Trip To Idaho

Here are those pictures we took from our cabin in Idaho. Sadly, most of the pictures are of the actual cabin and we got very few with the actual people that were there. We need to get better at that. I have a feeling we are missing out on a bunch of family kodak moments. And Chase is hardly going to have any pictures of his parents in his baby book if we don't improve our picture-taking!

Anway, so here's the lowdown on what went on in Idaho:
It was still winter up there and snow was all over the ground and the day we left it snowed quite a bit. So we spent most of the time hanging in the cabin. Josh played Guitar Hero until he opened his birthday present and saw he got Rockband! So that is pretty much what we did, stayed in the cabin, played Rockband, ate food, watched a few movies, played a couple games, went into town one day (which consists of about 5 buildings: a small market, post office, video store, library, and about 3 restaurants) and played more Rockband. I can't wait to go up when it's warmer, there are a ton of outdoor activities to do. The development the cabin is in is on a golf course so the boys are excited to play golf when it finally warms up. There is a pool and spa as well. And tons of outdoor activities. And it is very close to Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, etc. So we will have tons to do when spring finally arrives in Idaho. We have the cabin reserved the last weekend in May so hopefully it will be warm and we can get out of the cabin! Here are the pictures we took...again, Jason didn't get a picture of the outside of the cabin, or of the kitchen, which was gorgeous! But that's ok, he did a great job taking the pictures he did take. The cabin has 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms. I think we got a picture of every bathroom.
Here is one of the showers...I loved it because it had a rainfall showerhead, a normal showerhead, and 4 jets that sprayed water at you.
Me feeding Chase
The main floor bathroom
The tv room/sunroom
The basement-where we played Rockband (me on the drums, Raelene on the guitar. Who wouldn't want to see our girlband perform?)

Dining area
A closeup of Rockband-we play some mean instruments!

A bathroom
A bedroom with twin beds
The entryway
Fireplace in the entryway

Jason with the boys
The master bedroom
And the master bath

We can't wait to go up again and bring some more of our friends! Who's coming with us?

Anyway, other quick updates:

• It looks like we are closing on the house on Friday. Jason sure loves me and is hiring movers so I don't have to stress anymore about how I am going to pack everything and take care of a baby. I do have to stress over how I am going to unpack everything and take care of a baby...but I got a few offers to help out with Chase so I can unpack (Thanks Lindsay, Rachel, Meghan and Melissa...you will each be getting phone calls next week!)

• Chase is much better today. He actually has been pretty good since Monday (the dr. had said Chase would probably be crying most of the night Sunday and most of the day Monday but he didn't!! I think I might know why...) Anyway, today has been his happiest day and he has acted like his normal self. He isn't fussy anymore when drinking his milk either, but still isn't drinking as much as he normally does. We will see if those nasty blisters have gone away when we visit the dr. at the end of the week. The good news is, once a child has had this virus they develop an immunity to it so Chase won't get it again...the bad news is, there is more than one type of herpangina. There is another type that causes painful blisters on the hands and feet. Hopefully we can avoid that one!

New House Pictures

Jason took these pictures when he met with the inspector at the end of last week...I don't understand this, but for some reason he didn't take a picture of the front. I will have to get one later. The house has 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 3 car garage (Jason's dream)...the basement isn't finished yet, so that is a project we will have to start in a year or two. Our closing date is set for Friday...we are so excited!


Entry way...I just love this wood door...nobody will be breakin in through this!
Master bedroom

Laundry room...not super huge but lots of cabinet space...I hope my new red washer and dryer look good in here!
Our view from the great room...we have a great unobstructed view of the mountains.
Master shower and tub
Chase's bathroom

Chase's bedroom...love the woodwork in here...it makes a perfect nursery!

Back of the house

The great room
Upstairs bathroom
Part of the backyard...the corner our future pool will go in. And there is Bentley's fence...I am so glad we don't have to worry about fencing the yard!

Living room...we have always wanted woodwork like this!
Kitchen with my double ovens!
More of the kitchen...I always wanted a vegetable sink too! There is one in the island

Master bath sinks

This will be our office

First Aid Kit List-For all you to-be moms!

Before I forget or just don't find the time to do this, I am posting a list of things I have found come in handy to have in your first aid kit for a baby. I am doing this for all my friends that are having their first babies in the very near future (Suzy, Kallee, Megan, Charlie...I know I missed a few). Anyway, a lot of this stuff I didn't even have, so when Chase got sick this weekend, Jason had to run to the store a few times. But generally, I like to be prepared...So here it is. And any other moms reading this and would like to add items I don't know about, please leave a comment!

