The Benefits of Rest

So I recently learned something  very interesting about my illness...

Last week I was in the midst of a couple week 101 fever streak and I had a terrible head cold on top of my usual fevers.  I ended up staying in bed for days straight and doing pretty much nothing but resting.  I didn't even craft because I was too sick to do that.  Well the interesting thing was that after a few days of resting my fevers completely went away (for the first time in months I was a wonderful 98.6!).  So being the genius that I am I decided - well hey, if I'm feeling better maybe I can exercise on the elliptical machine for a half an hour or so.

Unfortunately that brought my fevers back and I am now back into my state of chronic fevers all the time.  Although we did prove Boris's theory wrong (that if I got really sick again maybe I would get better permanently).  So here I am approaching my 1 year mark with my illness and we still have no diagnosis... it's a bit depressing ... now if only I could rest all day every day maybe I would feel better... too bad that isn't very realistic...

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so fun this year!

Chase woke up around 7am and we brought him to our bed but he was wide awake.  We talked about Christmas a bit and when I asked Chase if he wanted his present he gave a huge body nod "YES!" and then he stood up on the bed and signed and said "More".  So I asked if we should go open the presents and he got so excited and kept saying "Yes...More...Yes!"

He was very excited to see his new Hippo chair...

The gift that appears to have won the best gift of the year award is a close tie between Chase's new Sponge Bob books from Graham and the Tic Tac Toe game he got from Kathy last night.  He spent he morning throwing the bean bags and playing a game he had made up yesterday where he stacks two bean bags together in his hand then holds them above his head and looks up at them until one falls.  Very cute...  By the end of the morning he had even figured out how to drag the table around the room.

Christmas Eve at Zoo Lights

For Christmas Eve Boris, Chase, my mom, Leah, and I went to Zoo Lights and then we went to my aunt Kathy's house for an amazing dinner.

I think my favorite thing was the cider and cookies - Yum.

Chase loved to the Zoo and every time we saw an animal in lights he would roar at it or flap his arms in delight.

Mo Mo the Fish

Here is my second blog for the day (I must admit the first one was more exciting but I thought it was important to include our new pet update).

Boris and I were originally talking about getting Chase a fish tank for Christmas but we couldn't come to an agreement about what size tank to get - I wanted a practical 3 gallon tank and Boris wanted a HUGE tank.  Since we couldn't agree on what to get we kind of gave up on the idea.

But then yesterday on a whim, Boris and I bought Chase a Beta fish since it seemed like a good cheap and "easy to care for" solution.  Boris decided to name the fish Mo Mo.

Chase loves Mo Mo and whenever the fish is hiding in the plant or not visible Chase shouts "Mo Mo All Gone?!"  It is very cute.  Sometimes he stands below the fireplace pointing at the tank saying "Mo Mo".

PS - Graham recently left to go visit his family for Christmas and poor Chase has been missing him.  He keeps saying "Uncle? All gone?  Uncle?  Uncle?"  It's really cute...

Purple Hippo

This year for Hanukkah Boris and I gave Chase a giant purple hippo rocking chair...

He was really excited when we first brought it out and he stamped his feet and squealed in delight while we opened it.

Once the hippo was open it was a different story...

Chase was terrified of it and was shouting "No! No! No!" - below is a picture of him trying to crawl into my lap to escape the hippo.

After a few minutes of terror he finally adjusted to the hippo and was willing to give it hugs and pats but would NOT sit on it.

But for some unknown reason this morning Chase decided that he was over his fear of the hippo and decided to take him for a ride.  He loves it and he giggles while he rocks on it.

Just wait until he opens the giant purple hippo matching chair tomorrow morning!

Spoiled Rotten

(This is my third blog entry for today - a lot has happened in the last two days - be sure to read on - the next two entries are worth reading.)

Chase is so spoiled...I just can't help myself and apparently neither can other people...

We have already done a few Christmas exchanges this year and Chase has already gotten:

Hippo Chair and Hippo Rocker (well he will get that on Christmas from Boris and I)

Musical Instruments

New Blue Crocs with Jibbets

Sponge Bob Books

Stuff Sponge Bob

Smart E Bear

Hippo Ornament and Pink Sheep

Batman Car

Horton Hears a Who Movie set

Chase was very excited when he realized some of his presents were wrapped in Sponge Bob paper.

