Chase and 'Mantha

This is a cute picture that Leslie took of Chase and 'Mantha (as Chase now calls Samantha) last week.  Leslie was changing the sheets on Samantha's bed and Chase's bed (both are in the same room).  Apparently they were having a great time running around and playing, when they grabbed the pillows and both jumped in Samantha's bed and pretending to go to sleep.  Pretty cute.  I'm so glad these 2 kids like each other so much.  :)

Say CHEESE!!!

...and yogurt...and maybe even ICE CREAM because Chase can eat all of the above now!!!

To give a little background information, we went in for his annual allergy check-up at UNC about a month ago and he had his blood drawn to check where we are with the milk allergy. So, to sum it up, here's how the blood level compares to the last 2 that were completed:


In 2009 - 2.75 (at 4 months old when he had a full body reaction to a few tiny spoonfuls of milk-based   formula mixed with rice cereal)
2010 - 0.78 (this was last August)
2011 - 0.35 (and this was a month ago)

We are very excited because normal is below 0.35.  So he is basically right on the line of still having a slight allergy but it's low enough for him to participate in the oral challenge where the doctors give him very controlled amounts of milk in a clinical setting where they can monitor him.  We have him scheduled for this "challenge" in October but I'm going to cancel it because...


 A few weeks ago, I was making an omelet.  When I pulled out the cheese, Chase started asking for some.  I tore off a small amount and gave it to him, watching him closely to see what happened.  He hadn't even finished chewing up that cheese before he was begging for more.  (He is definitely my child because we all know how much I love cheese...  :)  )  He absolutely LOVED it and has continued to eat cheese since then with no reaction.  The next day he saw my yogurt in the fridge beside his coconut milk yogurt and when he asked for yogurt and I tried giving him his, he said, "No.  I want THAT yogurt", pointing to mine.  So, I nervously grabbed a spoon and let him try it...And, there was NO reaction!!


I cannot tell you how exciting this is.  If you don't have a child with a milk allergy you might not understand how limiting this is, but I seriously feel like there are so many more options of foods that Chase can eat now.  Before, when we would go to a restaurant, the choices were always mac and cheese, cheese quesadilla, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets.  Lucky for Chase, he loves chicken nuggets,  but still.  Like I said, it was very limiting.

Being the food lover that I am, I am so excited about the possibilities of all the things Chase can eat now!  It's a whole new world for us!  :)

Wes and Parker

Chase and I have some good friends, Kristina, Wes and Parker.  We have a weekly play date and rotate our houses from week to week.  Chase loves playing trains with Wes and "Miss Tina" and I enjoy our wine while catching up on how our day/week was.  Parker likes watching the boys sprint past her and just laughs at how silly they are.  Occasionally she likes to chew on the Thomas trains.  :)  It's a good time for everyone.

 

There are a few staple items always present during these play dates: chicken nuggets, fries (or tater tots, as was the case last week), and white wine.

 

I love that the kids love each other.  It makes the Mama 'happy hour' part of the play date a little more enjoyable.  :)

just playing

Sorry that I've gotten behind with my blog postings.  That definitely does not mean that Chase is not as active and silly as ever.  Because he is.  Active, Silly, Inquisitive (I hear him say, "Mama, what IS that?" about 20 times a day), and more fun that I ever imagined.  Here are a few pictures of him running around one afternoon when Matt got home from work.

This is just a silly face of his that makes me laugh.

I just love that he looks like a little frat star in that outfit...  :)

And there's my athletic boy in a pose about to throw something.  It's amazing how you can tell at such an early age if someone is coordinated or not.  He has more coordination at 2 years old than I do at 32.  :)

Pool pics

Here are a few pictures from Chase at our pool a couple of weekends ago (I think it was actually July 4th).  

He's so much fun and absolutely loves the water.  I wish we had a kiddie pool so he could wade around independently but oh well.  It's just nice that we have a pool to use within walking distance...

Girls' Weekend!!

I had an amazing weekend this past weekend with some of my best friends from college.  We traveled to Salisbury, Maryland to hang out at my friend Leslie's family 'shack' on the river.  Her parents were the sweetest hosts, letting us stay with them at their house, cooking us 3 meals a day and taking great care of us overall.  

The 'shack' is an old, renovated crab shack that they bought about 10 years ago.  Here's the beautiful view of the dock and water from the  back of the shack.

We had such a great, laid-back time just being together.  There were no crazy nights out dancing (like we used to do), no spending hundreds of dollars on fancy dinners (we've done that, too), and no spending hundreds of dollars on hotel rooms for the weekend (thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Cooley).

 

Just hours and hours of soaking up the sun, having a few adult beverages, and remembering why I love these girls:

Even Leslie's dogs got in on the love-fest...  :)

As much as I love being a wife and a mother, these are the kinds of weekend that allow me to be me and come home refreshed, happy, and able to be a better wife and mother.  :)

Funny face

Chase is pretty funny these days.  He does a lot of things that Matt and I think are really funny.  One of those is the funny face.  See?

Matt's 'funny face' is kind of scary-looking...

This is what he does when we ask him to show us the funny face.  And it makes me laugh every single time I see it.  :)

 

 

 

 

It's also hard not to do your own 'funny face' (as you can see from my face in the background) while he's doing it...

Check out the bedroom slippers he wanted to wear down to the dock...

Emerald Isle 2011- Part 2

To continue with pictures from our trip to Emerald Isle, here's Chase playing in the pool:

...and playing one morning on the porch with his car (one of them).

One afternoon Matt and I took Chase to the Aquarium and it was awesome seeing Chase's face light up when we walked in, seeing him sprint accross the room (uh, this is a daily thing no matter where we are or what we're doing.  his name is very appropriate since he seriously runs.  everywhere.  all the time), and sqeal with excitement.

I love seeing this little smile on his face here:

And then, back to the pool, being silly:

Here, he's pointing to something, expressing himself in some way.  Which, speaking of that, Chase's communication seems like it's exploding overnight.  I feel like I saw development even in that beach week.  Chase definitely has no problem expressing himself and letting us know what he needs.  And let's just be honest.  He pretty much gets what he needs (ok, wants.) most of the time.

But, look at this face.  I mean, really.  Would you be able to tell this kid no?  :)

And here are my boys just chilling in the hot tub:

Here's the gorgeous view from the back porch/back yard of the house.  I love that it's overlooking the inlet and so peaceful.  I loved taking a book out to the screened in back porch, sitting in the rocking chair and relaxing with this view.

Emerald Isle 2011- Part 1

I've gotten a little behind with my blog postings since we've had a few things going on the past few weeks, to say the least.  one of the more positive things was our annual beach trip to Emerald Isle with Matt's family.  Chase is the only child in the family and he (and everyone else) enjoyed that fact.  This is his 3rd trip to EI since he was born but this was by far the most fun for him.  The first year he was only 3 months and this is pretty much all he could do:



Last year, he was just over 1, so he was able to have a little more fun (but we were really nervous with all the stairs and other 'hazards' around the house...



Well, this year, was much more fun. 

 He absolutely loved playing in the pool...

He also love his pool that Aunt Lauren (he now says "Lar-nen") bought him:

He also loved the screened in porch (Matt, can we get one of those??). 

He also loved play with this guy.  Pops was sure to make sure Chase had a good time while on vacation.  :)

Now, the ocean and the sand was another story.  He liked playing the sand but it took some getting used to.  The ocean scared him so we're still working on it.

More pictures to follow.  Our home computer takes forever so I only have the patience to add these pictures for now. 

Stay tuned for more vacation pictures...