Chase is 1

Well I can't believe it has been a year since my little nugget was born. As you can see I am no better at my blog than I was one year ago!

Chase turned 1 on June 12th. We had some friends over for dinner and cupcakes and then on the 14th we had a birthday party with all of Chase's friends. He has so much fun and loved playing in the frosting and balloons. He got some pretty cool toys and is doing a great job sharing with Kayden. Chase had his one year check up yesterday and everything went great. He weighs 20 lbs and is 28 1/2 inches long. He is on the lower end of the charts for his height and weight but I am pretty sure he is still going to grow up and be able to put Kayden in his place... haha!

We have been busy traveling between NY and NC the last few months. Luke has had some jobs up there which has been nice since the boys and I get to go home with him. We have enjoyed spending time with our family and friends. Luke and I even got to go to Vermont for a weekend to our friends wedding. It was so nice to be just us for a couple of days. The kids had a great time with Grammy and Grandpa Ken and Grammy Deb and Grandpa. We got back to NC in time to clean up around the house and get ready for Chase's big day. We are heading back to NY next week for another wedding and since we are going to be up there Luke has a few more jobs to do. I think the boys and I could get used to NY in the summers and NC in the winter!

I will post some pictures as soon as I get them uploaded!

Trip to Florida in March

So we took a trip to Florida in March to visit Aunt B and Uncle Tito. We were so excited to leave for our trip.. we were going to pack up the car on Monday morning, take Chase to his 9 month check up and then get on the road. I woke up that morning with the worst stomach bug EVER. I was violently ill and then felt like my body ached so bad I couldn't move. It was horrible. Luke ended up taking Chase to his appointment because I was in the fetal position on Kayden's floor. Needless to say Luke made me go to the doctor. And we delayed our trip to leaving at 3am that following day. Luke had to drive the whole way and I still wasn't feeling very good. So that was Tuesday. The story should have began with.... It rained in Raleigh for 4 days straight and then we got ready to leave for our trip.....When we arrived in Florida it was not raining yet... That night the heavens opened up and let loose! We swan the first night and were amazed at how well Mia and Ty can swim. I swear they are part mermaid or something. Mia will be an olympic swimmer someday! Kayden hasn't swam much but wasn't afraid to jump in the first time.... Emphasis on first time. He wasn't a big fan at first. He likes it when you hold on to him. Chase loved the water. Just floating around like a king.  That day Chase also took his FIRST STEPS!! It was so exciting. They had this airplane you could walk behind and push and he just let go and took 3 steps to me.  WAY TO GO CHASE!!!

   Since it was rainy we decided to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese on Wednesday. Grammy stayed home with Chase and we went to burn some of that crazy kid energy! It was fun and Mia was a huge help getting Kayden and Ty to the top of the maze thing.  That night my mom and Becky insisted that we go out even though I still didn't feel great... But we went out and had dinner on the beach in the rain. It was great to get out just the two of us. However when we arrived home it was complete chaos!!! Kayden caught the stomach bug and just as Aunt B, Grammy and Uncle Tito had everyone asleep.... It all hit.. Kayden was laying with Aunt B in Mia's room.. One minute the room is quiet and then suddenly the room was filled with projectile vomit. Thank Goodness for Uncle Tito... He seems to get stuck cleaning the vomit. Last summer you may recall the stomach bug that made it through our house the week they were visiting for grandma's birthday. Well it began to come out both ends for the next 6 days. Since we had been stuck inside cleaning vomit and pooh.... We needed to get out for a little bit so on Friday we went to the Miami Zoo. It was so much fun. Kayden got a fever while we were there and you will notice in the pics he looks sad and his cheeks are all flushed. I felt so bad for him. We found a water area and all 3 of them loved it. Chase napped on Aunt B's chest.. it was super cute. Impressively Becky was able to still peddle the bike around the zoo!

