ROSEN 4.0

...and the videos

2012-02-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

Taylor's 1st Birthday Party

2012-01-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is a year old! He has such a sweet, loving personality and he loves to laugh. His days are filled with hugs for mom and dad, playing games, crawling around after Chase, exploring, climbing, eating everything in sight, and learning to walk. He can go about 5 steps now before he face plants. He's fearless...I'm the one constantly afraid that he's going to smash his forehead into a table or something! The other thing about Taylor is that he is LOUD. He likes to get everyone's attention, which isn't hard to do, and then he gives you his flirty smile with a twinkle in his eye, and you can't help but smile back (and kiss his sweet cheeks, if you're me). He'll talk and squeal like crazy, especially during church when it's quiet.

We had a little party for him this weekend. He had a great time devouring his chocolate cake, as you'll see, and had lots of fun with the balloons too. He got a little tired at the end, and rubbed his icing covered hands right in his eyes! After a quick bath he was back to entertaining everyone.

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T13:01:00.002-07:00

“This year, mend a quarrel.

Seek out a forgotten friend.

Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.

Write a letter.

Give a soft answer.

Encourage youth.

Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.

Keep a promise.

Forgo a grudge.

Forgive an enemy.

Apologize.

Try to understand.

Examine your demands on others.

Think first of someone else.

Be kind.

Be gentle.

Laugh a little more.

Express your gratitude.

Welcome a stranger.

Gladden the heart of a child.

Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.

Speak your love and then speak it again.”

-Howard W. Hunter

Christmas

2011-12-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the Christmas season has come and gone already. It was so fun with the boys this year. Chase had a greater understanding of Santa Claus, but more importantly, he could also tell you the story of the Nativity. Having him know the true reason to celebrate, the birth of our Savior, was so special to me. December was also very exciting because we got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Kent! They were here the week before Christmas, so the boys got to open some presents early with them. It was so great having my parents here to enjoy spending time with their cute grandsons that they only get to see a couple of times a year. Brett decked the house out in style with our first Christmas lights ever, and Chase was thrilled every single night when we turned them on. Taylor is pretty much a happy camper these days, so he just went along for the ride, smiling all the way. Chase also entertained us with his never-ending supply of Christmas songs. He knows all the words to Jingle Bells (verse included), Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, just to name a few.

November

2011-12-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted; guess we've been busy. We had a nice Thanksgiving with the Rosens plus the Idaho Kents. The boys always love it when they have aunts and uncles to play with! Chase is in the "why?" phase right now, which is about the biggest test of patience I can think of. We're also trying to get across the concept of lying because he likes to tell you he's not doing something, when you're watching him do it. 2 year olds are challenging! But so sweet and cute, too. I guess I'll let the pictures say the rest...

Taylor watching Daddy rake the leaves

Getting their chance to play in the leaves.

First taste of black beans...they were a hit!

Chase decorating the Christmas tree.

Taylor's contribution...eating ornaments and pulling off ribbon.

10 months in the making

2011-11-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

About 2 months before Taylor was born, I decided to make Chase a special quilt to help him transition into a big boy bed the following month. I spent a lot of time picking out just the right fabric, and as it turns out, a lot of $$ too. I got some bad advice from the lady at the fabric store about the sizing which made it a much more complicated project than it should have been, and right after I finished tying it, my month of horrible contractions leading up to Taylor's birth started. So, it has been sitting unfinished for the last 10 months, just waiting for someone to sew the edges. After all the money and time and thought that had gone into every detail of this project, there was no way I was going to let Chase go through another winter without getting to use it! Tonight I finally had enough energy after putting the boys to bed (amazing), and enough time between then and when Taylor wakes up for the first time (luckily), to finish it. My sewing machine didn't cooperate very well, but I'm so glad it's finally done. Chase is very excited to put it on his bed. Thankfully he still likes trucks and planes as much as he did last year! We have a quilt in our house that was Brett's dad when he was a teenager. I told Brett that I hope this quilt lasts that long, because that's the only way it will be worth all the effort this "simple" project ended up taking! As with all my sewing projects...don't look too close.:)

Taylor at 9 months

2011-11-03T17:34:00.000-06:00

Taylor had his 9 month check-up yesterday. He weighed in at 16 pounds, 6 ounces, which is in the 2nd percentile. He was only in the 18th percentile for height, so he's still a little guy! Must be why he can still fit into 3-6 month size clothes.:) He's really started cruising around the furniture more lately, and likes to play games with us. He'll crawl away really fast, try to go up the stairs, and then look back at us and laugh because he knows he's not supposed to do that...it's so funny. He wants to eat anything that he can pick up and shove in his mouth by himself. Embarassing as it is, if I don't have him in his high chair while Chase is eating, he always tries to sit under the table by Chase's chair and pick up all the food Chase drops! Today he discovered a love for raspberry pancakes. He still wakes up 5-7 times a night, which is really hard, but he's so happy during the day. I would be a little happier during the day if he'd sleep better at night, that's for sure! He's a joy though, and we love him so much.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:17:00.000-06:00

We've had a fun weekend celebrating Halloween. Lots of parties with friends, and Chase got to wear his costume 3 days in a row, which he was thrilled about. He's pretty much the cutest little fireman I've ever seen, and Taylor made a pretty adorable Tigger too. Chase has been loving all the decorations everywhere all month, and has spent some time practicing being a ghost and "scaring" us. Tonight we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and Chase was so excited! He'd run up to each door and do his thing, and then run back to us and shout "now we gotta go to another house and get more candy"...seriously, after every-single-house. After about an hour his bucket was so full he could barely carry it, so we figured it was time to call it a night. Taylor, who was way past his bedtime, did awesome just hanging out in the stroller and trying to chew through the plastic wrapper of a sucker.:) It was good times, and Chase made lots of friends along the way, which was super entertaining for us. For me, I'm going to go ahead and say it was the best Halloween ever! Pretty great how holidays are even better through your child's eyes.

the boys in action

2011-10-05T17:01:00.000-06:00

Chase sure has a big personality. The kid loves to sing and be the center of attention! Taylor thinks he's hilarious, and so do I.:)

And here's cute little Taylor, just enjoying the water.

St. George

2011-10-04T19:18:00.000-06:00

We took a road trip last weekend for the St. George marathon. Brett had to bow out because of a severe knee injury (as in he can't run AT ALL for 4-6 weeks and should really be on crutches), but we took the opportunity to see friends and hang out anyway. We made the fatal mistake of forgetting the car dvd player, but survived the drive with a little help from YouTube on the iPhone. There's a cute splash park in downtown St. George that the boys had a great time at, especially because they were (amazingly) the only kids there most of the time! We took a ride on a cute (also vacant) carousel too. It was a nice little getaway.

Taylor is such a water baby. He gets super excited for bath time. I love how cute the boys are when they're happily playing together.

September so far

2011-09-17T15:43:00.000-06:00

We went to the zoo on Labor Day. It was probably the best zoo experience I've ever had! Perfect weather, not crowded, and very active animals. We got to see them feed a tiger, but unfortunately my camera was on the wrong setting so the pictures aren't all that clear. There was also a funny ape playing peek-a-boo under a burlap sack! Chase sang "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" to the little monkeys, which was pretty cute. Taylor loved riding around in the stroller and was a very good baby.

We took a picture just like this at the zoo last June, but Taylor was still in my tummy!

Chase LOVED riding the train!

Taylor wants to be standing up ALL the time now.

Love my cute boys!:)

August

2011-09-01T09:34:00.001-06:00

August was a fun month. Taylor is crawling all over the place, even up the stairs. He loves to pull up to standing too. You’d think all this extra movement during the day would lead to better sleep at night, but not so far! Chase is learning to spell his name, and is occasionally trying to potty train himself. He makes Taylor laugh all the time, which is adorable. The other day they were playing hide and seek, with Chase running from room to room laughing while Taylor tried to crawl after him and then Chase yelling “you found me!”, leading to squeals and giggles from his little brother. It was too cute, and kind of surprising to see them interacting so well at such young ages. Chase went to a dinosaur museum and had fun digging for fossils. He also spent a little quality time in his little pool in the backyard. One Sunday afternoon we went for a little hike up to a waterfall, which was pretty cool. Then there was the big trip to Missouri for Uncle David’s wedding. I was so worried, but the boys actually did amazingly well on both plane rides and the 4 hour road trips to and from St. Louis. Chase had a lot of fun playing with everyone, and sleeping in a hotel. We loved seeing the family and having everyone enjoy “the Chase show” and sweet little Taylor. We’re excited to have Brittney as a Kent now too!

Taylor at 6 months old

2011-08-12T21:13:00.001-06:00

Taylor turned 6 months old on July 30th, and it seems like he grew up overnight! Just 2 days later he popped his two bottom teeth...both at once, and with no warning. Sure, he'd been gnawing on everything in sight, but that had been going on for 3 months already and there was definitely no swelling of the gums or anything. Chase was the same way though, early teether and no warning. It changes their look so much when they lose the gummy smile! He's also made great strides in crawling and sitting the past couple of weeks. He started out with a kind of Cleopatra pose for sitting, with one leg sticking out and leaning on his arms for support, and an inchworm crawl. Then he was scooting backwards, and now he can sit up straight and crawl a few steps at a time using his arms independently with flops in between. (he's much improved even from the video below) I'll sit him on the floor in his room, and come back a minute later, and he'll be across the room playing with whatever he found. He always wants to play with whatever Chase happens to have, and he's very determined about getting there and stealing it! Chase isn't so pleased about that, of course, but it's really funny to watch. He's decided to be afraid of the vacuum now and also has some mommy separation anxiety. He still puts everything straight in his mouth, so we're trying to teach Chase that he can't leave his bowl of fruit loops laying on the floor anymore. Taylor is working on solid foods though, and his favorite so far is green beans. He's very ticklish and squeals when he's excited. We put the Johnny Jumper up and he loves to play in it, but it's a little more dangerous than we remember, since now there's a toddler around who thinks it would be fun to swing Taylor into the doorway while he's jumping! Taylor weighed in at 14 lbs. 8 oz and is up to 25 inches. He's still pretty small (3rd percentile to be exact), which is probably why it surprises people even more to see him crawling. I think Chase has noticed he's growing up too, because he loves to talk to his baby brother. He likes to update him on whatever is going on at the moment, and of course thinks he knows what toys Taylor wants to play with or where he wants to sit. I can't believe how fast my boys are growing up!

you are my sunshine

2011-07-28T11:15:00.001-06:00

Sorry if this makes you dizzy...just close your eyes and listen to the sweet voice.:)

This all started when Taylor was colicky and would cry for hours. I would sing this to him, but interject Chase's name into the song so that he would know I hadn't forgotten about him while he was patiently waiting for me to take care of his brother. Ever since, Chase has wanted to sing it for anyone and everyone, always putting their name in to make them feel special. I can't think of anything sweeter!

photo shoot

2011-07-23T09:02:00.000-06:00

Here it is...our first official family picture! It's about time, huh. Last Sunday we took a drive up beautiful Millcreek Canyon and didn't stop until we got to this gorgeous spot at the very top. Taylor had just woken up, so he wasn't all smiley, but at least he was good. Chase cooperated pretty well, and I love the shots of him on the fence, with his sweet smile. As a last minute whim we put both boys together on a big rock, and I'm so glad we did, because those shots are pretty precious. A huge thankyou to Jeff Rosen for being our photographer!