He kept looking in the box like "WOW check out how many there are".

He was very excited about his Sponge Bob books - they were a favorite.

He kept leaning in to get a closer look at Smart E bear which is a programmable bear that learns your kid's name and sings songs and plays games (and unfortunately when Boris and Graham tried to set it up they broke it).

Chase and Graham opening his stuffed Sponge Bob.

A Horrible Haircut

Chase had his first haircut today...

Here is the before picture - Boris was beginning to be bothered by how long Chase's hair was...

So we arrived at the haircut place and everything was fine while Chase played in the play area but as soon as it was our turn and we put him in the car to have his hair cut he started screaming and crying.

He cried the entire time - we tired to bribe him with toys, our iPhones, a sucker, Jibbets, everything but nothing would comfort him.  Even afterwards once they were finished he was still so upset we couldn't get a picture for his certificate.

Here is the after picture - he looks so much older and different to me.  It made me a little sad.

PS - Graham gave Chase his sucker later this evening which he very much enjoyed.

Chase is Already a Criminal

Notice Chase's adorable new Crocs... well there is a story that goes along with them...

Last night Chase received a pair of new Crocs (the kid has an obsession with Crocs and always screams in delight when he sees the Croc stand at mall).  So while we were at the mall we thought that we would buy him some new Jibbets.  I bought him a sheep, a Sponge Bob, a lizard, and a Boots the Monkey.  Well after Jibbet shopping we went and let Chase play on the giant fruit at the mall - which is absolutely loved.  The funny thing was that the entire time he played he had a death grip on his Sponge Bob and sheep Jibbet.  He wouldn't let go of them.  So we finally finished up playing and went home but when we got to the door to put on coats, Pops noticed that there was an additional big eyed puppy Jibbet.  Well apparently Chase has snatched the Jibbet while I was looking at other ones without me realizing it and had shop lifted it!  Whoops - my baby is already a criminal.

PS.  Check out Chase's poor nose - he scratched it while playing yesterday...

Putting Up the Tree

We put up our Christmas tree today (fake again - maybe one year we will actually get a real one) - here are a few photos of what Christmas tree decorating looks like out our house.

We start by hauling the tree out of the basement (well I make Boris do that but I'll still say "we").  Once the tree is up the OCD in Boris requires that we vacuum any fake pine needles that may have fallen off.

Chase, who spent his time running around wearing on old tree skirt like cape and getting Graham to fly him around like a super hero finally became interested in the tree once we turned on the lights.  If you want to see more pictures of Chase in his cape check out our family site.

Next came the ornaments, which is always my favorite part.  It brings back so many memories!  I like to buy an ornament that represents every year so it is fun to get them back out.  As you can see by the below picture the ornaments Chase put on the tree were basically thrown on with the hope that they would stick... he didn't get the "hang them on the tree" concept.

Once the ornaments were on Boris set up the train with Chase's help.  Chase loved the train until we turned it on and it started making noise.  He then decided that he was terrified of it.

Overall it was quite the adventure but I think the tree looks great.  I always love having it up...

We All Fall Down

Chase went to visit his Grammy yesterday and when Boris and I got there to pick him up he was playing the funniest game.  My mom had set up an inflatable bed for my cousin who was staying over night in the basement.  Chase would run into the closet, shut the door, open the door, run out, and do a belly flop on the air mattress.  Then he would laugh hysterically, run around the bed into another closet, shut the door, open the door run out, and do another belly flop.  He did this for about 15 minutes until he finally fell down and got a little bit of rug burn on his face.  Grammy's house is soooo fun!

Sleepy Chase

Poor little Chase had a rough day.  He fell at daycare and bonked / scraped his head.  Then when he got home he was so tired he fell asleep while he was on a walk with Boris.

Chase's new adorable phrase of the day:  Oh Man!

Chase's "I'm in big trouble" moment of the week:  The other night Chase snuck off to the laundry room and before Boris or I caught him he had managed to shove a few pieces of dog food into his mouth (he was very pleased with himself).  It took us quite a bit of fighting with screaming baby to get the dog food back out of his mouth and by the time we did it was all soggy and gross...eww...

Scary Saint Nick

At Chase's school they did pictures with Santa yesterday... apparently 1 year olds and Santa don't really mix... Below is our proof picture...