WHAT?!?!?!

Yes, it's true...Chase is going to be a Big Brother! We're so very excited! I just got my test results back from the doctor today, and everything looks great.

Let's see if I can anwser all your questions in one post:

- My due date is March 27th
- It's not a surprise...this was our first month of "trying"
- I have my first doctor's appt on August 4th
- I'm not sure if I'm going to wait again to find out the sex of the baby this round
- Chase and his sibling will be 2 years and 8 months apart (3 school years)
- I feel GREAT!
- And yes, we are VERY happy!!

Visit With the Gandy's

We spent yesterday evening in Mississippi visiting with the Gandy's. This was the first time Shane was able to visit with Tory since the accident, so Shane was very excited to see him.

Everyone had such a nice a visit. Chase was so happy to see Jay and Roo, he immediately called out their names when he saw them. It's been too long since they've played together, and we're so happy that they are back home.

Julie and Tory are currently looking for rehab centers that specialize in spinal cord injury. They loved the facility they were at in Houston, but they do not have an out-patient opening for 8 weeks. If anyone has any recommendations, please let us know!

Texas Roadtrip

We just got back from our Texan vacation. We left Thursday of last week and drove to the Dallas area to visit with Shane's brothers (Sean & Scott), sister-in-law (Angie) and nephews (Max & Evan).

We squeezed a lot into a couple of days. We took Chase to his very first professional baseball game which lasted way past his bedtime. Chase had so much fun at the game, but I think he was most into the moon, the planes that flew over the stadium and the large, oversized sign of a starbucks coffee cup.

We also took Chase to a waterpark. He was timid at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up. Before we knew it, Chase was running into the wave pool, totally surprising Shane and I. He did so great, and I can't wait to take him to the beach later this summer!

But I think the highlight of the Dallas vacation for Chase was playing with Jo-Jo, the family poodle. Chase would wake up in the morning and ask for Jo-Jo. He was either chasing Jo-Jo around the house or climbing into the kennel and playing with his toys. It was so funny!

We left Monday morning and drove to the Houston area to visit with my sister Jamie and the rest of the Straughan crew! We took Chase to a couple of nice parks to play and feed the ducks. I think he was overstimulated by the massive play areas at the parks because he couldn't stay still. He just kept running from the slide to the jungle gym to the sea saw, to the bridge, etc... Needless to say, he had a blast! We also hit up some yummy Mexican food before we got back in the car Tuesday afternoon and drove back home.

It was a lot of driving, but we had such a good time visiting with our families and are so grateful for them being such wonderful hosts to us. We can't wait to see all of you again!

What's That?

Chase's new favorite phrase, is "What's that, Mama"? He asks me this question all day long! Half the time, I don't even know what he is pointing to, but I always try to give him an answer.

Last week I bought Chase his little toilet for potty training. I wasn't planning on starting anytime soon, but I wanted him to get used to the potty being in the bathroom. He LOVES it. He drags it in front of the big tv and sits on it like it's his recliner...so funny!

Also, Chase just finished his swim lessons. It went much better than I expected. Before the lessons, Chase was absolutely terrified of the water. Although, he's still not crazy about the water, he'll still get in the pool with us now (of course, he holds on for dear life the entire time)! Baby steps, I guess :-)

Hmmm, what is this thing?


Just chillin' in my new potty chair

Looks like he's really working on something in this pic :-)

Busy Weekend

Although Chase hasn't been feeling too well this past week, he had a fun, busy weekend! He had a great Sunday with visits from Conner & Mary Frances Bourg, Megan & Julia from next door (since it was their last day in the house...they moved across the lake yesteday) and Maw Maw and Pops.

He loved playing with everyone, but was still a bit clingy to Mama. He wasn't running a fever, but his behavior has been so extreme this past week, I just knew something was wrong. So I took him to the doctor this morning, and I was right...a bad ear infection in his left ear. And the doctor didn't see the tube in his left ear, so we're hoping it didn't fall out. We'll look again at his re-check visit.

Long Overdue Haircut

Chase is not too fond of getting his haircut, so Shane and I have been waiting longer and longer between cuts. Well Chase's hair was getting very wavy and curly and bit out of control, so I decided today to take him.

Although, still not great, he did MUCH better than past haircuts, so hopefully it's starting to get better. They cut off so much hair, Chase just looks too grown up for me. It's amazing how much a haircut makes a toddler look like a "mini-man".

Before:

After:

Look Who's Walking!!!

For those of you who haven't check my sister, Julie's blog lately...you just have to watch the video of Tory walking all on his own within just one month of the accident. It is absolutely amazing and unbelievable. Tory's determination and hard work coupled with the continous support of Julie is a formula for success.

Keep up the good work, Uncle Tory! We love you so much!

Here is a link to my sister's blog to see the video, but you can check their blog at any time by clicking on the Tory's Progress link on the right. Please feel free to leave comments on their blog (they enjoy reading the encouraging comments):
http://babygandyblog.blogspot.com/

Suggestions Please

With the summer sun rising earlier in the morning, our little Chase man has been waking up WAY too early for his mommy & daddy. Chase has been waking up between 5:45 and 6:00 am lately. We've tried everything we can think of to get him to sleep later: keeping him up later at night, hanging blackout shades, skipping his daytime nap (not an option ever again), giving him milk in the morning and telling him to lay back down, etc... Nothing is working! If anyone has any suggestions, please let us know!

Here is a video of Chase singing 2 of his favorite songs:

Dadda's Home!

Chase was very excited when Shane came home last night before Chase's bedtime. He was showing off for Shane and doing his tricks so much that he crashed hard when he went to bed. Check out the sweat stain on his sheets :-)