admit my biggest reason for not blogging is because I got The Sims 3...yep, I'm not even gonna lie about it. I'm hopelessly addicted to that freaking game. It's pitiful. I rush to get the boys into bed and then stay up late into the night playing to my little hearts content. And yes, I know I'm a dork. :) Anyway, here is to a fresh start right?

What have I been up to you wonder? Well, as for me...not too much really. As I already confessed, I have been playing The Sims. I have also been reading tons. I love to read...right now I am going through and reading all of Jodi Piccoult's books. I love her! I gave a talk in church on Sunday on adversity. I was dreading it. DREADING! I HATE, absolutely HATE, giving talks. With a passion. I get up there and blubber and feel like an IDIOT. I was trying awfully hard to avoid Logan (the 1st counselor in the bishopric). He had asked me one time about a month ago and I said no. But then he started to ask me again last week. I ignored his phone calls and dodged him when I saw him, but once he started calling my cell phone, house phone, parents phones, and then started texting me, I knew I wasn't getting out of it. Anyway, I would say it went pretty well. Before I got up to speak I was a sweating wreck. Not to mention that the AC in the church building wasn't working. Before I even started into my talk, I was CRYING. Here's how it went: "Good morning brothers and sisters...choking and blubbering began..." Oh well. I was able to pull myself back together and kept the tears in for the rest of my talk until I bore my testimony. It was such a relief to sit back down and have that over with! WHEW! Anyway, I have been teaching swim lessons and have really enjoyed that. I have also made some new friends here in Tulsa and have had fun spending time with them. We spent two weeks in Utah and had a great time with family.

Chase has been enjoying swimming, swimming, and more swimming. He especially loves when we go to Big Splash. We have had a lot of fun this summer. Just now as I was feeding Davis, Chase was in his own world playing with one of his little robot toys. I was listening to what he was saying because he was being so darn cute. Here's how it went in his little raspy robot voice: "I am a wo-bot and no one can kill me. My name is wotten milk. No one can kill me. I am a vavenger (The Avengers is a super hero show that he got to check out from he movie store and is totally into...) I said I am a vavenger!" then he walked out of my earshot. Haha...I am a robot named rotton milk?! Where did he hear that from? What a goob. :)

Davis is now 9 months old. I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. IT! He has 6 teeth...4 top and 2 bottom. He is a little "pip-squeak" is what we call him. He has enough chubs, but definitely isn't a chubby chubby baby. His eyes are still blue as can be and his hair just keeps getting lighter! He started crawling about a month ago and he does the "peg leg" crawl where he is on one knee and then uses his other foot. He also pulls himself up on everything and will sometimes let go and stand by himself. When he wants to be picked up or needs to be fed he crawls around and says "maammaaammmaaaammaaa" or "nuuunnnuuunnuuuuu." So sweet. :) He is a fast little crawler and is oh so lovable. He loves to swim...he gets so excited and splashes like crazy once he is in the water. He loves the wave pool at Big Splash. Tubby time is a favorite time of his too. He gets so excited and does a little jumping when he is standing. Too cute!

All in all, we are doing well and are having a great summer! Pictures and videos coming soon! :)

2009-06-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

This year for Memorial Day we headed out to Skiatook Lake to a place called Tall Chief Cove. We went with quite a few other families from the ward and we grilled out and all brought sides to share. All day there was a chance of rain so for the most part it was a little cool and chilly, but that didn't stop any of the kids from wanting to get into the water and to play. Chase had a blast. He seriously went non-stop from the time we got there (about 10:30 AM) till the time we went home (4:00 PM). He walked right down to "the beach" and got in the water. I was up hauling things from the car to our picnic spot and so I missed it when he caught a snake! YES, A SNAKE! My little boy who is afraid of ANTS caught and held a SNAKE! Luckily, my friend, Kristen, was down there and snapped a couple pictures for me. They said the snake struck at him and tried to bite him, but I don't think it actually succeeded in it. Chase told me about it and thought he was pretty awesome stuff for catching it. Like I said, it was pretty cloudy, especially in the morning, but that didn't stop Chase. He had so much fun and told me that he loves "the beach." His swim suit he wore was a little big so his bum crack kept showing as he swam and played in the water. It was pretty funny. He had a good time building sand castles, moats, and digging for rocks with friends. He even made a friend while there. He told me that she had a "pwetty swim suit like Emma and she was pwetty like Emma." Chase loves his cousin Emma! :)
Even though the water was a little chilly, Baby D had a BLAST! He had so much fun sitting in the water and splashing and trying to eat the sand. I must admit, he managed to get a few little globs of sand in his mouth. Haha. He was such a good baby and had so much fun.

We all had a great time. I ended up getting FRIED. I had put one coat of sunscreen on in the early afternoon, but didn't bother to put any more on the rest of the day because it was never too sunny, but I got burnt. I did go to Big Splash the next day with McLacey and I was burnt so I wore a shirt the whole time and I even put sunscreen on, but I swear I got burned through my shirt even more. Nontheless, I was MISERABLE for a few days. I blistered pretty bad one day after I exercised and then I peeled, Its all okay now though, thank goodness. We had a wonderful time and plan on going back again sometime this summer!

Be Prepared...

2009-05-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

for a marathon post! (Who wouldn't be with that cute face to look at throughout the post...? :))

I am finally done with school (at least for a little bit) and I am back into the blogging world. SUPER EXCITED! I finished up the semester last Saturday with a 3.5 GPA...pretty good right? I seriously feel like a whole new person now that I don't have the worries and stresses of school. It is so nice. I have taken this first week to do things that I have been wanting to do , like painting some letters for Chase and Davis' room, organizing some of my stuff, and just surfing the internet for fun. It has been so nice. I also was able to enjoy some beautiful weather with my boys yesterday. We spent 2 1/2 hours at a park with mom and Lacey M. We attempted to fly a kite, it worked okay. It was definitely windy, but after yesterday we wondered if it could ever be too windy to fly a kite? We had lunch and McD's and then we came home. Mom left for a doctor's appointment and Chase, Davis, and I spent the late afternoon walking around the neighborhood. We looked for flowes of all different colors, met a new cute little old man that has a dog, yellow lab, named Babe, and played with another man's (who lives just down the street) dog. He has a black lab named Cat. Chase loves Cat and talks about him EVERY time we pass this man's house. Chase was able to play fetch with Cat and he thought that that was pretty fun. Mom came home and we walked a little longer. She helped Chase ride his new bike up and down the street. It was a wonderful day. I ended it with a sunburn on my forehead and cozying up on the couch to watch American Idol...the day was definitely a good one and one to remember. Oh and I can't forget, when I crawled into bed last night around 11 pm, a huuuuge storm was moving through and the thunder and lightning seriously lasted for like 20 minutes straight. Sometimes the thunder was so loud that my bed rumbled. It was weird. The lightning was definitaly fun to watch. We lost power, but it was restored sometime during the night because it was on when I woke up this morning. Chase and Riley flying the Spider-man kite.
Chase on his birthday! He turned 4 May 3. He gave his very first talk in primary that Sunday and it was on Heavenly Father blesses my family when I am baptized and confirmed. He did a great job and he loves to get up there in front of everyone and talk on the microphone. Imagine that! :)I love Baby D's profile! This was the best picture I could get of the two monsters together on Chase's birthday. It's almost impossible!Blowing out FOUR candles! Chase had a great birthday! I can't believe that he is already four years old. Time flies waaaay too fast. For his birthday he got a new bike and accessories from me and a butterfly kit thing where you get baby larvae caterpillars and watch them grow into butterflies. He has totally been into that so I thought what a great gift! Aunt Lexi got him a cool green Hot Wheels skateboard and Nuna and Papa got him a Go, Diego, Go! wii game that he has had tons of fun with. Avery sent Chase a fun card in the mail with some Batman stickers and a dinosaur model to build. He thought that was pretty cool! He also got birthday cards from the primary, Great Grandma Brimhall and Great Grandma Haynie! Jack came over that evening and brought Chase a fun birthday card he colored with a Ring Pop. Birthday's don't get much better than this one! The coolest bike rider on the block! Chase had NO idea he was getting a bike. Before I brought the bike out to show him I was hiding in the piano room with it and I sat there and honked the horn on it to see what he would do. He just looked around like what in the world is that noise and where is it coming from?! He got pretty excited when I brought it out...I think he likes it! He has had fun learning how to ride a big boy bike.
And on another note, this is how I find my children sleeping at night...Davis all sprawled out and Chase sleeping on the floor...not his bunk bed...I put him to bed and the next morning when I woke up I asked him why he slept on the floor and he claimed that he was coming to get me because he needed to go pee pee...for some reason I don't think that is true. I think he was playing instead. :) And Baby D...he is 7 months now! I cannot believe it! He is so much fun. He is sitting up completely by himself now and his two little bottom teeth are all the way in. Now his top teeth are cutting through...this has made for TONS of drool. He is such a happy baby...he is so giggly and lovey. He loves to grab your face and slime you with a big wet slobbery kiss. He is a little pip-squeak compared to all the other baby's his age...I think it's because he is so stinkin wiggly and never takes much time to eat. We really struggled with solids at first, but these past few days he has taken them pretty good. He is a fun little boy and so loved by everyone! It won't be long until he starts crawling, he gets himself on his hands and knees pretty often when he is sitting on the floor! He tries really hard to pull himself up, but he hasn't quite accomplished that yet. Not too much longer though. I will hold off on those things as long as I can though! Chase is doing great without his paci...he hasn't whined for it once since we threw them away! He is such a good boy. I really can't believe that he is already four years old...it is just crazy to me! He is a fun little boy and has so much life. He wears me out pretty much every day! :) Chase has been a little sick lately, it's actually been kind of nice because he has sort of lost his voice so things have been a little bit more quite around here. He can't yell or talk nearly as loud as he usually does. Haha.Look at those two cute little teeth!

We just finished up another season of basketball at the Y. We have had so much fun playing the sports there. It is great because they have 1 hour practice a week and then a game on Saturday that usually lasts an hour. Just enough to get out of the house and have something to do, but not too much to where it burns us out. We are getting ready to start Tball at the end of the month, so we are excited for that!

So here is Chase singing the song the primary kids sang in sarament meeting on Sunday. He ost his voice on Monday so it is cute and scratchy in this...and please, don't mind my lovely singing. Ha.

WE DID IT!

2009-04-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Chase has loved his paci! When he was a baby he would take every now and then, but it wasn't something that he HAD to have. Then, a year later, Nate-Dogg was born into the family. Alisha and family were over at the house and Chase saw Nate-Dogg wrapped in a blankie with a paci in his mouth, and from that moment on, Chase decided that he needed a paci and blankie. We have had both ever since and not a night went by that Chase didn't have them with him. I let Chase have a paci for a while all day long, but then decided that if he had to have one, it was only going to be allowed during nap time and bed time. He did this pretty well. Soon he gave up naps and the paci was only used at bed time. Let me tell you, he LOVED that paci. It was the best bribery to get him into bed and he would be asleep in a few minutes time. It was seriously so nice. Chase is turning four on Sunday and I finally decided that it was time to get rid of pacis. His teeth were getting messed up and I swear he would have sucked that thing until he went to college. I decided at first to tell him that when he turned four that he was going to have to throw his pacis away to get presents, but then we decided that we probably shouldn't associate this with his birthday since I thought it would be kind of traumatic. Haha. So I then decided that we would go to "the REAL toy store" as Chase calls it (ie-Toys'R'Us) and let him pick out any toy he wanted. So we went and after an hour of grazing and me trying to convince him that he did, indeed, want this toy or that. He would say that he did and then I had to make sure and ask him if it was enough to give up his pacis for. He would slowly put it back on the shelf, until we found this set of 3 red Power Rangers. That was it. He wanted those Power Rangers, and that was exactly what we bought. I wouldn't let him open them until we got home and threw ALL pacis in the trash so that there would be no going back. The second we got home, Chase and I went upstairs and got his pacis and I had him throw them in the yucky kitchen trash. He did it with no problems and was so eager to open his new Power Rangers. He played with those things all day. There was a small one, a medium one that transformed into the tiger, and a large one. Too cool. We got kind of worried that the idea of the Power Rangers to sleep with would wear off by bed time, but again he surprised me! As we were heading up to bed he came up to the trash can and looked down in it and said, "bye bye!" and turned to walk up the stairs. He climbed into bed and layed down with out whining for his paci. He sat up at one point and said, "I want my paci....oooh yeah...." and then layed back down and within 15 minutes he was sound asleep! Last night, he woke up at about 3:30 with a coughing attack and we had to give him a breathing treatment, and when he woke up he didn't even mention his paci! What a trooper!! I am so proud of him. I am also hoping that I didn't just jinx myself for tonight! :)

6 months old!

2009-04-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

Wow! Time goes too fast...way too fast! I can't believe my little baby is already 6 months old (today)! I just can't get over it. Although I sometimes still wish he was a sweet little newborn, I sure do have tons of fun with him at this age. He is such a happy little butterball and he loves to have people play with him and talk to him. He is always full of smiles.Davis loves to be thrown up in the air. He tenses up while you are doing it, but as soon as you stop he has a huge grin and lots of little giggles for you. So cute. He has a cute little giggle. He is also pretty ticklish. He also has started to yell/growl. He always seems to be doing it the loudest when we are in a quiet place. It is kinda cute. :)Baby D LOVES to play peek-a-boo. His cousin, Emma, discovered this while we were visiting over spring break. It was too cute. Now Chase gets a kick out of playing it with him and he sure can get a lot of giggles out of Baby D.Baby D LOVES his little toesies. If he is on the floor, they are up to his mouth in a second. He has completely given up his paci...he's too cool for that. I think it's nice in a way, but sometimes I wish he would just take one! He sure does love having fingers in his mouth though. He always has his pointer and middle fingers in his mouth and he just chews chews chews on them.
Davis is such a happy little boy. Tons of fun. He loves bath time...whenever he sees the water start to run he gets so excited. It's really cute, if I do say so myself. We bathe him in the sink and he always tries to drink the water out of the faucet...or even chew on the faucet. Silly boy.

