P.S.

Oh yes-

We took Chase to the doc for his eczema, and he is 95th percentile for height and 52nd for weight. His head circumference is 75th percentile. He impressed the doctor by saying "doctor".

And currently he eats everything into a crescent shape and comes to show me it now looks like the moon.

Back to my Birth State

Now that you've heard various bits and pieces of our vacation from other posts, I feel less intimidated to write all about it. I could bore you with all the details, but instead I will try to give you a brief overview of what we did- since I know what you really want to see is the pictures. :)

A few weeks ago Tim took off work for 10 days and we went on a family vacation to California. We planned to save some money by driving and not having to rent a car when we got there. Also we decided it would be better to drive 12 hours but be flexible, than take a 3 hour plane trip and try to hold Chase on our laps the whole time. (Have you met him?). Thinking about flying with Chase these days makes me want to pee my pants. I spent 2 months beforehand building up 'Mommy's bag of Tricks' to keep Chase entertained in the car. I spent a lot of time at the dollar store, and the dollar bins at Target. Some of Chase's favorites were: a foam-blade personal fan, sticker books, smarties (Thank you Maceys! These take hours for his little fingers to unroll and eat. I love them so dearly!!), and his own keychain with all kinds of random toys on it (mini-tape measure, and laser pointer were hits). Combined with snacks and ear plugs, the car DVD player, and driving super-early in the morning so Chase could sleep half the way- the trip was quite pleasant. I would do it again in a heartbeat. No, really.

Our first day we drove to Las Vegas, stopping at Zion's National Park along the way. The second day we drove the rest of the way to Huntington Beach where we'd rented a beach house with my family. We went to lots of beaches- Huntington/Newport/La Jolla. We played in the sand a bit, discovered tide pools, went boogie boarding and surfing, etc. Then we spent 3 days at Disneyland, a day at San Diego Zoo, and a day at Sea World. When we headed back the plan was to stop in St. George and stay the night. But when we got there we let Chase run around for awhile and decided just to finish the trip in one day and be able to spend the night in our own bed.

Chase seemed to enjoy SeaWorld the most. Mostly because there were no lines. He also loved Toontown, meeting Mickey Mouse and Pluto, the petting zoo, the fireworks, and playing in the sand and the surf at the beach. And of course he loved all the rides- just not the lines.

Many people thought we were crazy to take Chase to Disneyland at such a young age. And I suppose had the circumstances been different I might have agreed.

For starters, we were traveling with my family. My Dad was wonderful and watched Chase two different nights so Tim, Dan and I could go back with our 6 or 7 odd fastpasses, and ride all the grown-up rides well into the night. I can't think of a better date! Thanks for chaperoning us Dan. So, we had lots of help in Disneyland, and didn't feel like we were missing out when we could only stay for 3 hours or so with Chase. We had a magic morning and got all the Fantasyland rides done with Chase in one hour so he got to do plenty as well.
Secondly, Chase was free and Tim and I were planning on going to Disney for us anyways. So we thought of the trip more for us, and bringing him as more of a bonus "because-what-else-would-we-do-with-him?" scenario.
And finally, we plan on going back many a time. I can understand that if you only plan to take your kids once or twice, you'd want them to remember the experience and be older and more engaged. But if you're considering taking a 1 1/2 year old- don't let people scare you! It was a great experience and made great memories for me and Tim. Chase had a blast meeting all the characters, playing in the water and on the playgrounds, and going on all the rides. The only thing I would do differently is definitely NOT go during the summer. We are hoping to go back next October for Mickey's Trick or Treat Party when Chase is nearly 3.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:

A Mickey Mouse ice cream bar taught me to be a better Mom

On our last night at Disneyland we bought Chase a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. We knew it would get everywhere. We knew it would make a big melted chocolatey mess. We knew we'd have to take him home immediately and throw him in the tub; and that there was a good possibility that his clothes and stroller and his carseat may be permanently stained. We also knew it would be one of his favorite things at Disneyland.

So, we bought him the ice cream and took about 500 pictures of it. When I finally put the camera away I started noticing the reactions of people passing us. Some people were laughing and pointing out to their families (most in matching t-shirts) "how cute is that!". Others were looking at me in horror like "did you not REALIZE what an enormous MESS this would make? What were you THINKING??

As we walked toward the parking lot I thought about this difference of reaction and I realized that there two kinds of people out there:

Mother number 1-Buys their child an overpriced ice cream bar just to see the delight and wonder in their child's eyes; (and to see how cute their child looks covered in meltey chocolately goodness.) These mothers want their child to experience child-like joy in all things even if the consequences are more work for them or different than what they themselves would prefer.

