How Time Flies

Last week we all said goodbye to Nana and Poopah again as they headed back to UAE. We spent the day with them and the family. As they will be there for another year, we may try to visit them over Christmas time but we might shorten the flight a little and just meet somewhere in Europe. Looks like Cailin might earn another passport stamp and Chase may join the ranks of world traveler at the ripe old age of 5 months, but definite plans haven't been made yet.

It's Cailin the Explorer!

I got Cailin her very first "professional" haircut a couple weeks ago. I use the word "professional" loosely as she did little more than I have always done in our own bathroom. Needless to say Cailin will not be going back there and will return to the good ol' Wilkins salon conveniently located in our bathroom.

Amazingly Chase is already 8 weeks old! I can't believe how the time has flown by. Here is what we have picked up about our little guy. He loves to sleep. Unfortunately, that sleep doesn't tend to coincide with our sleep making for some pretty exhausting nights. However, the last couple of nights he has gone 6 to 7 hours straight with just needing an occasional resettling. Last night he slept from midnight until 9 am! I just had to go help him out when his jammies got all tangled which I think was making him cold cause his feet were freezing when I checked on him. After a quick pajama adjustment and tucking the blanket back around him he quickly dozed back off. Chase is definitely a cuddle bug as well. He loves being held and talked to and even seems to love the sounds of Cailin's antics going on all around him. I guess he's been hearing her giggles and tantrums since he was still in utero.

Thank goodness Texas Football season is back!! We are beginning the brainwashing as soon as possible and made sure Chase was wearing his Longhorn finest for the first UT game of the season.

Don't you just want to smooch those cheeks! They remind me of Cailin's cutie cheeks which still get smooched about a hundred times a day whether she likes it or not.

These are the first glimpses of his smiles. I love seeing them come out more and more.

Our great friend Eric came to visit a couple weeks ago and we made sure he didn't leave without getting a good dose of baby fever! (I think it worked)

Aunt Linda came by to make sure we were taking proper care of Chase since her help was crucial on the day he was born.

Chase got some good cuddle time with Nana. I think if it were up to Nana, all her grandbabies would sleep on her just like this and none of them would ever have to sleep in a bed.

My sweetie little boy. I was about to give him a bath but I felt bad waking him up cause he was snuggling so nicely. Of course when he spit up down my bra, cuddle time was over.

I have pictures of Cailin playing on this exact same toy when she wasn't much older than Chase. Even one of Cailin and Magnolia. Unfortunately, we have gotten a new computer since then and the pictures don't seem to have made the transfer. I actually only have them in hard copy, which is strange for these days.

Cailin has learned the words to "The Eyes of Texas" and this is a video of her dancing to Daddy singing.

One month!

Chase is now about 1 month old, can't believe it. He has grown a ton also. When he came home he weighed a little under 6 lbs, and now he is over 10 lbs. I swear sometimes he looks bigger from one nap to the next. He has a little bit of colic and mild reflux so he's been keeping Mama and Daddy up a lot at night but he is really good about going to sleep once his tummy calms down. He loves his crib and falls asleep all by himself, thank you Babywise! Chase is quickly outgrowing newborn size clothes and has moved into the 0-3 month and some 3-6 month clothes. The jury is still out as to who he looks like more. The person we think he most resembles though is Cailin when she was a baby, just a more boy version of Cailin.

Cailin is adjusting really well to having Chase at home. Her favorite big sister activity is getting to take a bath with Chase, especially now that his belly button stump has fall off and he can actually get in the water with her. The biggest thing she is happy to share is her Daddy though. When Daddy comes home from work, she want him all to her self but she doesn't protest very long when he's holding Chase.

I was attempting some tummy time but mostly tummy time turns into nap time.

Chase made his first 4 hour trip to Burleson to see Grandma. He did great, just slept the whole time.

Ones to never stay home just cause we have a baby, we packed up the kiddos and took Chase to Galveston at a mere two weeks old. Despite having to bring so much stuff, traveling with a newborn is fairly easy since they just sleep.

Cailin was a little afraid of the waves and preferred to stay on the beach building sand castles.

Chase on the other hand preferred to relax and take a nice ocean side nap.

About a week after Chase was born, Grandma and Uncle Brad came down to visit.