Summertime

2011-07-16T09:46:00.000-06:00

We've been having a fun summer so far. Chase has been busy playing with friends and cousins. Grandpa Kent came out to visit, which was very exciting. He hadn't seen us in 10 months and hadn't met Taylor yet. It was wonderful to spend lots of quality time with him and we were sad to see him go. He left behind a few new toys for Chase though, including the little backyard swimming pool. Chase thought he was his new best friend, and wanted Grandpa to do everything with him. He still thinks he's at the airport, from when we dropped him off.;) Taylor is up to 14 pounds at 5 months. We haven't yet mastered eating from a spoon, or in fact eating at all. The crazy kid usually only wants to eat an ounce or two at a time and has a pretty hard time sleeping for more than 30-45 minutes, day or night. When he's happy though, he's about the cutest baby ever. With his bashful grin and sparkly eyes, he'll melt anyone's heart. He LOVES to play in his exersaucer, roll all over the house, and lately likes to pop up on all fours and bounce like he's about to crawl. He can scoot his knees under him to move forward but hasn't figured out how to coordinate it with his arms quite yet...he's really close though! He just seems way too little to be doing that yet (after all, he's still in 0-3 month clothing), but he wants to follow after his big brother so badly. I think we're going to have our hands full with these two.:) Chase is as cute and entertaining and mischevious as ever. He can escape from pretty much anywhere and gets in to pretty much everything. It's been great going to the park to run off some of his never-ending energy, and having cousins around to fill his need for constant human interaction. He's speaking more Spanish than ever, and recognizing some alphabet letters too. He pretty much talks nonstop, which is both cute and exhausting. Basically, life with a toddler and a baby is crazy, difficult, and fun. More to come!

That's right...snow in July. It was in the mountains, but still!

His favorite pose...the Superman.

4 months old

2011-06-03T15:22:00.000-06:00

Taylor turned 4 months old on Monday. We celebrated by trying rice cereal for the first time. He doesn't swallow a whole lot, but he did pretty good. Today at the doctor he weighed in at 12 pounds 11 ounces (9th percentile) and 24 1/4 inches (22nd percentile). Yeah, he's a little guy.:) He's strong though...he always wants to be standing up on your lap, checking things out. If he's on the ground, he's pushing up on his arms or rolling over. He likes to hold a rattle and try to eat it, and especially likes to gnaw on fingers (his own or anyone elses) so he's a drool monster from that. Sometimes at night, when he should be in bed, he likes to stay up and have little cooing conversations with mommy and daddy for up to 2 hours. He's still not a good sleeper, but I've resigned myself to thinking it will probably be just like Chase and we won't get any good rest until he's a year old. He sure is cute though!

Classic Chase

2011-06-03T15:21:00.000-06:00

The other day I was making brownies, and then had to take Taylor upstairs for a nap. Apparently I left the carton of eggs out on the counter, because I came down to find Chase "cooking" eggs. He had cracked two of them into a pan and was stirring, and had deposited the shells in the sink just like we do. There wasn't even any mess! I let him play like that for a while, until he tried to eat a spoonful of raw egg.:)

He is quite the little musician. Sometimes he will say he's going to play us a song on the piano, and then proceeds to sit down and play and sing. He absolutely loves to watch YouTube performances from Glee, and runs around the room singing along and dancing like crazy. We finally caught some of his amazing talents on video, last Sunday morning.

He had his 2 year check up (a month late) today. He is 35 1/2 inches tall (71st percentile) and 26 1/2 pounds (28th percentile). The doctor said his verbal skills are more like a 3 or 4 year old, and kids like him that are ahead of the game developmentally tend to present more of a discipline challenge because they're master manipulators. Boy don't we know it! He was playing at the park the other day, and threw quite the tantrum when we had to leave before he wanted to. It had been so much fun watching him interact with the other kids though. Each time a new one arrived he would walk right up to them and say "hi buddy!". He is definitely not shy, and thinks everyone - kid or adult - is his friend. He is being so great with Taylor lately too. He's gotten used to the crying and will try to help make the baby happy, and automatically sits quietly and reads books or whispers to me whenever he knows I'm trying to get Taylor down for a nap. What a good big brother!

Happy Saturday

2011-05-28T16:53:00.000-06:00

Just a little pre-church photo session...

2011-05-15T19:08:00.000-06:00

Dos Años!

2011-05-01T16:03:00.001-06:00

This is going to be a long post…April was a very busy month! Chase turned 2 on the 29^th and we had a little party for him the week before. He picked out a Winnie the Pooh cake from the store, which I left sitting on the passenger seat of the car while I was bringing in the groceries. In that one or two minute period, he walked out into the garage, opened the car door, opened the cake box, and stuck his fingers in the icing for a taste. I discovered him with blue icing on his face and fingerprints in the cake. I just had to laugh and take a picture, because after all, it is his cake! Then while we were singing happy birthday to him, he kept leaning forward and trying to take bites out of the cake. He’s seen the video of himself eating his smash cake last year with his hands, so that’s what he wanted to do again, but he ended up using his fork like a big boy. He got lots of fun toys: mini pots and pans and utensils and play food, because he loves to pretend to cook; a toy motorized trimmer so that he can help daddy with the yard work; his own little tool box with plastic hammer and screwdrivers, etc.; a soccer goal; a blow-up punching bag; books; clothes; pajamas; bathtub letters/numbers; and Buzz Lightyear Mr. Potato Head. He also had a giant Mickey Mouse balloon, which he loved. If you ask him how old he is, he sticks out all his fingers and says "dos años"!

On his actual birthday we celebrated by going to the Children’s Museum downtown. He had fun, but there were a zillion kids there, maybe because it was snowing outside. I love this little boy more than anything, and he constantly amazes me and brings me joy. He loves to sing and dance, and knows all the words to several songs. The favorites lately have been You Are My Sunshine, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the YouTube sensation Friday by Rebecca Black. It’s the most ridiculous song ever, but Chase saw the video on Brett’s iPhone once and it stuck! He is really speaking clearly now, and frequently corrects himself to say a word right that he used to say wrong. He often speaks in complete sentences, too, and usually even uses the correct tense. He is quite the little parrot, and will repeat anything he hears, even when you think he’s not listening, so that is something to be cautious about! What’s even scarier is how much he seems to internalize, remember, and understand about what he hears, even if it just happens once or in passing. If he notices we’re out of something, then he tells me where we need to go buy more from, like Target, or Costco, or the grocery store. He always folds his arms before meals and whispers a prayer. He is learning right from left, and the days of the week, and what we do on each day (like church on Sunday). He likes to practice counting (we're up to 15 now, but he sometimes skips 7!) and saying his ABCs, and loves to read books. He has a fairly large selection to choose from at bedtime, but still has lots of them memorized. I think his current favorites are probably Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Barnyard Dance, and The Going To Bed Book. The other day he was reading to Taylor and even showing him the pictures. Taylor was just laying there looking up at him with an interested smile, and it was so cute to watch. Recently he has been treating his stuffed animals like babies, feeding them bottles, wanting to take them to the park in the Baby Bjorn, giving them baths, and putting them to bed, perfectly mimicking what he’s seen mommy do with Taylor. We did have to explain to him that boys don't feed babies the same way that girls do! He’s definitely had some moments of frustration when Taylor has needed a lot of time and attention, and poor Taylor has suffered a few kicks and been sat on by his older brother, but other times he’s very loving, so it all seems pretty typical. Sorry for all the details, but I want to remember everything about this fun stage in his life.

Taylor’s colic is gone (hallelujah-we survived!), but he still has a hard time settling down for naps and bedtime. It’s great when he’s happy though, because he has the sweetest smile and likes to coo and gurgle whenever you show him some attention, and boy does he have a loud voice! He is trying to roll over to his tummy, but can just get up on his side so far. He likes to grab on to your fingers and things on his play mat as well. It’s exciting to see him become more interactive and watch his personality develop. I can’t believe he’s 3 months old already. That sounds so old, and although I feel like he’s always been here, he’s still my little baby!

We had a nice Easter. The boys wore cute matching outfits and we enjoyed dinner with Brett’s family. Chase had fun hunting for eggs and of course loved that they were full of treats.

We also went to a wedding reception, where I got a little reunion with my best friends from Missouri. We have many pictures with the 5 of us from our high school days, but it’s been a few years since we’ve all been in the same place at the same time. Amazingly, we all live in Utah right now!

Brett turned 30 on the 13^th. I surprised him with dinner at Happy Sumo, which we shared with some of his best friends. It was a nice kid-free evening, and we had dessert from Cheesecake Factory waiting for us at home. Chase even sang Happy Birthday to him. He also ran a half marathon at Thanksgiving Point on the 30^th. It was a very cold morning, with a good 4 inches of snow on the ground, so the kids and I weren't able to see him finish. But, he won his age group division, so we are very proud of him!

We also replaced Brett's car with a Nissan Murano. The extra space is very exciting! And that about sums up our month:)

Taylor's blessing, etc.