 Saturday came and we finished up dinner.. not long after Luke and Becky came down with the stomach bug. They were sick that night but thankfully they woke up and felt much better so...Sunday the rain finally stopped and by then Chase had gotten the bug. His poor little hiny (how do you spell hiny?) was so raw. It was terrible. Sunday we went to the beach. We were planning on leaving that day but since both the kids were sick we waiting one more day to help with the overflow situation in the diapers.  Plus it was the first time we really saw sunshine so we took advantage and spent a few hours playing in the sand.... In Chase's case he ate the sand. They had a great time and we got to see Tito's cousin and her 2 little boys. We ended up leaving 4am on Monday morning to head home. It was so great to see everyone and spend time with Mia, Ty, Becky, Tito and Mom. We felt bad we brought the bug with us but Kayden and Chase had fun playing with Mia and Ty. 

   Since we have been home Chase is WALKING. I mean all over the place and getting into everything. He loves his freedom and even if I just vacuum he still finds something to eat off the floor. Kayden had been testing me like crazy the last 2 days. The days are full of life and exciment. I love my boys and my crazy days. Luke is great and as we speak he is putting the kids to bed. I love my husband!!!!

 That is all for now... Happy Easter to everyone!

Well as usual it has been a while since I have posted anything. Things are just as crazy as ever but really great! The boys are getting super big. Chase took his first 2 steps while we were visiting Aunt B, Uncle Tito, Mia, Ty Ty and Grammy in Florida last week! He holds onto everything and just wants to walk. He is such a good boy and sleeps almost 12 hours at night. He has also got his top 4 teeth and his molars are coming through too. He had his 9 month check up last week before we left for vacation and is now 19.6 lbs and 28 inches long. He is happy all the time and loves to watch Kayden. He is just waiting for the day he can run and play with him. Kayden is great too.  He is smart and amazes Luke and I everyday. He had a great time with Mia and Ty in Florida. We took him swimming a few times and to the Miami Zoo. He loves to sing his ABC's and name animals! It is amazing how fast they go from a tiny newborn to Chase and then to Kayden. I am sad as some stages end but I am so excited and honored to be able to experience all the things the boys bring to my  life.

      I will post again about our crazy trip to Florida and some pictures. For now.. things are good.

Big Milestones for both the boys!

Well since we have been home from NY..... We have gotten Kayden into big boy undies and he is doing great. And we are really only struggling with the pooping on the potty thing. Since he is still so young we think he is doing really well even with the few poo accidents!

   AND... Chase is crawling. He is into everything and now Kayden is getting a taste of what it is really like to have a brother who is on the move! He loves to play on the floor and can even pull himself up on things so he can stand and enjoy the views. He is eating cereal and solid foods like a champ and loves to feed himself fruit puffs. At this point he has 2 teeth!!!! At his 6 month appointment.. which wasn't until we got home so he was more like 7 months at that point... he weighed 18lbs! He is growing up so fast and is such a good boy!

   Luke is home now and has a few things lined up for work and I am enjoying my time home with the boys. I finished up at my old job half way through January. Although it was nice to have the extra income I love the fact that I am not constantly worried about things that I did't have much control over. Things have been busy as usual during January. While Luke was in NY, My mom and Ken stopped by for a couple of days on their way home from Florida. It was great to spend some more time with them and of course they spoiled the boys and I while they were  here. Kayden is obsessed with the motorcycle they got him for christmas (It is actually called a SmartCycle but he loves to call it his motorcycle) Also our friends Holly and Rick stopped for a couple of days last weekend on their way to Florida. Their little girl Caitlyn is super cute and it was nice to spend some time with them all. Last weekend we had a baby shower for our friends Adam and Lauren who are expecting a little girl later this month. It was nice to get everyone together.. even if I did lose the beer chugging contest out of a baby bottle!

   We have some more friends coming this weekend for 3 days. One of Luke's friends from Chicago and his wife are traveling around the country and decided to stop and see us. We haven't seen them in about 5 years so it will be really nice to catch up with them. 

