Bubba

 When I think back to Chase's birth,   I smile.  It was such a good experience.  I love reading the story of his birth that I wrote down in this blog a few days after he was born.  It was so perfect.  I probably wouldn't realize it was such a good experience if I didn't have such a challenging one with Wesley.  It is such a testimony of the fact that with out trials and hardships, we would never know true joy.  From the time he was born, up until now, he has always fit perfectly with our family.  I don't know how to describe it, except that he has always been such a "normal" good child.  What I mean by normal, is that he has never been overly (or under) extreme in any area of his life.  My sweet Wesley is extreme in almost everything... his birth,  his hair, his bright blue eyes, his personality, his vocabulary and speech, his desire to learn, his excitement for everything, his temper, and so on.  When people hear normal, they think of it as a negative, but it is not!  It is refreshing, and helps to balance out our home!  Wesley and myself are the "silly" ones, and Chase and Jason are the "mellow-er" ones.  I have such a strong bond with Chase (with both of my boys, but in different ways), it is hard to describe.  He is just so sweet, calm, and so loveable.  Yes, he is fussy, clingy, and was a challenging sleeper from about 2 months until 11 months.  However, he is mild mannered, eager to please, obedient (as much as an 18 month old can be), affectionate, and well behaved (again...as much as an 18 month old can be!).  He is going to be a people person.  I think he will have a lot of love and compassion for others.  Each night before bed, after jammies are on, I ask him if he wants to go "night-night."  He always signs "please" while saying "Gaaa."  Anytime he signs please, he always makes a cute little high pitched gaa noise.  It is so cute.  I then pick him up, and he waves good bye to Daddy and Wesley with his cute goofy grin.  We go to the kitchen where I have a bowl of pacifiers.  I let him pick one, and he always picks a mam pacifier if there are any clean ones in the bowl.  He then snuggles against me and I carry him to the bathroom. He takes out his pacifier, and I  brush his teeth (he is still missing some!).  He does not like getting his teeth brushed.  We go into either my room, or Wesley's room (he has a bed in both), and I put him down.  Sometimes, mostly if we are in my room, I will cuddle him for a few minutes.  He has a special silky, fuzzy comfort blanket that he needs, and he rolls over and goes to sleep.  He needs background noise like me, so I either turn the fan on, or the white noise machine.  He sleeps great.  If he is in Wesley's room, sometimes the paci will go between the bars on the crib, and I have to get up in the middle of the night to get it for him.  He also wakes up a lot earlier in Wesley's room than in mine.  I have been putting him in Wesley's a lot (Wesley LOVES having Chase in his room), but if I am in need of sleep, I will put him in mine.  After he wakes up (in the morning, or after a nap), he always wants to be cuddled until he is wide awake.  Welsey was (and is) always so happy and alert after waking up, and is ready for the day the moment his eyes open.  Chase takes a while, and needs a lot of cuddles before functioning.  He also enjoys a bottle of milk in the morning as well.  He is not interested in tv, and pretty much follows me around all day.  He plays with Wesley a lot, but Wesley gets so frustrated, and has a hard time sharing certain things. There are almost always tears and loud cries from both of them anytime they play.  There are often lots of giggles too, but those always lead to cries eventually!  Chase does watch everything Wesley does, and Wesley loves to make him smile and laugh.   Chase is a great napper, and goes right to sleep.  Everyday when he is getting fussy (usually around 11), I ask if he wants to take a nap, and he always signs please.  How easy is that...a toddler that actually wants to take a nap?!  He sleeps though lunch, and sometimes gets a late lunch, or sometimes he just gets snacks until dinner.  I don't know how he keeps on all that cute chub!   At his 18 months appointment (my Mom had to take him because I had to stay at home and wait for a delivery man), he was about 70th percentile for both weight and height, and like Wesley, his head is close to 100th percentile.  Another cute thing he does, is he LOVES to talk on the phone.  He does not talk (at least not understandable words), which makes it that much more cute.  Wesley talks to my Mom almost daily, and Chase wants to be just like Wesley!  He  babbles and uses a really high pitched cute voice.  He loves telling the other person all about his day...even though they have no idea what he is saying!

  Anyways....I love my little guy so much, and I can't wait to watch him grow into a darling little boy! 

He watched Wesley climb on the stool and wanted to try, but went a little too high and didn't know how to get down!

Watching Daddy mow the lawn, and waving at him.  He LOVES to wave at people. 

He has to have something to cuddle while sleeping.  He started sleeping through the night when I finally put a pillow in his bed.

I know...so gross, but I had to post it!  When he gets sick, the snot just keeps coming!  Snot everywhere! 

 When he gets sick, he is sooo sad and fussy.  Wesley still has all his energy even when sick, but Chase just wants to be held all day and/or sleep.  If I can't hold him, he just cries and cries. He just had a little cold, but look how sick he looks!  He is drenched in snot and drool, and tears.  I know...so gross, but it is my blog, and these are things I might be interested in down the road, lol.   It makes me appreciate the healthy times so much more, and have greater compassion for others with sick kids!!