And so it begins...

The Dennison household has been sick for the past week which has been a ton of fun... Audrey started with it, passed it to Chase (who still is congested the poor thing) then passed it to Charlie just in time for last weekend. I escaped with only a minor cough and runny nose which is miraculous... I feel like it is WAY to early for everyone to be sick and me to be taking time off for children having to stay home from day care. It seems to be a bad omen of the winter to come...

On a side note, I did manage to get this cute picture of Audrey and Chase on Saturday while we were stuck inside all day due to the rain...

Bumbo...

Well the Bumbo is back too, and I had forgotten how much I LOVE this thing! Someone is making a killing selling this piece of foam for $40, but it really is the greatest. I don't have one and have been trying to borrow one for a couple of weeks because I thought Chase was ready for it (he already hates laying down and constantly wants to be sitting up). One of my neighbors was nice enough to lend hers and saying he is ready for it is an understatement... He completely fits in the mold, with no left over room... Yes, he is blossoming into one BIG boy as you can tell from these pix... But really, could he be any cuter???

GO SOX...

August Catch-up...

Can you tell I am back at work? I haven't posted anything since I started a couple of weeks ago so I thought I would do a quick catch-up post. Things have been a little crazy, but we are adjusting. I say "we" because everyone has had their schedule totally disrupted by me going back to work, Chase is at Nancy's for the 1st time, Audrey is going fulltime for the 1st time in 5 months, Charlie is having to pick everyone up and start/make dinner and I have to go to work, yeah. And work is work. The anticipation of going back was much worse then actually going back. While it is sad to leave Chase, I am very confidant that he is in good hands all day. That being said, Nancy was on vacation last week, so Charlie's mom and sister came out to watch the kids. A big HUGE thank you to both of them! It was so wonderful having them here. Each kid had their own adult to cater to their every whim, and Charlie and I had dinner cooked for us every night as well as cleaned up after. We were spoiled and I am now wanting to look into full time hired help because of it, it only right? I know Grammy and Aunt KK enjoyed their time with Audrey and Chase too. They made cupcakes, went to the pond and the park and all sorts of fun things. But I think the biggest development of the week was Audrey calling Barbara "Grammy" and Karen "KK". Audrey has been stubborn about calling any of the family any names except for Charlie's dad (he is Papa for reasons unknown) but it seems she finally gave in. We also got to see my dad and brother Sean as they decided to take a last minute road trip and stopped in for the weekend. It was nice to see them, and I was happy that Sean got to meet Chase as he was the only family member who hadn't yet. So here are some pictures...

Ice Cream for lunch, yumm....

Chase and Grammy...

Chase & Daddy...

Chase & Aunt KK...

Its Back...

If you know me at all you know that I HATE all of the big plastic primary color baby stuff that is out there. I tried my darnedest with Audrey to stay away from all of it and I did a pretty good job if I do say so. Except for the Exersaucer.... And it is back and taking up 1/2 of my living room for its second go around. But I can't complain, Chase LOVES it and will play in it for a good 20 minutes. I had thought he was too young for it but boy was I wrong... The things you do for your kids...

26 Months...

I know, who cares how many months she is, but I haven't done an update on her in awhile and I figure now is as good a time as any. And really, people at the playground refer to their 2 year olds in months so I figure I can too... Let me just say that being home for the last 5 months with Audrey has been amazing. I have gotten to spend so much time with her and watch her as she grows daily. I won't lie, she sucks the life out of me sometimes and sometimes I feel like she is attached to me as she won't leave my side. But her personality is so high energy that she keeps me laughing constantly as well as wearing me out. Her speech has improved leaps and bounds and she has finally started using sentences. Her vocabulary grows daily and while I can't always understand what she is saying, she usually helps me figure it out. And she has no issue telling you what she wants or what she wants you to do. Everything is "my", "my cup", "my bunny", "my Chase". She loves to play with just about everything and anything. Indoors she is into tea parties, coloring with her crayons and chalk, and is finally getting into to books a little bit (at least flipping thru them). She loves flash cards and anything that she can look at the picture and tell you what it is. You can see when she isn't confident in her answer, she gets really soft spoken which is so interesting to me. Outdoors, well she could play out there all day. She loves her bikes, running around the yard, and the sidewalks and anywhere she can get away with running, drawing with chalk everywhere. Charlie built her a little area under the deck to hold all her stuff and she loves that she can go in there and get what she wants out. She loves Chase. She really is very good with him. As soon as he cries she yells "I come my Chase" and runs to where he is. She has her moments where she wants me to put him down and focus on her, but I don't blame her. I am interested to see how she adjusts when I go back to work after having me around so much... And how I adjust, ugh...

Three months...

Yes, another month has passed by, and some how my newborn baby boy is quickly turning into an infant. I sound like a broken record but he still is the best baby. He has already established a schedule which is pretty awesome. Plus he sleeps thru the night, or at least long enough, usually 8 pm - 5 or 6 am. He has become so much more alert and interactive in the last month. He smiles across the room and hams it up for strangers at the store. I thought I would know so much more with Chase, like when he was supposed to do this thing or that because of Audrey, but I don't remember any of it. I am happy that it is exciting and surprising when he hits a milestone, especially when I don't know he is supposed to be hitting it... He started laughing this past week and I could just eat him up when he does it. He giggles and does a full belly laugh that is way too cute. I finally got out the play mat and he absolutely loves it. He talks and entertains himself for a good amount time in the back of the living room on it and I must say I will forget he is even there. This past week he also started flipping onto his side when on the mat and has almost turned of from his back to his tummy. He got all the way yesterday except he couldn't figure out how to get past his shoulder. Soon enough... He loves his fist in his mouth and has started sitting with his hands folded which is really cue aqnd very intellectual looking... Three months also means I am back to work this Wednesday and means he starts at Nancy's the same day. It's time to get back to the real world and back on a real schedule. Wish me luck...

Look a like...

Its pretty obvious to anyone that has seen Chase that he looks just like Audrey when she was his age. I have never had them in the same outfit (for obvious reasons) but the other day I put Chase in the Michigan onsie that Aunt Jaime got Audrey and I had to take a picture. It is a little scary to me looking at these pictures. Chase definitely has a rounder head, but other then that and the socks I think they could be twins... Judge for yourself... On a side note, Michigan football used to always loose when Audrey wore her onsie, so I am in debate whether to suit up Chase this fall... I don't think they need any extra reasons to loose, right?