Mother number 2- Avoids getting their child anything that would cause them to get messy; or heaven forbid- have to leave Disneyland early-to clean up after. These mothers are often more concerned about their child looking picture perfect squeaky clean at every moment than letting their child enjoy their childhood.

I'm not writing this to condemn "Mother number 2"; or to say "ummm, I am like SUCH a fab mother!" Or even to say, "If you don't buy your child ice cream at Disneyland you are evil!!" I am writing this to admit that too often I am guilty of being mother #2. Too often I care more about what other people think and what is most logical or practical, than what will make my toddler happiest. When Tim dresses Chase, more often than not I say, "It doesn't match!" and drag him into his room to put on something more preppy and color-coordinated. Does it REALLY matter if he wears a t-shirt instead of a polo to the grocery store? Does it REALLY matter if his shoes don't match his outfit?

A Mickey Mouse ice cream bar made me realize that I always want to be the kind of mom who cares more about making my kids happy than worrying about making a mess or having to clean up after them. Or- whether or not their clothes match. If it makes my son happy to wear Mickey Mouse pajamas and cowboy boots to the store- Will I let him?

Even though my OCD neatness/matching complex will never go away, I am going to try to be better. Kids are only little for such a short time and someday I'll wish I still had 2T shirts to dress him in- polo or otherwise.

Crafts & Tangents

I recently decided that Chase is old enough to do crafts. Not only do I feel that I need to nurture his "artistic" side; I decided that we need a little more structure in our lives. We wake up when we want; eat when we're hungry; bathe when we're dirty (sometimes); nap when we're tired; play at the park when we're not too tired... I could go on. I will probably get snorts of disgust when I tell you this- but we don't even have a bedtime routine. We change his diaper, say a prayer, and throw him in bed with his lovey and a binky. (shocking I know!) He does bathe, get his teeth brushed, and get stories and scriptures read to him- but these are usually at random times of day when I happen to remember. Maybe I need to make myself a chart or something... with stickers. Anyways point of the story- having a laid-back kid has really made me a laid-back mom; and in an attempt to add some structure to our lives- we've started doing crafttime several times a week. I am constantly surprised by how much Chase is able to do.

These were his first two art endeavors:

We used colored sugar and glue to make starfish shapes. I did the glue and Chase poured the sugar on top and helped me shake off the extra.
We also used construction paper and glitter glue to make fireworks for the 4th of July. I cut out the stars and put glue on the back and chase stuck them to the paper and chose where they should go. I squeezed some glitter glue on his fingertips and let him smear it around the stars to make them look like fireworks. He was so proud of his creations!

I tried to get Chase to hold up his picture (which he is super proud of, and couldn't wait to show daddy); BUT he was totally devastated that I took it off the fridge and just sat there crying until I put it back:
We've also done some fingerpainting and experimenting with colored water. I let Chase squeeze some food coloring in each glass of water and we watched it change colors; and then we mixed some of the primary colors to see what new colors we could make.

I am thinking next week maybe we'll do puppets or something. If you have a really easy craft idea for me- please share!

The best 8 bucks I ever spent

*this post is very picture heavy*

Before we went to Disneyland we decided something we really wanted to do was the "Build your own Mr. Potato Head" at Engine Ears Toys. Basically they give you a box and for a fixed price you get to fill it with as many Potato Head parts as you can make fit. Well, the Potato Head body takes up half the box; so a week or so before our trip, we went to Walmart and picked up a generic Mr Potato Head for 8 bucks. Then at Disney we filled our box with all sorts of accessories and body parts. I think we actually got one of everything by kicking the body out.

To be honest, this activity was mostly for me. I didn't think Chase would play with the Potato Head for a few years at least; but I thought eventually it would be fun to have. To my surprise, Mr Potato Head is Chase's new favorite toy. He will sit for HOURS and play with this thing. He loves to change the eyes (usually the feet are on top of the head; a nose is sticking out of the earhole, and an accessory is stuck in the mouth- but whatever; he loves it). If I'd known it would be such a hit I would have bought the generic one weeks ago.