2011-04-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

This morning we blessed Taylor at church. It was a wonderful day, and we were happy to share it with family and friends. He was a total angel all day, and looked so precious dressed all in white. Chase was a little ornery during the picture taking though, as you'll see.

With Grandpa and Grandma Rosen

Chase was eating celery...

I have such a handsome husband! Lucky my boys take after him.

Four generations of Rosen men

10 weeks old

And a few more recent happenings...

Chase with his buddy Axel, who is only 3 months older believe it or not.

My good friend Gwyn and her baby came to visit last week.

Big Brother/Little Brother photo shoot...not very successful:)

He got some good use out of this sweater from Aunt Kristen, since it's been snowing and in the 30s!

Chase in his train conductor outfit...an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa Kent

The first two weeks back to work have been busy and a bit overwhelming at times, but I'm glad (and I know Brett is too!) that at least I'm only part-time right now. Hopefully Taylor will start sleeping more soon, because we are definitely lacking in the rest department around here. Our springtime has just been an extension of winter so far, with the exception of one beautiful day when we got to walk to the park, so we are all looking forward to some warm, sunny weather. This is going to be a busy month with Brett and Chase celebrating birthdays, so there will be more to post about soon. We're also lucky to have my brothers David and Owen stopping by on their way to and from school in Idaho, so Chase especially is loving that of course. He's definitely been needing a little extra attention lately, with his baby brother taking so much of mommy and daddy's time, so a visit from his uncles is just perfect.

8 weeks old

2011-03-27T16:16:00.000-06:00

I'm going back to work tomorrow, so I wanted to have some evidence that baby Taylor is happy at least occasionally. He's (we're) still having a really rough time of it most nights with his colic, but for a few minutes a day you can usually find him talking and even smiling a little bit.

2011-03-13T15:45:00.001-06:00

Chase decided to get ready to go to the gym, like Daddy.

Doesn't he look so sweet and calm? You'd never know that he only slept for 20 minute increments the night before, and refused to sleep all day unless it was on Daddy's chest.;)

2011-03-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Chase has decided that his sit & spin toy is of better use as a step stool. He carries it (or his real step stool) all over the house so that he can reach light switches and everything else that we try to keep out of reach. He gets so excited, saying "Get step-stooh" and "I reach it!".

At almost 6 weeks old Taylor can finally hold up a pair of newborn size pants. It's about time!

Is it time for Spring yet?

2011-03-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's been snowing since October around here, and Chase is ready to trade in his snow gear for his lawnmower. Until Spring arrives though, I guess he'll just combine the two...

1 month

2011-03-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

We've been busy around here, but not the good kind of busy. Taylor has RSV and Chase has had a really bad cold as well. Our time has been spent with runny noses, coughs, doctor visits, and trips to the bronchiolitis clinic at the hospital. Not much time for sleeping after all of that, or picture taking for that matter! I wanted to get a couple of new pictures up to recognize Taylor hitting the 1 month mark. He's barely 8 pounds, and that's quite the accomplishment since he rarely manages to keep his food down between all the coughing. It's been 2 weeks of sickness already, so we're hoping to turn the corner soon and get back to being healthy!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is Chase with his Mickey Mouse Valentine's present.

He loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so this

was perfect!

And here he is after his haircut.

I accidentally put on the "L" guard instead of the #7,

so he ended up with an unplanned buzz cut!

The back got the worst of it, before we figured it out.

I think he's cute enough to pull it off though, and hopefully

it will have grown out in time for his 2 year old pictures in a

couple of months!

And this is the beautiful picture Brett gave me for my birthday/

Valentine's Day present. I love it! I've wanted one of these

for a long time. And we have plenty of wall

space to hang it in our living room, too.

The First Week

2011-02-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Chase decided to share all his blankies with Taylor

big brother, little brother

Well, we've been home for a week now and it's been pretty good. Taylor has had some trouble with reflux, etc. which has in turn led to some trouble with sleep, but it's been getting better and hopefully that trend will continue. Thankfully his mild jaundice didn't require any treatment, so that was a big plus too. Chase runs to the nursery first thing every morning, and really does love his little brother. He's very interested in everything related to baby Taylor. We've had to make sure to keep the nursery door closed at all times, because Taylor has been sleeping in the cradle swing, and Chase has already managed to sneak in there once and pick him up...scary! So aside from the perpetual fatigue that comes from having a newborn in the home (and a toddler that won't nap), we've adjusted pretty well. My mom was staying with us last week and took care of all things Chase related, and we've been blessed to have people bringing in meals too. I'm definitely feeling better faster after this delivery, which is nice. The doctor said Taylor should pretty much stay home until April, so we haven't really been doing much besides hanging out. I'm trying really hard to just enjoy my time at home and not worry too much about the days ticking away before I have to go back to work. My biggest fear was being home alone with the two boys and getting overwhelmed by them both needing attention at once, but Brett has been around to help a lot, and during the times I've been on my own, things have gone smoothly. Anyway, here are a few new pictures to satisfy those of you that have been requesting updated ones!

A preview of things to come...

2011-01-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Chase loves his new baby brother, but we've got some work to do on being gentle!:)

Welcome to the world baby Taylor!

2011-01-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

Taylor arrived today at 12:45pm, just a few hours after we got to the hospital for my induction. He weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. He has lots of very dark hair, and is so tiny and cute! We are both doing well, and I am oh-so-excited to not be pregnant anymore. There were a few adventures in my short labor, but I'll spare you the details here. Chase came to meet his new baby brother, and ran right up to him and called him by name. I definitely had tears in my eyes watching my two little boys together for the first time. I'm so grateful for this new little addition to our family...he is definitely well worth all the pain it took to get him here!

January

2011-01-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

I figured I better hurry up and blog a summary of the past month before our lives are turned upside down by Taylor’s arrival! We celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary on the 7^th. It was so nice to have a date night, complete with a delicious dinner at Market Street Grill and a movie. Grandma Diane watched Chase for us, and Brett gave me 2 dozen white roses which were beautiful. Chase had his first ear infection (ever) this month, but took his medicine like a champ and really only had a couple of whiny days to show for it. Not bad for going almost two years without one, too. He’s definitely entering toddlerhood because he loves to show us just how independent he can be. His favorite thing to do lately is sing songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider, Do As I’m Doing, Rock-a-Bye Baby, and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, complete with the actions. It’s pretty cute. He has so much happy energy all the time, which is great except for when he decides that it means he doesn’t have to sleep for 12 hours at night anymore and resists taking even one afternoon nap. I started having regular, painful contractions about three weeks ago, so we decided we better kick the baby preparations into high gear in case he decided to come early. Chase did really well with the transition from crib to bunk bed, so that was a huge blessing. Sometimes he still cries for a few minutes and tries to come out of his room, but we just have to hold the door closed until he settles down and climbs back into bed and then he’s good for the rest of the night. I’m interested (and worried/scared!) to see how his sleep is affected once there’s a baby in the home, waking up at all hours. Unfortunately my contractions have continued to keep me up at night but they didn’t cause enough progression to get me into active labor, so it’s been a very long month. I am scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks, which is Sunday the 30^th, and also happens to be my 30^th birthday. Hopefully things will go quickly and smoothly. Brett has been very busy this month with work between swim season and pre-season soccer, and that will continue next month as well, so I am a bit anxious about what life will be like at home with two little ones. I’ll have 8 weeks off work until I start back part-time for a while, and I’m really looking forward to it. Check back soon to see how and when we become a family of four!

Christmas!

2010-12-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

December has been a wonderful month for the Rosen family. There's been A LOT of snow for Chase to play in. He helped Grandma Diane celebrate her birthday with a trip to the mall for his first ride on the carousel and the train. We stayed in Utah for Christmas this year, but were lucky to have two of my brothers visit us the week before. Chase had a blast meeting Uncle Owen and showing off his Spanish language skills. He participated in his first Nativity scene at a family party, where he was a very cute shepherd or wiseman...I'm not quite sure which, but it was adorable. He very much enjoyed the Christmas program at church, during which he pretended to direct the choir, and even sang along. Christmas morning was so much fun because Chase got so excited about his presents. He especially loved his new basketball hoop, and it took a while to distract him from that long enough to open anything else! My most interesting present actually came in my stocking. Brett stuffed it with 6 of my favorite little items, each one marked with a letter. One of the items was a cd, which was also a clue. As he played the music from the cd I tried to make sense of the scrambled letters. If I hadn't been confused and had realized that it was James Taylor singing and not John Denver like I thought, I may have figured it out a little quicker. In the end, it was his very creative way of telling me that our baby's name was going to be Taylor! It was one of the 4 names we'd been considering, and just like he did with Chase, he came up with a cute way of announcing it. It was so fun and it's great to have a name to call the baby now, especially since we've got less than a month left until he arrives. I also love to hear Chase try to pronounce it, although he can't quite get the middle 'l' yet. We are looking forward to a busy January getting everything ready for Taylor to join our family. I know we didn't get Christmas cards out again this year, but there are plenty of pictures below to keep you up to date. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas, with time to spend with family and remember Christ's birth, and that you will have a Happy New Year too.

matching snowman jammies with cousin Lucy

trying to ride in his new truck

his buddy "bob-bob"

Elmo slippers!

taking a break with Great Aunt Boosie

Turkey and Snowmen

2010-11-29T20:33:00.001-07:00

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Brett's parents and aunt. I got to make a few of my favorite side dishes, which is always fun. Here's how Brett and Chase spent the time before the big meal. You wouldn't know it by the way Brett is dressed, but it was cold and snowy outside.

They were watching Frosty the Snowman for the zillionth time. Chase is completely obsessed with that movie (the old school claymation one), and asks for "mo-man" nonstop. I bought him a little snowman book, and we've read it at least 50 times in the last 3 days. Grandma Rosen has a bunch of little stuffed snowmen from Hallmark that sing Christmas songs, and he loves to dance along. The only problem is that then he's disappointed with the stuffed snowmen we have at home, because they don't make any music. Apparently snowmen are also filling his dreams, because he yelled "snowman!" out during his nap a few days ago.:)

We put up our Christmas tree, and whenever it's lit up he runs into the room waving his arms and yelling "yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!". I got a cute video of him helping add to the decorations. I should have taken a close-up picture of the finished product, because all his ornaments ended up in the same spot on the tree. I made the mistake of calling one of the ornaments a ball, and the next thing I knew he was running with it to his basketball hoop in the family room and dunking it!

