New York!

Tim's parents are serving as mission presidents in Rochester New York for 3 years, so we went out to visit them last week. We were especially excited for Chase to meet Tim's dad for the first time. We just got back and we had a really great time. While we were there we went to all the sites in Palmyra and saw the Grandin building, the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and the Smith farm. It was really peaceful and the area was just beautiful. I had forgotten how gorgeous it is out there; everything is so quaint and green and perfect. We really enjoyed all the tours, and seeing the Hemingway's cute little missionaries!

Tim's sister Michele also got married in Palmyra while we were there! She was kind enough to plan her whole wedding around when our tickets to New York were, so that we could make it. We were so grateful to be able to be there. The day was just gorgeous and everything turned out perfectly. Michele was pretty darn stunning in white :) There were a million people staying at the mission home for the wedding, so that was a lot of fun. It was a great big sleepover. Tim and I were lucky enough to get the General Authority room instead of the bunkbeds in the dorms downstairs :)

We spent a day at the zoo in Buffalo, and at Niagara Falls, and we were able to celebrate Lee Ann's birthday with her. We went to the Strong museum of play with Tim's old roommate from BYU who is from New York (who also doubled with us on our first date!). It was an awesome museum, and even though we're not kids we had a great time. They have all kinds of fun random things to play with, and funny optical illusions.(Pictures below)

Tim and I fell in love with the grocery store 'Wegmans' (basically a Whole Foods and a regular grocery store combined in one). If they had them out here I would go every day. We also watched a bunch of Cary Grant movies that Lee Ann had. After seeing the first one I pronounced that I was madly in love with Cary Grant. Tim then pronounced that he was dead. Sad day!

We ate far more ice cream than we should have, and we enjoyed seeing Chase interact with his grandparents. He had so much fun with them, and loved all the attention. It was so good to see them. It feels like they have been gone forever, but we are so happy that they are serving in New York. Thanks to the Hemingways for a great time. We love you and miss you!

-Katie

Smith Farmhouse
Sacred Grove

Niagara Falls

The Wedding!

Museum of Play (sideways room)
(news station)

Grandpa & baby

Feeding Time

The following series of pictures is a prime example of what happens when daddy tries to feed the baby, enjoy!

-Tim

Chase's Fake Cough

Here is a video of Chase's fake cough which has only worsened in the last few weeks. We took this the other night, and as you can tell he didn't really want to perform, I think he was ready for bed, but hopefully you can still get a feel of it. On Sunday in Relief Society, some ladies coughed throughout the lesson, and Chase mimicked them right back. He loves the attention. In the video you can also see him screeching (unfortunately his new favorite thing to do), and trying to crawl. This morning he started to pull to a stand. (yikes!)

We will put up pictures from New York when we get home. We're having a great time here!

-Tim & Katie

All I want for Christmas is his two front teeth...

Or bottom teeth. I'm so desperate, I'm not even particular on which. After 4 months of "teething", I'm convinced my poor son is doomed to a lifetime of gumming cheerios and chex, and will be the only Kindergartener with dentures. By 2nd grade he will be tying string and a toaster around his expensive set of child-size fakes from the top of the banister, in a desperate attempt to get a visit from the Tooth Fairy himself- just like the other proud young owners of an authentic pair of dentes. The only plus I can see of this scenario is that he'll never have to be knocked out and have his wisdom teeth wrestled from the deep confines of his jaw. Not much of a consolation in my opinion.

At first I was terrified that Chase would choke on anything I put into his mouth. Like any paranoid first-time mom I broke his cheerios in half and made a thorough inspection of his mouth after every one "Did you really eat the whole HALF OF A CHEERIO, or are you hiding it in your cheek so you can give your crazy mother a heart attack when I realize you actually have a WHOLE cheerio in your mouth!" ?

Though I'm still afraid of Chase choking and I intently stare at him as he eats (as he thinks "Gosh lady, do you have to glare right in my face while I eat?"), I have realized that Chase is more innovative than I give him credit for. He's so enthralled with food, any type of food, that he will find a way to eat anything he can get his hands on. He's grabbed a pear-half from our dinner table and proceeded to show me that you don't ACTUALLY need teeth to eat "real food". He also grabbed half a bun and ate the entire thing, slowly and carefully as I held my breath. It's like this sweet little baby I had only a few months ago, was replaced by this KID. This unbelievable toddler, who just doesn't have teeth yet. It's as if he says "Mom? Seriously... stop freaking out. I'm not a baby anymore!" But he is.

I realized that tim and I had passed the "paranoid parents of a new baby phase" the other day when we were on our way to a family reunion in Salt Lake. We had forgotten Chase's binky and he was more than vocal about it. We stopped at the grocery store to grab one, and as I got distracted by the peach-mango flavored rice puffs, I got a call from tim. It went something like this: "Hey, I just found a binky in the back seat of the car and I put it in his mouth. So he's fine now." Horrified, I thought, "Where has that binky BEEN!? And then in barely a thought, I dismissed it, and figured "Oh well, it will be good for his immune system I guess".

The same thoughts ran through my head as the dog licked his face last week.

Where has this new parent phase gone?

These days Chase no longer looks like an out-0f-place baby in the nursery on Sunday. As I do singing time, he sits intently on his carpet, just like the 2 and 3 year olds. He simply looks a little under-sized.

And I feel like life is flashing before my eyes.

New Songs

So last night Tim called me into the living room and played some Ben Folds songs for me that he thought I would like. I love them!! I had never heard them before and I added them to our blog below because they are just so good. Gracie is for his little girl, and Still Fighting It is for his little boy. I think it is so cute when men write songs for their kids.