My First Tooth!!

Finally Chase fits into the awesome sweater he got as a present from our family's trip to Wales for my brother's wedding. It's pretty heavy and made for the perfect attire for our walk to dinner tonight!

As you can see from lots of pictures, Chase has been a drooling machine lately. He's been chomping on everything like crazy, and last night was up and mighty fussy. Well this morning while we were practicing our crawling skills to traverse mommy and daddy's big bed, Chase stopped to chomp on Jas' finger, and low and behold it seems as if one or maybe two little teeth are coming through. I'd love to give the exact details, but every time I go to check his mouth he sticks out his tongue and laughs. So, based on his increased biting skills recently we think he has two teeth coming in at once! He's been digging the Baby Mum Mums rice rusks recently, and his chewing skills are improving more and more every day.

Chase is a ham when the camera isn't on him, but looks serious as soon as I try to take some pics, but tonight he was pretty smiley and getting a kick out of me telling him how handsome he was in his sweater:)

Natural Disaster

I'd love to be able to say that today's title is just another daily musing where I make a some kind of cute connection to our lives, but a hellish work and training week for the Swanson household has only gotten worse. It would be fantastic if I was referring to a tidal wave of poop or flood of drool, but this time its for real. I'm sure yesterday's winds caused a lot of headache for people; power outages, downed lines and branches were blown across the state. Jason however, was greeted as he pulled up the hill to our house with our neighbor's giant pine tree sprawled across our yard. It wasn't just the holly tree, fence, and shrubs that were ravaged. Our cute little home didn't make it out unscathed:( I'm a terrible judge of how big things are, but I'd have to say that the tree was at least 2 1/2 stories tall. It towered over both of our homes, and in the seven years we've been here, this happening has always been a lingering fear.

Our neighbor wasn't home and a good handful of people were milling around trying to figure out what to do as Jas pulled up. We've always been "neighborly" but its not like anyone had our phone numbers. I of course was in a meeting and ignored the phone when I saw it was Jas on the caller ID. Our daily phone conversations usually consist of "when are you going to be home" or "what do you want to do for dinner", not " a tree fell on our house"! I was standing in the hall outside my office when I called him back, and I'm not going to lie I did have to squat down to my knees when I got the news. Luckily the brunt of the damage was taken by the porch and not the main part of the house. If there was a hole ripped out of the roof over the living room or dining room, I'm not sure what my reaction would have been!

As I picked up Chase, Jas called the insurance company, took hundreds of pictures and video to document the damage, and started cutting some of the tree up with a neighbor and his chainsaw so there was even a path up to the porch. Since the tree is obviously still across our property we can only do a visual assessment of the damage. We don't know if there is structural damage to the porch, the overhang and roof(only 3mos old) are pretty beat up, we lost our gutter, at least one tree and shrub, our gate and a few panels of privacy fence. This is what we can see.

My first perspective of the damage was coming up from the bottom of the hill. This was opposite of what Jas saw from the other direction. For those of you who frequent this route to our house you know it well. I crawled up the street and slowed down just like all of the other drivers gawking as they drove past. In the current state of conditions as you drive up the street, you can no longer see our home. It just looks like a giant pine tree has swallowed it whole. It is truly incredible. After a few choice words and commenting on how it smelled like Christmas, I was able to take it all in.

So where do we go from here...its a process of course. Once the adjuster comes out we'll have more info. Thankfully we weren't home and no one was injured-it however, must have scared the living daylights out of Summer. I can't imagine the sound, but I can tell you that several things were knocked of shelves upstairs in the house. One side note for those of you who don't know...this is our second brush with a natural disaster. Three years ago we lost a brand-new(2 day old) car to a freak flood while I was visiting my grandparents in Jersey. That issue was on a much smaller scale when compared to this one, and I remember how much of a headache that process was!

We'll post more pics and keep people updated. After Chase's surprise arrival last year, I'd like to believe we can handle a lot. I know that its cliche-but really "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." We'll repair the damage, do some new landscaping in the spring, Jas hated the shrubs anyway:), and as with anything, add this chapter to the story of our lives...

No captions necessary

Duck Part Deux

So we tried the duck again...and it went much better this time! I only have the before pictures, because Jas wasn't home, and even though he suggested I try setting up the tripod with the video camera to document the experience, I already had my hands full. Plus our bathroom isn't exactly full of extra space, even if it is just the Gorilla tripod. This time I let Chase sit in the tub with some bath toys first, and it seemed to help tremendously. When it was time for the real bath there were no tears or shrieking. A few times he did throw a "stiff arm" to the side of the actual bath tub in a slight panic, but otherwise it seemed that the experience was tolerable. I think his preoccupation with trying to eat the book kept him a bit distracted!

Another video

Chase has been trying to crawl for a few weeks now. He is very good at getting up on all fours, but then face plants into the couch. While you may not be able to see him up on his hands and knees here its worth sharing.

Another Day, Another Brunch

My hat finally fits me better!