It's definitely winter time here in Utah. We got more than a foot of snow at our house yesterday. Chase sure likes it, but poor Brett has had to shovel the driveway way too many times in the last 24 hours. Looks like it will be a white Christmas for sure.

A few more pictures...

2010-11-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

...in honor of the big snowstorm we had overnight, and a couple of videos showing just how much energy a toddler can have at bedtime.

FINALLY!

2010-11-20T10:16:00.005-07:00

Four and a half months after moving into our new home, we finally have the internet again. Hallelujah! So get ready for picture overload, because there is a lot to catch up on.

We have no idea where he learned this, but Chase now sticks his fingers in his ears whenever I tell him "no", or "don't". Most of the time I can't help but laugh, because he looks so cute!

at the Rosen Halloween party

with Jenni and Lucy the Ladybug

big Elmo, little Elmo, littler Elmo

all 3 Elmos posing together

Happy Halloween!

showing his Cougar pride

My mom came out to visit in October. We had fun just hanging out, and enjoying spending time together with Chase. I'm so glad she was able to make the trip to see us. She'd never seen me pregnant in person before!

Chase loved playing with Grandma

posing with Mom

reading his Spanish/English picture book, and of course sporting a very stylish hat;)

I call it making a mess...Chase calls it cooking.

The time has just been flying by, and Chase is over 18 months old now. He's gone on quite the growth spurt lately, so between that and the change in seasons he's gotten a whole new wardrobe. He loved playing in the year's first snowfall as well as all the leaves that have covered our yard. Halloween was a lot of fun, and Elmo was a big hit trick-or-treating. His vocabulary continues to expand daily, in both English and Spanish. I love that there are a few words that he only says in Spanish, and pretty much never in English...like pan (bread) and jugo (juice). He has such a fun and loving personality, it really is a joy to be around him every single day. We've dealt with a couple of colds already this season, but that hasn't kept him from sleeping 13-14 hours at night, and he's even started taking an afternoon nap again most days, so we're feeling pretty grateful about that.

I, on the other hand, am counting down every day of the 11 weeks that are left in this pregnancy (hopefully less!) just waiting for the day when I won't feel sick anymore. I'm sure Brett is looking forward to that day too, so that he won't have to hear my complaining anymore.:) Still no name for the little guy, but I don't think Chase had one at this point yet either.

We've enjoyed having my sister and her family staying with us this weekend. Chase especially has had a great time playing with his cousins Aubrey and Asher; they're very cute together. My youngest brother Owen is returning from a 2 year LDS mission in Mexico this week, so the whole family is excited about that. We are also looking forward to Thanksgiving, and the Christmas lights that follow. Chase has been going crazy for all the Christmas trees in the stores, so he's absolutely going to love having one at home this year.

I'm sure there will be more to post soon, and now that we have the internet again, hopefully I can be more on top of things so that the catch up won't have to be so lengthy!

20 weeks down...

2010-09-19T16:47:00.006-06:00

the half-way mark belly

what do you get with an unsupervised toddler and a tub of vaseline? a big mess! of course it had to be right before we were supposed to leave for church...he was so proud, too.

enjoying his new swing from Grandma Kent

all-time favorite toy

smelling the roses

me and a very pregnant Gwyn

helping with the carpet

he thought David's hair was really soft:)

Sunday stroll at Silver Lake

checking things out with Grandpa Kent

first Utah football game!

cheering on the Utes

making a mess in the kitchen, as usual

It's (another) boy!

2010-09-09T12:08:00.005-06:00

We had the long awaited ultrasound on Tuesday, and it's official...Chase will soon have a little brother. If you ask him if he's excited to have a baby brother, he just nods his head yes and says "brudder". And when I told him there was a baby in my tummy, he pulled my shirt up to check. I guess the concept is a little much for a 16 month old.;) We're excited, because they're sure to be best buds. Although with how much Chase talks lately I don't think this little guy will be able to get a word in edgewise!

Besides saying new words every day (he probably says at least 20 now), he really does jabber along happily non-stop during all his waking hours (and even during nap time). His favorites are flop-flop (for flip-flops), sh-shoes (these are apparently VERY exciting, even on strangers), cuck (duck), ball, Melmo (Elmo), Cook-eeee (Cookie Monster), mom, dad, Nenni (Aunt Jenni), bay-beeee (baby), glasses, hat, lawnmower, goggie (doggie), hi, bye, and versions of grandpa and grandma. There are many more, but I can't think of them right now. He also loves to tell you what the duck says (qua, qua, qua) or what the dinosaur says (raaaaah), and is constantly saying "huh?" or shaking his head and saying uh-uh-uhhhh when he knows he's doing something that he shouldn't be. He says hi and bye everytime anyone or anything (like the water in the bathtub) comes or goes, and it's in the sweetest softest little voice. He's learning to respond to more phrases in Spanish too, like "where is your milk cup?", etc. He's very loving, and recently likes to give kisses a lot. He went to his first college football game (Univ. of Utah) and was a trooper, staying up waaaay past his bedtime. He's growing like a weed and is running and climbing all over the place. It's a full-time job trying to keep him out of danger! I am amazed at how fast he runs, and constantly discovering new places he can climb (and destroy). We had a brief adventure with converting his crib to a toddler bed, but switched it back for the time being. He knew it was his bed, and was excited to climb in and out of it freely, but we had houseguests so there was just too much excitement to handle all of that at once.

My brother David and my Dad were visiting for Labor Day weekend, while David was on his way back to college in Idaho. It was wonderful to have them here, and Chase thoroughly enjoyed entertaining two more people for a few days. They got to experience the craziness that is our life, living with such an active little boy, and he was very sweet to them, warming up to them immediately and showering them with lots of love. They were kind enough to lay new carpet for us in most of our house, and it looks fantastic. Between that and all the painting Brett's done, the place has really been transformed. We still have a little more painting and some tile work to do, but then we'll be able to focus on getting Chase new bedroom furniture so we can set up the nursery. The nice thing is that the baby's room has already been painted blue, and I guess we won't need too much in the way of clothes and gear. It's picking a name that's going to be the hard part! We really struggle with boys names.

This baby already seems so different from Chase. I rarely feel soft little movements, whereas Chase had been strongly kicking me for at least a week at this point. Even on the ultrasound, he was very calm, compared to Chase who flipped around so much they could hardly get all the pictures they needed. It was so sweet to see the baby sucking on his fingers, then chewing on the umbilical cord, hiccuping, and kicking. He's definitely a boy...no doubting that. Anyway, we are very excited to be adding to our family, and I will be even more excited when I don't have to be pregnant anymore. In some ways I've been even sicker than last time, which isn't pleasant, but at least we're almost to the halfway mark. I have some pictures to post soon, the next time our camera and computer align with the internet again!

pictures, as promised

2010-08-08T17:10:00.003-06:00

update!

2010-08-02T09:46:00.002-06:00

Okay, I know it’s been a month since I updated this thing, but I have a good excuse. We moved into our new house in July and have been without internet ever since. It’s been very busy around here!

The move was a lot of work, so thanks to everyone who helped. Brett has been going non-stop, painting and doing yard work and lots of heavy lifting. His mom was a huge help too, spending lots of hours cleaning up the previous owners’ dirt! We have very nice neighbors, and Chase loves his new backyard. Unfortunately we’ve already had to do some major repairs in our first few weeks, but thankfully most of it was covered by our home warranty. Let me tell ya though, you don’t expect to have to replace a water heater, fix illegal plumbing, rip out water damaged carpet and drywall, repair a broken garage door spring, and buy new washer and dryer parts all within 3 days! There’s still some work cut out for us, but we are otherwise settled in pretty well, and even have some new furniture to show for it.

Two days after we moved in, we had a visit from my sister and her family. Chase had fun playing with his cousins, Steve helped Brett with some house projects, and I enjoyed making sure Kristen got to eat at all her favorite Utah restaurants. It was so nice to have a finished basement for them to stay in, too!

There was lots of celebrating last month, between the 4th of July and Pioneer Day. We had fun family bbqs, but of course Chase slept through all the fireworks again this year. He did enjoy going down the big blow up slides at the Pioneer Day celebration though. Too bad it was 100 degrees outside, or we might have lasted at little longer!

This last weekend was full of good times. My college roommates were in town for a little reunion, which we try to do every year, so we got the families together at Silver Lake (up in the mountains) one evening, and the kids had fun playing and getting dirty. Then we had our traditional girls night out at Cheesecake Factory, and spent hours laughing and reminiscing afterward. It was so good to see everyone…I really miss my friends now that we’re spread out all over the world! Then there was our nephew Britten’s baptism, and our niece Lucy’s blessing, so we had plenty of family time as well.

Chase had his 15 month check up…he’s getting so big! He loves to follow Brett around like a shadow, and is always trying to “help”. He runs everywhere, babbles constantly, and has such a cute smile. He likes to make friends with anyone and everyone, give hi-fives, and shake hands. He still doesn’t say much that’s discernible, other than “ow”, "mama", and "dada", but he often sounds like he’s imitating whatever we say. We’ve been working on learning to point out body parts, so he can show you his eyes, nose, mouth, tummy, and toes…and you can ask in either English or Spanish. He’s up to 21.7 pounds (10th percentile), and is in the 75th percentile for height. He things everything is fun, from closing the blinds to turning on the ceiling fan or lights, and will clap happily if we let him do it. He figured out how to use the water dispenser on the fridge (and make a royal mess doing it), so we've had to use the "lock" setting on that, which he finds very frustrating. We’ve moved up to the 18 months shirts to accommodate his little pot belly, and size 4 shoes, but we’re still stuck in 12 month pants! He really is a joy to be around every day, and still gives the sweetest "loves" ever, especially to babies (even if it's just a picture of one!). The big thing we're working on curbing right now is his desire to pinch, so if you have any suggestions, let me know. We tell him to be "soft" whenever he does it, but then he just thinks it's a game!

