New news

I realize I've been really slow at posting on my blog lately... it's probably because I've been outside and the thought of sitting at the computer isn't really appealing at the moment! Chase and I spend lots of time in the backyard during the day. He's mastered his little climbing wall, he likes to run around the trees, he helps me water the flowers, and sometimes we just sit and eat watermelon while watching the ducks and the alligator swim by! Yes, our alligator is back... although I think it's actually a different alligator than we saw last summer. This one looks a lot smaller, thankfully! He comes so close to the edge of our yard though! Chase also really likes me to pull him in the wagon and he loves to play with his cars outside; sending them up and down the slide! We take the bike and trailer over to the pool about once a week to meet some friends. He's not crazy about the pool, but he likes the fountain area and likes to splash around. Mostly he just likes to eat his snacks and walk around and explore everything!

Here are some of my favorite things that Chase does right now:

-When we're outside, he's always really quick to hear airplanes in the sky. He stops whatever he's doing and points up with a big grin on his face! I love that look... it's one of sheer joy! Isn't it great how toddlers find joy in the simplest things? Then he waves at the plane.

-He's discovered the little window seat in our kitchen. He likes to climb up there and walk back and forth, singing the whole way! It's not very high so I like to let him play up there as much as possible, while watching from close by. He just gets so excited about it!

-His words now are: mama, uh-oh, shoe, and eat (which he only says to the dogs)! I've also heard him say "go" and "cup" occasionally, and "bye bye" maybe once or twice. He's been trying to sign "thank you" lately, but ends up putting his hand to the side of his head instead of his chin... which is really cute.

Here is one of my favorite things that Berkeley and Elvis (remember them?) have been doing lately: they run into the room when they hear the words "uh oh" or "all done!" Because "uh oh" generally means that something has been dropped on the ground, and "all done" means Chase is finished with his meal and they can clean the high chair! It took us a while to figure out that they put two and two together. I love the fact that they clean up after Chase though! I don't ever worry about him dropping food from his tray because they clean the floor. And if he takes the parmesan cheese from the pantry and dumps it on the floor, it's no problem.... except that I have to buy more!

My triathlon is coming up THIS Saturday so I am nervous, excited, and anxious! But I feel like I'm prepared for it. I've trained hard, even waking up at 5:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays to swim with some friends in the morning before our babies wake up! I'm renting a REAL road bike from a local bike shop, so the Target bike won't hold me back in the race. And last weekend we went to the beach to practice open water swimming so I feel like I am READY! Can't wait! It's exciting to be doing something new and different, since I've been doing 5K road races my whole life. I've never been in a swimming or biking competition, and I'm overwhelmed by all of the extra equipment that's involved! But it's fun!

The other thing I can't wait for is our trip to Europe that is coming up in just a few weeks!!! We'll be traveling for 17 days, in 6 different countries, with Eric's family! Eric and I have been so busy planning our trip and taking care of all of the little details, which we love to do. Of course, I am completely dreading the time away from Chase. It's way too long to be away from someone that I am near every minute of every day! I know he'll be in good hands with my family and I'll enjoy getting to see them too, for a short time, when we drop him off in Charleston.

Here are some recent pics...

Playing in the pool in the backyard:


At the "big pool" with pals Ava, Mia and Isaac:


In a moon bounce at the St. Pete Times Forum after a recent 5K race:

Chase can get up on his rocking horse by himself now, so I often walk into his playroom to find this:
Playing outside:
Going up the climbing wall by himself: