Festivals

Since the weather has been beautiful we've been trying to take advantage of being outside as much as possible. This past week we went to Boordy for the last farmer's market of the season, and our regular Friday festival at Belvedere. Over the years we've gone to the Friday festivals with lots of friends and family, its a great way to relax after a long week. Since we've been going for so many seasons, and there are so many families that are regulars, we've gotten to see lots of kids grow up. As Jas said-now we fit in with the rest of the yuppie families that attend! Its definitely good people watching. Since its a popular event, you always have to get there early in order to stake out a nice shady spot on the grass because it gets packed fast! Last night it wasn't crowded at all which was perfect. My parents were down for the day, and they joined us with our friends and their little ones for the festivities. We also ran into one of our nurses from the NICU, and it was awesome to see her hold Chase outside of the hospital!

Who Needs Directions?

I didn't put the Diaper Genie together, and Jas didn't read the directions(surprised?), so we kept thinking we were supposed to empty the bin when the ring of bags was finished. We didn't wait that long, but it was way overdue!! I'm sure this is just the first of many goof-ups we'll make as first time parents:)

Daddy is Back to Work

Yesterday Jas went back to work:( I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of an adjustment for me. Chase didn't nap for very long during the day, and when he was up he was fussy and wanting to be held. Thus, I didn't get a lot accomplished. Even though I don't mind a midday nap, I go a little stir crazy and you can only watch so much t.v. It was so nice having Jas home for the past two weeks because we make a great "team" to make sure all of Chase's needs get met. Now I'm working on getting good at doing things one handed!

Today Chase napped a bit more so I'm pleased to say I was even able to get a few things done around the house. Tomorrow and Friday I'll be having visitors during the day, so the extra hands will be welcome:)

Special Day

Our first crabs of the season!

We love Conrads!

Time to blow out the candles

They say "Mommy" on them

Not only was yesterday Labor Day, it was also my birthday! Jas took all of the night feedings so I could sleep and made me a wonderful frittata when I got up:) We made a plan to have crabs for lunch, and thought that maybe Chase would be napping, but no dice. He enjoyed sitting in the shade for a while, but then we ended up taking turns washing the Old Bay off of our hands to hold him! We had fun, and despite some fussing, I think he did too.

Last year, Jas got me an ice cream cake from Coldstone. It was great, but way too much for just the two of us. So this year we went with ice cream cupcakes from Coldstone, and they were awesome! If you've never tried them, I highly recommend getting them-even if its not for a special occasion.

My 32nd birthday was wonderful, and I got to spend it with my two favorite people!!

Sundays at the Reservoir

For probably close to 10 yrs. Jas and I have spent many a Sunday morning at Loch Raven Reservoir with Summer. We've never been ones to sleep in, and usually on Sundays we take advantage of hiking and taking Summer swimming. She knows the trails pretty well, and will run ahead to her favorite cliff to jump off of. Even when the weather gets cooler and she isn't allowed to go swimming she always manages to run ahead and find the biggest mud puddle possible to dive into. Since she's been the center of attention for the 11yrs. having Chase around has been an adjustment for her, and the weather today was perfect to head to the "Res".

After loading up the car, and convincing Summer that she was allowed to sit in the passenger seat(normally a no-no). She's always had free access to windows on both sides of the car, and we were a little nervous about her getting too excited while in the backseat with the baby. She gets really hyped up when we pull on Dulaney Valley Rd. and she figures out where we're going. She would jump out the window and run right to the water if you let her!

Good thing we decided to go today, because starting on Tues. the main road is going to be closed for demolition and rebuilding of the bridge and it won't be accessible until early 2011:( We took a nice walk(no hikes yet), and then headed down to let Summer swim. Chase seemed to enjoy his first visit and we found a spot to hang out in the shade while Summer got her requisite time in with Jas!

Mommy's New Toy

Right before Chase came home from the hospital our oven stopped working. The original plan was to hold out until we renovated our kitchen, but that was supposed to be done before he was born also, and you all know how that worked out! Thankfully the stove still worked or I would have gone crazy:) For those of you who don't know, I love to cook. Actually, you could equate my obsession with cooking to Jas' obsession with cars. I kept telling everyone that last year while he was in the Middle East I was going to start a food blog. I took a ton of food pics and even started writing down some of my recipes, but I just never got around to doing it.

Now I have a fantastic new range to whip up some new creations. It comes equipped with five burners, a warming feature, and 5.6 cu ft of oven space for our annual Thanksgiving feast. I'm pretty sure I was able to boil water and preheat the oven to 450 degrees in 3 minutes! I know some of you probably think its ridiculous that I'm posting about an appliance, but I'm pretty psyched. We all have different things that make us happy right?

Hopefully Chase doesn't grow up a picky eater-that would stink. I told Jas I couldn't have married him unless he was an adventurous eater, and I'm pretty sure he stuck with me partially because of my skills in the kitchen:) He is also very patient with me when I make up a new recipe, and then have to take pictures to document my creation before we can sit down to eat.

So maybe one day when I get more time, and get more than a few hours sleep a night, I'll finally start that food blog. We already have the name for the blog- "Chase'n Flavor"

Growing Boy

Sleeping in my crib after my bath

Still not so sure about this one

While we have a little bit of a routine, Chase still likes to dictate any changes on a daily basis! He continues to grow and amaze us every day, and even though there are days that we're exhausted its all worth it:) Today he went to the pediatrician and he weighs 6lbs. 10oz. and the doctor said he's looking good. He did get his second Hep B shot today, but he took it like a trooper and only cried for a split second.

Over the past few days we've had some visitors, but I didn't take the pics off the camera until today. Thanks MomMom and PopPop H. for visiting on Sunday and giving mommy a chance to nap while daddy was at his fantasy football draft. Chase was spoiled and MomMom held him and rocked for a few hours!

Snuggling with PopPop

Uncle Pat is getting more comfortable now that Chase is bigger

"Aunt" Jenna is a natural!