   Since I am trying to make up for the last 2 months, I am sure i have forgotten some stuff and if so I will post again but for now that is a brief update of our lives the last few weeks. 

New Year and still bad at blogging!

Happy New Year! I know.. I know... I thought I would be better this year with the blogging thing but not yet! We have had a lot of excitement since the last post in December. 

   We spent 3 weeks in Old Forge over the holidays. Luke started a job for my Aunt Lu Lu so we all decided to head North so we could all be together for Christmas. It was so nice to spend time with our family and enjoy some winter weather. Aunt Cookie and Uncle Korie were nice enough to let us crash with them. We got to go snowmobiling, sledding and we even got Kayden on some ski's a couple of times. He absolutely loved the snow and cried when we made him come inside. Our Christmas was great. We got to enjoy Christmas Eve with My Aunt Lu, Aunt Val, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Linda, and our cousins...Tammy, Brett and Brandon. This was really nice because we have rarely spent a holiday with them and we really got to enjoy our time with them. We spent the morning opening gifts from Santa at Kris and Korie's house and then we went to Grandma Deb and Grandpa's for dinner with Uncle Joel and Great Grandma Betty. After that we packed up the car and headed to another Grandma and Grandpa's house (Melinda and Paul). The day was a little hectic but we are so glad we got to spend time with so much family. Chase's favorite part was eating the wrapping paper! 

  After we spent a few days with Luke's mom we headed to Utica to see my roommate from college, Heidi and her family. We got to see their new house and of course their little boy Owen. We left there and stopped to see our friend Nick from high school, his fiance Ashlee and his new house. Needless to say by the time we got back to Aunt Cookies house we were exhausted. 

We also were able to ring in the New Year with a bunch of our friends at a party Kris and Korie threw at their house. The boys spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa, which we really appreciated.. A LOT! It was one of the few times we have been up that late by our own choice!!!

    We had a wonderful time in NY but it was time to come home. The boys were really good but we didn't want to impose on anyone anymore so we headed back South. Luke was home for about one day and then went back to NY for 2 weeks so he could finish up the job. My time home alone with the boys was good. I give single parents a lot of credit because it is not easy at all. 

   I will add more pictures to a slideshow of our time in NY and also some more recent ones of the boys! They have changed so much!

Christmas Card Pictures

Well tonight we tried to get a picture for our Christmas card. Getting a 2 year old and a 6 month old to look at the camera AND smile is no easy task. I think we got a few good ones out of the 200 we took! haha.... 

    I know I haven't posted anything in a while. We have had a few big milestones over the last few weeks. Kayden got his first real haircut from someone other than me and he sat perfectly. I think the reward of a lollipop had a lot to do with how well he did... hey 

whatever works right! Chase also had his first haircut. He has the cutest crazy hair but it was getting super long and we figured that he was too young for a comb over so at 5 months he got his first hair cut from Mommy and Daddy! 

   We had a great Thanksgiving with a bunch of our friends at our house. The last few weeks have also been crazy with work around the outside of the house. We had trees taken down, we dug trenches around the house so we could lay drainage pipes, new 

walkway, new driveway, and some new landscaping. We still have a lot of work to do but for now we have fixed the water issues under the house and hopefully it will fix the sinking issues! 

  We have also decorated for Christmas. Chase loves to look at the lights and of course Kayden loves to play with the ornaments! We are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with our boys.  

   I know this update had a lot of random stuff but I am supposed to be working on our Christmas card since it is already December 7th!  Hopefully I can be better about my blog in the new year... don't count on it but hey.... you never know! 

   Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Halloween Pics

I know Halloween is past.... I am just getting around to posting some pictures though.... Better later than never, right???

Kayden was Handy Manny. In a few of the pictures you can see his toy Handy Manny behind him. He looked like him although most of our neighbors thought he was a miniature Luke. Chase was a dragon! We walked around to some of the houses on our street but since Kayden doesn't completely understand the whole Halloween thing yet next year will be  a lot different.