Summer fun

Sorry it's been so long since my last post-we've been busy!

Justin (and Chasen) celebrated their first Father's Day last weekend. We had our families over and had a BBQ with brats and the fix'ns. Justin was loaded down with gifts-including some snazzy belt buckles from me. One is a crown for "The King" and the other says "Dad". He wears the "Dad" one all the time now! Chasen gave him a book called "I love you Daddy" for them to read together....what a thoughtful kid!

I have spent the entire week trying to fill out and get all the documents needed to apply for teaching positions. This of course, is because I PASSED BOTH EXAMS! Yeah! I'm worried that I won't be able to find a job come fall, but I am still moving forward in going back to school to get my teaching certificate. I never thought that I would be a teacher (of course I'm not one yet) but it seems to really be a good fit. I enjoy teaching at Dekalb Tech, I enjoy tutoring, and I enjoy children. So, I think that this combined with the schedule and benefits is a great career choice! I relish at the thought of a career..I'm tired of bouncing around jobs. I feel like Tigger!

Chasen has had a busy week as well-getting into everything! My mom brought over this water play-yard today. At first, he was scared but he had a good time. He just didn't enjoy having the water in his eyes. Give him some more time, and we won't be able to get him out of it! I am looking forward to his upcoming first birthday. I feel like throwing a party for him every month, and soon I will have a big reason to celebrate!

Milestones

It's been a busy week (again!). We took Joyce and Bill to the Chattahoochee Nature Center and had a nice time. We really got in touch with nature that day! They had one pond that we came across which had tadpoles/frogs in mid change, along with three types of dragonflies fluttering about, and crayfish crawling along the shore. So many things to look at! We felt like kids! Pictured is Chase with Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bill at the Miller's house.

Speaking of kids, we don't think Chase was teething this past week but instead had a cold. Other family members have come down with a cold and Chase didn't pop any teeth so my Nancy Drew logic has led me to this conclusion.

Chase has also become quite a handful! He is so active, all he wants to do is crawl and pull on you, and isn't happy sitting still for a minute! It's funny, as a new parent you are waiting for all these milestones to occur, thinking that life will be easier and happier with baby. When he was a newborn, we couldn't wait until he could eat solids. We had dreams of glorious family meals where we would be able to "break bread" together. What we got was a messy baby who squirms and whines in his high chair, making the parent's (especially me) blood pressure rise! Going out to eat has also started to be a problem. In fact, he started to whine so much yesterday we had to cut our lunch short and leave! Then, we couldn't wait for the first tooth to arrive. We were so happy when his teeth popped, what a big boy! Well, now when he plays with you, he bites! Not hard, and not intentional but it's a shock! We also couldn't wait until he could sit up and crawl. We thought this would give us a break and free our hands. What we didn't expect was a baby who got into everything and constantly injured himself by poor balance! He's not happy unless he is pulling up on something, crawling over something, or pulling something down! Every milestone has relieved one problem and led to another! Our next milestone is walking....can't wait to see what that brings!

Baby of many faces

I had to post these pictures of C!

You can see the many faces of Chasen-the extremely happy face and the frustrated face!

He loves taking baths, but then always wants to climb out of them, which poses some problems. It's hard to get a hold of a slippery baby! These pictures were taken at my mom's house-she likes to put the visor on so that soap doesn't get in his eyes. Mom's not so careful! I get water all over his face!

You gotta fight for your right......

Chasen is partied out! We are going on two weeks of parties and touring Atlanta with out of town guests, including Uncle Bill and Aunt Joyce. We are pooped!

Actually, Justin and I are pooped today. We think Chase is cutting new teeth. We had noticed that in the past week, his drooling came back. Yesterday, he put the "C" in cranky. And then last night, he woke up every 1-2 hours screaming. Justin said he felt something in his gums, but I didn't. I would say that either today or tomorrow we should see some new teeth!

School is coming to a close as well at DT. Two more classes! My tutoring has slowed down too, it should pick back up in a few weeks. I'm glad for the break, though it means money is tight!

We are going to the Blue Willow Inn and Fox Winery on Thursday. Should be nice, I will try to take some pictures and post them soon!

Fish and Coke?!?

This has been a busy week with Auntie Joyce and Uncle Bill visiting from Washington. Friday we all went to the new World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium-with a stop by McCormick & Schmick's for some seafood!

The World of Coke was cool, but there was one flaw. They had a 4-D movie that had moving seats, water spray, and air blowing. I say blowing mildly, because it was more like tornado-like winds. Chasen was scared to death and freaking out. It was awful! I felt they should have warned parents that the movie was scary. I tried to tell the employees afterwards, but I was just told that I "should have known".

The Georgia Aquarium was a blast. They had just delivered two new whale sharks that day, so it was extra special! Pictured is one of the new sharks-named Kimono or Sushi. Something exotic......Chasen enjoyed the fish, seals, and whales. He went wild in the fish tunnel too! He didn't know which fish to look at!