It's amazing how much he had grown since these pictures were taken. He looks so tiny compared to how big he is now.

Chase is here!!!!

At 7:44 am on July 18th, Chase Matthew was born weighing 6 lbs 2 oz and was 19 inches long. My labor began about 2:30 in the morning when my water broke. We didn't rush up to the hospital right away though but by the time we got there around 5:00 am, my contractions were getting closer and closer and stronger. I was quickly dilating as it seemed Chase was in a hurry to get here. Luckily Aunt Linda made it up from Houston just in time to get Cailin so that we could rush off for my c-section. Everything went absolutely perfectly. There were no complications and Chase was born healthy and happy.

Cailin is absolutely ecstatic about her new baby brother. She immediately claimed him as her own and nobody else was allowed to touch him. She gives him kisses every time she sees him and covers him with blankies if she thinks he is cold. It's really sweet to see to her and how much she loves him.

Getting ready to go to the operating room.

Jeff caught me at a brief moment in between contractions.

This video is the first time Cailin is meeting Chase. As you can see, it's love at first sight.

Last Days at Daycare & Trip to Burleson

Now that school is over, Cailin is officially done going to Children's Courtyard daycare. Next year Cailin will be attending the daycare at Caney Creek High School much to her Daddy's (and our wallet's) excitement. So here are some of the pictures her teacher took during the last few days at daycare. We plan on taking her periodically during the summer during Mama's doctor appointments so she can still see her friends once a week.

This is Cailin's best friend Bree. They are so cute together. When Cailin visited this past week during Mama's doctor's appointment, they were so excited to see each other. Cailin never even noticed that I had left. It's so cute to see her very first real friend.

The week after school was out we took a short trip to a waterpark in Tyler and then to Burleson to see Grandma. This picture was taken right after her bath and yes she's giving you a little peep show.

I don't have any pictures from the Tyler trip because I seemed to forget my camera every time we went anywhere. The best day was the day we spent out on the boat. Cailin became braver and braver and even started jumping off the boat into the water, with a spot from Mama and Daddy of course. We also went to a drive-thru safari which was a lot of fun. We fed all kinds of deer, zebra, and cows from all over the world. Mama even got molested by the biggest camel we had even seen, again. Let's just say we are glad the camel didn't try to eat Cailin since he was bigger than our SUV!

Most days we played at Uncle Brad and Aunt Maggie's house with Brayden. Now that he is walking and more active, he and Cailin can actually play together. Cailin calls him her baby and runs around making sure he's not getting into things and brings him his cup if he drops it. She is sliding right into her big sister role with no problem. Of course she usually decides what he gets to play with and what belongs to her just like any older cousin would.

Love this pic...

Downtown Burleson for a little concert and ice cream. Mama had a delicious Wine-a-rita and chose to ignore the stares from people who clearly don't know what it's like to be pregnant in 100 deg. heat.

Yay bath time!

Here is Cailin singing "If you're happy and you know it" and "Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". For those not versed in toddler speak, she's a little hard to understand but I think she demonstrates quite well.

And finally the "ABC song", by far her most requested single. Of course she doesn't quite make it through the performance before she gets distracted.

This week we have officially begun potty training. We are at the end of our 2nd day and it's getting better. We've made it to the potty twice and we were ecstatic! Hopefully day 3 will be even better. She definitely gets what we are trying to do and has been excited about it but we just have a hard time getting all the way to the potty before the pee starts running down her leg. I know we will look back and laugh at these moments soon. Actually as I was writing this, Cailin came over to her potty and peed all by herself!!!!! This means she recognized she needed to pee, made it across the room and peed without even telling us. Ahh, sheer joy!!!!!!!!

As for pregnancy news, I am about to begin 33 weeks so we've made it 3 weeks further than before. We have mostly finished Chase's room and we are now well stocked in baby clothes thanks to Aunt Maggie. Chase is measuring about 4.5 lbs which is right where he is supposed to be at this stage so we are really hopeful things continue to go well. I go see the doctor every week so every appointment I make is great because that means that we've made it another week. Dr. Adam was a little concerned at my last appointment because the placental resistance was elevated which means that the blood flow to the placenta might be changing. She is going to continue to monitor it though. Fortunately my blood pressure has remained low so things are still okay we just hope they stay this way.