It's a good thing he’s getting lots of practice being "soft" around baby cousins lately, because we’re having baby #2 this winter! I’m due February 6th, but kind of expect to go in late January since I was early with Chase. It was a very sick and miserable 1st trimester, so I’m really hoping to get feeling better soon. Although I stayed sick with Chase all through the 2nd trimester too, so I’m not holding my breath. I’ve had 3 ultrasounds already, and at the last one the doctor said how active this baby is. Not a good sign for us, since we know all too well what that means, after having a kid like Chase! I was hoping for an easy, calm baby this time around…after all, we’ve earned it…but I guess Chase would probably like someone who can keep up with him too. We’re excited for him to have a little playmate soon, although I know the transition to two children is going to be a challenge. We should find out the gender sometime after Labor Day, and I’m very excited about that. So stay tuned!

P.S. I promise I have cute pictures to post, but I’ll have to do that later, when our laptop is actually hooked up to the internet at some point.

Hogle Zoo

2010-07-01T20:42:00.004-06:00

We took Chase to the zoo on Saturday. It wasn't his first time, but he was only a month old (and slept the whole time) when we went last summer, so this was definitely a different experience. Unfortunately he woke up with a cold that morning, so he wasn't in the best of moods, but he still enjoyed himself for the most part. He especially loved the gorilla statue, and we enjoyed seeing a leopard up close and personal, a baby elephant, and some friendly giraffes.

San Diego!

2010-06-15T20:58:00.005-06:00

We went to California last weekend for my friend Kristina's wedding. I was so excited to take Chase to the beach. The weather disappointed me, but he did not. Despite the cold and wind he ran straight for the ocean, and didn't let those waves stop him. He got knocked down and soaked while fully dressed, but seemed to love it! Everyone on the beach was as entertained as we were. The first time I was ill prepared so he had to ride home in only a diaper and jacket, but the next time I was smarter and brought along a towel and change of clothes. Unfortunately Chase got sick the day before we went, and then Brett caught his cold while we were there, but they were both troopers. And don't worry, we didn't miss any important World Cup games just because we were on vacation! Kristina's wedding and reception were beautiful, and I had so much fun seeing some of my old friends from when I used to live there. I even got to experience my 2nd earthquake...during the reception...on the roof of a tall building downtown! That was memorable. My good friend Lizzy and her family flew in from Texas too, so I finally got to meet her son Bryce. He's about 6 months younger than Chase, but they're basically the same size.:) We came home to meet two new cousins, too. Zach is 8 weeks old but because he lives in Phoenix this was our first time seeing him in person, and then Lucy was born just a few days earlier. They are both so cute and tiny, and it was awesome to get a picture of all 9 Rosen cousins together at last. Chase loved both babies of course, and was not happy with me for keeping him from touching them and sharing his cold germs. He did have fun running around with all the bigger kids though. He's such a social little guy!

there's no place like home

2010-06-05T14:30:00.008-06:00

May was a busy month. I had a wonderful Mother's Day, complete with breakfast in bed. It was the first time Brett has ever cooked for me, and it was so good I think he should do it more often.;) We moved out of our home, which was a little bittersweet for me. After all, it was the only home Chase has ever known. We've been staying with Brett's parents until we can move into our new home at the beginning of July, and Chase has adjusted very well. He recently acquired tooth #7, discovered a love for chicken nuggets, fruit snacks, and little smokies, and enjoys playing on the swings at the park and eating dirt. I thought people would stop commenting on how well he walks, now that he is 13 months old, but instead now everyone just comments on how well he runs! We took a trip to Missouri over Memorial Day weekend, and Chase did soooo well on the plane rides. He waved at everyone on the plane and in the airport, and played peekaboo with the people sitting behind us. It was a HUGE improvement from our last air travel adventure...thank goodness. Missouri was great. My brother David had just returned from serving an LDS mission in San Jose, California, so we hadn't seen him in 2 years and Chase had never met him. They hit it off instantly.:) We were also there to visit my sister Kristen's 8 week old son, Asher, who is a very sweet baby. Chase enjoyed being the center of attention and showing off for the whole Kent family, but especially playing with his cousin Aubrey. He is really into giving "loves" lately, and no one could resist his hugs, especially Grandma. He also loves babies, so we had to keep an eye on those "loves" when it came to helpless little Asher! We also got to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday with a big family bbq. All in all it was a fun trip, and I really enjoyed getting to see my family, and especially them getting to see Chase. We are so glad that summer is finally here and look forward to some fun events and trips in the next few months.

Kent family bbq/Dad's 60th birthday party

being "soft" with baby Asher

fruit snacks with Uncle David

bubbles!

he likes to keep hydrated

giving his best "stink" face to Uncle Jason

checking out the ducks with Dad

Kristen, David, and Asher (a.k.a. chub)

big kids table

Chase loving cousin Aubrey

Happy Birthday Chase!

2010-05-01T20:04:00.007-06:00

It's official. The baby days are over and we have entered toddlerhood. Chase turned 1 year old on Thursday, so of course I spent Wednesday night pouring over all of his baby pictures. It's crazy to think back on those newborn days and see how much he's grown in just one short year. As much as I miss my cuddly baby, I am loving every day with this fun little boy. He constantly amazes us with all he can do. I'm always surprised to discover just how much he understands and how quickly he learns. Although his constant babbling still sounds mostly like jibberish, he is already bilingual. You can say things like "go get your shoes", or "where is your blanket?" in either English or Spanish, and he'll respond appropriately. The kid loooooves food, and eats nonstop. He must burn the calories as quickly as he consumes them (no surprise there, since he never stops moving) because despite being in the 75th percentile for height, he's only in the 10th percentile for weight! That's right...1 year old and only 19 pounds, 10 ounces. For his birthday he got tooth #6, 4 shots, 30 degree weather with a snowstorm, and a talking vacuum. He is obsessed with the vacuum lately, and cries when we put it away, so we figured he needed his own. He really loves to help clean the house in general, which is definitely something he's picked up from watching Brett and not me (as my family, former roommates, and especially my husband will surely attest to!). He also wants to be outside playing at all times, which typically involves getting covered in dirt...he's such a boy. He got his pictures taken last week, and he was happy to smile for the camera, but didn't want to stand still. They got some balls out for him to hold, but he just wanted to run around the studio kicking them, because that's what he does with daddy at home! They still managed to get some really cute shots, though. We had a little birthday party for him today and he absolutely loved having everyone in his house and being the center of attention. He had so much fun dancing around and showing off, and playing with his cousins. Anytime music is playing or someone is singing, he starts bouncing up and down and flapping his arms, which of course is how a 1 year old dances.:) He also enjoyed playing with his balloons, and most of all, tearing apart his chocolate cake. I knew he would love the cake, and he's pretty good at making a mess, so I expected it to be entertaining and he definitely did not disappoint. By the end there was blue icing from head to toe and we'd all had a good laugh. There may be a bit of picture/video overload in this post, but it's a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm a proud momma, so you'll have to forgive me.

Just a quick note about our life other than Chase:

Brett ran the SLC marathon in April. He was ill, injured, and didn't get to train, but still finished with a good time and we were there proudly cheering him on at the finish line. I know I said this part wasn't about Chase, but he made friends with this very large dog while we were waiting for Brett to get his massage after the race. I mean, this thing was bigger than he is, and he just went up to it with no fear and petted it, and tried to follow it when it left. I was shocked since Brett and I both hate dogs, but good for him for not being scared. I guess maybe I should take him to the zoo or something this summer since he's apparently an animal lover.:) Ok, the only other news is that we sold our house! Or at least, we're under contract, and are set to close in 2 weeks. We only had it on the market for 3 weeks, showed it 4 times, and got a great offer right away. They wanted to close quickly, which is exciting, but also makes us homeless very soon. We started the hunt for a new house this week and are hoping we can find something fast so that we don't have to be a burden on Brett's parents (who are graciously taking us in) for very long. Wish us luck!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T13:16:00.004-06:00

It's Chase's first Easter, and we woke up to a blanket of freshly fallen snow. Not exactly a picture of spring, but still beautiful. This has been an interesting week. Chase turned 11 months old on Monday and celebrated by popping his 5th tooth. Then in the wee hours of Wednesday morning he spiked a really high fever which lasted through Friday, so we had a miserable couple of days. That was the first time he's ever had a fever like that (I know, we've been lucky) and it scared me to death. Thankfully it went away without any further complications. When I took him in to the doctor to make sure he didn't have an ear infection or anything, we found out that he's up to 19 pounds. I have to say selfishly that I kind of enjoyed staying home from work with my sick baby because he cuddled on the couch with me and watched American Idol. For a child who is usually always on the go, it was a cherished rarity to sit calmly together. Also, this kid really loves music; he stared at the singers intently while they performed and then clapped for them when they were done. He did the same thing for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir this morning, too. I am glad he's feeling better though, and looking forward to (hopefully) getting more sleep in the upcoming nights. Friday night we had the annual Rosen family Easter egg hunt and Chase was happy to participate. He didn't really understand that he was supposed to find his eggs, but he carried that basket around like a pro. I think his favorite part was eating the chocolate covered marshmallow bunny he found inside one of them. He certainly likes his chocolate, and also developed a taste for strawberries and pulled pork this weekend (not together, of course). Here are some pictures/videos of our Easter fun...

Mmmm...chocolate.

I love strawberries!

Who wants baby food, when you can have Mom's sandwich?

Is it really March already?

2010-03-09T18:22:00.007-07:00

I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't believe another month has passed me by! I have to regress a little and post a picture of the cute cookie Brett brought me for Valentine's Day.