He is a pretty good napper. He gets pretty grumpy if he doesn't get his naps at home. Still not sleeping through the night though. We are working on that.

He can sit up now...all by himself! I can't believe it. He's been doing it for about 2 weeks now. He is pretty good at it too. It's nice to be able to set him on the floor and let him play around. He usually topples over and then scoots/rolls himself across the room.

We call this one "Peace." Haha. Davis is also eating his solids...he does okay with them. It's been a hit and miss. Some days he inhales EVERYTHING you try and feed him and then the next it's a huge fight trying to get the darn food in his mouth. He thinks he is so big...whenever I have a drink, cup or bottle, he thinks he needs some right then and there too. He reaches for it until it gets put in his mouth. He likes water. He also tries to eat anything (food) that you have in your hand. He has sampled quite a bit!

Chase and Baby D LOVE eachother...Chase entertains him and Davis just watches him in awe. I love it. I can tell that I have two best buds on my hand. I am so lucky.

He's been such a little drool monster lately...constant drool.

And this would be why...you can't see them too well in the picture, but I promise they are there. TWO little teefers! They are just barely poking out, but you can feel em! It was kind of funny how we realized it actually. Yesterday I was talking to some people from church while at playgroup about Davis drooling. I said that I thought he was teething and I stuck my finger in his mouth to feel, but there were no teeth there. Well, last night we were at Fresh Berry (SO DELICIOUS!) getting some frozen yogurt and a lady sat next to us with a baby the same age. We began talking and she asked if Davis had any teeth yet. We told her no and she told us her baby had 2. Mom felt on Davis's gum, and sure enough, there were two little teeth poking out! Crazy how fast they come! My baby is growing up! We are so lucky to have our little Baby D. He sure has been a joy and such a blessing to have. I know that Chase, Davis, and I will always have a very strong special bond with one another. I seriously couldn't be any luckier!

So YUMMY!

2009-04-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have so much to do, homework mainly, and so so so much that I want to post, but for now this will do. I love this boy...I could not have asked for a happier more pleasant little baby than this little guy! :) He is so sweet and cuddly. I seriously cannot get enough of him. He has been such a blessing to me and I am so lucky. LOVE HIM!

PS-My friend Lacey C took this picture...check out her blog {laceycphotography.blogspot.com} Thanks Lace...love it!

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission!

2009-03-11T17:17:00.001-07:00

Chase and I had a cute talk about missionaries and him going on a mission tonight.

We started talking about how Chase was growing too fast and getting too big. Mom then asked Chase if he was going on a mission.

Chase: No, I don't want to leave you mommy.
Me: Well, you aren't going on a mission yet. You go when you get bigger.
Chase: Well you can come with me mommy!
Me: That would be fun. Where do you wanna go on your mission Chase?
Chase: Up to the mountains...with all the mishyaries. (missionaries)
Me: Up to the mountains? That would be a really fun place to go! Then I asked, Chase do you know what missionaries do?
Chase: Uh-uh.
Me: They go around and they teach people about Jesus.
Chase: Whoa...that will be fun.
Of course, we all smiled and laughed. I think I have a good future missionary on my hands! :)

Oh Chase...

2009-03-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

On Monday night I came home from class arond 8:30. I sat down at the table to eat my dinner that was left for me. We had barbeque sandwiches and there were two small ziploc bags of chips left for me. I began to eat a little bit of one bag and a few minutes later Chase came into the kitchen and told me that we was "soooo hungwee" so I gave him my chips to finish. About 5 minutes later, after I had started to munch on the second bag of chips, Chase came in and told me that he was still "soooo hungwee" so again, I gave him the other bag of chips to eat. He took a few steps out of the kitchen and then turned to me and said, "Thanks mom, for wetting me have EVEWEESING!" It was the cutest ever because he said it with so much vigor and excitement. I loved it. :) He is such a sweet boy!

I can usually only get pictures of him making silly faces...

Chase was eating a bag of cheerios last night and he told me that they were SO yummy. I asked him what they tasted like and he told me chicken! Later, I told him to tell papa what his cheerios tasted like and he told papa hot dogs! I think I had a hungry little monster on my hands!

One day while we were driving in the car Chase told me that he loved me "sooo soooo sooooo much!" I then replied to him and said and said "Well, Chase I love you to the moon and back!" He replied and said, "well mom, I love you all the way to Jesus and back!"

Chase is now in sunbeams and has really enjoyed it so far. It gets hard for the little ones to sit still all through sharing time, but I would say that they are champs! I am the primary secretary right now and I absolutely love it. I love being involved with the kids and getting to see and learn what Chase is learning. Plus, it doesn't hurt that one of my good friends is the president! :)Chase LOVES his "Baby D" (that's what he calls him!)And I would have to say that Baby D loves his Chase! Davis often stares at Chase with a look of awe on his face...it's pretty cute!So the picture above--I know it's not the best quality, focus, etc. but I just love love love love love it! I can't believe Davis is almost 5 months old! (ON MONDAY!) He has grown SO much! We have started him on a little bit of solids...so far just cereal and a little applesauce. He seems to do okay with it. The first few times went like they always do...messy! He is warming up to it and does quite well now!He always has a little smile on is face for you! He is such a sweetie! He loves to be held and be right there doing everything that you are doing. His little hands are getting good. He's pulled at my plate quite a few times and almost thrown them off the table! He loves to have something in his hands and to look at. He has started to giggle and is pretty ticklish. It's cute. He also loves his jumperoo...he will spend a good 5 -10 minutes in it just jumping around like crazy! Needless to say, he has some strong little legs. He loves to "stand up" while you hold him. He is such a fun little boy!

He loves to go out and bounce around on the trampoline too. He gives you some cute little giggles. :)

I think like just about any baby, he loves to play with paper. That is what he is doing above. It's not the best picture, but it shows off that sweet smile of his! He is now able to roll from his belly to his back and then from his back to his belly. Last night I ran to the store with Lexi so that she wouldn't have to go alone and I left the boys with mom. She was busy and so she set Davis on the floor and just let him cry. She said he got quite angry and rolled himself all over the living room. What a little goober! He is so active and loves to have you right there in his face talking and playing with him!

And I absolutely love this picture. What a sweet little boy! He is so happy and just a pleasant baby! I am so lucky to have him! At his 4 month check up he was in the 50th percentile in weight and 75th in height and head. So he is a long lean little guy, although he does have his cute little chubs! :) He is a little pipsqueak compared to some other babies in the ward, but that is just fine with me!

PS-be sure to check out the post below...it's a new one too!

Shootin' Hoops!

2009-03-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

We just got done playing a season of basketball at our local YMCA and Chase (as did I and Mom) had a BLAST! We were on the team called the "Tigers." We joined the team without knowing a single person, but quickly made new friends! We had an awesome coach who was ever so patient with the kids and so encouraging! Chase LOVED Coach Justin and he loved going to practice and games to play with his friends. Our team didn't make a single basket all season, but that's just fine...we had fun anyway, and they never knew the difference!

DEFENSE! They had the kids wear wristbands that matched with another player on their team so that they knew who they were supposed to defend. Those are Chase's "defense arms." (He is #22)
Chase and Parker running down the court.

Coach Justin getting into the game...Chase just had the ball I believe.

New friends--Reece and Chase

Parker and Chase

Chase and Kyler

Chase and Coach Justin
1-2-3-
TIGERS!!

London, Reece, Whitney (Coach's daughter), Coach Justin, Parker, Kyler, and Chase

This is a fun little clip of Chase playing during a game...sorry the camera is a little shaky, I would forget that I was recording while I was cheering! We had a fun fun season! Way to go tigers!

I made this cake for the little party we had at the end of the season! We went to McDonald's and let the kids run free in the play area while we all visited. We had a great time and look forward to playing another season of basketball!

Pay it forward...

2009-02-14T09:17:00.001-08:00

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones!

I'm Sorry...

2009-02-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

So a few of my friends (Fig, Lacey M., and Natalie) have done this post and they made me laugh so I am going to give it a try...

Dear Mrs. Blunt (my Kindergarten teacher): I am sorry that I cried nearly every day in school. All I wanted was to go home or to get my stinking lunch box open. I am also sorry that I stole your sticky tack every time I spotted it and also for stealing the station toys like the counting bears...they were too hard to resist...I took one of every color...

Self: I am sorry that I just couldn't resist the sticky tack and that I ended up dropping it in my hair during nap time. I am sorry I was too afraid to tell my teacher because I didn't want her to know I was the culprit, so I ended up ripping out my hair and leaving a huge bald spot on the right side.

Marcus: I am sorry for spitting in your hair in the 6th grade, but Christine and I had already said that we were going to wash the tables after lunch, and when you didn't listen to me, spitting in your hair was all I could think to do. I was mad. Also, I am sorry I never gave you the apology letter Mrs. Medeiros made me write to you. I actually still have it in my closet upstairs.

Girl I hated in high school: Sorry your car ended up with cow manure and eggs all over it, but we just really didn't like you. I'm not saying I did it, but I am sorry that it happened. Well, not really...

Boys that I crushed on during my school years: I am extremely sorry that you recieved countless phone calls from my friends telling you that you better get your chance with me while you can, because I was moving soon. I put them up to that, and no, I was never going to move.

Emily: I am sorry I used to tell you a shirt looked good on you or that your make-up looked really good, when I really thought it didn't. I just wanted to look better than you. I am also sorry for making you call all those boys all the time...

Kathleen: I am sorry that I made you sleep with me and Chase in the same bed when you would spend the night. I know it was a little crowded, but fun nontheless!

Mom: I am sorry I used to pee the bed in the morning while I was still "asleep," but I wanted to be guaranteed a bath that morning.

Self: I am sorry I put up with all of Carly's meanness. The flicking of the boogers on me, always letting her be the "gym teacher" at night when we were in bed, and always letting her beat me down. She was just too cool to stand up to.

Carly: I am sorry for throwing the top of the doll house at you which caused you to have to get stiches that one time at grandma's. But dang it, I WANTED TO BE THE MOM...NOT THE DAD!!

Lexi, Sam, and Abby: I am sorry that you guys were dumb enough for really believing that me and Carly could hypnotize you and make you do our chores.

Lexi, Sam, and Abby: I am sorry for calling you dumb.

Alisha: I am sorry for being such a brat when you would have to babysit us while mom and dad were at work. It was usually all Carly's idea.

Mrs. Buchanan: I am sorry that I even ever decided to try out for cheerleading. I am sorry that you had to suffer through my uncoordination while I attempted to dance. I never tried again, and I never will.

Alisha: I am sorry for telling you your plaid shoes were cute, but only for moms. Now I know how it feels to be told that you aren't cool anymore.

Kiara, Alisha, and Carly: I am sorry for all the times I stole your clothes, but they were just cooler than mine.

Carly: I am sorry for that one time you couldn't find your blankie for about a week...it was hidden between my mattresses. SUCKA!

Dad: Remember that time you had all that change in a jar hidden in your closet and it went missing? Well, I am sure you know by now that I took it, but just in case you didn't, here is my apology. I am sorry I took that money, but I needed some money to walk to Kroger and Baskin Robbins with to get snacks...sorry.

Grandma B: I am sorry for all the times your Jelly Belly stash seemed to be depleated...but it wasn't just me who found them and ate them! (Carly and Clayton ate some too!!)

Whew. I feel 100 times better now that I have gotten all that off my chest. I am sure there are 100's more, but I think this will do!

You should try it.

3 Months!

2009-01-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! We' re finally back! We had a wonderful trip to Alabama, especially because we were able to spend it with the ENTIRE family! We were also lucky enoguh to get Kim Greenfield to take our pictures. We had a family shoot and then I had a shoot of just the boys...so yes, once again, I posted 100 pictures in honor of Davis's 3 month birthday. So bear with me and enjoy, because I love pictures! especially these!! =) At this moment, I should be doing homework, but I'm not. I guess I'll pay for that later...oh well! And by the time I get my act together and get this post done, it will be time to post about Davis turning 4 months old! Oh well, par for the course with me! I love love love this picture. Little feet are so darn cute to me!
Chase LOVES LOVES LOVES his baby. Often times he will play with Davis while he is laying on the floor when I am trying to get things done. He is such a huge help with throwing diapers away, getting me wipees, and all that fun stuff. You can also just tell that Davis absolutely admires Chase. Davis will just stare at Chase with a complete and total look of awe on his face as his little eyes follow Chase around the room.
And I, of course, am absolutely in love with this little guy. He is so so so sweet and just tons of fun. He is always willing to give away his sweet smiles to anyone who will talk to him.
Lexi (just like Abby and Sam and everyone else) is completely in love with this little guy! The pictures were my Christmas present from Lexi...thanks Lex! =)

Davis loves to be held so he can stand up and use his little legs. We call him thumper because he will get one little lega goin like he is stomping. It is so cute. He loves to use his legs to stand up. He surprises me with how strong he is. He can hold his head up no problem and loves to look around.

