Moving on up

Last week was Chase's last week in the 2/young 3-year-old class at his school so they had a graduation party to celebrate.  Here are a few (not so good) pictures from the celebration:

You can barely see Chase peeking out from behind the little girl in the pink.

Unfortunately these were the best I could get.  I do have to admit that I got a little teary-eyed seeing him stand there with his friends as they sang a good-bye song.  He's growing up so fast!

Mama and Chase weekend

Matt went to Pinehurst this past weekend to play golf with his college friends so Chase and I spent the weekend with lots of fun activities. 

So anyway.  We started with a trip to Marbles Museum in Raleigh on Saturday morning where we met Kelly and her twin boys, Hayes and Parker.

It was nice to be able to use our membership (thanks, Kate!).

I swear, that place is so cool.  Chase has a blast every time we go.

He especially loves playing in the water and surprisingly enough didn't leave looking like he'd gone swimming.

We also discovered this motor that of course Chase immediately began working on.  I still think he might grow up to be some sort of engineer.  Or maybe this is just how all boys are?

After the trip to Marbles, we went home to take a nap and then headed to The Little Gym for a birthday party.

This is where Chase had his birthday party a couple of months ago so he was very familiar with the layout of the gym.  He immediately took off running, jumping and playing.  In fact, many of the individual pictures I took ended up being blurry because he didn't sit still very much.  He ran so much that he worked up quite an appetite.  I don't think I've ever seen him shove chicken nuggets in his mouth quite like he did that afternoon.

Whenever Matt is out of town I always make so many plans that by the end of the weekend I'm exhausted but this really was a great weekend for me and my little boy.  I love that he's at the age where he can communicate so well.  We were cuddling on the couch Sunday morning and he leaned his head into my shoulder and said, "Mama?  I'm so glad we can hang out together."  Ah.  Just makes my heart just melt.

Special moments

I really do love all the running and playing and "boy" moments that happen as a result of being the mom of a very active, very energetic 3-year-old boy.

But I also really love those sweet moments when he crawls up in my lap, snuggles close and lets me read to him. 

Special moments like that are priceless.

Chase's work outfit

Yesterday, when I went to get Chase dressed for daycare, he insisted that he needed to wear a tie since he was going to work.  (He sees Pops wearing a tie to work everyday so I'm guessing this is where he got this from.)

he also kept insisting that he needed to take my picture as well...

 I tried to talk him out of it, letting him know that he was going to school to play with his friends so maybe he should wear a t-shirt.  But, no.  He was going to work.  And when he goes to work, he needs his tie.

He had that funny expression on his face (above)  and when I asked him to smile, this is what I got:

So, then I chased after him down the hallway, determined to get a good picture of him since he looked so darn cute, but this was all I could get.  Oh, well.  You get the idea.

I was wondering what his teachers would think when Matt dropped him off.  Apparently they said he looked like he was pledging a fraternity.  :)

Our family

We had some pictures taken about a month ago by Brett Fox ( http://brettfoxphotography.com), who is friends with our babysitter, Leslie.  We met him and his sweet wife, Sarah at Northgate Park in Durham and let Chase run free.

The weather was gorgeous and between the playgrounds and the water and the bridge, Chase was in heaven.

 Brett did a really great job of capturing all the special little things like this...



















...and this:























...and this:

And all the smiles like this:

 ...and this.

The only downfall was that there was so many fun things to do that Chase wanted to do things his way.  And this was the reaction that we got when we tried to get him to stop one thing and move to another area of the park:

Brett especially did a great job of capturing all the energy and personality of this little boy.  He's growing up so fast and I never want to forget all of the many things that make it so fun to be his parents. 

Mother's Day

It was truly a great Mother's Day.  It was a day where I felt loved and special.  On top of that, we also had the opportunity to hug both our moms (and my Nanny) and tell them Happy Mother's Day in person.

We had lunch with my mom, stepdad, sisters and their boys.  Chase, Jake and Justice all had fun running around the restaurant.  It's pretty funny that all 3 of us ended up having nothing but boys.

Then, we had dinner with Matt's family.  I have to share my absolute favorite gift that I got while there.  It was from Chase (with the help of Betty Ann):

She typed it up, printed it on this pretty paper and framed it for me.

It is one of the most thoughtful things I could've gotten and so sweet that Betty Ann helped him do it for me.  I cried.  Of course.

The roses were also a pretty sweet touch.  Thanks, Matt. :)

Mother's Day weekend

I had a great Mother's Day weekend, spending Saturday with my 2 favorite boys.  We kicked off the weekend with a trip to the Zoo in Ashboro.

 Here's a random but funny picture of Chase and Matt at lunch.

 Chase called all the African animals the names from from the movie Madagascar.  So when we left and asked him what his favorite animals were he'd say, "Melman" or "Marty".

 The giraffe's name was Melman.

 This was a cool helicopter near the elephants and Chase was excited that he could get in and 'drive'.

See the elephants in the background?

This is what happened when we asked Chase to smile.

 Another silly Chase face.  There were so many cool things to see, like this safari jeep, in addition to the animals.

 

 The carousel was a hit, too.

 This sweet sight of Chase resting his head on Matt's shoulder melted my heart.  

 

 What a fun, but tiring day.

Superhero party

This past Saturday Chase helped his best buddy, Samantha celebrate her 3rd birthday.  The superhero theme was a hit and the kids had a blast.  Spiderman was a popular choice, apparently.  We were able to borrow Chase's outfit from someone I work with which was great since I wasn't feeling especially creative.

 

Although, I wish I was.  Creative, that is.  Because the little guy standing beside Chase in that picture was wearing nothing but a cape and underwear.  He was Captain Underoos.  Very funny.

Chase wanted to take some pictures as well, so he caught this shot of me, sitting by the back door. 

He was very helpful in helping Samantha open her presents as well.  See the ribbon on his chest?  He won Pin the Mask on the Superhero.  I was a very proud mama.  :)

Do you see anything that doesn't belong??

After a long day, after Chase is bathed and in bed, I will typically go downstairs to straighten up the kitchen.  I have a hard time letting myself actually relax until the dishes are done and (most of) the toys are put away.  At any rate, when I was doing that last night, this is what I saw:

These are some of things that I want to be able to remember when Chase gets older and is no longer leaving his toys in the pantry.  :)

My boys

There are so many things Chase says that I love.  One of my favorite things is, "Mama, will you take care of your boys?". 

And when I see a sight as sweet as that one, how could I say no?  :) 

 I sure do love my boys.