Chase is now 10 months old, and I think this is definitely the best age so far. He is happy almost all the time, eats non-stop, and has been sleeping pretty well too. Last month he had a bad stomach virus for about a week (man, who knew diaper rash could be so horrible?!), but other than that we have made it through the winter pretty darn healthy, which is really something to be grateful for. He loves to crawl around the house being chased by daddy, and laughs hysterically when he gets caught. He's such a ticklish little guy, it doesn't take much to get that precious giggle going strong. His babbling consists basically of da-da or variations thereof, but he does throw in a few words that definitely sound like "what?", "ball", and "oh". Brett has taught him to give "high fives", his favorite game is peekaboo, and for some reason he likes to blow raspberries on things like soccer balls and kitchen chairs. He is good at putting his toys in their basket, but also likes to throw things to the ground (like from the shopping cart or his high chair), say "uh-oh", and then look at me so I'll pick it up. He can open boxes and unscrew lids...I found this out when I discovered he had opened a bottle of bubbles he found in a cabinet and poured it all over the kitchen floor while I was making dinner on the other side of the island! He tries to take everything apart; especially Brett's Blackberry. He has a little play table that he loves to stand at, and he even seems to dance and sing along when it plays the alphabet song in Spanish. You'd think it is a stationary toy, but Chase pushes it all over the living room just like he does the chairs in the kitchen! When things don't go just his way he'll squint his eyes and throw a fit, toddler-style. Seeing more of that in the coming years is not something I look forward to! He definitely understands what I mean when I say "no" though, like when he tries to stand up in the bathtub or pull things out of cupboards that he knows he shouldn't be getting into.

Just as predicted, walking is now his preferred mode of transportation. Sometimes he'll hold out his tiny hand so that we can walk around the house together, but he's also gotten pretty good at standing up from wherever he is and just taking off. He gets so happy and excited when he's walking around that he'll start flapping his arms, which often leads to a loss of balance and a quick greeting with the floor, but it's so cute. Chase attended his first basketball game at the University of Utah and he was all decked out in his Ute gear. His main interest though was walking up and down the aisle holding on to the chairs, and trying to touch the hair of all the fans sitting in front of us (that was a bit embarassing, but they were nice about it).

Speaking of hair, his is getting super long in the back and over his ears, so I'm going to have to attempt a haircut soon or he'll have a baby mullet. Wish me luck getting him to sit still for that! He is really good at eating real food, so now he gets his own kids quesadilla at Cafe Rio. I'm amazed at how much money I spend on snacks for him each week since he's growing like a weed these days, but I guess I should just be grateful that we haven't had to pay for formula all this time. He's doing pretty well with drinking milk from his sippy cup, although he still needs a little help understanding that you have to tip it up for something to come out. We've gone back to the 6pm bedtime for the most part, but he rarely cries when I put him down, which is awesome. He still gets up once or twice a night to eat, but it doesn't really bother me, so I haven't really made an effort to change that just yet. Naps are another story, but we've learned to just be grateful if he sleeps for more than 20 minutes during the day. We're stocking up on 12 month clothes and looking for a new car seat, because his birthday is right around the corner. I hope you enjoy this clip of him in action!

playing catch up

2010-02-06T19:46:00.005-07:00

We've been busy, which is why this post is belated. Last month Brett and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on the 7th. Grandma Diane was kind enough to watch Chase for the evening so that we could go to dinner at The Melting Pot. We had a bit of a mishap with the pot of oil for the main course so the experience left something to be desired, but they actually invited us back for a free dinner to make up for it, and round two was as yummy as we had expected it to be the first time. Brett bought me beautiful flowers for the occasion and I got him a lift ticket to go skiing at Snowbird. He got all new gear for Christmas, so I wanted to make sure he got to use it at least once this season. He got lucky and went right at the end of a week long snow storm, so there was waist deep powder to enjoy, even if some of his favorite areas were closed for avalanche control. Chase turned 9 months old on the 29th and he's more active than ever, if that's even possible. He loves to clap his hands and smile big when he's happy, and he babbles constantly. He doesn't know the meaning of being quiet or sitting still, so 3 hours of church continues to be a real challenge. The last several weeks we've been battling to retrain him on sleeping in the crib, because he always wanted to stand up in it instead, but I think we've finally got that under control again. He still wakes up at least once a night (usually more like two or three times) so we're certainly looking forward to that inevitable day when he'll give us a solid night of sleep. His two front teeth have made their appearance and he looks like a cute little goofball. He loves to sit at the piano and "sing" as he pounds on the keys, but gets annoyed if I try to chime in or play along. He wants to eat anything that we're eating and is really good at feeding himself with his little pincers now. In fact, he much prefers to do it himself. He is also very helpful, and will stand by the dishwasher and hand us silverware as we unload it. Not only does he love to stand up all the time, but he's constantly cruising around using furniture or the wall for balance. He has even been known to push a chair all the way around the kitchen. Last week he started to test himself a bit, and he'll let go to stand all alone for a few seconds and sometimes even take a few tiny steps before falling. I think he's going to be like his momma, and walking by 10 months. At his check-up he weighed 17 lbs 15 oz (12th percentile) and was 28.25 inches long (50th percentile). We rounded out the month with my birthday, which we celebrated at Benihana. Chase did really well there, and made lots of noise to go along with the entertaining food preparation. This month so far has been even busier than the last, mostly because Brett is working lots of long hours training both swimming and soccer teams. He is also logging a lot of miles in his running shoes as he trains for upcoming marathons. I think that's enough for now. Hopefully I can keep more up to date so I won't have to ramble as much in the next post!

good times

2010-01-02T19:49:00.003-07:00

baby's first blizzard

2009-12-30T18:08:00.005-07:00

Chase's first Christmas was an adventure, to say the least. We flew to Missouri for a week to see my family, and unfortunately Chase came down with a nasty cold on the day of our flight. He gave the other passengers on the plane quite an earful for the whole last hour! The poor little guy was sick for our whole vacation, but he was a trooper, and despite a few long nights he gave us lots of smiles and good times. He left grandma and grandpa Kent with lots of fun memories, and a few germs to boot. My family hadn't seen Chase in 6 months, so he had obviously changed a lot. It was especially fun to see my niece Aubrey, and watch her and Chase play together. Aubrey will be getting a baby brother of her own in a few months, so it was good practice for sharing her toys and being "soft". We had lots of quality time with the family, and the girls got to go to the Nutcracker...a Kent tradition. On Christmas Eve, Missouri was struck by a blizzard which left us with about a foot of snow for Christmas Day. We also go to talk to my brothers David and Owen on Christmas, who are serving church missions in California and Mexico right now. Chase didn't really understand how to open his presents, but he sure enjoyed ripping the bows off of everyone's, and pushing all the boxes around. We got together with Brett's family the day after Christmas, and Chase enjoyed crawling all over to play with his cousins. I can't believe he's only been crawling for a couple of weeks, because he's a pro at it. He's amazed us this week by learning to open and shut doors (by pulling on the sides while sitting down), and even crawling up one stair (that one both scared and shocked me). He got a little toy that he can either sit on or push around, and we've been having lots of fun with that. I get a kick out of pulling him around the living room on it, and he loves to pull up to standing and push it along while he walks behind it. I love watching him play with all his new toys, because you can really see his brain working, and his intent little expression is so cute. He turned 8 months old yesterday, and if these last few months are any indication, this kid is really going to keep us hopping.

with Aunt Kristen and cousin Aubrey on Christmas Eve

Grandpa Kent & Uncle Jason

Grandma Kent

playing with his new toy

8 months old

Christmas morning

all dressed up

our first Christmas as a family

anything can be a toy!

bundled up to see the lights on Temple Square

Expedition - 50 Mile Relay

2009-12-20T11:15:00.004-07:00

I was going to wait to post this until I have more pictures, but I am not sure when Trent will email them to me. At the beginning of December I went down to St. George with the Trent Baggaley and some of his family. Someone got the idea to run in a 50 mile relay that starts in St. George, runs up Snow Canyon, heads out to Arizona and then ends up back in the city. I was lucky enough to run up the canyon. It was a beautiful run, I just wish that I would of had more than two weeks to prepare for it. The race was fun and we did well considering that I was the only real runner on the team. The race made me excited for all of the marathons that I am planning on running this year.

November/7 months old

2009-12-10T18:46:00.003-07:00

Well, another month has flown by, and now Christmas is just around the corner. We've been busy the last few weeks. Thanksgiving weekend was full of family time with the Rosens, including the reunion of all 7 cousins (and 2 on the way). Chase's new best friend is his cousin Cole; they are pretty cute to watch together. Chase also got his 2nd tooth, so he was a bit whiny over the holiday, but all in all did fine. That Saturday he got all decked out in his Utah gear only to be disappointed when my Cougars claimed the victory at the all important rivalry game. Brett and Chase were definitely outnumbered by BYU fans this year, but Chase still looked dang cute as a Ute fan. His favorite things to do right now are spin on his tummy, crawl backwards, pull up to standing using anything in sight, and cruise around the crib. Needless to say we had to lower his mattress, and we ended up taking off the bumpers too after he tried to pull up holding on to them and ended up bonking his mouth on the edge pretty hard. I'm trying to get used to the fact that there are going to be lots of "bonks" coming in the next few months as he learns to walk, so thankfully he doesn't cry too much when he gets hurt. He's also developed a bit of separation anxiety whenever Brett or I are out of sight. He loves to eat oatmeal, bananas, and veggies, as well as gnaw on teeth crackers. Last weekend Brett ran in a 50 mile relay with some friends down in St. George, so we took our first road trip as a family. I was pleasantly surprised on the way down, because Chase played or slept for 3 of the 4 hours, although he cried for the remainder of the time. The way back was the exact opposite, with a good 3 hours worth of screaming. He's not exactly fond of his car seat these days, no matter how many toys are attached or who's sitting next to him! Brett did great on his run, and I had fun hanging out with my good friend Brooke. We stayed with Brooke and her husband Ryan, and really appreciate them sharing their home with us. Chase did a pretty good job of sleeping in his pack & play down there, so that gives me hope for our trip to Missouri later this month. So far this month I've dealt with a really bad cold and a really painful root canal, so I'm looking forward to being healthy for Christmas at least, and I certainly can hardly wait for a whole week off work! The 4 day weekend I had for Thanksgiving really spoiled me; it was wonderful to get to spend so much time in a row with Chase and Brett. Anyway, here are a few pictures of my little turkey:

bouncy baby

2009-11-19T20:04:00.003-07:00

So I think I may have jinxed myself with the last post, where I said what a good job Chase had been doing of sleeping. He has an excuse though...he got his first tooth! So far it's just the one, and you can't even see it when he smiles, but it sure is a sharp little thing. Teething isn't the only new event for him so far this month; he also got his pictures taken last week, and we think they turned out pretty cute. This week he's been quite a wiggle worm as well. He loves to get himself from sitting into crawling position, but usually ends up flopping on his belly and rolling to his back...over, and over, and over. He can also pull himself up to standing, but just like the crawling, he hasn't figured out what to do next to move. His best form of movement right now is sitting up and bouncing on his bum, and he can move all the way across the room doing that! It's pretty cute to watch, especially because it's always accompanied by lots of "talking". My little boy is growing up before my eyes, and it's so fun to watch.

