Celebrating Jenna

In addition to it being Mother's Day last weekend, it was also a weekend dedicated to my future sister-in-law Jenna.  We all trekked to York, PA for a whirlwind two days of wine tasting, a little bit of rowdiness, and perfect weather.  We celebrated her bachelorette party and bridal shower, with some winery tours and fantastic country clubs thrown in!  I can't believe the wedding is now less than a month away.

Bachelorette party-DAY

The Before Picture.  Jenna's aunts had whipped up some concoctions for the ride to the wineries!

Planter out of an old press

Mmmm, reserve barrels

Moondancer Winery. So much fun! 

The winery overlooked the Susquehanna River

We all met at work.  There are three Katies in this picture!  Imagine how confused our students were.

The wedding party(I am standing in for Chase)

Jenna and her aunts

Camera shot, but still adorable

I set the timer on the camera, and ran over and stuck a ridiculous pose.  Hilarious bunch!

Bachelorette Party-NIGHT

Yep..that's an inappropriate shot glass

The View

Let the drinking games begin.  The waitstaff were incredibly gracious!

One car bomb for old times sake

Bridal Shower

Everyone gave a recipe card.  I of course forgot to bring mine!

The standard ribbon bouquet

Pat was called in to participate

Bridal Party

Jenna, her mom, and grandmom

The country club was awesome

Crazy Man

Chase runs non-stop and here is proof.

Hanging with Aunt Zandy

Great shot she took of Chase's Macaulay Culkin impression

Swimming

Here is a short clip my MIL took today during Chase's swim lesson.  Under water with no tears!!

He also actually kicked and blew bubbles today.  Normally he just tells you what he is supposed to be doing, but doesn't actually do it!

100 weeks continued...

71)  Chase will be wearing his first tuxedo next month when he is the ring bearer in his Uncle Pat's wedding
72)  He has a Recaro racing car seat to match the interior of Mommy's car
73)  He says "beer" when he sees us drinking one
74)  The stove, oven, candles, and the coffeemaker prompt him to say "hot", microwave="coook"
75)  He enjoys driving in Daddy's race simulator
76)  He has his very own adirondack chair
78)  He has invented his own version of foosball
79)  Getting him to say "llama" is hilarious, he sticks his tongue out for a few seconds after saying it
80)  He loves chicken quesadillas and calamari
81)  Scarily he knows how to put the key into the ignition of the car
82)  He has taken a short ride in his seat in a convertible
83)  He still doesn't weigh 25 lbs!
84)  He has danced on the coffee table
85) On occasion he identifies red and blue correctly
86)  He loves telling you when your hair is "wet"
87)  There is a toy of Chase's in almost every room in the house
88)  He knows lots of body parts including knee, elbow and boob!!
89)  His second birthday party is going to be train themed
90)  If you let him, he'll eat peanut butter right out of the jar(just like daddy)
91)  He enjoys wearing grownup shoes and trying to put his shoes on your toes
92)  He willingly lets me trim his nails
93)  His "meow" sound for a cat is dead on
94)  Sometimes he tries to roll himself and Summer in the living room rug
95)  He owns his very own mop
96)  He will watch you do something once, and can almost always imitate it
97)  He loves drawing with the stylus on Jas' new phone
98)  He loves his Mommy
99)  He loves his Daddy(and misses him like crazy when he travels)
100)  Of course,  I think Chase is the brightest, funniest, and cutest little kid I know!!

Hope you all enjoyed the 100 fun facts about our little Speed Chase'r!!!!!

100 Weeks

The other day my inbox included a mom365 email with the subject being 100 Weeks Old:  What's up with your toddler?  I find it funny that these emails still come through counting Chase's age by weeks. I often think to myself can I finally stop saying he is so many months old when he hits two next month? So in honor of Chase's 100th week, I'm going to try to squeeze in 100 tidbits about the little man before he wakes up from nap.

