Chase Andrew

Chase is 22 months old. He is almost 2! He is such a joy. He makes Alan and I exchange glances and cover our mouths to prevent us from laughing and encouraging his naughty behavior very regularly. He is such a stubborn child. He says, "No!" and "Stop it, Mommy!" on a regular basis. He has his own agenda and is very adament about seeing it through. He has a glare that he will use on anyone who doesn't please him the way that he thinks they should. He will make himself go limp when you try to pick him, throw himself on the ground, and hit someone with out hesitation if they are annoying him.  

And then there is his sweet side. And what a sweet side it is. He is a little snuggle bug. Anytime he hurts himself (which is quite often since he's the clumsiest kid I've ever seen) he will point to wherever it hurts and say, "Ouch! Big hug?" and put those little arms out! Who could resist!? He will come up and just lay his head on my knee sometimes and say, "Aww!" He gives kisses by sticking his cheek up against mine and making a, "mwah!" sound. His precious laugh could melt the coldest of hearts. He blows kisses to complete strangers sometimes and they give him big smiles in return.

He is passionate about a few things. He is passionate about food. The only way we could get him to comply for family pictures was by feeding him while our poor friend was taking pictures. It resulted in a lot of pictures like the one above but at least they accurately depicted this period in our lives. He is also passionate about books. He loves to read and insists on reading many books every day. He'll read to himself. He'll ask us to read. The first thing he did when we got home last week after being gone for over a week was to crawl up into his chair in his room and read book after to book to himself.

He loves his big brother and wakes up every morning with a smile saying, "Hi Momma! Jack Jack? Daddy?" He wants to know where everyone is and to give them all hugs. He loves preschool and his teachers love him. They are frequently telling me how impressed they are by how many words he knows and how eloquently he speaks them. He has no problem at all expressing himself. I think Alan was hoping for one quiet introvert like himself, bless his heart. It just doesn't look like it's going to happen. ;-)

Chase makes me smile every day and I am enjoying my sweet baby so much. I'm looking forward to the next stage as well because it has been my experience so far that it only gets better, but for now, I'll cherish this moment and this day with my Baby Chase.

Jackson Ryan

My Jackson Ryan is 4 and 1/2 years old. One of my pet peeves is the moms who lament over their children growing up. Yes, at times it feels like it's going by very quickly. But good gosh, at other times it feels like the slowest process that ever took place. =) Jackson is a sweet boy. I enjoy him so much and love the conversations that we have. Sometimes I find myself missing the chubby toddler he was. I find myself wishing that he'd wrap those chubby arms around me once more and say in garbled speech, "I wuv you, Mommy." again. But instead, he wraps his arms that have begun to grow slender around me and says very articulately, "I love you more than anyone. Except Jesus. I love Him the most." We have the funniest conversations on a daily basis. He's constantly trying to understand the world and wants me to be the one who explains it all to him.

He still asks me for hugs. He still crawls into my lap and rests his head on my shoulder. He asks me to pick him up and carry him to bed sometimes. He asks me snuggle him at night and to read him stories. I know that those days are probably numbered so I'm trying to enjoy them while I can. He loves to run fast (faster than ANYONE- according to him). He enjoys preschool very much and constantly is telling me about his classmates and about his beloved Mrs. Donna. He looks forward to treasure box on Fridays very much. He missed it once because he got in trouble and hasn't made the same mistake twice. He is an excellent brother to Chase and is patient with him and holds his hand often. He tries to explain things to Chase that are far beyond Chase's comprehension but that doesn't stop Jackson from trying. He adores his Dad and his face lights up when Alan comes home from work every day. Alan ruptured his patella tendon which has prevented them from wrestling but it hasn't damaged their relationship. Those two love each other so much. He also loves his Gigi and Gpa and Nana and Papa with a special kind of love that makes my heart so happy. =)

I love my Jackson Ryan.