Davis is getting good with his little hands. They are constantly in his mouth being sucked on. Over the past week he has started getting his hands up to grasp at toys. A couple of times his hands have landed in dinner plates! Whenever I hold him up to my shoulder his little hands never fail to find my hair and rip it out. His little hands are so cute and always clammy. I love it.Davis did his first little chuckle on his 3 month birthday, January 9. It was the cutest thing ever! Mom was just being goofy making faces and silly noises and he let out a little giggle.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Davis is teething. We have had the full entourage of ear infections, snotty nose, and drooooooooooooooooool, that never seems to stop. The ears are better, but the snotty nose and constant flow of drool is still coming. My mid-day Davis's shirts are soaking wet.

Davis rolled over for the first time on the 20th of this month! He's getting pretty good at it. I must say it was a bittersweet moment. I am pretty sentimental...haha. Chase gets so excited whn Davis rolls himself all the way over. (Look at my mom's blog for a fun video!)

Davis was blessed on December 28, 2008 by my dad. We were able to bless him in Alabama with the whole family there. It was a very special time. Mom made Davis's blessing outfit (above).

Davis absolutely loves to be talked to and he loves to talk back. It is the sweetest thing. He will smile and coo all day long!

Davis loves bath time. He loves to just be held in the water and have his little body float around. It is the cutest thing. He is starting to get chubs all over him with the cute little baby boobies. =)

He makes this face all the time, I love it.

He is usually always so sweet and content. He will lay on the floor and play/look at toys for a good little while all by himself. He loves to be able to kick and fling his arms everywhere. He is quite the little wiggle worm!

He is quite particular about where he sleeps. If we are home and I put him down for a nap in my mom's room in his pack-n-play he will usually sleep for a good 3 hours. Anywhere else his naps are short and he just doesn't sleep as well. I think my mom's room gets nice and toasty when the door is closed, and he likes that. At night, we are cuddle bugs. We cuddle up together and sleep the night away. I don't ever want him to get big and not want to cuddle with me anymore.

Davis loves riding in the car. When it is moving it soothes him, and often times when we have to stop at a red light he starts to cry, but the second we are moving he is quiet again.
As you can tell, my little man is growing up! He sure has captured my heart, along with many others! We love this little guy! He is and has been such a blessing in my life! I couldn't have asked for any better! We sure do love him!!

25 Christmas Questions

2008-12-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper is definitely more fun to open and watch people open, but sometimes the bags are nice.

2. Real tree or artificial? The real ones are so pretty, but such a mess! I always loved when we would go pick out a real tree as a family, but for now the artificial ones are okay. Maybe next year we will get a real one...

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually, whenever we have the time! We just did it this past Monday. I remember doing it like the week before Christmas one year...oops!

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually right after New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog? It's not my favorite. I'd rather save the calories for something else!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh man, I had TONS! I do remember one year my dad showed me and Carly these little closet/storage things that were really neat looking and he told us that they were for my mom to store her sewing stuff. I remember thinking that they were REALLY cool. When I woke up that morning there was one at "my spot" and come to find out it was a doll closet for me (Carly and Lexi got one too) for our American Girl Dolls. I was way excited. Inside were little hangers that my Grandpa Haynie made for us with his own 2 hands! Those are pretty special! =)

7. Do you have a nativity set? YES! I love it too. It was a gift from Alisha last year and I am so very proud of it! (She made it!)

8. Hardest person to buy for? Hmm....I am not really sure. We draw names and there is usually something that everybody wants. 9. Easiest person to buy for? Chase haha. I love kids toys and could buy him 100,000 things if I had the money.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! Email would be lame.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? None actually, that I can remember.

12. Favorite Christmas Movies? The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Polar Express

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually Black Friday.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? almost everything...that's why I get so fat.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear lights for sure.

17.Favorite Christmas song? I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC!! All the classic ones, Oh Holy Night, Silver Bells, etc. I really love This Christmas by Christina Aguilera, Do You Hear What I Hear by Carrie Underwood, and that one song by N*Sync that goes "Merry Christmas,Merry Christmas, and happy holidays." (be glad you can't hear me singing)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I love being with family wherever they are.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Eh...no. I'll try..Rudolph, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Dasher, Comet, Cupid...I give up.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I like stars the best.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People's greed when shopping and what not.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Red of course! I really like my tree this year.

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Um, whatever is being cooked!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? Just to be with my family and to not have to worry about all the things that stress me out. To escape "life" for a little bit and enjoy my family.

25. A favorite Christmas Tradition? The Nativity Scene on Christmas Eve along with opening jammies and slippers...Christmas wouldn't be the same without these things!

(You have double duty today people! Check the post below because I just did it and I know you want to see darling pictures {and a video} of Baby D!)

2 MONTHS OLD!!

2008-12-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

Davis is already 2 months old! I can't believe it! Time flies way too fast! He turned 2 months yesterday and I had a post all ready to go, but for some reason every time I try to post it, it won't work. So here is the redo of it!

He has started to find his hands and anytime that they get anywhere near his mouth he starts to suck like crazy! He is definitely a paci baby too! He loves to suck! I love his eyes in the picture above, even though it is a little blurry. He is just the sweetest little boy around. He has started talking to me during his feedings. He will nurse for a few minutes then come off and just coo and smile for a few minutes, and the process repeats itself. He is such a sweetie!

He loves his bath time too!! I think he would be content to be left in the bath ALL day long!

Chase and Davis Power Rangers on Chase's "COOL SPIDERMAN COUCH!!" hehe. Chase definitely loves his little brother!And I love this picture, again it is blurry, but sweet! I sure do love this little guy! =)

This, that, and the other.

2008-12-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

First off, this is Chase's "COOL HAT THAT KEEPS THE SUN OUT OF MY EYES!" He is such a little nerd! =) We made this hat during Messy Art back in September. Merry Christmas! I guess this is the last year I am going to be able to take Chase shopping with me to get his Christmas presents. Ever since we went shopping at Toys'r'us and got his presents, he has been talking about them NON-stop! Sad day! The picture below was taken at the store.

On Thursday (the 4th) Davis had his 2 month check-up. He will be 2 months this Tuesday, the 9th! I cannot believe it! Where does the time go?! He is still just the sweetest little baby around. He loves to be talked to and will give you a smile and he loves to talk and coo back. He also is SO wiggly! Unless he is dead tired he is super squirmy. He gets quite the temper when he gets hungry and it's not all laid our right then and there for him. That is seriously the only time he shows his little temper! He is also SO alert. He follows my voice pretty well. He also loves to look up at the lights. Whenever I am holding him to my chest he is always trying to get his little head back to look up at the ceiling and lights. He weighs 11 lbs 2 oz. He was in the 50th percentile across the charts for height, weight, and his head. He was so average that it was so unaverage, if that makes sense. The doctor said he is growing well and is the prettiest baby he has ever seen. =) Davis had to get shots at this appointment and it was the saddest thing ever! I layed him on the table while the nurse prepped and he was just a talking and cooing and smiling to me and then all the sudden his face went from being sweet and smiley to total shock and then he just started screaming! It was the saddest thing ever! Of course, mom and I teared up...the nurse even cried! (She is the only nurse that works back there with the doctor-we go to a small doctors office here that I LOVE, so she becomes quite close to the kids there and she is just the sweetest lady!) Anyway, this first round of shots was a little traumatic (for me at least)! Davis' legs were sore that evening and the next day. I felt so bad for him, but he is doing great now!Davis had a little bit of thrush. Dr. Baker recommended that we put this dye in his mouth because it kills the thrush pretty quick and it was a one time treatment rather than having to stay on top of giving him doses. And so Davis had a purple mouth for the next 24 hours. I think these two pictures sum up what he thought about it!

That afternoon we headed to the CCY (YMCA) to get some exercise with Lacey M. and afterwards we took the boys swimming. Chase LOVES to swim and he is getting pretty good at swimming by himself.

And lastly, I walked by Davis's swing the other day and this is what I saw...haha. I believe that Chase is going to be a great Daddy one day! =) He takes good care of his robots!

What a Clever Kid!

2008-11-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

So last night mom overheard Chase singing this song to himself:

"My mommy's boooooobiiiiieeeees are full of miiiiiilllllllkkkkk!!!"

Quite impressive huh? Chase used to HATE to sing, and he would get mad when I would try and sing to him. Now he is singing his own made up songs...about my boobies being full of milk.

He also informed me if I drink chocolate milk, Baby D will also get to drink chocolate milk. What a clever kid.

Gotta love him.

Little Fish

2008-11-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

We took Davis swimming for the first time this past Tuesday and I think he kind of liked it. He fussed just a little bit at first, but then cuddled up to me and relaxed! I think we have another swimmer on our hands!

Watch it all the way through, he gives a cute smile at the end! =)

The things he says...

2008-11-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

So the other day we were driving in the car. We were behind a car that had an "OSU" sticker on the back of it. Chase said, "Hey mom, what't that say on the back of that car?" I then said, "OSU." Chase replied, "ME?" It was so funny because of the tone he replied in. Gotta love that kid! =)

More funny!

2008-11-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

So the other night I asked Chase what my "big name" is and he said "Benjamin Mom!" (his "big name" is Benjamin Chase.)

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner. While we were all at the table eating, Dad began telling a story about some new medical thing and here is what followed...
Chase: "Papa! Papa! Papa! a short pause...Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! PAAAPAAAAAA!
Papa: What Chase?
Chase: Jesus can hear you!!

=) He's pretty smart, eh?

Funny Funny

2008-11-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chase was playing with a new little play-doh toy where the dough squirts out of a hold type things (if that makes any sense). Well he started to squish the dough out for the first time and he yelled "GUACAMOLE HOLY!!!" I just started to giggle and giggle. I have NO idea where he heard this from, but it just made me laugh.

Today, Chase found a little pair of first aid scissors that go in those little first aid kits. He grabbed them and said "these scissors are so little and I want to keep them forever and ever and ever and ever and ever!" I just giggled and told him that we only cut paper. A few minutes later I looked over and saw Chase cutting at his socks. I yelled, "CHASE NO!" (I know, I know...they are only socks but we are kind of on the skimpy side for socks since he finds ways to rip holes in ALL of them!) Chase then simply replied "but mom I am just trying to cut this off" as he pointed to a dirty spot on his sock! Luckily the scissors are so cheap that they didn't cut his sock at all.

As for Davis-he has had a little cough and so we took him in to the doctor's today because I was a little worried. Luckily, it's just a little congestion and we just have to watch him over the next little bit. He weighed in at 10 lbs 2 oz. On Friday night he slept for almost 6 hours straight and then on Saturday night he slept for almost 7 hours straight! WAHOO!! He is still just as sweet as ever and his little eyes are just as blue as can be! =) He has also been quite smiley lately and coos quite a bit. He loves to have people talk to him and he looks and listens quite intently all the while giving you a few grins! =)

Apple Pickin'

2008-11-16T17:20:00.000-08:00

The day before I had Davis mom, Chase, and I headed out to Porter, OK with Lacey C, Jack, Nolan, Natalie, and Blaykli to pick some yummy apples!

Chase, Blaykli, and Jack did their fair share of picking apples and eating them!
My sweet guy!

Apple throwing war!

Sharing!

YUM!

(thanks for the pics Lace!)

My Blue Eyed Guy

2008-11-14T19:11:00.001-08:00

Mom and I took these pictures yesterday, Davis's 5 week birthday! They aren't in any particular order, but enjoy!! (PS be excited for more to come later because I am waiting for my sister, Kiara, to play around with some of these on photoshop!) =)

I love this little face-MOM! HELP ME!=)

Davis is still as sweet as ever! I can't believe he is already 5 weeks!! (I think I say that every time I post, but they just grow TOOOO fast!) He is such a sweet easy going laid back little guy! We sure love him! =)

Chase is thankful for...

2008-11-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

1. Candy

2. Jesus
3. Batman toys and movies
4. Movies
5. Big chickens
6. Miss Spider's Sunny Patch
7. Playing hide and seek
8. Coloring
9. Going fishing and catching fish in a boat
10. Scooby doo Movies
11. Veggie Tales
12. For this one, I asked him "what else are you thankful for?" and he gave me a kiss and said "that." =)
13. Painting/Messy Art
14. Puzzles
15. Mom and Aunt Carly (sorry all you other aunts...he saw a picture of me and Aunt Carly together...but I know he loves all you guys too!!)

Chase came up with this list all on his own. All I did was ask him about 100 times what he was thankful for and those are the things that he came up with. I am not sure where the going fishing came from since we have never really gone fishing...and as for the big chicken (possibly a turkey)...who knows?

Some other things that I know Chase is thankful for are McDonald's, popsicles, Davis, Nuna, Papa, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles, his rain boots, tubby time, bubbles, cutting paper/scissors, doing his preschool workbooks, his water coloring tablets that he gets to put in the tubby with him, his "kinkys", pacis, books, his friends, the CCY (YMCA) play area, soccer, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, parks, play time, balls, scooters, Boogerberry juice (it's a drink from the gas station QT here), the color green, cuddling, Halloween, doggies, Nickjr.com, story time, apples, chicken nuggets, ketchup, french fries, superheros, cars/trucks, games, toys, TV, nursery/church, and riding his bike.

Cute story: I have started going back to the CCY (Chase calls the YMCA the CCY...for whatever reason, I don't know...) to work out. They have a fun child care center for kids that Chase absolutely loves. The lady that watches him in there is older and always has little crafts or coloring pages for the kids to do. Since Thanksgiving is coming up she has had a picture of a turkey for the kids to color. The first day we went back to the CCY and I picked Chase up from the child care center, he showed me the picture of his turkey. He then told me "Mom, this is a turkey and it's going to eat US for Thanksgiving!!"

Chase Happenings.