6 months and Halloween

2009-11-01T19:34:00.004-07:00

Chase turned 6 months old on Thursday, and of course we celebrated with a visit to the pediatrician. He did so much better with his immunizations this time, and boy were we happy about that. He's up to 15 pounds and is doing great. The past few weeks he has been doing a terrific job of sleeping in his crib, and he's a real pro at sitting up. We got him some new toys to play with in the sitting position, but all he wants to do is eat them. He also loves to stand up holding on to the outside of his exersaucer and will play that way for quite a while. Another new favorite is the johnny jumper which is a great way to keep him entertained while mommy and daddy get ready. Apparently he's not planning on going back to taking a bottle, but he is doing pretty well with his baby food, and has graduated to eating cereal puffs and little pieces of soft fruit. For Halloween, he made an appearance as Tigger at my work potluck and the Rosen family party. If you ask me, he was the cutest little Tigger there ever was, and he actually seemed to enjoy wearing the costume. Chase really is such a joy to be around, with his big smile and his cute noises and his enthusiasm for everything around him. He is so aware, and always wants to be interacting with people. I'm a very lucky mom; you can't help but be happy when you're around such a happy little boy.

recent pictures

2009-10-13T19:18:00.003-06:00

sitting up all by himself, in his cute Adidas outfit

getting ready to eat like a big boy, in his high chair

looking a little chubby, on his 5 month birthday

all dressed up on Sunday

green beans are his favorite!

Ute fans

riding in the stroller, big kid style

2009-09-23T19:10:00.000-06:00

Chase had his 4 month doctor visit a few weeks ago, where he got another round of shots. This time was even less fun than last time, and it took him a few days to recover from the unpleasantness. He weighed in at 13 pounds 11 ounces (19th percentile) and was 25.75 inches long (75th percentile), so he's still tall and skinny. In the past couple of weeks he has developed a real laugh, which we love to hear. Unfortunately, he's decided to start refusing the bottle again though, so happy days have been few and far between. Now that he's a little older than the last time we went through this, we're trying to see if he'll accept a sippy cup instead. But so far we're still stuck with Brett bringing him to see me every day at lunch and having a fussy, hungry baby and a tired daddy in between.

On a happier note, Chase attended his first soccer game earlier in the month. It was the US National Team vs. El Salvador, and boy was it loud in that stadium! If I had been smart, I would have brought baby earplugs for Chase, because everytime the crowd got noisy, he got scared. I'll know better next time! Here's a picture of Chase holding the tickets before the game started:

He also loves to play in his exersaucer:

And today, he had his first experience with solid foods. Well, not so much solid, as a tiny bit of rice cereal drowned in lots of milk, but it was eaten with a spoon! He was a good sport for a few spoonfuls, but I think it's gonna take a while to master this skill. He sure looked cute, all ready to eat though!

I can't believe my baby is almost 5 months old!

4 months old

2009-08-29T18:52:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that this week last year we had just found out that I was pregnant. And now here we are with a 4 month old, and the pre-baby life is just a distant memory.

Now that he's 4 months old, he's finally starting to fit into some 3-6 month clothing!
This video pretty much sums up what Chase does all day long!

sweet success!

2009-08-25T19:13:00.000-06:00

I am very pleased to announce that Chase finally mastered the art of bottle-feeding! And to think, all it took was 4 weeks of trying capped off by a weekend of starvation.:) We decided that we had to cut him off completely from nursing until he figured out that bottles hold milk too, so I geared myself up for a horrible day. It turned out a million times better than I expected though; he only went for 12 hours, and was remarkably happy the entire time. Thank you to everyone who offered their support, advice, and prayers...I know it helped. The bottle still isn't his favorite, and it has to be very warm or he'll refuse it, but I'm especially happy that he seems to be able to handle switching back and forth between nursing and bottle-feeding everyday.

I had also hoped to get some video of him rolling over, but he seems to have abandoned that trick for now. Instead he spends hours everyday just "talking" and trying to sit up. He's discovered how to make buzzing noises with his lips, which are so cute, but inevitably leads to even more slobber (this kid goes through bibs on an hourly basis)! Chase also thinks that everything he sees is there for him to eat, so he gets this wide-eyed, open-mouthed look on his face whenever anything in his line of vision looks especially tasty. The other thing that continually amazes me is just how much he loves Brett. Not that it should be surprising, he's a lovable guy, but Chase is 100% fascinated by his daddy. He can't take his eyes off of him, and always has a big smile for him. I love to watch them play together, and am so grateful that they're already building such a close relationship.

On Sunday we took Chase on his first excursion up the canyon. It was a beautiful day, and he seemed to love being outdoors. We tried to get him interested in the ducks and the squirrels, but his favorite part was cooing at all the trees as we walked along the trail. He also got quite a bit of attention from everyone that we passed, because he was smiling at them. I'm sure this will only be the first of many trips to the mountains for our little guy.

he's a mover and a shaker

2009-08-12T18:28:00.000-06:00

Chase is 15 weeks old today, and I have officially been a working mother for 3 weeks now. It's hard to leave him every morning, but he loves spending his days with Brett. We only have one BIG problem...he still won't take a bottle! We've tried pretty much every brand there is, multiple times a day, for the last several weeks and he just doesn't want it. I'd welcome any advice anyone has although I have to warn you, even our pediatrician and a feeding specialist are out of ideas for us! For now Brett gets the fun job of driving Chase across town everyday at lunch time so that I can feed him. Thankfully I have an office that makes that possible, and Chase is still gaining weight and seems pretty happy despite missing a couple of meals. In the last week or two he has learned lots of new tricks. It seems like he became a different, more mobile baby overnight! He now loves to grab (and sometimes chew on) his toes, roll over both ways, prop himself up on his forearms and look around, and even do a sort of army crawl/scoot manuever to move short distances on the floor. We definitely have to keep our eyes on him now, because within seconds of laying him on the floor he is flipped over and facing a different direction. He is so much fun to be around, and we love his cute smiles and coos, and watching him figure out just how strong he is. Watch out world, this little guy is on the move!

sleep

2009-08-09T14:58:00.001-06:00

So Chase slept 8 hours through the night for the first 4 days of last week, and it was amazing to say the least. Then on Friday night his old familiar sleep patterns returned, and I found myself getting up multiple times in the wee hours of the morning to feed and comfort him. It reminded me of this poem that my sister-in-law gave me, that really helped me during that first month or two of sleeplessness.:)

Help me remember, when I feel it's a chore,
the time will come when he'll cuddle no more.
Asleep on my chest, the crib refused,
the blanket, the pacifier, gone unused.
What better place is there to lay his head,
than against my heart, my arms his bed?
For infants grow up and leave us behind
with only memories left to remind
of midnight waking and predawn rocking,
of soft helpless babies unable to sleep.
So make me patient, and keep me awake,
while I cradle this child, and don't let me take,
for granted the moments I spend in the night
with this baby, a gift, my joy, my delight!

Chase at 11 weeks

2009-07-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

Anyone that has spoken to me recently has probably heard me whining about sleep deprivation. For the last 6 weeks or so Chase has been very colicky and hasn't been letting us get much sleep, day or night, which has been taking it's toll and making me extra worried about going back to work next week. Last night however was quite the miracle...he slept for a total of 8 hours! It was seriously the best night since he was born, and although I doubt this means our troubles are magically over, it does give me hope that someday he'll be on a better schedule, and the crying can't last forever.:) Here he is bright and early this morning, happily playing after a good night's sleep. What a smile!

2 months and flying

2009-07-06T19:09:00.000-06:00

Chase had his 2 month check up today, and those immunizations were as traumatic as I expected...just as much for me as they were for him! Before the terrible shots though we found out that he is up to 11 pounds and 24 inches. In the last week Chase has really started to make lots of fun noises, and he has little "conversations" with us all the time. Plenty of cooing and smiling and even a few giggles. This cute stage started just in time for our trip to Missouri. I was stressed out about taking him on a plane by myself, but he really did pretty good. It was still an adventure for me, especially the part where I had to change a messy diaper on my lap, but we survived. We had a great visit in Independence, and Chase was finally introduced to his cousin Aubrey, Uncle Steve, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Crystal. I think everyone had a fun time playing with him, especially Grandpa and Grandma Kent.

2009-06-15T07:27:00.001-06:00

Even at 6am, this cute face accompanied by his squeals of delight is my definition of pure joy. Eat your heart out...

milestones

2009-06-07T18:27:00.001-06:00

Chase had a weekend of "firsts". He learned how to put his "grasping" skills to work so he could play with his rattle. He seemed to enjoy it until he tried to eat the end of it and realized it was too big to put in his mouth; this of course made him mad.:)

He also spent some quality time at the infamous Chuck E. Cheese, and was amazingly unfazed by the loud and kind of scary characters that were constantly singing happy birthday to children all around us.

