Category: Chase Adventures

…But look how cute he is when he sleeps! When I see him in his restful state, I am overwhelmed with love for this little boy. This is also the moment when guilt rushes over me regarding any impatience or annoyance I have had during the day. I love kissing him and smelling his sweet scent while he sleeps.

Oh but when he’s awake, it’s a different story; he can dive into all sorts of interesting things! He found some long-lasting lipstick the other day when we were at Becky’s, and smeared it all over his face, hands, and shirt. He also just dumped a whole jar of homemade strawberry jam and a bottle of Propel into the sink, for no apparent reason, which was a little frustrating for me… But he can also put his creativity to good use; he likes to make piles and "castles" with rocks:

And I came across this piece of apple juice artwork the other day in the kitchen, created by Chase alone.

Much to Pace’s satisfaction, Chase often prefers being with Daddy now, instead of back when he mainly wanted Mommy all the time. Chase loves when Pace gets to stay home on the weekends. The other morning Chase slept with us in our bed for about an hour. When he woke up, he sat up and smiled, and with his eyes still closed he said, "Good morning Mommy" and turned and said "Good morning Da– HEY! Where’s Daddy?!?" He had opened his eyes to see that Pace wasn’t there, and was slightly alarmed. But he was fine after I told him that Daddy had just gotten in the shower. 🙂 They love to wrestle each other, but they also like to cuddle while watching tv. It’s pretty adorable when Chase "pets" Pace’s head.

One of Chase’s favorite things to talk about lately is his birthday, even though he’s only halfway through the year to age 3. Today he said, "For my birthday I want to go to Wendy’s." We thought that was a great idea! 🙂 Sometimes I light a candle and sing happy birthday to him. He waits ever so patiently, and then blows out the candle the moment I end the song. He loves this game!

Last Sunday, we went on a little walk in Hobble Creek Canyon. We have been spending a lot of time outside. The leaves are changing to that glorious rusty red color and the weather is ideal, so we are partaking of the perfection while it lasts (meaning before the evil snow interrupts our happiness)!

Chase loved being free to run all over the place. He had to go pee while we were there, so Daddy taught him how to pee out in the woods. Chase was an instant fan of this idea! (Just the other day, I was in the garage and Chase was in the front yard, and he came and took me to the spot in the bushes where he had just gone pee! I had to explain that we only do that when we’re in the woods and there’s no toilet!) As I always say, "He’s SUCH a boy."

After he peed in the woods, he "read" this nearby sign to us, which according to Chase said, "This is where Chase went pee pee in the woods." We had a good laugh over that one.

We loved checking out the water under the bridge! I say it a lot, but I appreciate the fact that Pace is such a fun, patient, loving daddy to Chase. I know that’s not something to take for granted! Good times.

Gino said he would come visit more often if we posted more videos to make him miss Chase more. Here ya go Gino.

Just think __________ (insert your name), if you were here, you could be doing DDR with us.

Well Chase is basically potty-trained now and I am so happy! I say “basically” potty-trained because he still needs help unbuttoning his pants, and he still wears a diaper overnight because he doesn’t wake up to pee. But I’m fine with that, since I believe that every sleep-filled night is a major blessing in life anyway! We are very proud of Chase for being a big boy and wearing underwear now.

A few months ago I read the book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day, hoping to at least get some pointers concerning this daunting task (it really freaked me out for some reason)! I felt like Chase was ready because from 20 months old he did most of his poops in the toilet– he didn’t like the feel of poop in his diaper, and I didn’t blame him! 🙂 And then starting just a few months ago, whenever I put him in the bathtub, he would pee on command before I plugged up the tub. So we tried the Toilet Training in Less Than a Day approach. That wasn’t a fun day for me, but it was a start. He didn’t seem quite ready, though, because most of the time he would say “I have to go pee!” and he would already be standing in a puddle. I decided to wait a couple months so that maybe he would have more bladder control.

So recently he really wanted to start wearing his big boy underwear again, so I just told him that was fine but that he would need to keep it dry. We put the kid seat on the big toilet and put a stool next to the toilet so he could reach it (I didn’t want to deal with a little potty). We eased into the training more this time, and I think that worked well for him because he didn’t feel as much pressure. I didn’t take him to the toilet all day like some do, because he would resist and because I can’t remember things like that. I just praised and encouraged him a lot, asked him periodically if he was dry, and then sometimes I would reward him with a treat if he was. Then when he had an accident, I would make it very clear that we don’t like having wet pants and he would have to take off his underwear and put it in the hamper. It’s been about 2 weeks now, and he has had a few accidents of course, but we are excited for the “basic training” that he has completed!

On labor day Chase and I went with some other families up the Provo canyon. Chase loved walking up the mountain and would point off somewhere and say can we go up there dad? I would answer to stay on the trail. Eventually after about a mile we arrived at a cave. Chase used to be scared of caves, until I told him the story of candy cave the night before. In candy cave, marshmallow creme dripped from the ceiling and the cave walls were made of sugar. So as we arrived he asked if it was candy cave, I told him we should go in to find out. Whenever you are going into a dark place, give the kid their own flashlight, then they don’t mind at all. He had a blast exploring and having fun. On the way out I put two pieces of candy on the wall and told him he should look around with his flashlight. He was so excited to see this WAS a candy cave after all. He even shared one piece with our neighbor. We had a great time, even when it started raining & hailing on us. I think we’ll go again soon.

Anyone want to go with us?