2008-11-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Chase and I went on our very first date together! Chase chose to go to Burger King for Dinner and afterwards we headed off to see Madagascar 2. Dinner was quite delightful because I sat by myself as Chase played in the play area. During the movie, Chase and I held hands and shared our drink and snacks. =) We had a fun time together...just the two of us.Chase LOVES his Baby Davis! He constantly wants to hold him and kiss him. Last Sunday, during Sacrament, I told Chase he needed to be reverent and fold his arms. Chase then turned to Baby Davis and said "Bebe Dabis, you need to fold you awms!!" In no sort of quiet voice! I whispered to him that Davis was still too little and didn't know how to fold his arms yet. Chase then said to me, in a LOUD voice, "but you can hewp him fowd hims awms!" Chase then tried to fold Davis' arms himself and Davis didn't like that too much. He got quite distraught that Davis would not and could not fold his arms and be reverent during the Sacrament prayer. We went our rounds with me telling Chase he needed to be quiet and be reverent and Chase insisted that "Bebe Dabis needed to fowd his awms." Oh dear.=)

Chase will finish up his soccer season this Saturday. He has really really enjoyed playing and always gets SO excited when he gets a kick at the ball. He is one of the youngest on his team and so he doesn't get the ball very often. There are 2 boys that are almost 5, and really good, that always are controlling the ball. Every so often Chase and the rest of his teammates will get a chance to get in and kick the ball. I think Chase's team, the Tigercubs, have only lost one game. Last Saturday, they won 4-1. I am glad that Chase has enjoyed playing and am sad that the season is almost over! I must admit- the first time Chase got a really good kick at the ball, it brought some tears to my eyes! When he got that ball I could see he was so very excited and it gave him a little power boost! =) At the end of every game, they do a "parents tunnel" for the kids to run through and Chase loves that part. I think we will play again next year!! =)

Going after the ball...even though the whistle had been blown and the quarter was over. Chase wasn't stopping because he had complete control over that ball. He ran it all the way out of bounds! Here's some redneck Chase for ya! We bought him a pack of Hanes white T-Shirts (size 4t) and after they were all washed, they SHRUNK! So, his belly pops out of them. I laugh every time he wears them because all I can think of is a redneck with a big belly and a mullett. I wish I had a mullett wig..oh well. Tonight, Chase came walking into the room with his short redneck shirt on, one shoe on, and a sock on with his big toe poking out...I had to capture a picture...he is such a little mess...and redneck...haha.

This evening, Chase was told by Papa that if he ate all of his dinner, then he would get some Krabby Patties (those gummy candy things from SpongeBob). Papa told him that they would appear magically once his dinner was all gone. Chase gobbled his dinner down and so, holding true to the word, Papa had those candies appear magically. He got a cup and "filled it up with water" and then threw the "cup of water" on Chase, and whalah..the krabby patties came flying out. Chase thought this was pretty cool. So, during dishes, Chase was helping Nuna clean up. He was at the sink and filled a cup up with water and shook it like Papa did to get the krabby patties to appear. After a few shakes, Chase said, "ah! no krabby patties yet!" He attempted filling the cup up a few times and shaking it and to no avail! He was quite frustrated and took the cup to Papa to have him make the krabby patties appear. Chase got two more! =)

Bad Dream

2008-11-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last night as I was lying in bed around 3:30 after feeding Davis and getting him tucked back into bed, Chase began to scream the loudest I have ever heard him scream. It wasn't just a normal scream, you could tell it was a really scared scream. I flew off my bed so fast to get him and saw him backing up on his bed looking at it like he was completely freaked out. He was still sceaming and I grabbed him so fast and tried to hold him but his little body was SO tense. I just held him and told him it was all okay and that I had him. He told me that the buggies were trying to get him. I told him there were no buggies on his bed and that everything was okay, then tried to lay him back down. His body tensed back up and he clinged to me. I finally got him calmed down a little and we climbed onto my bed. He told me that there were buggies on my bed. I had to talk him out of that idea. I let him know there were no buggies on my bed or on his bed, and that in fact, there were no buggies at all in the room. He calmed down and we cuddled on my bed. About a half hour after we layed down, Chase had another little bout of freaking out about buggies. Again, I calmed him down and let him know that there were no buggies and that mommy wouldn't let any get him. He calmed back down and we cuddled up together and fell asleep.

This morning Chase woke up and said "MOM! The buggies are gone!!!" I let him know that I was glad that the buggies were gone. I asked him what happened and he told me there were white ones flying around trying to eat him. He also told mom that there were bumble bees. =( Poor guy!! He was seriously SO scared...I have never ever seen him that scared. Sam stayed home from school today and Chase made sure to let Sammy know that he had a "scawy dweam!"

4 weeks old and a hurt foot

2008-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, so I cannot believe that my little baby is already 4 weeks old and will be a MONTH on Sunday!! Time goes wayy tooooo fast! Davis is still such a good baby, although lately he has gotten quite the temper when he gets hungry. He is one loved little guy, that's for sure! He loves to look at lights and for you to hold him back and let his little arms and legs hang. He is such a little cuddle bug too. I am almost 99% sure that he is going to have blue eyes! He also loves to be talked to and often times will stare at your face quite intensely when you talk to him. He smiled at me for the first time on Halloween...it was one of those big sweet cheesy grins! He continues to smile every so often when you talk to him. He weighs 9 lbs 4 oz...he is starting to get those cute little chub rolls on him!!!This picture was taken today...4 weeks old! I love the way his little cheeks look in this picture...disregard all the junk behind him. =) Chase and Davis's very first tubby together! The water looks funky because Chase has these water changing color tab things that he likes to put in the bath with him...not because of pee! I promise! =) Davis LOVES the bath. He loves to just sit in it and he gets quite upset the second you take him out.

I love this little picture...you can start to see the chubs! =)Chase LOVES Davis...so much! He always wants to help burp him after he eats and continuosly asks to hold him. All the time. I love that Chase loves his little brother...I couldn't have asked for it to be any better! Chase also just loves to sit and watch Davis and giggles at all of his silly faces. I know he is going to continue to be an awesome big brother to Davis. And, on to the hurt foot...on Wednesday night Chase was getting pretty groovy dancing all around the house. It was quite hilarious. He comes up with some of the best moves ever. Anyway, he was dancing it up and rolled on his foot. We knew it wasn't broken, but Chase would not walk on it for ANYTHING that night. We decided to wait it out and see what would happen in the morning. Well, this morning he woke up and came to the stairs crawling and complaining about his foot. Anytime we tried to touch it or get him to walk on it he would freak out. So, we decided we better take him in to the doctor. At the doctor he was distracted and Dr. Baker was able to feel on it and actually got him to walk on his heel. He came to the conclusion that it was not broken, but sprained. He told us to just take it easy today and have him keep ice on it and keep it elevated (yeah right!!) We didn't even attempt the ice and the elevation lasted for the duration of 2 minutes and so I could take some pictures. All day long Chase crawled around the house to do what he wanted. We even went grocery shopping and he sat in the cart the WHOLE time and didn't even ask to get out ONCE...made the shopping trip a breeze! =) This evening, we had enrichment and some of the ladies brought their kids as did I. I was hoping that Chase would get tired of crawling and attempt to walk a little on his foot...but it didn't happen. Instead, he had all the other kids crawling with him! I know his little foot hurts and it has even been a little swollen...poor guy! I hope it gets better soon because he is one heavy little boy to carry around! This evening I had him stand on one foot and he said "LOOK MOM! I'M BOUNSUHLING!!!" =)

Some Chase stories:::

At Wal Mart this evening we were in the produce section. I had Chase in the cart and some ginormously large lady came riding by us on one of those scooters and was in some pretty short shorts for her size...not a pretty site. Chase saw her and I watched him look at her for a minute and then he turned to me and said "MOM! Her just haves hers underwears on!!" The lady seemed a little loopy so I am not sure that she heard what Chase said or not...but I walked away as fast as I could and couldn't help but to laugh...oh they are so honest!

This evening at enrichment Chase was able to play with his bud Jack. Chase was being Batman and Jack was Superman. What all happened I have no idea, but it was cute nonetheless. After we left enrichment Lacey (Jack's mom) called because Jack wanted to talk to Chase. So, we gave Chase the phone (on speaker phone so we could hear) and this is what followed (for the most part...)

Chase: Hi Jack!

Jack: Hi Batman!

Chase: Hi Superman! What are you doing?

no answer...

What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? plus another 10 times.

Me and mom start to giggle.

Chase: Mom--stop it! Nuna--stop it!

Me and mom: Okay Chase sorry.

Chase: Superman, what is your favorite color? Blue or green or yellow? A few seconds later...or yellow or blue or green? (he gave him a lot of choices huh?)

no answer...What is your favorite color? repeated ten times.

Me: Chase, give Jack a few seconds to answer...

Chase: repeats the question.

Jack responded but I couldn't understand what he said.

Chase: I am in the car driving home...and going to bed...and read a story.

Me and mom start to giggle again.

Chase: MOM! STOP IT!

Me: I'm not doing anything hunny.

Chase: Yes you are. You just laugh.

Me: Okay, sorry honey.

Chase and Jack converse a little more and then Jack starts to sing for Chase. I am not sure what he was singing but it was sweet. It was time for Jack to go and Chase says "bye superman!"

3 year olds and their phone conversations...=)

Lastly, this evening I was sitting in the living room feeding Davis and Chase was in the kitchen. I sneezed and Chase promptly yelled "Bless you Mom!!" =) What a sweet boy!

Just some thoughts...

2008-11-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

I am not the type of person who feels at all comfortable getting up and talking in front of people. I HATE it...mainly I HATE giving talks and bearing my testimony in front of people. My emotions just completely take over and I just blubber through my talk/testimony, so I spare myself the embarrasment and the akwardness for other people and avoid it at all costs. So, I have just had some feeling lately that I have wanted to express and with fast and testimony meeting just passing I have decided that the best way for me to express my feelings and what not is to just blog it. So bear with me. If you stay tuned I have a few cute Chase things to post at the end. =)

First of all, I am so thankful that we have free agency and are able to make our own choices and decide what we want to do with our lives. I am so thankful that I can choose and do what I want to do and as this might seem odd, I am so thankful for all of the consequences we have to face due to our choices. As everyone knows, I haven't made all the best choices in my life, but I am so thankful for those choices that I have made and from the things that I have learned from them. Had I not gone through what I have gone through and made the choices that I have, then I would not be the person I am today. I would not be as strong in the gospel and I would more than likely not strive to be better and better everyday. One of the main choices I am referring to is when I made the choice to do something not so good before getting married, and ending up pregnant at 17. It was scary...scarier than I can even describe. I had no idea how to go about telling my family, because I knew I had let them down and that my family would be disappointed in me. But, it happened and had to be taken care of. Adoption was pushed, but somewhere in me I knew it was not the right choice for me. Things are different for everyone. So, as it came closer I let my parents know that I wanted to keep Chase...maybe part of my decision was selfish...but seeing what I have, I know that Chase was supposed to be a part of this family. I would not take my decision back for anything and am so thankful that I have Chase now because he has caused me to grow and learn so much that I don't think I would have learned had he not been given to me. I am also so thankful for my family...my wonderful family who has stepped up to the plate and helped me in every way imaginable. Alisha and Kiara watched Chase on a regular basis so I could finish high school and go to work. I don't think I would be as close to my sisters had Chase not been brought into this world. Alisha and I really bonded after I had Chase because we were able to spend a lot of time together with our kids and do fun things together. I am so thankful for all the support and love that my parents and the rest of my family has shown and given me. Also, to all the other people who didn't judge, but were just there to love and support me and Chase. My relationship with my mom has only gotten stronger and better. She has become my best friend and has stepped up to the plate to take care of me and Chase and help me through all of my hard times. I am so so so thankful for the ability that I have to choose for myself and then to learn and grow so very much from those choices and consequences that I have to make and face. Life is not easy, but I know that EVERYTHING happens for a reason and that the Lord has a plan for every single person on this earth. I am so thankful for my family and friends and all the love and support that they give me every single second of every single day.

Next, I am so thankful for the power of prayer. Just recently in the last few months have I learned how powerful prayer is and how much the Lord really does listen and care. Right now, some experiences are too personal to share for my own sake, but, one simple story that lets me know that the Lord does listen and care follows: About a month or so ago Chase was sick with a cold and as you all know he has HORRIBLE asthma. Anytime he gets any little type of cold, his asthma flares up and it can get quite scary at times. Well, this one particular day Chase and I stayed home from church because he was just way wheezy and snotty. Over the previous week I could not find his breathing maching anywhere and it was getting to the point where I was stressing over it because his asthma was only getting worse. This particular Sunday that we had stayed home I was thinking to myself all morning long "where in the heck could that thing be?" I knew Chase needed it and if he got any worse then we would possibly end up in the hospital. After a few hours of stressing about where in the heck his machine was I got the inkling to pull my breast pump out and clean the pieces up. For whatever reason I don't know(because I still had a good little while before Davis was going to be born and I had never once thought about pulling it out before), but I just decided to do it. I climbed into the back of the closet and pulled it out and sure enough, there was Chase's breathing machine in the bag with my breast pump stuff. I was SO relieved and right then and there thanked Heavenly Father for allowing me to find the breathing machine. This is something that seems so simple to me, but at the same time really made me realize that the Lord DOES listen to us and helps in our time of need. I am so thankful for the comfort that I get from knowing that.

I am also so thankful to know that I have a family to fall back on at any given time in life. I am so thankful to know that I have two parents that love me so very much and would do anything for me. I am also so very thankful for every single one of my siblings and their families and for the relationships that I have with them. I know that I could turn to any one of them at a time when I am in need and that they would do the best they could to help me out. I am so thankful to know that I am forever sealed to my family and that I will always have them. I love my family more than anything and on most occasions would just prefer to spend time with them. I am so so so thankful to be sealed to them and to have their love and support. I am also so thankful for my two beautiful little boys that the Lord has trusted me with. I hope that I can be the mother that they need and be an example for them and teach them the things that they need to know to develop and learn all that they can in this life. I love every single person in my family and am so thankful for all of them and their unique personalities.