• Tylenol-a very important must for fevers, pain relief after getting vaccines, etc. I have like 3 bottles in my first aid kit, so stock up!
• Motrin and Children's Benadryl-Babies can't use these products until they are 6 months old, but like I said, it's good to be prepared...you never know when your baby will get sick.
• Vicks Warm Mist humidifer and Vicks VapoSteam-works wonders in clearing up those stuffy noses
• Braun ear thermometer-I know some people complain these aren't accurate, but mine works great and lets me know when Chase has a fever...and I don't have the heart to use a rectal thermometer on him, I know he would not appreciate that at all!
• Be Kool fever strips-gets those high temps down quick! Only comes in a 4 pack so I would get a couple boxes
• 2-3 bottles of Pedialyte-you never know when your baby will start throwing up, having diahrea, or mouth blisters and won't take milk...
• Baby ice pack
• Medicine dispenser-At Walmart in the baby section there is a medicine bottle dispenser that is perfect for babies.
• Baby Bliss gripe water-sold at Walgreens. Works much better than the infant gas drops. And trust me, your baby will get stopped up with gas and have stomach pain at some point.
• Humphrey's Teething Pellets-also sold at Walgreens. You never know when your baby will start that painful process of teething. I hear these work great though I have yet to use them.
• Hyland or Similasan Earache drops-for temporary relief from ear infections until you can get to the doctor and get antibiotics

I hope this helps! And again, if I'm forgetting anything or if you have found products you love, leave a comment!

More about Herpangina

Well I am up again waiting for Chase to go back to sleep but I don't think it will be very long. He seems to be managing better. He also finally had some milk, he hasn't eaten since Sunday morning. He soaked his diaper as well, he didn't have a wet diaper in over six hours which was a sign he was starting to dehydrate.

I thought I'd share a little bit more about herpangina. It comes from the virus coxsackievirus. A child starts to become sick with the infection about 4-6 days after it enters the body. It starts with a really high fever and soon after the blisters start to appear. The worst of the pain is over within 48-72 hours then starts to subside. So we just have to make it through 1-2 more days. I am hoping though the pain has already started to subside. I am sure it is incredibly rough on such a young baby to deal with. Usually about 2-5 blisters form in the mouth. Chase only has 2 and I don't think any more are going to form...at least I hope not. At any point during the infection a fever can return. I made sure to stock up on the Be Kool strips in case this happens. Antibiotics don't help with the virus. Like I said before, it is spread through children and people not washing their hands. The virus lives in respiratory secretions and fecal matter. You can see how it is easily spreadable by people not washing their hands, especially after using the bathroom. So any parent reading this, I encourage you to encourage your child to be a thorough handwasher. It takes 30 seconds for soap to become activated and kills germs on the hands. If the soap is washed off any quicker than this, then it's just like not even washing your hands. Make sure you and your kids are rubbing the soap in your hands for 30 seconds ( I read in Parenting magazine 3o seconds is equivalent to singing the Happy Birthday song twice, so you can have your child sing that song twice before rinsing the soap off.)

More sickness

Why am I up at 2 am blogging? My poor baby is sick. Saturday he had a temperature of 101. By Sunday morning the fever was pretty much gone (thanks to Kool Strips for kids! And thanks Raelene for letting us know about them-we found them at Walgreens and it's something I think every parent should have in their first aid kit in case their child gets a fever) but he still wasn't himself. He pretty much screamed the whole day (which brought back horrible memories from his colic days) but he also wouldn't eat at all and hardly slept. I started suspecting a possible ear infection so we took him to the ER which of course was super busy with a long wait so we ended up taking him to an urgent care clinic (which I don't think was too much better than the ER. We were there from 6 till 8:30) Well it ended up being so much worse than an ear infection. He has something called herpangina, which are mouth blisters. The dr. showed me the blisters on his soft palate, he had 2 of them. I would post pictures but I am pretty emotional right now about the whole thing, it is hard for me to see my baby suffering, as I am sure it is for any parent. But if you are interested, feel free to google it and check it out. Apparently it is a pretty common childhood infection caused by a virus and spread by nonhandwashers (and let's be honest...how many young children out there are really good handwashers or wash their hands at all?). And the dr. said the majority of young children will end up with it at some point. So for any parents reading this, I am sorry because to my dismay and yours, there is nothing you can do for these blisters except wait 7-10 days for them to heal, since it's a virus. So my baby will just have to deal with the pain (and I guess they are pretty painful...must be since he won't eat anything, the dr. said eating and drinking burns pretty bad.) He has been drinking a little bit of Pedialyte (I put ice in it to make it nice and cool and it is working alright. He is enthralled with the sound the ice makes in his bottle so that keeps his mind off crying for a few minutes) So it looks like I will be up most nights for the next 7-10 days trying to do my best to comfort him. It kills me to see him in pain. I have not handled his childhood illnesses very well and I hope God goes easy on me!Anyway, Chase has fallen asleep so I better get a few hours in before the next time he gets up. Maybe the next time I can post pictures of our new house, or trips to Idaho and Michigan...

