Overdue 14 month post

Get ready for a long post! We have been pretty busy this last month!  Chance continues to be such a joy in our lives.  Everyday he makes Ben and I laugh at the new things he learns and does.  Fun facts:

• He really tries to talk to you.  Most words remain foreign to our ears!  He can sign and say "please", can sign more and all done.  He also can say bye-bye, vroom vroom ruck (truck),  mama, dada (he is better at this one), Sealy, bowl, ball, and cat (we don't even have one!)  He is trying really hard to repeat what you say.  My mom was in town for a few days and said "MiMi" for her.  She was so proud!
• Still takes two naps during the day.  Usually a shorter morning nap and long afternoon nap. Great sleeper at night.  As of late gets upset for a few minutes when we leave him at night.
• Every night when he goes to bed he must say night night to all the things in his room (it is so cute).  He even tells the fan night night.
• Can point to his body parts (hair, eyes, nose, hands, feet, tongue and teeth)
•  Eats more and more table food. Loves peanut butter and jelly (he steels bites from Nanny Tiffany's sandwich quite often) bananas, and lasagna
• He is taking swimming lessons and loves the water.  It didn't even phase him to go under. 
• He has had to start time out in his crib.  It works pretty effectively and has only had to be used a handful of times because he thinks it is horrible!  
• Loves books, trains, cars, trucks and balls (He is a typical little boy) He also loves to be outside but it has been so hot lately that it is pretty much unbearable.  Loves to watch the cars on the highway from the bed of Ben's truck when he is dropped off with Ben's mom or out to eat on I-10!  Of course Ben explains everything as it passes by!
• Can give the best kisses (to us and usually Bailey our dog) and can blow kisses
• Currently has 8 teeth.  His two upper teeth, two lower and all four molars! He is about to get a couple that are right underneath the gum tissue.
• Is going to be the best big brother!! (Oh yes, that was typed correctly, Ben and I will welcome a new little one into our family due January 26th)  We are beyond thrilled and so excited!  God has truly blessed our family!

Enjoy some random pictures from the last month at my parents house with his cousins, at his swimming lessons, and our family vacation to the Hyatt in Bastrop for my Baylor alumni meeting!

Playing with Dorothy Grace (she is not naked!)

MiMi with all her grandkids

Lauren floating with her aunts

Chance at the pool with his best buddy Tyler

Going down the big slide at swim lessons

I think I have more fun than he does!

1st time to eat corn-on-the-cob

Big smile after kissing Bailey

He likes to stand on his head! Silly boy!

Kissing Clay's little girl Mallory at Bastrop

Riding the kiddie train

He loves the fountains!

Wearing his new shirt!  He wasn't too thrilled! Chance walked out wearing this shirt when I told Ben the wonderful news! 

One brave little boy

Thursday evening we had to take Chance to the emergency room.  He had been acting normal all day with Ben's mom, but when we got him home he was not himself.  He had a pretty high fever around 6pm, so we decided to take him to the pedi urgent care just in case.  He vomited an extreme amount as we were leaving the house and once we got to the urgent care.  They took one look at him and said we cannot do anything for him, took our money and told us to go to the ER as quickly as possible.  For the high energy guy he is, he looked awful and had no energy.  He could not lift his head off my shoulder and was so very pale.  Once we got to Methodist we were taken back literally within minutes.  We had the kindest nurses and doctor while we were there.  They quickly drew blood and started and IV with something for his vomiting.  It was crazy but Ben and I remained calm through the whole thing.  God definitely had his hand over us and our fears.  They feared he had meningitis due to the rapid onset.  They wanted him to perk up with the fluids, if not they were going to do a spinal tap.  Chance was so brave!  He hardly cried with the IV and they had to take urine as well.  His nurses told him that he was going to be a superhero when he grows up!  I totally agree!  I didn't cry amazingly enough until I told Katy the next day about how brave he was!  After a few hours the results came back with a positive for a bladder infection, dehydration from the vomiting, and an ear infection in both ears.  Our pediatrician the next day concluded that he threw up due to the rapid onset of the fever due to the ear infections!  If was a perfect storm as they were telling us at the hospital.  We got released about midnight after Chance perked up and was no longer a rag doll just laying there.  He was somewhat back to normal on Friday and is slowly regaining his strength.  We thank God for watching over our little boy and that little voice inside his Mama to go get him help.  Chance is one tough little boy and we are so proud that he is our little guy!

Any baby can read....

.........or at least be very good at memorization!  So funny that he can do this!

Sea World!!

So this year we bought a season pass to SeaWorld.  So far we have used it twice (paid for itself already!).  Once when my sister came down for a visit and the other this past Saturday night just for something fun to do.  Chance LOVES water.  He had so much fun at the Elmo Bay of Play and even likes the wave pool at the Lost Lagoon.  Looks like this is what we will be up to lots this summer. 

Bye-Bye to the Mullet!

Chance was developing his own little 80s style mullet! So we decided it was time to get his hair cut by a professional.  If you remember I trimmed his hair a while back but gave up shortly after that because mommy didn't do very good.  We went to a place in Boerne called Wackadoos!  Chance did great with no tears.  He even got a sucker!  He had never had one before and he LOVED it! I still kept it long so he didn't lose he sweet baby curls but looks more shaped up now! 

Before

During

After

View from the side

Chance's First Trip to the Lake!

We took the boat out this evening to make sure it looked good after being in the shop for not running at all last year!  We got Chance a life jacket last weekend so off we went! He did wonderful!  He wore his life jacket the whole time without one complaint (except when daddy pinched his leg with the strap oops!)  He pointed out all the boats to us and even got in the water with daddy!  It was VERY cold still!  He also had another first! We picked up McDonald's chicken mcnuggets to eat on the lake!  They of course were a big hit!  I am sure this will be the first of many trips this season.  And to all my family members who know how stressed I get with backing out and putting up the boat...I handled myself very well in the presence of my child!  I stayed very calm with him sitting like a big boy next to me!  Enjoy the pictures!

Sitting like a big boy while mommy puts the boat up!

Easter 2011

Our family had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We started it off Friday with a trip to the nature center, dinner with our nanny Tiffany and her husband Dustin then all went to our church's Good Friday service.  It was wonderful!  Saturday we just hung out as a family!  Sunday we went to church in the morning and out to Ben's parents for Easter dinner.  This year Easter seemed to have much more meaning to me than ever before.  I don't know if it is because we now have a child and I understand more and more the sacrifice God made for us when he sent his son down to Earth for us to take away our sins.  We have also been studying Isaiah at BSF and the prophesy has come alive as we are studying the words of Isaiah prove true with the life and death of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for the sacrifice He made for me!  I pray that throughout the year I live as though it is Easter EVERY day and live with a spirit of praise for Him!   This verse really stood out to me this week and thought I would share: 

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."  Isaiah 64:4

We also sang the song Glorious Day several times this past weekend and I love the words: 
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming Oh glorious day, Oh glorious day!!

Enjoy our pics!