Lastly, I am just so greatful to have the knowledge of the gospel in my life. I don't know where I would be now without it. I am thankful that I have the scriptures to read and study and prophets to listen to and seek council from. Over the last little bit, I have really taken the time to study the scriptures, read the church magazines, and really listen to the prophets--what a difference that has made for me in my life. I have grown SO much and learned SO much over these past few months than I have in my whole life. The gospel is so amazing and I know that it is true. I am so thankful for it and all the comfort I recieve from it.

And just for the sake of Chase being cute and so that I can remember these moments---
-Chase is enthralled with Tinkerbell. Anytime a commercial comes on for her he freaks out and tells me that he wants the toy or movie. The funny part is that the calls Tinkerbell "Bingerbell" and does so seriously. He really thinks she is "Bingerbell". =) It just makes me giggle.
-The other day Chase and I were riding in the car and he was watching Davis in his car seat. Davis makes some pretty funny faces when he is awake and Chase was getting a kick out of his faces. He was laughing so hard his stomach was starting to hurt and he was starting to cry. Finally, he pulled himself together and told me he didn't have any giggles left in him. So in an attempt to make him giggle, I turned around quickly and made a retarded face at him. He burst out in giggles and this went on for a few more rounds. I then told him "HAHA...I got a giggle out of you!" A few minutes later Chase asked me to look at him and so I did. I turned around and he made a goofy face at me and I started to "laugh" and he said "HAHA... I got a giggle on you!" I just thought what he said was too cute.
-I can't think of any off of the top of my head right now because I often feel like I am losing my mind and forgetting everything, but I know I have so many more so stay tuned. He is always full of the funniest comments and says some of the cleverest things sometimes...I just wish I could remember them ALL. I need to start writing them all down so I can remember them. Hopefully I can come up with the others and post them soon, but that is all for now.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you all had a great one! Ours was fun and exciting, mostly because Chase was completely enthralled with it all and totally excited to go trick or treating. This year we celebrated with decorating Halloween cookies...a family tradition...going to the ward Harvest Party, another member in our ward had a Halloween party, and then, on Friday, trick or treating! Chase had to be Batman this year, and there was no changing his mind! So, Chase was Batman and Davis was Robin! Mom made their little speedo things out of spandex and Chase loved his "Batman underwear" and didn't want to take them off! =) We had a fun time trick or treating. We went with some friends from the ward and Chase had a blast.Baby Robin right before we went trick or treating. He just about slept through the whole ordeal. At one house while trick or treating, Chase and 2 other kids, Daniel and Jacob, knocked on a persons door. Well the man opens the door and Jacob, who is 2, took off running into the house to chase after some dogs. Chase and Daniel felt they needed to follow in pursuit of Jacob. All of us parents are standing on the curb as the kids run into the house. The man closed the door because he did not want the dogs to get out. Jacob's mom went into the house and only came out with Jacob so Daniel and Chase are still in the house. As I got closer to the house I hear Chase screaming/laughing. Well Daniel's older brother, Austin, got into the house and herded Daniel out, but Chase is still in the house chasing this poor man's dogs. All the while screaming and laughing. I finally got to the door and got Chase out. The man whose house they escaped into was the school counselor at the school I worked at last year....it took me a few minutes to connect him with where I knew him from, and I am not sure he knew who I was. Oh well! All in a day with Chase! =) On the way to the next house after the dog ordeal, Chase was running to the next house, and as usual, not paying any attention...it was also dark out. He ran straight into a bush and flipped over it with his bag of candy flying EVERYWHERE! With the help of Austin, and his glow stick, we collected all of his candy only to have him trip in a hole seconds later and, yet once again, have his candy go flying everywhere. Again, we collected it all and on we went trick or treating. About 5 or so houses later, Chase was coming off of a doorstep and missed it and fell onto the concrete. Again, the candy went flying!! =)
When we first started trick or treating, Chase was way too concerned about eating the candy he got at the house rather then getting going to the next house to get more...what a candyholic he is! In the picture above-Chase, Daniel, and Austin. Chase's mask, Batman belt, and gloves lasted all of about 2 minutes!! I must also document that at nearly every house we went to after Chase got his candy, he told the people "HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEN!!" and took off running with his loot trying to open it faster than his little hands could handle! =)

Notice the hole in the tights...they lasted (much to my surprise!) through 2 halloween parties and all through trick or treating until we were at the very last house...Chase took a tumble off of the curb and tore the hole. I was fine with it though, we were done! Chase was posing it up for these pictures...

When we got home from trick or treating with our friends, as we were getting out of the car, we heard "scawy music" and Chase and I set out on a mission to find where it was coming from and as we did so we stopped at a few houses for candy. Chase felt the need to ask EVERYONE if they were playing the "scawy music" and to tell them about the hole in his tights. =) We finally found where the scary music was coming from. At someone's house they had a black tent set up with a black light and smoke inside...the music was so loud and I glanced in and a person is jumping out at whoever walked in...he was dressed up like the psycho guy from the Saw movies! Chase got one glance of his face and took off the other way...we didn't go in that one and get candy from him!
Mine and mom's pumpkins..moms is the face and mine is the face with BOO! Sam did a really good one too...check it out on mom's blog! Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We sure did! =)

We are still here!!

2008-10-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

We are still alive and well and I am surviving on a little sleep! =) Things have been going great since Davis has been born. The transition for Chase has been 100% better than what I expected. Chase adores Davis. Davis is still just the best little baby...so calm! We went to the doctor this past Friday and he is now 8 lbs 3 oz. He was 7 lbs 13 oz when we left the hospital and when he was a week old. So he is gaining weight and the doctor says that he looks great! I couldn't be any happier than to have 2 healthy little boys. What a blessing! Davis sleeps pretty well for the night (for the most part). We had a little bit of a rough night on Thursday...Friday I worked off of only about 3-4 hours of sleep total. Davis wasn't up fussing...he just decided he needed to be awake...oh well!!
As I was getting things together to nurse one day, Chase asked what "the silly pillow" was for and I just told him it was to wear on your head. He got a kick out of it and put it right on. Later in the evening, he saw me nursing Davis using my Boppy and he was quite confused that I wasn't wearing it on my head. He told me that it was supposed to be on my head while I nursed Davis! I just laughed and had to explain to him that I was just being silly. For the next several times I nursed and Chase saw me using the Boppy he told me I needed to put it on my head to feed Davis! What a goober! The infamous "hurricane." Chase also had a super swirly cowlick like this...Hurricane Chase and Hurricane Davis. If you look close you'll notice that Davis has not only one, but TWO cowlicks right by eachother. This causes his hair to go in every direction possible! Good thing he'll have curly hair! =)Chase has loved every minute (almost) of being a big brother. He is quite helpful when I ask him to get my a diaper, etc. He'll even throw them away for me as long as I assure him he won't get any poop on his hands. =) He usually is concerned about what is wrong with Davis when he hears him crying and often asks to hold him. He is always kissing Davis and admiring his little fingers. I think I have two little guys that are gonna be best buddies on my hands! We tried to keep Davis up for a little while before we went to bed so that he would sleep longer (this was after my night of just a few hours of sleep...which by the way, when I talk to people I feel like my thoughts don't even connect anymore and I stutter...guess that's what happens when ya loose sleep!!) Davis finally just gave up on us and put himself to sleep...poor little guy! He often sprawls out when he is on his back.

Best buddies!

We are thinking that Davis is going to have blue eyes...they are pretty blue and a lot lighter than what Chase's were, but we will see!

Chase loves to have Davis "kiss" him. =)

Best buds Asher and Davis.
Me & my Boys!

All in all, these past 2 1/2 weeks have been wonderful...even with little sleep and getting mastitis (which is miserable!!) It seems like it has been FOREVER since I have had Davis, but 2 1/2 weeks isn't much time at all, but I already can't imagine life without him!

Baby Davis

2008-10-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Alright, first I am going to start of by saying that I apologize for posting 3000 pictures, but how can I choose just a few of this cute little guy? I actually narrowed it down quite a bit so be thankful! ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Thursday morning started nice and early at 5 AM. I got up got showered and packed a few more things into my hospital bag. We (surprisingly) made it to the hospital on time at 6 AM. (I am late to EVERYTHING I am involved in so this was a huge surprise to be on time...haha. Anyway, we waited for a few minutes and I was admitted and got ready! I was hooked up to my IV and the started the pitocin around 8. Since I tested positive for group b strep they weren't very aggressive with my pitocin until I got 2 doses of antibiotics in. The antibiotics were given to me every 4 hours and it burned going into my arm. Come to find out, they are thinking I am allergic to penicilin. My chest burned and was tight while I got the antibiotics and I had a hive on my arm from it. Oh well. Around 8:15 my doctor came in and broke my water and told me that I was a 3. After that my nurse made the comment "It only gets messier from here!" I hate the feeling after they break your water though...I felt like I was peeing EVERYWHERE...haha. Anyway, around noon I got my second dose of antibiotics and my pitocin was upped quite a bit. The nurse told me I needed to wait to have a few regular contractions before I got my epidural so I stuck it out for a little bit. I finally decided to get my epidural and was about a 6 at this point. My nurse told me to let her know when I started to feel "poop pressure" so that she could check me and give my doctor enough time to get over here without having to make him break a sweat because he was getting old. haha. She was seriously the best nurse and was so sweet and funny. Anyway, I felt some "poop pressure" very lightly and had mom go and get the nurse. She came right in and said I was an 8. About 20 or so minutes later (maybe not even that long, I can't really remember...) I felt some serious "poop pressure" and told mom I thought something more was happening. The nurse came in...I was a 10 and it all went down after that!

Won't be seeing this view for a while...I can actually see my feet now! =) My dad had a lady at his work make this wreath for me...isn't it the cutest? It's made of diapers and has all kinds of little toys, burp cloths, pacis, and socks on it. I love my daddy! He is so sweet! I got TONS of compliments on it at the hospital.

We'll title the picture about "Waiting, wishing, wondering" because that was seriously what I was doing. I was SO nervous because I had a hard time with Chase and I was so anxious to get this all over with.
Just a few minutes before he arrived!
My first glance at my new little one! Davis Scott Freeman arrived at 1:23 PM and was 8 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long...not quite as big as Chase! The nurse kept telling me that I was all baby in my belly...she was right! Labor and delivery went amazing actually. I was so nervous, but it really wasn't that bad at all. I only pushed four times and Davis was here. I tore a little, but recovery has been fairly easy.
Sweet little baby.
Teeny tiny feet.Chase was kind of freaked out by me and Davis at first. He didn't want to have too much to do with either of us. He was quite concerned about all the IV's hooked up to me. I can't believe how much he has grown up to me! His hands are so huge to me now, when before they were so so so small. He just seems to act and look so much older. I was stressing about having another baby the few days before I was induced because I knew that Chase would no longer be my only concern and I didn't want things to change. I was seriously having a hard time with that. But now that it is all said and done, I wouldn't have it any other way. I know that Chase is going to be an amazing older brother to Davis. Me and my new little man!Happy! We are so blessed to have such a beautiful healthy little boy!

Papa and his little buddies!

This was the first kiss Chase gave Davis...and he only did it because he was bribed with candy...this was the first day.This picture starts day #2. Davis is dressed in his little outfit for his hosital pictures. Chase had the same one except for it was a short sleeved onesie. He looked adorable in it.Chase giving Davis his first kiss on his own free will! He started to really warm up to him.Sweet little baby boyI love this picture. He has some little chubby cheeks!

One nurse made the comment about how our baby was "all decked out."Chase had really been interested in Davis's fingers. I think he is amazed at how small they are.
Nuna and DavisSo like I mentioned, I have the sweetest Dad around. He brought me up a huge box full of Goldnen Corral's rolls and honey butter...one of my most favorite things to eat! They were amazing at 3 in the morning when Davis was hungry! =) I love their rolls and am up to eating there any time I can and will eat 100 rolls haha.This paci came off of the diaper wreath daddy got me. Davis is already a paci lover...he loves to suck on anything he can get his little mouth on. He will nurse forever if I would let him, which is the complete opposite of Chase...Chase would nurse 5 minutes on each side and be done...not Davis though...30 minutes later and he is still going!Little cocoon.This is the 3rd day...Davis is in his little Halloween outfit...the shirt says "Mummy Loves Me" =)

Chase loved wearing my slippers while he was at the hospital with us. Silly little guy.

My boys.

I love this little picture of him with his booty in the air!

Taking a nap. Davis is seriously so calm compared to Chase. He is the sweetest little baby around and I couldn't be any happier. He is so content to just sit and look around.

This picture was taken this evening...Look at those teeny little legs!

Sorry I posted so many pictures, but like I said, how can I choose just a few?! =)

Last Week..What a fun week!!