I still can't believe how long this holds his attention. Just how wrong would it be for me to bring this to church...? :

Here's a Potato Head we made the other day with Disney ears and Buzz Lightyear feet:

And one with a Minnie Mouse bow... and the glasses which Chase insists on putting on every single time. I guess he thinks glasses are hot! :He's a little obsessed with hats; and he thinks it's funny to put the Potato Head hat on people's heads:
Or change his own mouth:
Here are a few of the fun accessories we picked out at Disney:
(Mad Hatter hat/Goofy feet/Sleeping Beauty crown/etc.)
We even got the Darth Vader accessories:
And for a teaspoon of cuteness; here is Chase playing around in his Mickey Ears and Disneyland shirt:

Lately

Things have been so busy lately our blog has really taken a hit. I just feel like I can't keep up with everything that's going on. So that you don't have to read 15 blogs (and I don't have to write them!) I decided to just give a quick little summary of what's been going on in our lives.

-We spent a week visiting my parents in Colorado. Chase had such a blast with Grandma & Grandpa, playing in the backyard, playing with the dog, and going to the Denver Children's Museum.
-Tim graduated with his Masters from BYU. He is actually still working on his thesis but for all intents and purposes- he's finished! Also Tim got a promotion and now is not only the Marketing Director, but the General Manager of his company. He workload is about doubled; but he's managing it so well and we are really proud of him.
-I turned 23. Tim and I had planned a couples camping trip in Arches but I was really sick. We ended up staying home and Tim MADE me an ice cream cake. I was so impressed and it was fantastic!
-Our condo is up for sale. And I HATE deep cleaning it every single day! It is so hard to keep it clean with a toddler running around! Also I hate people who make an appointment to come over, and then reschedule like half an hour AFTER they were supposed to come over. Grrrrr. If you know anyone who wants a 3 bed/2 bath in Orem... let me know. We have a killer view of Mt. Timpanogos.
-We're building a house. It will be in Eagle Mountain and I just love it. It has been really fun picking carpet/tile/cabinets/counters/etc. But it is kind of stressful trying to make sure everything matches, and also having to get babysitters for the thousands of meetings we have to go to.
-We've been doing some fun random summer activities- Summerfest, Saratoga Splash, Kelly Clarkson concert (yes, Tim came and even danced! I so love him!), Farm Days, swim parks, etc. Tim and I went down to Salt Lake to go to Bruges Waffles & Frites because I grew up in Belgium and haven't had a gaufre in years! It was really stellar. Chase played in the water fountains at Gateway and had a blast.
-And most recently- we rented a beachhouse in Huntington Beach, CA. Since we just barely got home, I think I will try to blog about that later this week.

So life is busy, but wonderful. And I will try to be better about blogging.

As for Chase, he is just 1 week shy of 18 months (hurray! Nursery!). He's cutting four molars and not very happy about it. This week we've been living on popsicles and chewable motrin and it's been pretty miserable. His favorite things are: cars, dogs, water, rocks, balls, Mickey Mouse, fish, Pooh, and the moon. (haha, random, I know). He communicates really well, although I think me and Tim are the only ones who understand a lot of what he says. He is insanely active and I am constantly trying to keep up. He likes to run around and climb, and this is one reason we decided we need a house. I really wish we had a backyard for the little guy to go crazy in. We did finally get him a haircut although it is still pretty long. Oh, and all I can get him to eat is cheese. At 15 months our pediatrician told us we could skip his 18 mos. appointment and just come at 2 years, since he was already meeting all the 18 mos. milestones. But Chase has recently developed eczema on his arms (which I know nothing about) and we switched insurances so I can no longer go to our wonderful SHC pediatrician. So if you know anything about eczema, or have a recommendation for a great pediatrician in the utah valley area... let me know!

Free the leash children!!

So I am feeling a little hypocritical because I used to belong to a Facebook club called "Free the Leash Children!" You know- the kids on leashes at Disneyland. When I was 19 I thought this title was very clever. And I was an anti-leash advocate. I would never be a Mom who'd put her child on a leash!

So here we are a couple years later...

We are taking Chase to Disneyland this summer because we'll be only 15 minutes away. Also Tim and I can't go within a hundred miles of the place and not go. And Chase is free. So why not take him for a day or two? There are only NINE rides in the entire park he can't ride!! Anyways... I'm starting to get nervous about him running off in the crowds or getting trampled. He's just so crazy ACTIVE!

So...

(you know it's coming)

I am thinking about bringing a leash...

I am still not really a big fan of the idea. Mostly because I don't want to feel like I'm walking a dog. Also I don't want to deal with all the dirty looks I get, saying "Your child is NOT AN ANIMAL!"

Hopefully I won't have to break it out, but it might be nice to have... just in case. If it keeps him safe, whatever works, right?

Is it any better if I promise to get him one of the leashes that is a little monkey or puppy backpack?

I mean... those are kinda cute