Chinese New Year

This weekend my aunt hosted a Chinese New Year party and the whole family had a blast!  There was a ton of good food, hilarious toddler moments, and gaming fun.

Chase received a present and he ended up LOVING the wrapping.  He played hide and seek in bag and was just plain silly.

BOOOOO!

Uhoh where is Chase?!

WOOOOHOOO this bag is fun!

Chase also very much enjoyed the chocolate coins...I think I have a chocolate addict on my hands.

Here are Chase's favorite men...Uncle Griff, Dad, Uncle Jeff, and Pops...it appears we have added a "feel no evil" monkey to the bunch...

Blog Neglect

I have decided that Boris and I probably have way too much going on right now! Granted I think we are both the type of people that like to stay busy. That being said I will probably be neglecting all of my pages for the next few weeks. I must say - Thank goodness for all of the babysitting help we receive or we would never be able to maintain our crazy lifestyles...here is some of what we have on our plate:

The "Must Dos"
- Work...Unfortunately both Boris and I have full time jobs that need to be attended to
- Chase Wrangling (Feeding, Changing, Bathing, Clipping Nails, etc)
- Quality Chase Time (Parks, Zoos, Reading, Playing, etc)
- Dog and Fish Care
- Visit with family (I guess this isn't a must do but for my personal happiness it is...)

The "I Probably Should Dos"
- Clean the house (which occasionally ends up in the "I Never Have Time To Dos")
- Go to the doctor and deal with my medical issues
- Get some sleep

The "Makes A Normal Life Insanely Busy Dos" - Why do I have so many of these?!?!?
- Maintaining a zillion websites (family page, three blogs, Etsy page, Facebook pages, etc)
- Writing an iPhone application
- Preparing for a Craft Fair (an other crafting adventures)
- Boris is in a band
- Handmaking gifts for people
- Getting together with friends

The "I Never Have Time To Dos" - Which makes me feel guilty...
- Cook
- Go to the Dentist (Which should be in the "I Must Dos" but that is regularly avoided)
- Exercise
- Care about my appearence (When was my last haircut?! Manicure - who needs those? You mean clothes should get washed regularly and should be in style???)
- Get enough sleep
- Read
- Watch TV (I want to watch all the Lost and Battlestar Galactic seasons but I hardly ever have time to watch anything!)

What's Hot and What's Not

At work our team does this thing where we review "What's Hot and What's Not" - it is basically a way to quickly review what is going on with everyone without doing the typical painful "round robin".  That being said, here is a "What's Hot and What's Not" update on Chase.

Hot:

- Chase has been doing this adorable thing lately where he describes anything he doesn't like or doesn't want as "hot" (which is what inspired this blog entry).  We will be feeding him something and if he doesn't like it he says "hot" and refuses it.  Or this morning he tripped over a cord and he pointed at the cord and said "hot".  Apparently he things that the word "hot" means "bad".  Hmmm maybe I can use this to my advantage and tell Chase that outlets are "hot".

- Chase has been introduced to Chocolate and he LOVES it.  He says "choc-at" and gobbles it up.  Very cute.

- Chase is in size 4 shoes!

- Chase LOVES Graham and while Graham was on vacation Chase would ask "Uncle?  Uncle?".  Now he asks "Uncle Uncle?"  any time I pick him up from daycare or he wakes up in the morning.  It is becoming on obsession.  This morning I spent all morning listening to "Uncle?  Da da?  Uncle?  Da da?" and I had to explain that Uncle isn't here and Daddy is asleep upstairs.  Then it turned into "Da da Up Stairs?  Uncle?  Da da Up Stairs?  Uncle?".   Sometimes he even throws in a "Pops?" (which is how he refers to Grandma and Grandpa) or "Mo Mo" (which is our fish).

- Chase is finally old enough to enjoy playing with other kids - play dates here we come!

Not:

- Chase has learned the power of the word "No".  So now when I put him in his crib for nap I leave the room to a chorus of "No No No".  Or when I try to change his diaper - "No No No".  *Sigh*.

- I think Chase is entering his terrible twos.  The other day when we left the park he threw a full on tantrum because he didn't want to leave.  He even refused to sit nicely in his car stroller so it took me forever to get him home because I had to either carry him or try to get him to walk (which usually resulted in him walking back towards the park and me having the pick him up again).

Here is an update on me.

Hot:

- I have been doing a lot of crafting which makes me very happy.  Right now I am trying to crochet a bag - it is my first attempt at making my own pattern and it isn't really going well but I'm still excited.

- I have been kicking serious butt in Dominion lately.  (Boris has been throwing fits about it).

- Hanging out with friends over break.

- I came up with a great idea for an iPhone app so Boris, Graham, and I are going to put it together!  Boris is currently trying to learn how to program an app.

- My mom is back in town!  Grandma baby sitting is the best!

Not:

- I am still sick and they have no idea what it is.

- I have to go back to work.  The biggest bummer about this is that while I have been at home resting my life has actually gotten somewhat closer to a normal life but I know that as soon as I start exhausting myself with work my illness will once again kick my butt and it will be back to being in bed by 7 or 8pm.  How depressing....

- I still can't exercise due to above mentioned illness.

- I am waiting for some craft supplies I ordered and they aren't here yet!!!

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.