2008-10-03T11:45:00.001-07:00

Wow! Last week was probably one of the busiest weeks of my life. It started out on Monday...I got a call from McLacey to go to McDonalds to let the boys play and so we headed out there and had a good time! Chase and Riley love eachother and always have so much fun together. I was feeling a little funny that day but not bad enough to be sick so I just tried to push it off to the side and go about my day. Chase had soccer that evening and I slowly just started to feel worse. We got home from soccer and I ate a little dinner and fell asleep on the couch. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling HORRIBLE. I knew then that I had got what Mom had the week before...the stomach flu I guess is what you could call it, but no puking...thank goodness! I was miserably sick on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was so bummed that I was sick because Grandma and Grandpa Haynie were coming Tuesday night and Wednesday was Dad's birthday and Thursday was mine. Luckily, on Thursday I woke up feeling A LOT better, not 100%, but better. My sweet friends got together and planned a little lunch for me at The Cheesecake Factory. I have never been before, but mom and I shared a yummy BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad, and since I am not the hugest cheesecake fan, I ordered their carrot cake that mom and I shared and it was YUMMY! By the time I was done eating I was full for the rest of the day! Me, Chase, Kristen, Corbin, Riley, McLacey, Natalie, and Blaykli! Thanks guys! =)

A while ago I found out that Rascal Flatts...one of my FAVORITE bands...was coming here to Tulsa on my birthday...I wanted to go so bad, but tickets were pricey and I just kind of let my dream go...but, then X surprised me with some tickets for my birthday! WAHOO! I was so excited! The concert was awesome and I got a few good picures before my camera died...I know you're thinking who would go to a concert without a FULL battery on their camera, but yes, that would be ME! I thought it was full because I hadn't used it much and I never worried to check...but then when I was getting ready to take pictures I realized that it was almost dead and full because one particular sweet little 3 year old boy got a hold of it without my knowledge! Oh well! I got a few good pictures and videos and was able to use my cell phone too! It was a blast!

Taylor Swift was the opening act, and while I am not her hugest fan, I still really enjoyed watching her perform.

Then came Rascal Flatts!!! They were amazing in concert, let me tell ya! They are awesome performers, but at the same time they keep you entertained all the while with talking and joking. I really enjoyed their show and would go back in a heartbeat!They seriously had the coolest background ever. There were huge screens and on a couple of songs they showed clips from some of their music videos. They were singing the song "Stand" in the picture above and they had all kinds of inspirational words going across the screen while they performed. It was way cool.And my favorite from the band...Joe Don Rooney! OWW OWW! ;)As I mentioned earlier, Grandpa and Grandma Haynie came to visit us for about a week. It was so much fun to see them. On Friday we went out to lunch to a restuarant here called Pei Wei. It was YUMMY! I got Crunchy Orange Chicken (something like that...) and it was way yummy and I inhaled 500 of their spring rolls with their sauce. Chase had fun trying out the chopsticks!The Pei Wei crew...Chase, Mom, Dad, Gramps, and Grams...and my seat. It was a fun afternoon. After we ate, we headed back to dad's work so Grams and Gramps could meet dad's coworkers and see what he does every day. Oh, I forgot to mention...when we got to dad's work before we went to eat he brought out the CUTEST diaper wreath. I will have to take a picture of it and post it because it is way cute. I am excited to hang it on my hospital door when I have Davis. A lady he works with makes them and he had her make me one. =) Anyway, after we went to dad's work we toted Grams and Gramps around Target looking for lamps for the living room. I think we wore them out, because mom and I could spend hours and hours in Target!That evening, my dear sweet younger sister took me to get a pedicure for my birthday! It had been so long since I had had one and I guess Lexi thought my feet were looking pretty bad. (Which I will admit, they were because I could hardly get down there to do anything with them because of my belly!) Mom came along for her FIRST pedicure EVER and loved it. I've always tried to tell her how amazing they are, but she always said that her feet were too ticklish, but we finally talked her into it and, of course, she loved it. We had a fun time together and now we have pretty toes.Our pretty toes...mine are the swollen ones. After a week, my toes are still looking beautiful. I will have pretty feet when I deliver Davis! =)A fun picture of Gramps and Chase. Chase had fun following Gramps around while Gramps fixed all the little odds and ends around the house. =) Chase thought he was so big and such a huge help to Gramps.

On Saturday, Chase had his very first soccer game and his team won 9-1 I am pretty sure. It was quite entertaining. At one points, Chase and his little friend, Jack, got into a slapping, pushing, punching fight right in the middle of the field during the middle of the game. We all just laughed about it. I can only imagine what their argument was about...Chase did pretty good for being a first time soccer player. He just followed behind the crowd a few feet. We are working on getting him up there with the ball. =) It is fun to watch a bunch of little 3 and 4 year olds attempt to play soccer.

Whew, I am sure you are all worn out by now, but I am ALMOST done...I promise! On Saturday I had my baby shower. My awesome friends here threw me a great shower with tons of yummy food! I got a group gift from some of the girls that I was way excited about. It's a Vera Bradley diaper bag that matches my wallet...way cute. I am so excited to use it. =) We had a great time visiting and I got lots of things that I needed. We played a fun candy/matching game that McLacey did. I don't really know how to explain it other than you had to match the candy and the saying together. For example...the gyno and butterfinger went together, preemie babies and runts were a match, and twin boys and mike & ike were a match...another good one was the conception and skor bar. haha. It was a good time and I really appreciate everything you guys did!! =)

Chase had his second soccor game today. His little team lost 2-1, but it makes no difference to the kids. They just have a good time playing. Chase was a little fussy because the game started at 9 and he is totally not a morning persons, but once he got going he had fun. We had just enough players on our side to be able to play (5 kids). Chase gave the ball a couple of kicks, but he was mostly behind the pack, as usual. At one point, I yelled out to him to go and get the ball and help out his team. He took the advice in helping out his team by running in front of a couple of kids from the other team and knocking them over (on accident) because he totally doesn't pay attention to where his little feet are taking him. Anyway, it is quite amusing to watch and we had a fun time! GO TIGERCUBS!! =)

It's official!

2008-09-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

I had a doctors appointment today and everything is looking good. I am 50% efaced with no dilation and Dr. Loveless was able to feel little Baby Davis's head! =) (same as last week) I decided I should ask whether or not he induces and before I knew it we had a date scheduled for me to be induced! On Thursday October 9 I head in to St. Francis at 6 AM to be induced and get little Baby Davis here! =) It sounded like it was pretty far away since we're still in Septemeber and the doctor told me he would still see me one more time. So, after all was said and done I headed out to schedule my next appointment in one week. The nurse handed me my card and it is scheduled for October 7...that's when it hit me that this little booger will be here in just over a week! I am so excited and nervous! =)

I had to come back and add this because it was pretty funny...

Last night at dinner Chase was chosen to say the prayers and mom started helping him...here is how it proceeded...well first I need to give a little background story...Yesterday afternoon Chase went out to jump with Sam and some of his friends. He has been having a snotty nose lately and while jumping I guess the snot was bubbling everywhere out of Chase's nose so Sam tried to wipe it and Chase did NOT like the idea and he began crying and came in...anyway, on to the prayer...

Mom: Please help my nose to stop running
Chase: Please help my nose to stop running so that I can be big and jump on the trampoline with my Sammie.
(I giggled to myself and smiled..)
Mom: Please help me to have a fun time at soccer tonight
Chase: Please help me to have a fun time at soccer tonight and run very fast with my Batman belt on.
(at this point I had tears coming to my eyes and could not help but to laugh. What a sweet little boy to add his own two sense into his prayers!)

ZOO TIME!

2008-09-18T15:13:00.004-07:00

On Wednesday, we headed out to the Tulsa Zoo for playgroup. It was quite the experience getting out there. Mom has been sick and wasn't able to make it so I had to drive myself out there, which I have never driven that far out here by myself so I was a little nervous! I ended up taking the wrong exit and got myself completely lost BOO! I would have only been a few minutes late, but since I got lost I was nearly 45 minutes late. We finally got to the zoo and Chase and I enjoyed looking at some animals as we tried to catch up with the rest of the crew. We even got to see giant turtles doing the deed...lovely. We finally caught up with the rest of the crew to have some lunch, but some left before the rest of us were done with lunch. Then, we headed down to the carousel and rode that with some friends. While we were waiting for the next train ride around the zoo we decided to go into the gorilla house (one of Chase's requests at the zoo...they are one of his favorite things to see...) The gorillas recently had some babies so there was one baby gorilla that was having a good time playing with the kids. It kept stopping and putting it's face up to the glass to see Chase. I said it was probably because Chase is the one that looks the most like a monkey. The kids LOVED that this gorilla was playing with them and kept egging him on. It was quite cute. I got some cute videos. Sorry for the shakiness of them...I was trying to keep up with that little monkey!

The train came and we rode it with Kristen, Corbin, and Tressa. After the ride, they headed home and only Chase and I were left at the zoo. We backtracked a little to do some things that I promised Chase we would do since we didn't have a chance to do it earlier because we were trying to catch up to everyone else. His three requests were: 1. to see the gorillas 2. see the frogs and 3. feed the birds. They have Featherfest going on until the beginning of October. I figured this would probably be the last time we make it to the zoo before then so the birds was a must for us. We got to the birds, got our seedsticks, and headed in. The last time we went to feed the birds was kind of disappointing because they weren't too interested in our seedsticks, but this time was awesome! Since it is getting cooler out, the birds are wanting to eat more and they haven't had quite as many people coming in there. The instant we walked in with our sticks, we were bombarded by birds! Chase thought that that was totally cool and we had a really fun time because the birds were coming to us left and right...until our seeds ran out. It was definitely worth trekking back up to the bird house! We also stopped in at the Rainforest building which is were the poison dart frogs are that Chase loves to see. I think he loves them so much because of their neon colors and then there are neon green and black ones.

Chase got quite a few birds to surround him.

I, personally, am not a huge bird fan. They kind of gross me out, but it was crazy how the birds just kept coming and landing on us. I had one bird that started to try and eat my thumb once my seeds were gone.

Chase loved it that he actually got to get some birds on his stick this time!

I thought that this picture was pretty cool...

By the time we were done seeing what was promised I was completely exhausted! My legs were so tired from hauling a wagon, Chase, and a big belly around and I was more than ready to come home. The car almost seemed to be too far away. I definitely got some good walking and exercise in though! On the way home, I couldn't quite remember where to go and my mapquest directions confused the HECK out of me, so, yet once again, I GOT LOST! I called mom and broke into tears. I was worn out, about to pee on myself, and Chase was screaming he needed to go poop and I was lost in an unfamiliar place. It's pretty pitiful I know, but I have NO sense of direction AT ALL and it was the first time I ever drove myself out there and if I am not driving I don't pay too much attention to where I am going. Anyway, I found the interstate I needed and mom told me where to get off and Chase and I made it home all in one piece. We even made it to the bathroom in time! =) It was a fun but stressful trip, but it was completely worth it because of the fun memories I was able to make with my little guy.

PS--I think I posted about 5 new posts today to do some catching up so you better read them ALL and comment on ALL of them...=)Thank you.

The Soccer Season has begun!!

2008-09-18T15:13:00.003-07:00

Chase and Riley streching.

As I have said before, Chase has started playing soccer. This past Monday was his first soccer practice that he got to go to because he was sick at the very first one. It was pretty amusing to watch the kids attempt to play soccer. Chase is on the team with 3 of his buddies-Tressa, Riley, and Jack. The 4 of them are the only three year olds on the team, the rest of the kids are four. It was so funny to watch the kids as they tried to kick the ball. In the video Chase makes it into the goal no problem. Later, he was doing the same thing and the ball didn't quite make it so he picked the ball up and threw it into the goal! Too bad that that won't work in a real game! They were supposed to have their first game this Saturday, but it has been cancelled because the other team did not have enough players...bummer! On Monday night at practice they did a little mock game and it was quite hilarious to watch. Chase and Riley were off together most of the game either licking, kissing, or throwing grass on eachother. Boys =) The coach said he was going to tie the two boys together with a rope. It was quite interesting to watch. They did go after the ball a few times. Eventually, Riley decided that he didn't need the ball all the other kids were going after so he went to the pile of balls on the sidelines to start his own game! It was fun to see the kids try and play and they looked so cute out there in their shin guards and kleats!

Backyard Bowl!

2008-09-18T15:13:00.002-07:00

This past Friday we had one of the biggest football games of the season for our high school. They call it the Backyard Bowl and the two bigger high schools here in Tulsa play against eachother...Jenks vs. Union. We are Jenks fans!! Anyway, this game is so huge that you have to buy your tickets in advance and they are double the price of a regular football game on a Friday night! Last year they played at the TU stadium, but this year it was under construction at the time of the game so they played at Union's stadium. There was 12, 222 people there!!! Can you imagine that for a HIGH SCHOOL football game? There seriously was not an empy seat there and by the time the game was done my feet were quite swollen. =( This game is so huge that they even aire it on TV. Last year we lost...barely, but then both Union and Jenks made it to the state championship game and we won that! This year we lost--again! BOO! We didn't play so hot until the last quarter, then we caught up and tied the game and ended up having to go into overtime, then we got beat by one touchdown! (We got beat in overtime last year too...)Hopefully we will win the state championships this year too! The game started at 7:30 and wasn't done until 11:30! Needless to say, I was glad the game was over. Being 8 1/2 months pregnant and sitting in bleachers for 4 hours (packed bleachers that is) gets quite uncomfortable! It was a fun night though and I am looking forward to the championships!
Gotta love that popcorn!! We didn't eat dinner before because we all had a late lunch so we went out to eat afterwards (yes, at 11:30) and didn't get home close to 1...Chase got into bed at 1:30 that night, poor guy! I expected him to fall asleep somewhere along the line, but NOPE! He was wide awake at 1:3o and probably would have kept going had I let him! (Stinking steroids!)
Chase loves to run out onto the fields after the game. X took him out after the game and I snagged this picture which I think is way cool...future football player right?

Nature Walk and Batman and SpiderMan!

2008-09-18T15:13:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned before, Chase would sit in front of the TV all day long if I would let him and so I try and do little things here and there to give him somethig else to do. Last week, we went on a nature walk to find some fun things to make a nature collage with. I remember doing this in Utah with my Grandma and cousins when I was younger and I always really enjoyed it. So, we began our little walk around the neighborhood. We found lots of rocks, flowers, grass, leaves, bugs, acorns, and dried up worms! Chase was quite fascinated with the dried up worms.Chase is looking at a cicada (sp?) or katydid bug in this picture. Mom found a shell that they climb out of and leave behind and we put it in Chase's bag to add to his collage, but when it came time to glue it on he freaked out. He is quite a wuss when it comes to bugs and touching them. He is fascianted by them at a distance, but up close is no good! Below, is the best smile I could get from that little stinker! =) Nearly all the pictures I TRY to get him to smile for end up this way, but oh well!! Here he is with his collage completed! =) I got quite stressed while making it because Chase wanted to pour the whole bottle of glue in one spot, but, alas, we finished it all in one piece! ;) And, we also enjoyed a fun walk together in nature and being a little crafty!

Another day we made a Batman and Spiderman craft. I found these templates somewhere online after I googled for some superhero crafts. I cut out the body pieces and then Chase and I colored them together and we glued the pieces onto toilet paper rolls. He thought these were pretty cool. He played with them and did all his little superhero stunts with them. Slowly, he began ripping them apart and I was frustrated! I worked hard on those dang things! Mom reminded me that he enjoyed them and that that is just what he does! So true...Chase is the ultimate picker, ripper, tearer! He loves to pick things apart! We had a good (sort of stressful) time making them! ;) It was all worth it in the end because he was able to use them and his imagination to have some TV-less fun!! =)

*I must also note that during these two crafts Chase was completely pumped up on 3 different steroids due to his asthma and sinus infection! Whenever he has to take these stinking medicines he turns into the ultimate stinker! He is ancy, wiggly, irritable, and hyper! Thank goodness we're done with them!

Labor Day

2008-09-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Abby!

I am so sad to think that summer is really over, but I am really enjoying the nice 75ish degree weather we have been having lately...so much better than 109 degrees! For Labor Day we went to Big Splash Waterpark for the last day of the season. It was fun, but crowded! We had some free meal coupons that we used to get lunch with. We waited in the line for FOREVER and a year and then they were out of fries and chicken so we got hamburgers, which weren't as good as the first time...but hey it was FREE and that's all that counts right?

Nuna!

Chase was pretty hesitant with swimming pools and what not at the beginning of the summer and all he wanted to do was play in the baby pool when we would head out to Big Splash. But, by the end of the summer he was LOVING swimming and I couldn't keep him out of the pool. He has started swimming without a lifevest and loves the wavepool, lazy river, and the BIG slides (which he HAS to wear a lifevest on). He even got so brave and went down headfirst on his belly on the big slides at big splash! One time he threw quite the tantrum because he couldn't ride on the tube slides since his bum isn't big enough.

Chase!

WAHOOOO!!

2008-09-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Carly, I won a DARLING onesie on seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com from Appledonia! I am super excited about it because I NEVER win anything! Anyway, here is a darling picture of the onesie for little Baby Davis! =) I have now officially started my 1 week appointments! Today I have exactly ONE month till my due date! It's getting close!

Let me put his foot in MY mouth now...

2008-09-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

Today Chase had a doctor's appointment at his allergy/asthma doctor. Her name is Dr. Laudy Naimeh...she, obviously, is from another country. She is an awesome doctor but she does, indeed, have an accent and sometimes it is hard to understand her. I think she is Indian...I'm not 100 percent sure though. Anyway, today we were in the room talking with her about Chase and out of the blue Chase hollers out "YOU TALK FUNNY!" I just kind of went red and hoped that she didn't hear because I wasn't sure if she would take it as rude or offensive (allbeit he is only 3...). She, obviously, heard him (I don't know who wouldn't have...) and she just giggled and asked him, "Is it a good funny or a bad funny?" Chase said, "Bad." OH DEAR! I thought to myself, what else could you possibly say to embarrass me Chase!? But again, she just laughed it off and told us that her kids make fun of her accent all the time. Thank goodness! I couldn't help but laugh, but I told her "Sorry!" and she said it was no big deal. Kids truely do speak what is on their mind, especially Chase since his mouth NEVER EVER stops running! He always has something that he has to say or wants or needs. When Dr. Naimeh was checking his ears she made a comment about him not having much of anything in one of his ears and Chase said ,"I have ears!!" He was quite distraught because he thought the doctor said he didn't have any ears when he knew that he had 2 of them! Silly boy!

Chase has been sick the past couple of days with a fever, cough, nasty snotty nose, and he has just layed around and not eaten too much. On Sunday we didn't go to church and that evening he fell asleep on Nuna. He woke up a little bit later and we drugged him up, gave him a breathing treatment, and put him to bed. After laying him down he decided that he wasn't tired and didn't want to go to bed. He was pretty sick, but he had albuterol (which is a steriod in him and that usually makes him jittery), ibuprofen, and some robutussin in him so he was feeling pretty good. After I finally got my homework done for the evening (nearly 11 at night) I headed to bed and found Chase awake playing with the sewing bobbins...OH DEAR I thought!! He had strings out EVERYWHERE and they were tangled every which way. When he saw me he said "What? I just fishin!" I just giggled and balled all the thread up, it was beyond saving, and put him back to bed for the 100th time that night. Luckily, this time he stayed in bed and fell asleep!

Lastly, Chase was cuddlng with me on the couch the other night and he curled his little hands around and laid his head on my belly. He then said "I love you and beebee Dabis (baby Davis) sooo much mom!" Hopefully he will stay say that after "beebee Dabis" is here. He has informed me that he is willing to share EVERYTHING (even his kinky and paci) with "beebee Dabis" when he gets here and that the only things he will NOT share are his mommy and Nuna....oh dear! =)

Rubber Blubber and Slime!

2008-09-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

It seems that all Chase ever wants to do when we are at home is watch TV, TV, and more TV! Often times, when we are in the car driving he will ask to go home to watch his movie! He is my little couch potato!! Lately, I have been trying to come up with different things to do besides just letting him sit around and watch TV. A few days ago, I gave it a go at making "Rubber Blubber" and "Slime." It took me quite a bunch of coercing to get Chase away from the TV, but once he saw what we were actually making, he thought it was way too much fun! I found both of the "recipes" online at http://www.familyfun.com/ (a site and magazine that I LOVE). Both use really simple ingredients--water, borax, and white glue.
The rubber blubber was fun, it takes a lot of working after you mix it all together, but once it's ready you form it into a ball and it will bounce on hard floor. For the rubber blubber you will need: a quart of water, borax, food coloring, white glue, large jar (I just used a bowl.) First you combine the water and 1 tbsp. of borax in the large jar. Stir it well, and then let the mixture stand for a few minutes. Second, fill a disposable (I just used a regular) cup 3/4 of the way full with the borax mixture. Add the food coloring now. Then, you will add the white glue in a continuous stream until you have a large stringy mass around the spoon (like Chase in the picture above!) Next, take the mass off the spoon and plop it into a container of cold water for a minute or two. Pull the rubber blubber out and with dry hands squeeze the blubber and work with it until it's workable and you can form it into a ball and see how high it will bounce! Like I said, it takes it a little bit of working it before it's ready so don't get frustrated that it doesn't form right away!The slime is acutally a lot the same, but I, for some reason, like it better. It was easier to work. For it you will need 2 mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, glue, borax, food coloring, and water. First, mix together 3/4 cup warm water, 1 cup glue, and the food coloring in your first bowl. In the second bowl, you will mix together 4 teaspoons borax and 1 1/3 cups warm water. Pour the contents of the first bowl into the second, but don't stir it. Let it sit for about a minute. Then, life the congealed slime out of the bowl! This one is fun to work after you take it out, because it gets pockets of water caught in it, and when they bust it oozes everywhere. =) This made quite a bit but it was loads of fun to play with. It's been about a week since we have made it and it is still "playable" (if that's a word...?). Just store both of these in plastic baggies when you are done and they should last ya! Chase has had tons of fun with this stuff! It's not like play doh...it's had more of a rubbery substance to it. And of course, both of ours ended up being GREEN since that is Chase's FAVORITE color!And, wouldn't ya know that it would get smushed into something! Luckily, this stuff doesn't stain or stick too bad. After we got the big glob off of mom's shirt, she just washed it and it washed right out no problem. Chase has also dropped a few (well, acutally, a lot) on the carpet and I will find it a little while later, and amazingly it comes right off. If it gets smushed into the carpet, just scratch at it and it will come up no problem!

What we've been up to...

2008-08-30T13:05:00.001-07:00

So please bare with me as I give you guys a marathon post of some of the fun things we have been doing this past month. I have gotten myself SO FAR behind because I have been so busy with school. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy a super LONG post with tons of pictures! =) (I really tried hard to narrow the pictures down, and considering how many I actually have, I think I did a pretty good job!!)First off, at the beginning of the month we went to the free Tulsa Drillers game with some friends. I guess the game was sponsered by the law enforcement down here or something because before you walked into the game, they had all kinds of police equipment and cars out for the kids to look at and climb up in. We saw police men who actually rode horses around downtown, SWAT team trucks and tools (guns, helmets, and all kinds of other things), police cars, police motorcycles, and more! I think the motorcycle was Chase's favorite.

I signed Chase up for a little class at Whiteside Park here in Tulsa called "Snacks and Storytime." He has been to one before with Nuna, but this time I was able to go and we had a fun time. It was themed around bunnies, bats, and milk. When we first got there, the teacher had her pet bunny out for the kids to pet and Chase thought that that was pretty fun. We cut out a bunny puzzle and read a book about bunnies. While the teacher read the book, Chase got to decorate bunny cookies with icing and make chocolate milk! Then we made a little bat (below) and read a story about bats. Next, she had the kids get up and listen to music, Old McDonald Had a Farm and The Hokey Pokey. Chase thought the Hokey Pokey was pretty fun until we started recording him. The last story the teacher read was called "It Looked Like Spilled Milk." Chase thought that this story was pretty fun.On a Tuesday, we drove out to Porter, OK--Oklahoma's peach capitol with Lacey McMurry and Riles to pick some yummy peaches! We had a good time and I think Riley and Chase picked every peach off the trees that were in their reach, whether they were ripe or not. By the time they were done, I think they each ate about 10 peaches!! We got some yummy peaches and I think the boys had a good time. They were both a sticky grassy mess at the end of the trip!Looks like Chase picked a few other things....this picture cracks me up! =)After we got done picking peaches we stopped off at McDonalds for a yummy lunch. Even though they may not act like it sometimes, these 2 boys love eachother and are best buddies! =)Friday after we picked peaches we headed to the Tulsa Zoo with the Briggs, Carney's, and McMurry's. I was hoping that it would be cooler like it had the whole week, but it ended up being pretty humid and hot. We had a good time though. Right now at the zoo, they have the Feather Fest going on where you get to go in a little building type thing and feed the birds with a seed stick. We came at the end of June and did this when the family was visiting and the birds were eating off the sticks a lot better then. Chase still really had a good time feeding the birds though. I had a gray cockatoo on my stick and it decided to just climb right up to my shoulder. I am not a huge bird fan, they kind of gross me out, but it was pretty cool and Chase thought it was funny.Haha, gotta love this picture. Poor Nolan got bird poopie on his forehead.
Jack, Chase, Tressa, and Riley looking at the Jaguar in the Rainforest building. This building is probably my favorite part of the zoo. When you walk in the have little pigmy marmosets that just roam free around you. It is a really cool building.Riley, Jack, Chase, and Corbin looking at some fish!This is probably Chase's favorite part of the zoo...the "GWEEN FWOGS!!" There is a section at the zoo that has tons of little poison dart frogs...green, blue, and yellow/orange. It is opened up so you can see them and is really cool.
Lacey climbed the big rock and Chase thought he needed to be up there too. There was no way I was getting myself up there and Jack is afraid of heights so we just switched and Chase thought he was pretty cool stuff. I signed Chase up for soccer at the YMCA and this is from his first little soccer gig. It was called "skills-n-drills." Chase had a pretty good time. He had a hard time remembering not to touch the ball with his hands, but overall I think he did really well.In this picture Chase is pouting in the net because he had to share "his ball" that really wasn't even his. It was the ball the coach gave him at the beginning to do a few little drills with and when it came time to share he wasn't too happy about it and he couldn't quite grasp the concepts that it wasn't actually HIS ball. This cracked me up!Chase looks forward to Papa coming home from work because that is when the TV (most of the time) gets to come on and he can watch Justice League! He especially loves to watch movies on Papa's Ipod, right next to Papa while he works.Now for the Messy Art. I signed Chase up for a Messy Art Class and all these pictures are a collaboration of the past 3 weeks we have gone. We are done with the class until a new one starts up in October! In the picture above Chase is spraying a coffee filter with colored water to make a butterfly. After the filter dried you put it in a clothespin (the old fashioned kind that don't have a spring thing to pinch) and it makes a pretty butterfly! This was probably by far the messiest day of art class, and probably the most fun! It started out with making visors in the room, then the kids did the rest of their art activities outside. They had the coffee filter butterfly that they made, then they had a spot that had different kinds of goo to play with. In the picture above, Chase is playing with a mixture of water and cornstarch. The teacher told me that this is fun to let the kids do outside becuase once it dries you just sweep it up and it's not a mess at all. Chase LOVED it. Below, is instant potatoes and water which was goopy and a little too chunky for me. Chase wasn't too fond of it either. They also had another mixture that was dream whip and milk that the kids really liked.