Mr. Rain's has wacky colors and gadgets everywhere-Chase loves it. A perfect restaurant to be on the top floor of the Visionary Art Museum.

You don't want my fingers in your mouth?

Or on your camera??

We headed back to Mr. Rain's for another Sunday brunch with family. This time Jas' family stopped by on their drive back up from a trip to D.C. for the holiday weekend. Chase got some more cute clothes and toys, and of course we got some more cute pics!!

Hanging Out

Here are a few pics from hanging around the house over the past few weeks. The first two were from when Chase was still a little under the weather, but like Jas said "How often do you have a clean tire in your living room?" I recently picked up a nail in one of my tires, and since we just put new ones on last year we only wanted to replace the one. Generally on all -wheel drive cars however you need to replace at least two, so instead we ordered my tire, had it shaved to the same tread as the others and delivered to the house. Complicated right?

I can't breathe out of my nose and you expect me to smile? Luckily I'm too stuffed up to realize this rubber stinks!

Playing with Daddy

Got my favorite toy now!

Bad Duck

Sorry it's been a few days, I caught Chase's cold and today is the first day I'm feeling a little better! Since he slept on my chest while he was sick I knew my catching his cold was inevitable. This week he got another Synagis shot(two actually), because of his weight 15 lbs. 80z. the nurses had to tag team and give him one in each leg. The shot is weight based and up until now he only needed the one giant shot, now he gets one big one and one little one! Poor little man!! We go for his 9 mo. checkup on the 28th( a little shy of 9 mos.), but mommy has the day off of work and I needed to squeeze it in. Stay tuned for all of the details from his appt.:)

Now, getting to the title of this post...let me start by saying we don't have pictures. The experience was terrible for Chase and through our laughing we had to make his first new tub time a brief one. Chase outgrew liking his infant-to-toddler tub I think because he wasn't comfortable leaning back and would get cold. So a while ago we decided to start taking him in the shower with us(I think I posted about this before), and he absolutely loved it. Since he's gotten a lot bigger and squirmier, showering is growing more difficult so I decided to get him the inflatable duck tub.

After numerous trips to Target, they finally had the duck in stock and I was excited to try it out with Chase. He seemed interested in the fact that the duck's bill quacks and he loved scratching his fingers on the vinyl to hear the sound it made. As soon as I put him in the thing he freaked out. Many of you know that Chase has always been a relatively quiet crier; even when completely pissed off at you he is significantly quieter than other babies. The other day however, I couldn't have predicted the shrill shrieking sounds that came out of his little body when he actually got inside the duck. Giant crocodile tears welled up in his eyes, he turned bright red, and screamed bloody murder during the entire expedited bath experience.

FYI-We will not be giving up on the duck. On our next attempt I may let him play with some toys in it first, and turn the shower on overhead so he can have somewhat of a transition. Its just like when we try to introduce anything new. Trial and error until it works. If he continues to detest the duck after a few more tries, we won't want him to develop and aversion to bathtime completely, and we'll of course try something else.

BTW, I know I've talked about it before, but people have way too much time posting on blogs and message boards their opinions on everything from the best butt cream to getting your kids to like bath time. You can drive yourself crazy looking up things on the internet. I am of course guilty of looking up suggestions and reviews on products on a regular basis. You get sucked in, and some of the things people say is absolutely ridiculous.

As a first time parent you need to figure it out. I know our parents made their fair share of mistakes with us(because they didn't have the internet right?), and Jas and I turned out fine:) One of our friends is due to have a baby next week, and her husband mentioned that he's already tired of getting unsolicited advance. Jas and I told him it only gets worse, suck it up, and nod your head. Any of you are welcome to chime in and leave a comment regarding our bath troubles, to be honest we may take it or leave it...Chase may ultimately learn to love his new tub on his own.

We're learning new things everyday!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day. Today Chase made Mommy a card, somewhat legible with a chocolate hand print and footprint!

Here are a few more random videos.

Chase this morning being a crazy man!



Chase's first snow experience.



Chase Xmas Eve morning being chatty.

Chase's First Cold

It was inevitable, and the fact that we made it 8 months is pretty darn good. Chase has his first cold:( On Thursday he woke up kind of congested and wheezy, and it wasn't like the days when he's just groggy and it works itself out. Although he had a hard time nursing, he seemed a little better and happy while we were getting ready. He didn't have a fever so I decided to take him to the sitter's house. I kept thinking about all of the parents that send their kids to school sick and how I said I would never do that! He actually ended up being fine throughout the day, and I questioned whether I was a bad mommy all day long. Later that evening however he became really congested and after a two hour bedtime nap, he was up and fussy for the rest of the night.