My sick baby with the Kool strip on, just watching TV

Playing before he was struck with sickness...I miss those days

Screamin' Up a Storm!

So when I finally was able to take care of my baby again on Tuesday, I noticed a new funny behavior...screaming! He has been screaming when he's mad, screaming when he's happy, screaming when he's excited, screaming when he's tired, screaming when he's hungry, screaming out of pure joy, and screaming just for the fun of it. Luckily moms seem to have a special gift of distinguishing between screams...I don't know how I know, but I just know what each scream means. It seems as though Chase has given up most of his crying for screaming. I have to say I prefer the screaming to the crying, though I know one day I will become sick of it. For now, it is hilarious.

I also have to share another first before I forget all about it (I know to some people reading this it's not a big deal, but for me it is absolutely amazing). On Sunday night, that same horrid night Jason and I were suffering from food poisoning, I kept turning on the video screen on our monitor so I could see what Chase was up to in his crib, since I really had nothing better to do while lying in bed wide awake, waiting for the next wave of sickness to hit. Well to my surprise, when I turned on the video screen at one point, Chase was on his STOMACH! My little baby boy finally rolled over! And he wasn't freaking out, he was peacefully sleeping. I was so sad I missed his first time rolling over. And I have been watching him like a hawk, waiting for him to roll over so I can actually see him do it, but to no avail. I just have to be patient and wait until he is ready to show off for me!

So that is all the excitement in our household this week so far, rolling over, screaming and all. When I am not so absolutely exhausted I will post pictures from all our trips. It is so much easier to just write though and not worry about posting pictures!

By the way, it looks like moving day is going to happen next week! We are also meeting with the pool guy at our new house next week to get started on that project. I am so excited we are getting a pool! Chase is going to be in heaven, as am I!

The Worst 24 Hours of our Lives!!

So on the way back from the cabin in Idaho on Sunday (which I will blog about soon and post pictures) we stopped at a Wendy's to grab some food but we mainly stopped there so I could change Chase's messy diaper and that was pretty much the only food place around. We probably got home around 7:30 that night. By around midnight, both Jason and I were dealing with a case of FOOD POISONING! I am shuddering just thinking about it. Every 5-10 minutes one of us or both were in different bathrooms. I think the longest break either of us had was 30 minutes before needing to run into the bathroom again. I started really stressing that night about how we were going to take care of Chase (he still gets up once a night to eat) because neither of us could even really stand up. I could barely make it to the bathroom without almost passing out. So at 3 am we started calling friends to see who could come get Chase but of course no on answered because who is expecting a phone call that early in the morning! We managed to deal with Chase, Jason somehow was able to pour his bottle and bring him in the bed with us so we could take turns holding the bottle and running to the bathroom. The diaper changing was a little tougher since that required standing and I don't even know how I was able to stand up long enough to change it.

Our friend Raelene called us back around 7 am after seeing all our calls on her phone and came and got Chase at 8. She took him for the whole entire day until his bedtime and brought us medicine and gingerale in bed before leaving. Then our friends Damon and Holly brought us Gatorade and Pepsi and some anti-nausea medicine (Holly is pregnant and gets super sick everyday and I can't even imagine dealing with that! She is one strong woman). Jason started feeling a little better that night, but still felt really weak and exhausted. I was still unable to keep anything down that night. Our friend Rachel came and slept over so she could wake up with Chase during the night and take care of him in the morning so we could try and get some sleep and not have to worry about him. Don't we have the greatest friends in the world? I am getting teary eyed just writing this and am so touched by their kindness and willingness to help. They are wonderful people and I am very appreciative of all they did to help us in our time of need. And I hope they know that we are definitely there for them if they get food poisoning or need anything else! We just love you guys!

