Chasing Mr. Chase!

I do not think Tom and I had any idea how appropriate Chase's name would actually be until now. This boy is all over the place! He is climbing on cabinets, chairs, stairs, couches and walls. He runs and runs until someone actually makes him stop and then he passes out. He is a sweetie pie but if he doesn't get his way, he will burst your ear drums with a ear piercing scream. At 16 months he can pitch a real fit; we have to make him sit and calm down when something he wants has been taken away.

His current favorite toys are the broom, mop, remote controls and our cell phones. :)

Left: The cute Clemson Tiger shirt is obviously from Aunt Alexis. It was a gift given to Hannah and has now been passed down to Chase. Thanks Aunt Alexis!
Right: Trying on Hannah's dress up shoes. He will not put on two though, it might just be a bit TOO much. Who knows? Ha

He has just started talking a lot more as of this past week. He was saying Mama, Dada, Piper and Hannah. He can now say (in his own way); shoes, thank you, dirty, dog and bird.

Left: Brushing his teeth for the first time. Right: with a BIG SMILE, eating a Mango.)

He has only 6 teeth, 4 up top and 2 on the bottom.

Enjoy the pics of our cute, adorable little monkey...

Hannah's First Day of Pre-School

Hannah's first day of Pre-School was overwhelmingly difficult for me. Tom was in Gabon at the time (in West Africa) on a TDY and I felt like this whole life changing event was happening to me...alone. However, after stressing all night and writing in my journal to express my fears, excitement, and anxiety I realized, it wasn't that bad.

It is only a half day from 9 am to 12:30 pm. She has a friend there that lives here on the compound with us and she seems to have an absolute ball! The first day was difficult dropping her off but I was good and only cried in the car, not in front of her. She definitely shed some tears; however, the teacher told me that they didn't last but more than a few minutes.

She continued to do the same routine every day for the first few weeks. She was excited about going to school and getting ready for school but when we would get in the car Hannah would say, "You are not going to leave me when we get to school, right?" It broke my heart every time.

After 3 weeks, she doesn't get too upset when I drop her off anymore and I am obviously over all my stress of my first child attending school. For me the comfort lies in the fact that she is home for half the day. Now I just have to prepare myself for Kindergarten and

of course Chase. : (

Hannah at the house getting ready with her new Ariel backpack and then arriving at school.

Hannah's second day of school. It was sports day and she had to wear her cute sports uniform. Obviously, she loved it. :)

Fancy Hannah

(Hannah reading her Fancy Nancy book and dressed from head to toe in Mommy's clothes)

I am not sure if any of you have read the absolutely adorable books called Fancy Nancy, but they are Hannah's favorite! Fancy Nancy is dressing up everything from her doll, her bedroom and even her family. All in the premise of teaching them how to be "fancy". This is all from a 5 year old point of view, but she uses fancy words like stupendous, spectacular, ensembles and ecstatic. She also uses French words (because French sounds so fancy) like Merci and parfait. Anyway, the books are a blast to read and Hannah replicates it in her actions daily. I thought I would share a few of her thoughts with you for fun...

When I get dressed up (wear clothes other than t-shirt and jeans, my daily wear), she says "Ooh La La, you look so fancy Mommy." She also wants to know where I will be taking her for the day too.

She says, "Mommy, where are my sunglasses? I want to look like a movie star!" She has no idea what a movie star is, but she knows they wear sunglasses and look "fancy". We saw a lady at lunch the other day with quite large black sunglasses on, she said,"Look mommy...a movie star!"

"Can I PLEASE wear my glass slippers to bed Mommy? Where are my glass slippers? (at 6 am when she wakes up). Is Chase sleeping?...can I wear my glass slippers on the carpet and be extra slow so I won't wake him?"

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"I want a ring like yours (pointing to my wedding ring). Can I wear it PLEASE mommy? I really want to wear it." I tell her No. She can wear a ring like Mommy's when she meets a man and he tells her he loves her and wants to marry her; then she can have one. So, a few days later we are walking down the stairs and she says, "I am going to meet a man that loves me and is going to give me a ring, I'm so excited!"

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"Mom, can we dress up and be fancy today?"

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So the latest event that adds to her many "fancy" Hannah days...

At 1 am she comes in my room crying. I immediately take her back to her bed. I ask her what is wrong. She says, "My bracelet fell off, I need you to fix it". Well, this is her necklace that I made her take off before she went to bed even though she was crying that she wanted to keep it on. So, I told her we would put it around her wrist and she could wear it to bed, but not her neck! So the necklace is too big and obviously will not wrap around her wrist, right? I fix it, she lays back down. Then, 5 min. later, she comes in my room...

"Mommy, I need to go potty." I take her to the potty. Then, when I put her back down

she says, "But my bracelet, it keeps falling off...FIX IT!!" (with her sad voice getting louder).
I said to her, " Hannah!! (with my voice getting louder),It is going to keep falling off...it is a necklace, not a bracelet. Can we please just leave it on the table for the morning?"

Hannah then says, "NO!!! I want to wear it!!" I then say, "Hannah!!!, This is never going to fit, it does not belong on your wrist and it will not stay. It will keep falling off and you will NOT keep getting me to fix it all night!"

So, I take it, wrap it around her princess Aurora doll's neck and say, "SHE WILL BE WEARING THE NECKLACE TONIGHT AND WHEN YOU WAKE UP, THEN...YOU CAN PUT IT BACK ON!" (Very Loudly). She said OK.

When she came in my room the next morning, she was carrying the necklace with her in hand for me to put back on her neck. As soon as we got downstairs she then HAS to put her glass slippers on. This is something she never forgets either. To top it off, She ALWAYS has to wear the glass slippers to any meal; breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The latest is not only that she needs to get dressed up, but her doll also needs to get dressed up with her necklaces. I am sure you can imagine the frustration when then those beeds fall off the doll's neck, it is quite the site. Oh, and they also have to sit next to her during meals in the high chair. :)

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It is adorable; however, I know I can get a bit impatient at times. Today she was having a fit, in hysterical tears, because she wanted her shirt tucked in to her skirt and it kept falling out.

I mean, What's a girl to do?

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Mom, Dad...please tell me I was not this bad. Ha Ha