Burleson

A few weeks ago we went to Burleson for Thanksgiving. Cailin had a blast playing with Brayden in his huge playroom filled with toys. She was actually sad to have to come home and when we pulled into our drive way she asked if she could go back to Maggie's house.

It seems like Grandma always has a way of bringing out the firsts in kids. She was the first one to get Cailin to smile and giggle when she was a baby and sure enough she was the first one to get Chase to really belly laugh. He had smiled and giggled a little bit before this but here is one of his first good laughs.

I thought this was the cutest hat ever!! We didn't actually buy it but I kinda wish I would have cause he just looks so darn handsome. I can't imagine when he would have actually worn it though.

Cailin has her moments where she will sit and snuggle with Chase. Usually though she never sits still long enough to snuggle with anyone let alone Chase.

Cailin and her Aunt Maggie. I swear when I'm in Burleson, between Grandma and Aunt Maggie, you would think I don't exist. I don't mind really, I love that she loves her family so much.

Uncle Brad doesn't often get down on the floor and play with the kiddos but when he does, he's all theirs. Cailin was leading him around like a pony.

Good ol Elicia stopped by for a rare visit. She too is a hard person to pin down but she is great at stopping by when she has a chance. This was her first time to meet Chase.

This is Chase's first taste of solid foods. I'm not sure if he is going to be quite as easy going with foods as Cailin is. He seems like he might be a little more picky but we'll see.

To Grandma

We all were thousands of miles away on a snowy night in Paris on Christmas Eve when we got a call from Linda telling us Grandma Virginia had mere hours left. We all braced ourselves for the call we knew would come and only minutes later we received the call that she had passed away. Grandma had gone home to be with Grandpa and her son John. She died peacefully at her home surrounded by her loved ones. The Friday before we had all gathered at her house for an early Christmas celebration since we knew we'd all be scattered around the globe when Christmas came. Grandma, who has suffered from Alzheimer's for the past several years, had a remarkably good night that night. She was with us more than she had previously been the last several times we had seen and she even remembered Chase's name for the first time.

She held her new grandson for a long time and sang Christmas carols with Cailin. She smiled and had a lot of fun watching Cailin, Cooper and Cody play all around her. We all believe that that night she felt at peace and that she had gotten to see all her little grandchildren one last time.

I'm so glad I got to know Virginia. She was a kind, sweet and soft spoken and we all will miss her dearly.

Happy Halloween!

This was a fun year for Cailin since this year we really got to celebrate Halloween. In the previous years she was either too little or already in bed by the time trick or treating rolled around. We were really excited to take her to not only her first costume party but her first time trick or treating!

Cailin wore an adorable princess dress, which by the way she still puts on at least once a day. She actually wanted to be a witch but since I'm a procrastinator and waited until the last minute to get her a costume, we had to settle for princess. On Saturday, we took her to her first costume/birthday party at Hudson and London's house. She had a blast and was one of about 10 other princesses there!

Inmate Chase didn't have quite as much of a good time at the party since he was missing his bed and nap time. But eventually I got him to fall asleep so he was good after that. You'll notice his tear drops tats and ankle monitor. He's pretty much gangsta.

Sunday night we joined Gretchen, Hudson, and London for trick or treating. I think Cailin thought it was the most fun she has ever had. She got to wear her dress again and run up to people's doors and they just gave her candy! I think she was amazed by this.

Chase didn't dress up for trick or treating though, maybe next year.

This past month I signed Cailin up for a little gymnastics class at The Woodlands Rec Center. Needless to say it was not worth the money! The class was fine but Cailin spent the whole time either crying or curled up on my lap. It was an effort to get her to participate. Cailin is one of the most outgoing and friendly three year olds that I know but sometimes she just gets really shy for some reason. I'm not sure why sometimes she's fine and then gets shy but I think we will wait another year before we sign her up for any other type of class.

Relief at Last

As the cool weather is finally breaking the oppressive heat and humidity that has trapped Houston all summer long, we are getting really excited about the coming season. Chase is really starting to come out the newborn stage, which is frankly a little boring, sweet but boring. He is smiling more and cooing a lot which is always more exciting for a mom. Now he can look you in the eyes and responds more when you talk to him. We've discovered he is ticklish and even though he can't laugh yet, he squirms and smiles when you tickle his ribs or his neck.

I dare to say he might be officially sleeping through the night now and I mean at least 8 hours a night. We've had 3 nights in a row now so I'm praying this is a permanent transition! Ah, sleep is such a beautiful thing.

I also think he might have some teeth starting to push their way up and out. You can't see them yet but he is chewing on his hands more and he'll get relaxed when you rub his gums for him. With Cailin being a preemie, she was so behind on some things like getting teeth, it's strange for Jeff and I to see things that took so long for her happening so soon with Chase.

Aunt Linda and Grandma came by for another visit. I'm really glad Cailin has gotten to see Grandma more in this past year as she has really started to recognize her as her Grandma. Before she saw her so infrequently, she was never really sure who she was.

Cailin is a really good big sister. She almost never shows any jealousy towards Chase. She'll talk really softly to him and pet his head. She'll even begrudgingly lets him play with some of her toys, as long as she gets to decide which toy he plays with. She has several baby dolls she plays with that she has all named Chase and she'll even carry around a burp cloth when she plays with them in case they spit up I guess. It's really cute.

I just love sleeping baby pictures. Tummy time usually wears him out and it ends in a nap.

We've recently had some big changes in our house. First the washing machine sprung a leak and flooded the house. We had to rip out the soaked floor boards and have holes drilled in the walls to dry them out. Blackmon Mooring came out and set up huge fans and dehumidifiers to dry everything before mold grew. They produced a ton of heat which overworked our AC which then broke. Our house got up to 95 degrees! Luckily our friends Chris and Morgan took us and our dogs in to escape the heat until it was fixed. Chase had to sleep at times on our bed cause his room was too hot. Now our AC is fixed and we are hoping to have new floors soon. I just hope this is the last of our big changes for a while. Unless the universe would like to send us a winning lottery ticket...that would be great universe.