Chase REALLY liked this part of Messy art. He got to paint with feet! Finger painting is always a winner with Chase too. I bet you can only imagine how many posterboards we have hanging around the house!
This picture sums up our art class in 2 words...MESSY and FUN! Chase had a blast and was a totaly disaster at the end of the class. His feet were died a light blue for the rest of the day from painting with his feet!One day at art, Chase got to paint a wooden snake that he really likes to play with now.This was really cool. In the little cup looking things is melted crayon wax. The kids then used q-tips to paint with. Chase painted on this yellow tray and they also made a butterfly magent out of cardboard that they got to use this "wax paint" on.

The kids were able to use A LOT of glue and Chase liked the idea of glue. He placed HUGE globs all over everything and I had to keep telling him that the object of glue is to stick things to paper, not paint things. We made a smiley face with noodles, beans, and rice in the picture above. This was our last messy art class.
And, on the last day, they had shaving cream to play with. Chase LOVED that idea the first time they did it and had a blast the second time. I think this would be something fun to do at home because you can just hose down the aftermath...outside of course! =)

There aren't any pictures to go with this story, but the other day I took Chase to McDonalds to get an ice cream cone. As we were getting ready to leave there was a homeless man sitting in the little lobby area. I always hate walking by the homeless people because they kind of freak me out, but I held my breath and we walked on by. Just as we were walking by, Chase asked me, quite loudly, "Mommy, why hims teef missing?" I just said, "I don't know Chase" and kept walking praying that this homeless man didn't hear us and wouldn't come attack me for what my kid said! A few seconds later he was behind me as I was walking to the car and I kind of freaked. He asked me if I had any change and that every little thing would help. I told him that I didn't really ever carry cash or anything and Chase usually uses up all my change in the candy machines, but that I would look. I then proceeded to pull out my wallet and I know he heard the change jingle. I gave him a nickle and a dime and told him the rest was zoo coins, and that I didn't think that they would help him out too much. I really didn't have any zoo coins...in fact, I really didn't have too much change at all. I had another dime and quarter, a ring, and some of the flattned pennies that you get at the zoo/aquarium. He told me thanks and said "God bless you, every little bit helps." I told him no problem and hurried to the car. Once Chase and I were locked inside I buckled him in and drove off. I am pretty positive that he wasn't going to hurt us, but I get myself freaked out easily. Chase's comment made me giggle and the whole few minutes of it all makes a good memory.

A Sensitive Day

2008-08-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still alive...we have just been so busy! I started school full time last Monday and spend a lot of my time doing homework! All I have for today is a quick little post. I don't think Chase has been feeling too well today because he has been a bit on the fussy side. But a couple little stories happened today that made me laugh because of his sensitiveness. (Is that a word?)

Anyway, Chase had a postcard that came in the mail and it had a picture of the back of a kids head with a sucker stuck in the kids hair and Chase found this quite hilarious. He went to show Abby and she just replied and said "Yeah, Chase." And he said "No, look, it's funny!" Abby said again, "Okay Chase" and that just did it for him. He yelled at her "you NOT LAUGHING!" and fell to the floor crying. It just made me laugh with the whole way it played out.

Later, we were driving to go and get some dinner and dad couldn't find the place he wanted to go and Chase asked "Where we going?" and I told him that I wasn't sure and that we were just driving right now. He slumped over and started crying and said, "we not getting any dinner tonight." It made me giggle...poor little guy! He was so hungry! Luckily, I proved him wrong and we did, in fact, get dinner!

On a lighter note, after church on Sunday Chase went into the gym to play with a few of the other kids that were in there and he climbed up on the stage. We told him to come down and that it was time to go home. He decided that he was going to get off of that stage by JUMPING off of it! It was the funniest thing I had ever seen and I know I will never be able to give it justice by just trying to explain the jump but I'll try. Anyway, before I knew it he lunged right off of that stage and landed on his feet, butI think the impact of the jump made his feet fly up behind him and he rolled up onto his face with his legs in the air. I held my breath for a second to see what his reaction would be and he jumped right up and started laughing, so Lexi and I let it out and just cracked up. It was a classic...one that you wish you had on camera!

Tonight, Chase is wearing a new pair of jammies he got at a consignment sale here and they are, of course, BATMAN!! He went to show Nuna his jammies and she said, "Chase, are they comfortable?" Chase then said, "No, they not Kung Fu Panda, they Batman!!" It's funny to hear responses to things like these because you never know what they really hear sometimes...obviously this time Chase heard "Kung Fu Panda" instead of "comfortable". =)

Another yummy ice cream flavor!

2008-08-12T11:54:00.001-07:00

So I LOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream and decided to try the recipe below with a few adjustments...so try it!

Okay so instead of adding chocolate powder to the sweetened condensed milk, add 1 tsp plus a drop or 2 more of mint extract and some green food coloring if you so desire. Add the rest of the ingredients like usual then freeze it in the ice cream maker. Halfway through add mini chocolate chips! It's YUMMY!

Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream!

2008-08-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE homemade ice cream more than anything. I also really like rocky road ice cream so today we decided to try some homemade rocky road ice cream and let me tell you...it was AMAZING! It was so creamy and yummy...so if you're in to homemade ice cream and rocky road...TRY THIS!!

Homemade Rocky Road Ice Cream!

PREP TIME 5 Min
COOK TIME 5 Min
READY IN 1 Hr
Original recipe yield 2 quarts

INGREDIENTS:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup light cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
-In a medium saucepan over low heat, cook and stir condensed milk and cocoa until smooth and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
-Remove from heat , and allow to cool slightly.
-Stir in heavy cream, light cream, and vanilla.
-Refrigerate until cold.
-Pour mixture into the canister of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
-Stir in nuts and marshmallows halfway through the freezing process.

So apparently...

2008-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

So apparently, I am pretty huge. It seems that almost everywhere I go someone makes a comment about me being ready to have a baby soon! For example, at the gym the other day this conversation took place...

Worker: Wow, it looks like someone is going to be having a baby soon!
Me: Yeah, I am due in the middle of October.
Worker: (With HUGE eyes) Oh! Wow!
Me: Yeah, I have big babies, my 3 year old was 9 lbs 1 oz when he was born and both my husband and I were 9 lbs 9 oz when we were born, so I am doomed with big kids!
Worker: Wow, well good luck!

It seems anytime that anyone asks me when I am due and I tell them October 16, their eyes get huge and they just tell me good luck...what a condfidence booster!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

2008-08-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to sign Chase up for different classes, sports, and activites lately. So far I have signed him up for 2 little activites called "Snacks and Storytime". I didn't get to go to his first one because I had to teach swim lessons, but mom got to take him and they had a good time. They read Skippy Jon Jones books and had different snacks and crafts that related to each of the stories. Skippy Jon Jones are a huge deal here in OK! From what I know it is about a little siamese cat that wants to be a chihuahua...(I think). They had quesadillas, pickles, marshmallows, chips and salsa, and more! They made a Skippy Jon Jones puppet, wrapped up their mommy's like mummys, and got a cool hat! This is the only picture I got...I have also signed him up for a class called "Messy Art" and we had our first class this past Monday and Chase had a BLAST! It was pretty fun. We got to the class a little late, but they had about 5 different crafts going on and you could choose what you wanted to do first. The first table they got to paint a paper towel roll and decorate it with ribbons, then they got to paint a paper plate face, next, they had a table where you could color some pictures to put inside of sippy cups, and at the last table they had paper with sponges to paint with and fish magnets to paint. Along the wall they had shaving creme for the kids to paint on the wall with...we spent most of our time with the shaving creme and by the time Chase was done with it his crocs were full of shaving creme. =) Everything Chase did ended up completely green since that is his "favorite color".

Painting fun begins!

Painting his paper towel roll...I love the concentration in his face!

Playing with shaving creme!

Painting the fish magnet...again, love the concentration! Like I said, everything ended up GREEN!

On August 24th, Chase starts soccer! It will be fun and he has been so excited about it! He will have practice once a week and games on Saturday!

So this is completely off of subject, but last night I had a little pregnancy hormonal breakdown and Chase came to comefort me and told me "It's okay mommy, you can eat a bowl of cereal and watch Transformers all day." and just gave me a big ol hug! It melted my heart and made me feel so much better. Oh the things that solve problems for the little ones...cereal and Transformers! =)

1 WHOLE YEAR!

2008-07-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 31 marks mine and X's one year annivesary! It's been quite a year, but I am so thankful for all that I have learned and for the love that X has for me. I posted quite a few pictures of X and I through the years...some fun ones! I hope you all enjoy! Xavier, I LOVE YOU!

I believe that X is 1 year in this picture!

Yes, this is me...all chubs! Lovin the do! Gangsta' boo playin ball. X played football and basket ball growing up and I was a swimmer! One of his first days of school!

I think we are like 14 or 15 in this picture. We are both 16 in this picture and we are at the Maroon 5 concert!
Mine and X's first REAL snow! He came to Utah for a week one time with the family and we had so much fun playing in the snow. Below, we were sledding down the mountain next to my Grandma's house and at the end of the trail there was a HUGE drop off that was fun to plop off of. Well, X decided to be cool and go on his stomach face first. He flew off the drop and landed in the snow (it was frozen and packed down pretty solid) face first. It was HILARIOUS and I'm sure it hurt the retard too! This picture just makes me laugh everytime I see it! (I'm not quite sure what I am doing...)I think we were both 16 in this picture, but I cannot remember what in the world we were doing besides the fact that I am trying to be gangsta.
We are 17 in this picture and just coming home from a Dave Matthews concert with my sister Kiara and some of her friends...FUN NIGHT!

17 years old...one Sunday after church.This picture is of the day we got engaged. X took me up to a gorgeous spot on Monte Sano Mountain and played a sweet slide show for me and then proposed! I was so irritated because it was muggy and rainy out and I had to leave shopping early to come and see what he needed...but I am glad I did!Our wedding announcement picture.Goofin off! My favorite picture of us.

I love this picture...it was right after we were married. Mom says you can really see the emotion in X's face.

Here's to one whole year and millions of memories!

Mormon Tuesdays

2008-07-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

In our ward, we have a family who opens their pool up to the ward on Tuesdays to come and swim...this has been termed "Mormon Tuesdays". We've gone about 4 times this summer and have had a blast every time. Everyone brings snacks and drinks to share and we all just hang around and swim for a few hours...or the day. Chase "helping" Blaykli out of the pool.

Natalie...I've been informed that Blaykli is Chase's girlfriend...

Jump!Chase is too impatient to wait for anyone else.

And yes...this picture below is of Chase jumping off of a 4 foot wall into the water head first doing his "dive"...I almost peed my pants the first time because I totally wasn't expecting this but he thought it was pretty fun! Watch the video below to see it in action...

Chase has Caught the Reading Bug!

2008-07-22T20:13:00.001-07:00

Just about every week we go to the library to check books out and play on the computer. At the beginning of the summer when we went, they were signing kids up for a summer reading program. The theme was "Catch the Reading Bug".

For Chase's age you had to visit the library 4 times and read at least 8 books...if you read at least 20 you got a special prize! I immediately signed Chase up for the reading program and we had no problem reading 20 books seeing as I usually check out about 15 for him everytime we go. I'm really such a sucker for children's books and I enjoy reading books to Chase. We usually read a book or two before bedtime. He loves to sit and listen to the books. Yep, Chase will actually sit still through tons of books...he loves them!

Anyway, this past week we completed the reading program. We read 20+ books and went to the library 4 times. At our last visit we turned in Chase's booklet and he recieved his awards! He got a stuffed lady bug, a coupon book (free chicken nuggets, free krispy kreme doughnuts, and more!), a certificate that says "Chase has caught the reading bug!", and a little medal to wear that says "I'm a bookworm"! He was quite excited (and so was I!) =)

PRETTY DANG GOOD COOKIE BARS!

2008-07-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

You will need:

1 package yellow cake mix

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/4 cup butter, melted

36 Rolo Candies, halved (I actually used about 50 =))

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, milk, nuts, and butter. Spread half into a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until set.
Next, place the Rolos (cut side down) over the crust. Don't worry about setting them in nice rows, like I started to...it takes too long, so just place em randomly! Then, spread the remaining cake mixture over the crust and candies. Then, cook them for another 20 or so minutes or until they are golden brown. Cool and this is what you'll end up with! Yummy chewy caramel bars!! =)

Chase's first Joke...

2008-07-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

We were driving home from Alabama the other day and I was eating a Laffy Taffy I had gotten at the gas station and read the jokes off of them to the family. Chase then decided to make up his first joke...

Q: Why did the strawberry cross the road?

A: To jump over the cars!

He asked and answered the joke just like you're supposed to and we all got a good laugh out of it! =)

The Cheese Robber!

2008-07-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I am back to blogging...at least I am going to try my hardest to be better. We had family come and visit and I just got too far behind and I am totally stressed as to where I should start with all that I have to catch up on! Right now, it's late and Chase is fussy so the post is going to be short and sweet. But, I promise I will try my hardest to be back and catch up! (Just for you Carly!)

Can anyone guess who the masked bandit is?!

Chase has attempted to be sneaky lately...(notice I said attempted!) When you tell him no to stay out of the cereal or anything like that he "sneaks" into the pantry, fridge, etc. and tries to tip toe away with his prize. He's not very sneaky though. Today he tried to sneak away with some shredded cheese and we told him that he needed to put the cheese back. So, he did and shortly after came and held Mom up with his face masked and a water gun and said "Gimme the cheese!" He must have frightened mom because she gave him some cheese! What a little booger! =) (Lacey, the Spider Man mask has been a favorite of Chase's toys since he got it at Jack's birthday party!)

I just love him...

2008-06-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

...and sometimes I have to remind myself of that. =) A few weeks ago Chase walked around Wal-Mart for a good 15 minutes with this Batman mask on...getting the pictures was a task because he CANNOT be still, but you get the idea...what a monster!