Today we are doing better. Jason is back at work but still doesn't feel great. And I definitely don't feel great but I did have enough energy to take care of Chase today after Rachel left and I am keeping liquids down. All I have to say is I am NEVER again eating at Wendy's or any fast food places anymore. I have never had food poisoning before and don't plan on getting it again. And fast food places are really not all that sanitary. Or healthy. The only fast food exceptions I will make are Cafe Rio and Chipotle. Now I am starting to get hungry, I think its time to try some food.

A Look Back on March

Here is how we spent our March...it's really not all that exciting...we mostly did mundane things like errands, cleaning, sleeping, working out, not blogging...

Chase's first time at church! We didn't even make it the whole 3 hours because someone had a messy diaper that leaked...
At Raelene's 24th birthday party at Outback Steakhouse. Happy Birthday girl, I look forward to celebrating many more b-day's with you! This is a picture of all our boys together, they were all born the same year and will hopefully be good friends for life! We have from the left, Peyton (Lindsay's boy), Cohen (Raelene's boy), and Chase. None of them were doing a good job looking at the camera, I guess there were too many other interesting things going on to look at. But Josh looks perfect!
At the beginning of the month Chase started wanting to sit up all the time so it was time to get a big boy chair! This is the first time in his new chair and he is loving it!

My avid little reader! I didn't even have to set this up, I just gave him the book and he started playing with it and looking at the pictures.

We got new carpet in our master bedroom. I kind of did something stupid that caused mold to grow on our old carpet. I put soaking wet towels in the hamper and had good intentions of washing them that day but didn't get to it till 3 weeks later...

He was looking like such a big boy in his new 3-6 month clothes...I finally had to put away his 0-3 month clothing, it was bittersweet for me.

Chase started grabbing his feet, which he does constantly now, especially during diaper changes!


He was finally able to sit up in his Bumbo chair without flopping all over the place!
Chase relaxed a lot during the month of March (had to get a picture with his hands up behind his head)

Happy Easter! Chase's basket (he got plenty of new books, a Baby Einstein dvd, a swimsuit and rashguard, Horton the elephant, sunglasses, a new shirt and a monkey pillow, which is not pictured.) Jason and I also got eachother baskets but I didn't get a picture of them.
We spent Easter dinner with our friends Josh, Raelene, Justin, and Michelle. Raelene and I found these bunny ears at Target back in February and had to take pictures of our boys wearing them for Easter! This is Chase with her son Cohen. As you can see, Cohen is in a great mood but Chase not so much! He was really tired by the time we took pictures so wasn't in the mood to smile. He still looks cute though in my opinion.
Cohen checking out Chase...Cohen noticed the ears on Chase's head and took them off his head multiple times, it was pretty cute!

Other important things Chase did:

• We went on our first walk outside when it finally was warm (I think it was warm only one day in March). He loved getting fresh air! I look forward to taking him to the park soon to try out the baby swings! I only wish my grandpa could be out here with us, he used to take us to the park all the time!
• Chase started to try to roll over from his back to his stomach. He only gets to his side, but sometimes he will get stuck there and can't get to his back or his stomach, it's pretty cute! He will be rolling over in no time!
• He started making the consonant sounds m and b (which as a speech therapist is very important and huge to me!)
• He started laughing! It's a challenge to get him to laugh, he's a tough crowd! Jason still hasn't heard him laugh. The first time he laughed was when I was singing "Old Mcdonald had a farm". He laughed at the word chicken and he laughed at the "bok bok" noises I made. I know he will laugh a lot more soon, it's still a new thing for him.

Well I am almost caught up! Just a few more things to blog about, like our trip to Michigan/Chicago!

We also have some fun things to look forward to in April:

-Going to our cabin in Idaho for the first time! Jason and his business partner Josh invested in a cabin with a few other owners and we get it 4 weeks out of the year. I am very excited to go, it was one of our dreams to have a cabin! This isn't quite our very own, but it's good enough for now. The cabin is close to Jackson Hole so it should be really fun!

-Moving to our new house!! We finally sold ours and found a new house, brand new, already landscaped and fenced. Our closing date will probably be at the very end of this month. But boy will it be stressful trying to do all the packing and unpacking while taking care of Chase! It will be a huge challenge and I wish my family was around to help!