Oh my what a night!

I haven't blogged consistently in forever, and I feel bad about this, however if I can give you a glimpse of what life is like at times, I'm sure many of you understand!!!!  So Mike had to work today and I decided to make it a housework day as well. The kids and I (haha) cleaned a bathroom, vacuumed the entire house (even the stairs:P) made granola, and then at the end of the afternoon went out to run some errands. We finished up at the grocery store and I noticed as I was putting the stroller away into the car that there were a bunch of spider egg sacs attached the back of the stroller near the handle I had been pushing with (lovely) knowing that we were almost home and not having anything with me that I could remove them with I stuck the stroller in the car. As soon as we got home, I pulled it back out only to realize that not only were there egg sacs but several hatched babies crawling around the sacs ( I immediately ran in for a can of RAID telling Joshua- DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING- but of course upon my return he has my keys and is jabbing at the egg sacs with them. I grabbed them from him and sprayed that sucker (the stroller down) only to my horror does a giant brown spider (the mom) crawl out trying to avoid the fumes. After we killed her, we noticed she had some strange markings on her belly- freaky. The closest picture I think I've found is the brown widow?! Anywho- thankfully there were no bites.

We  hurried in to get dinner on which I thought I had timed out perfectly. I was going to make oven fried chicken for the first time. I even cut up a whole chicken!!! Well apparently I had looked at the recipe wrong and it needed to be cooked longer than I thought, so back into the fridge the chicken went, and out comes the waffle recipe. In the midst of making it, Chase pulls down the egg carton and scatters the empty gooping shells all over the floor. Both kids end up touching the shells and anyone who knows me well knows how paranoid about salmonella I am! So I immediately sent them to wash their hands. As soon as I was done washing Chase's he picks up a spare egg shell we had missed...Back in to wash his hands! I pulled out the mop to mop up the egg mess on the floor. As I go to return it to the closet I notice Joshua standing looking sheepish next to a big puddle- he didn't make it into the bathroom in time- well thankfully I still had the mop out. I finished making the waffle batter but heard some curious crashes coming from upstairs in the boys room. I ran up there to check things out only to find everything from the top of the bookshelf on the floor and Joshua still naked except for a shirt listening to a Thomas story on cd. (He had used the bookshelf to climb to the top of the dresser to turn it on!) Anyway- the night ended with a great meal of Belgium waffles, peaches, and bacon. A close second to chicken, I guess. There are two little angels upstairs sleeping now, and exhaustedly I type away as therapy. Does anyone else have days like this?

Chase is 1!!!! (3 months ago:P)

So I guess I really need to update our blog! It's been months and I really don't have any great excuses except, in April we had some of our favorite friends visit, had Chase's first birthday, went home to NC and IL for 3 weeks, went through promotions testing, had a sister come to stay, got a new dog, and are packing up to move into a brand new house! I think those are pretty good excuses- don't you?! Anywho- here are some updates on us- starting with Chase!!!!

On April 18, we celebrated our sweet Chase's 1st Birthday! What a first year it has been! Chase is so much fun!!! We have so enjoyed having another sweet little boy in our home! He has grown in so many ways! He still only has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on the bottom) He is saying a few words, Hi, Bye, All Done, Dog, please, thank you, and he tries to mimick lots of others, he is very busy and logical about figuring out how to do things. He LOVES to follow his brother around even though his brother doesn't always appreciate being followed! He LOVES to eat although  he is starting to get more picky. Probably his most favorite food is Watermelon- he can't get enough. He love to be outside and runs for the door whenever it opens. He has been a pretty amazing sleeper since he was born and still takes 2 naps a day, ranging anywhere from 1.5-2 hours each and still sleeps from 7:30pm-7AM! It has been so nice to have 1 kid that's a good sleeper! Chase is such a bright part of our home with his smiles and laughs. WE love you Chasers!!!!! Here's to another great year of watching you grow!

3 years ago

This sweet busy boy came into our lives 3 years ago on July 10, 2007. He has filled our lives with pure joy. He is now potty trained ! His vocabulary is extensive as he now tells us things are "dangerous" or "You can do it Mom!" He is very curious and asks questions like: "Mom, does the dog have elbows?" He is also so very loving, He loves to cuddle in the mornings when he wakes up and is constantly telling us he loves us. He's getting so tall! However- he's really thin and so he is still wearing some 24 month shorts- though- his pants are turning into floods:P
       He also LOVES trains! He had a Thomas birthday this year complete with a Thomas Cake, Thomas decorations, Thomas trains, cards, etc. It was a lot of fun! We love you sweet Joshua and are so glad you are ours! Don't grow up too quickly!

Newly Refurbished Guest Room

With the guests we have coming in the very near future- we decided our guest room needed some remodeling! Mike's mom and dad gave us this bedroom set to use when we first got married- and we were so grateful! Since then, it's been through several moves and was looking pretty rough. So- we decided to "antique" it! We're thrilled with how it turned out and wanted to put it up here to entice you to visit us! Our good friends Hank and Danica will be here this week, and Aunt Trisha will be coming in May for a while. We're excited to have them and would love other visitors! We'll make sure your stay at the Hotel Barnum is a pleasant one:P

Happy Easter!

This year we spent Easter with some of our good friends! We had crepes for breakfast, watched a special broadcast for church, and came home and had steaks and shrimp for dinner. Joshua also got to participate in an Easter egg hunt with his favorite friends! We then had a yummy carrot cake for dessert. (It was a little more brown than supposed to be but tasted pretty good for my first attempt!) It was a great day!

Updates on Joshy and Chasers

I know- silly me with the nicknames- I'll try and drop them before they start to embarrass them! Joshua is growing by leaps and bounds! He can actually carry on conversations now and is getting so tall! He has been average on the height charts, but at his last visit, the growth line instead of following the curve went straight up! He will probably be tall like his daddy (which we have guessed from the beginning by the size of his feet!)  Some cute things he has said/done as of late:

The other morning when he woke up he came into our room and said, "I need to go to the store to get some more toys, I just need some more toys, otay?"

He randomly sings Happy Birthday to random people.

Whenever we have flies/bugs in the house he says, "I don't like bugs in my house!" (I wonder where he has heard that?!)

He constantly says to Mike and I, Mommy or Daddy, "I Know you" I'm still trying to figure out what that means- because he does tell us he loves us at other times!

He said his bedtime prayers all by himself tonight!

I can't believe he's going to be 3 in July!!!! We're so thankful he's ours.

AN UPDATE ON CHASERS:

Chase is now walking!!!!! He took a few steps at a time a few months back, but now he is mostly walking without help! We even went and bought him his first pair of outdoor shoes because he LOVES to be outside with all the neighborhood kids pushing his little walker around.

Chase LOVES to eat.

He started pointing just yesterday, and has been pointing and babbling to things he wants. He is very observant of what we are eating and whether or not he has the same thing. Joshua wouldn't eat his dinner tonight and so I gave him a bowl of cereal. Chase noticed immediately and I ended up putting some cereal on his tray as well!

He is in the process of getting his 3rd and 4th teeth. (kinda late- I think?)

He LOVES his brother, Joshua. He is his greatest source of entertainment. 

He is still our happy, smiley, easy-going boy who, for the most part, loves to take his naps and sleep at night (when his teeth aren't bothering him!) We love him so much!

Easter Boys!

This picture of the boys in their Easter best was too cute not to share! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the cute shirts and ties! Joshua didn't want to look at the camera for the family picture- but the flowers in front of our house are sure pretty!