Then today he was blessed at church, and it went great. We had plenty of friends and family there to support us, and he was happy and awake all morning with a house full of people afterward. Thanks to everyone who was there to share in this special day!

cute pictures

2009-06-06T12:06:00.000-06:00

I find myself taking pictures of this kid constantly, and who can blame me...he's so cute! Check out the new chubby cheeks; we went to the doctor on Thursday and found out he's up to 9 lbs 14 oz. I was shocked, but clearly it's all in the face.:)

Blank stare:

Funny face:

Enjoying my new swing:

I sleep sprawled out like a man:

Totally zonked:

Trying on daddy's glasses:

Daddy says I look "preppy" in this outfit, but I think I look very handsome:

one month old

2009-05-29T20:23:00.000-06:00

Exactly one month ago today (almost to the minute as I write this post), Chase came to stay. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has gone, but definitely understand how Brett feels when he says it seems like 2 years.:) He's blessed us with a couple of days/nights of sleeping for 4-5 hours at a time, although he tends to stick to the every 2 hour schedule in general. I definitely think he's gotten taller recently, but he's staying pretty skinny still. On Memorial Day he slept through his first miniature golf outing, and a few days later he snoozed on during our trip to the zoo. Here are a few recent pictures to commemorate the occasion:

the first 2 weeks

2009-05-17T13:34:00.000-06:00

I feel like it's been one very long day ever since we brought Chase home, and yet the time has flown by. We're still trying to get used to not sleeping for more than an hour at a time around the clock, but I do think we're lucky because Chase is a very good baby. My parents and sister came to visit us during our first week home, so Chase has had plenty of attention and hundreds of pictures taken of him! I enjoyed celebrating my first Mother's Day with beautiful flowers from Brett, and we even made it to church. Chase has also been out to dinner in downtown SLC, to the grocery store, and to a bbq. He loves to sleep in the car so as long as the trips aren't longer than his feeding schedule allows for, he does very well. We had a bout with jaundice at first, so he had to sleep on a bili-bed for two days and get his heel pricked at the hospital five days in a row, but even that didn't make him cry. At his first doctor's visit on Friday he was up to 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 inches. The heel prick that time didn't go quite as well, and watching his eyes well up with tears was completely heartbreaking. So despite all the laundry caused by him peeing on anything and everything, the hundreds of diapers we've changed, the pain of nursing a "biter" every other hour, and the spit-up all over our furniture, I'm completely in love with this little guy who melts my heart every time he looks at me with his big blue eyes, or pulls a face so I can see his little dimple, or curls up in his little "froggy" position and falls asleep in my arms.

Announcing the arrival of baby Chase...

2009-05-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

...born April 29th at 8:07pm. He was 7 lbs., 4 oz., 20 inches long, and has lots of brown hair. We are home with him now and everyone is doing well, but he's definitely keeping us on our toes! Here are all the pictures so far:

more pictures!

2009-04-09T20:20:00.000-06:00

Here's the big belly at 36 weeks, and the nursery (so far):

one month from tomorrow...

2009-04-05T13:42:00.000-06:00

This has been a whirlwind week. It started on Monday with my first baby shower, hosted by Brett's Aunt Marilyn.

Then on Tuesday, we spent most of the day at the hospital, where Brett had hernia surgery. As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, I also had a baby shower that afternoon, hosted by my co-worker.

On Wednesday I had my 35 week check-up, which was uneventful but awesome, because I learned I haven't put on any more weight in the last two weeks. Thursday afternoon brought the delivery of our final piece of nursery furniture...the changing table. This was especially exciting since we had it special ordered, but RC Willey lost it the first time around and no one was sure if the re-order would arrive in time! Also on Thursday I had my first taste of false labor. I worked an extra long day and stopped by the grocery store on the way home, only to be interrupted with contractions. They were not at all pleasant, even though every book I've read says they are supposed to be pain-free. I made it home, and had to rest on the couch drinking water for half an hour before they subsided enough to allow me to make dinner. Kind of exciting though! Brett's brother and his family flew in from Arizona on Friday, so we've enjoyed getting to spend some time with them this weekend. We rounded out the week with a third and final baby shower on Saturday, this time hosted by my sisters-in-law at Brett's parents' house.

I'm so thankful for everyone that worked to put these showers together for me, because they were all so much fun, and we got lots of cute stuff for baby Chase. And many thanks to everyone who came, despite the April snowstorm! I plan to spend this week getting stuff organized in the nursery because at this point, I'm ready whenever Chase is! Anyway, the busy week is behind us, and Brett is recovering well from his surgery. Poor guy even shoveled snow in our driveway yesterday! Hopefully the spring snow is over and the warm weather will finally take it's place.

49 days to go...

2009-03-18T18:09:00.001-06:00

First off, here is the latest picture of my huge belly (me at 33 weeks). At this point I just feel big in general and don’t really see a lot of change, but I’ve been told it’s gotten noticeably larger in the past couple of weeks.

We had another ultrasound today, and it was mostly likely our last until we meet Chase in person. I was so excited for it because I’ve been dying to know how big he is and if he’s in the right position yet or not. The good news is, he’s head down. The bad news is, that head is quite large! Apparently it’s on the extreme upper end of normal (measuring almost 3 weeks ahead in gestational age), and the doctor even asked who’s side of the family the big head comes from. His legs were long too, but his belly was small, so he seems to be a big headed, long legged, skinny boy right now. Poor little guy…hopefully things will be better proportioned by the time he actually comes out! I’m pretty nervous about the big head thing (mostly for my sake obviously), but I’m sure it will all turn out fine. Overall they estimated his weight to be about 5 pounds, so if he continues to gain the standard ½ pound per week, I’ll end up with an 8.5 pounder by my due date. Since I haven’t even had any Braxton-Hicks contractions or anything, I’m guessing my dream of going two weeks early and having a 6 pound baby is going to remain just that…a dream. But who knows…Chase definitely does things his own way already, so he may just surprise us yet. Case in point: my pregnancy book says he should be sleeping 90 percent of the time right now, but judging by how often his strong (and often painful) kicks distend my belly in funny ways, I’d estimate that he’s actually awake 90 percent of the time! I read something on a pregnancy website that describes exactly how I feel at this point: my body is not my own. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize myself in the mirror because my body looks so different, and I definitely don’t get to control when or if I sleep, eat, or use the restroom! I guess it’s just practice for this little boy being the center of our world from here on out.

2009-03-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

I came home from a stressful day of work to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me, with a sweet card from my husband. It totally surprised me, and instantly made my day so much better!

I was so happy, that it took me half an hour to realize that there was another message on the back of the card...our baby's name. I have been waiting with all the patience I could muster for Brett to tell me if his favorite name was the same as mine, and now I finally know. It's so exciting to be able to refer to the baby by his name now! Leave it to Brett to build up all this suspense, and then break the news in a creative way. Now all we have left to anticipate is actually meeting the little guy.:)

30 weeks and counting

2009-02-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I hit the 30 week mark, which means I'm 75% through the pregnancy...yay! The next 10 weeks can't go fast enough, as far as I'm concerned. This whole having a big belly thing isn't exactly comfortable, and of course I'm very excited to meet the little guy and have an extended break from work. Speaking of work, Brett has had a very busy month. He works with the Skyline swim team, and their girls recently finished first at State. He's also been spending 3 nights a week training the Brighton boys soccer team, so I haven't seen a whole lot of him. He's a hard worker though, and I'm grateful. With the new presidential administration there are plenty of changes coming down the pipeline at the VA, so I come home from work exhausted most days anyway. We did find time for one home improvement project this month. Our custom curtains finally arrived for the sliding glass door in the kitchen, but hanging them posed a bit of a problem. The rod we purchased turned out to be too long, so our brother-in-law Albert was kind enough to bring his tools over one evening to help us find a solution. He and Brett exercised their handyman skills, learning a lot along the way, and ended up doing a great job. I think that pretty much sums up the month of February for us. Enjoy the pictures!

January

2009-01-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe another month is coming to a close. A couple of weeks ago we attended the open house at the new LDS temple in Draper, UT. It was so beautiful! All of the art and woodwork inside was gorgeous and I would encourage anyone in town who hasn't been yet, to go check it out. Our big baby purchases this month were the "travel system" (stroller and carseat), and the bedding for the crib. The travel system was on sale, plus we had a coupon, so that was a good deal. Then we got extremely lucky on the bedding because it went on clearance and we saved a TON of money on that! I wanted to set it all up to take a picture, but my practical husband convinced me to leave it in the packaging so it won't get dusty.:) Yesterday was my birthday, which unfortunately means I am now 28. It also means that Brett will be teasing me for the next 2.5 months that I am older than him, until his birthday rolls around. I spent the past week in Houston for work, but my flight got in yesterday in time for a birthday dinner at Blue Iguana downtown. He actually gave me my present a month ago (a new Coach purse), so I've been putting that to use for a while now.:) We also celebrated with the Rosens before I left town, so last night was pretty low-key. We did come home and spend some time enjoying our new Wii and Wii Fit though, because that's always a good time. I mean, watching a woman who is 6 months pregnant do the hula hoop...how can that not be entertaining?! Speaking of the pregnancy, I really feel like I have exploded in size this last week. I seem to get bigger by the day now, so I'm posting a week 26 picture to illustrate the change from last month. My skin feels so stretched already, I can't even imagine what it will be like in another 3 months. I'm giving my belly button another week or so before I think it will transition to an "outtie". The baby, who Brett is currently calling "mini-me" since he refuses to tell me if his favorite name is the same as my favorite, is still very active. In addition to all the kicking and moving around he usually gets the hiccups once or twice a day now too. I am very excited to be entering the third trimester in a few days. Two friends have had babies in the last week, which makes me anxious for it to be our turn. Anyway, I think that is all the news for now. I was hoping to have fun Texas pictures to post from my trip, but we never really made it downtown so I didn't take any. Maybe next time I'll have something other than just my growing belly for everyone to look at.

2009-01-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

This has been such a fun week! Yesterday was our 3 year wedding anniversary. It's funny to think how this time last year we were on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean, and just a year later our day was all about the baby. Not to mention that yesterday was sunny and about 20 degrees warmer than our wedding day.:) We started our day with another ultrasound, and it was so different from the last one! Even though the baby was kicking me from the moment I woke up in the morning, he had apparently fallen asleep by the time we arrived at the doctor's office. We tried every trick in the book for a good 40 minutes to get him to wake up and move around, but he was either really sleepy or being really stubborn. We did get to see just how flexible he is...he was laying there completely folded in half with his toes behind his head and his nose to his knees! He also gave us a big yawn while we were watching him...cutest thing ever. Brett surprised me by picking up the crib from the store (we bought it last month, but hadn't brought it home yet) and staying up late to set it up after I had gone to bed. I came home from work to discover it all set up in the nursery and I was so excited. So now our new rocking recliner has company, although we still have a long way to go in getting things set up for the baby. After our anniversary dinner, we actually went to Babies R Us to look at all the things we need, and it was pretty overwhelming. So if anyone has advice on what kind of bottles or diapers or whatever else we should be getting, feel free to share!