 Here we go...
1)  Chase's best friend is Summer
2)  He loves edamame
3)  Running is his favorite sport
4)  He is obsessed with vacuums.  He will stop what he is doing to watch a Bissell or Dyson commercial
5)  He loves playing in his sandbox
6)  One of his current favorite books is Poke-A-Dot Old McDonald Had a Farm
7)  He can do almost all the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider
8)  He still isn't sold on swimming, but will tell you that you "kick-kick" at the pool and "blow bubbles"
9)  He prefers using a big person fork
10)  Hockey(of course) is his favorite sport to watch on t.v.
11)  The spicier the better when it comes to his food
12)  He pretty much uses his right hand for everything
13)  He has started to pick out his attire, and wanted to wear snow boots last week when it was 80 degrees
14)  He is proficient at turning on the t.v and plugging in a cell phone
15)  Chase can draw a straight line, and we are working on circle
16)  He knows how to use a screwdriver and a wrench
17)  He loves moving clothes from the washer to the dryer
18)  Favorite food is still avocado
19)  He loves throwing things in the trash, and will take tissue paper out of boxes at DSW to do so
20)  He steals out of ladies' purses
21)  He has eczema
22)  Summer is tormented by him on a daily basis
23)  He has started trying to walk down stairs while holding on the railing
24)  He now likes to wear baseball caps!
25)  He has a wicked golf swing
26)  Painting and "making a mess" are two of his favorite hobbies
27)  He is still a lousy sleeper
28)  He loves giving hugs, and kisses especially first thing in the morning
29)  Most days he is a super eater, on picky days Mommy caves
30)  Peanut putter and banana sammies are our go-to if he isn't in the mood for anything else
31)  He squeals whenever he sees a Woof-woof
32)  He does the best "Home Alone Face", hands on his cheeks and everything
33)  He enjoys watching the Sprout channel
34)  Building with blocks is not his forte(he is heavy handed)
35)  He likes looking out the window to watch birds and squirrels while he eats
36)  Chase has shared a cookie with Summer(bite for bite)
37)  He loves his MomMoms and PopPops
38)  You want to take a nap after running with him all day
39)  He is cutting his two-year old molars
40)  You can't say "Tub" or "Vacuum" around him unless you are ready to do it that second
41)  He sits on the potty, but no luck in going yet
42)  When I am driving and speed up in the car, he says "Dadda"
43)  His smile is adorable
44)  He has two birthmarks-one on his shoulder and one on the side of his head(almost faded now)
45)  Sips of Mr. Softee B&W shakes are one of his hot day treats
46)  The doctor still hears his heart murmur
47)  He is obsessed with Trader Joe's multigrain waffles
48)  He screams if you are outside and don't let him rake
49)  His vocabulary is awesome, even the words that no one understands
50)  He follows multi-step directions
51)  One day he briefly got his head stuck in the railings
52)  He is a huge flirt
53)  He is pretty decent at sharing
54)  Occasionally he will bite when he doesn't get his way
55)  He is on his third kind of diapers to prevent overnight leaks(so far, so good)
56)  He loves jamming to music in the car
57)  When Jas travels Skyping is part of Chase's new nighttime ritual
58)  Almost every time he is with one of his MomMoms he comes home with a new toy or outfit
59)  He tells everyone he is going to be "two"
60)  He clinks glasses together and says "Cheers"
61) "Allellala" Alexandra is his favorite aunt
62)  He is getting a new swing set soon
63)  Both he and Summer have ripped the screen to the sliding glass door repeatedly
64)  He took his first tumble into the brick fireplace the other day
65)  He loves when the sunroof is open
66)  Helping Mommy cook is a favorite pasttime
67)  He yells "Mama" or "Dadda" when you walk out of a room just to check that your still around
68)  A new gate was just installed to prevent his escape up to the 2nd floor
69)  He still wears some 12-mo shorts
70)  Summer is still the first thing he asks/looks for when he gets up

Sorry, he is awake....I made it pretty far.  TO BE CONTINUED>>>>

Soaking it all in

The fact that Chase mimics most of what he sees and hears often comes back to bite ya. Last night when we got home I left the garage door open while Chase played in his sandbox before dinner.  The open door kind of slipped my mind until after he was done eating, and I was checking on laundry.  Chase is always under foot, and since the oven was preheating for my dinner, so was Summer.  She has grown especially skittish in her old age.  A few times with the kitchen smoke alarm in Baltimore has left the poor girl scarred for life.  Anyway, in the split second that I opened the door to the garage to hit the button to shut the door, Summer bolted.  I scooped up Chase and ran/walked(she is like a kid you can't chase her) to grab her before she took off.  Fortunately she only made it to the front walk before I yanked her collar and said "Bad Dog" to get her back in the garage.  I did hold her by the collar as I led her into the house, but I only repeated the statement once.

Preparing to be tormented

 You can probably at this point guess what then ensued for the next few minutes, correct?  Yepper, Chase ran around tormenting the dog yanking her collar and tail.   Yelling "Bad dog".   I had to think fast to fix my snafu a.k.a grab my camera, and also hide the fact that this was a highly entertaining scene.  Summer of course didn't see the humor in the whole situation.

I am half listening to you Momma

Sorry Summer.  I really do love you.

Luckily, as quickly as my child learns and retains something, he is also just as quick to be distracted and redirected to something else.  Ahh, the beauty of two-year olds.  After a few quick "Nice dog, give Summer a hug" snipits and a redirect to a remote control car, he was over it.  Thank goodness.  I really have to watch what I do and say from now on!!