I stayed home from work on Friday since he was pretty miserable, but since he didn't have a fever, and everything was running clear I didn't call the pediatrician. Again, I questioned whether I wasn't making the right call as a first time mommy. Still no fever, and after checking the RSV symptoms for the umpteenth time, we decided it was just a cold that needed to run its course. After three very sleep deprived nights(since he could only doze while being held upright) I think he's feeling a little better. He's still congested and has a fit every time I put him down on the changing table, because he thinks I'm going to pull out the nasal aspirator. Hopefully I haven't traumatized him for life.

Not at all looking forward to more illnesses over the years. BTW, I read that kids don't learn to blow their nose until about 4 yrs. old, and now I'm determined to add this to the list of things to teach Chase at an early age!! Not that it would have necessarily helped, but wouldn't you know he's scheduled to get his next Synagis shot this week?

Videos

We have accumulated a nice collection of videos in semi-HD and HD. Some we were unable to post due to the size. Well now you can watch them.

Is this Chase's first words? If you ask Kate they are!



Look I can feed myself now!

8 Months Old and Feeding Myself

Since yesterday was Chase was officially 8 months old, we decided that this past week we would let him try to eat all by himself. We finally put his high chair together(well Jas did), and he has been enjoying his new setup. Chase has been super interested in trying to feed himself recently, and since he was going to be getting a bath anyway, we figured we'd give it a whirl! Jas and I were needless to say highly entertained by the whole experience.

Every time I go to the store to look for spoons with looped handles they are sold out, and since Chase doesn't quite understand that you don't grab the vessel? part of the spoon first, it get's pretty messy, pretty fast:)

Here's a photo breakdown of how cereal time went...

Instead of handing the spoon back to get more, he tries to reach his hand in the bowl.

Oops, sometimes his aim isn't so great!

Bullseye!

Licking the spoon clean

Anything left in that thing?

Let me get a closer look

Oh, well...the bowl tastes just as good!

Happy Birthday MomMom!!

Since my parents were in town because they babysat for our date night, and they had planned to take a cruise out of Baltimore, we got to see my Mom on her actual birthday! We headed to brunch at Mr. Rain's Fun House on the top floor of the Visionary Art Museum downtown to celebrate. I hadn't planned on the fact that when we asked for a high chair they would bring an actual one, and not the typical wooden one for us to flip over or sling for his car seat. Luckily I had wipes in my bag, and I know now for next time to bring a seat cover! Since Chase is now into grabbing everything in sight he had a field day trying to reach for everything on the table. The waitress realized this quickly after the first set of utensils and mimosa was almost swiped by the little man! MomMom graciously volunteered to have Chase sit on her lap while she ate, and enjoyed showing him off to the rest of the patrons in the restaurant. After yet another wonderful meal to cap off the weekend, we dropped off my parents at the Port of Baltimore to set sail on their cruise. I'm pretty sure they said it supposed to be 80+degrees in the Bahamas all week, while we have ice and snow in Baltimore.

Can't wait til Chase takes swim lessons in a few months so next time we get an opportunity to go to the Caribbean he can snorkel with us! Okay maybe no trips for a while, but he's a water baby already!

MomMom telling Chase that this was her best birthday ever!

Date Night

I have a confession...I have a small obsession with Kevin Bacon. I haven't seen all of his movies, and I honestly only know a few of his band's songs, but there's just something about him! Jas and I regularly play a modified version of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"(we pick one old and one new actor) on road trips, and for the past few years I've said I wanted to go see his band play. Well, one of my Christmas presents ended up being two tix to see the Bacon Brothers! And as Jas put it "I got you seats right next to the stage, so you can stare at his butt." Anyway, since the show was in Annapolis we had our first official overnight trip away from Chase this past weekend. My parents came down to babysit, and we planned to have a nice dinner before the show. Jas got us 6:30 tickets, because some nights 9:30 is sadly past our bedtime!

After a fantastic dinner combining two of our favorite "genres", small plates and local/organic at a new restaurant called Level, we maneuvered over the icy cobblestone streets of Annapolis to Rams Head. The crowd for the 6:30 show was interesting to say the least. It was a mix of middle-aged women wearing embroidered sweatshirts(probably Kevin fans like me:), but I will never be caught dead in that attire!), Cougars(Jas' comment, not mine), country/folk music fans, and some other younger trendy couples. Definitely some good people watching!

Since Rams Head in Annapolis only has about 300 seats, and you sit at tables, most of the seats are pretty good. I was so excited when we got there to see that our table was right next to the stage, so I was less than 10ft. away from Kevin! Although he said from the beginning that they wouldn't be playing "Footloose"to the dismay of many women in the crowd, they put on a really good show and we had a great time. He is super skinny in person, btw!

Before heading back to the hotel we stopped for a killer dessert, a rice krispie treat dipped in caramel and chocolate and rolled in pecans. Sorry- I showed restraint above, and didn't describe our dinner and this creation was truly ridiculous:) We were staying on the waterfront and looking forward to a good night sleep, but I think we've gotten so used to hearing the fan over the monitor in Chase's room, because we both slept terribly. Despite a restless night sleep, getting away for the night was really nice, but we missed the little man like crazy!