Lucky Daddy...

Daddy got a really nice head rub from Colby, what a lucky duck! Mommy was not so lucky!

Doctor's Appointments...

As many of you know we have been having troubles with Chasey's skin for months now. He gets these little red bumps that itch him so terribly he'll itch them until they bleed. He's been to the pediatrician, the dermatologist (actually 8 different ones) and an allergist. He's been diagnosed with everything from eczema to bug bites to mollescum (warts) to impetigo. We tried many different ointments and treatments and the only thing that seemed to help was the antihistamine. It finally became clear that he was having some sort of allergic reaction that was causing these bumps. I took him to the allergist to see if they were able to find anything that could be causing this. He was tested for over 20 things and nothing came back positive. You can see his tiny back and how uncomfortable that looks, he was such a rock star. He didn't cry once, the nurse was amazed and said she has 10 year old kids that don't handle the testing as well as Chase did. I took that picture right after she did the test (you wait 20 minutes and if anything is still red than it's considered positive). The big red spot on his lower right back is a place where one of the dermatologists tried to burn off one of these little spots (that was smaller than a pimple). It just urks me to look at his poor little back and see what that spot turned into because of a misdiagnosis. Fortunately it is healing and is almost gone now. While we don't know the cause of these bumps after a few weeks on Zyrtec and Atarax they went away and he doesn't have any more and isn't itchy anymore. What a blessing!
Now for Colby's story...I noticed the week he turned one that he had what appeared to be a lazy eye. I didn't notice it very often but as he's gotten older I've noticed it more and more. I called the eye clinic at Children's and explained what was going on. I thought they'd think I was some overly paranoid and superficial mom but they seemed very concerned and made the next available appointment for Colby. I was curious to see how they would evaluate a 2 year old's eye (especially when they told me it would be a 3 hour appointment!). It was amazing, they did a bunch of tests with toys and had Colby watch Toy Story on a screen that was down a long tunnel. Colby was a champion and did very well. I owe a special thank you to my mom who packed him a bag of lollipops for the appointment, that was truly the lifesaver! After a long evaluation the doctor told us that Colby has exotropia, his left eye drifts out to the side when he is looking at something far away. They tested his vision and it is equal in both eyes meaning the root of the problem is in his eye muscle. 75% of kids with this get worse and some eventually seeing out of the bad eye all together, I had no idea it was so serious! He said we can try to patch his good eye for a few hours each day to see if that helps at all (I knew this was out of the question since Colby is 2 and doesn't even keep sunnies on). So instead we're doing dilating drops in his good eye, it has the same effect as patching. This only cures 30% of kids, the rest end up needing surgery to tighten that eye muscle. So we're hoping it will work. It is very scary to look at your son and see his pupils are unequal (a sign of head injury). Eventhough I know to expect this now it will catch me off guard every now and than! I took these pictures of Colby while we were waiting for his eyes to dilate, he watched the cartoons for about 30 seconds and than went on rearranging the chairs and playing hide and seek with Jason who was able to take a break from work and join us. To anyone in Colorado if your kids need anything I would take them to Children's!

Christmas, Ahhhh...

The boys were being so cute eating dinner so I thought I'd take a few pictures. I love the stockings, tree and fire in the background.I love Christmas...on another note, Colby has finally figured out how to do the forced, fake smile (oh the things you can get kids to do with the promise of an M&M!)

More Wagon Fun...

Tonight Colby thought he'd try to sit in it with Chase, that didn't last long!

Colby and Ashley

We had the Egans over for dinner tonight and Colby and Chase couldn't have been more in heaven! Luke and Ashley are so much fun. Here Ashley showed Colby how to climb on the train and sit nicely, Colby was so proud of himself! They looked so cute perched on that train!

Ready For Church!

Nothing is more handsome than little boys who are dressed up and ready for church! This is not the best picture of Colby but I just love his little man outfit!

Holding Hands...

Brotherly Love...

My boys are becoming closer and closer everyday. They absolutely love each other's company and are each other's best friend. They are constantly playing together and as of yet don't ever fight. It is so amazing how God works. It is really amazing to think that not only did God create Colby and Chasey with our family in mind, but he created Jason and I with the boys in mind. Thank you God. I feel so blessed to have these two little boys!

Fun with the wagon!

I had moved this into the basement a couple of months ago and the boys were never so happy to see it! Colby loves pushing it and Chase loves sitting in it so it's a perfect combination!

All Bundled Up!

One of my favorite things about little boys is little boys in snow boots! I also can't get enough of this hat. It has been so cold here lately that my boys are actually keeping their hats on for a change!

All Bundled Up!

One of my favorite things about little boys is little boys in snow boots! I also can't get enough of this hat. It has been so cold here lately that my boys are actually keeping their hats on for a change!

Christmas Lights!

Jason worked for hours until he got the lights just right. At first he just did the lower level of our house but after seeing how great the other homes on our street were decorated we felt the house was a bit underdressed. It was quite the task being our first year. We did not have a very tall ladder so we did a few risky moves to get the lights just right. Colby must have sensed the danger because everytime I crawled out of the window to help Jason he would have a complete meltdown. We used the LED lights so it does look a little like a runway but we're still pleased. I am so proud of Jason for doing it!

Laundry Basket Fun...

Oh the joys of a simple laundry basket. The boys played in it for hours. As you can see pup was also enjoying himself!

Chasey is 14 Months Old!

I wanted to post an update on Chasey Bear before he turned 15 months old. I'll be adding pictures later. Here are a few things that are new and exciting with Chasey...
Motor - He is now attempting to WALK up and down stairs (something I find amazing since Colby rarely even tries that NOW!), he walks everywhere and doesn't crawl at all anymore. He can stand up on his own too. He has mastered crawling inside and out of the fisher price car and can also navigate his way into laundry baskets and tupperwares.
Speech - He uses a few signs (when he wants to, he is much more reluctant to sign than Colby was. At first I thought he didn't know them but usually he'll whine and when he doesn't get what he wants he'll start to frantically sign - that little booger) He knows so many words! I am floored everytime he says something. Colby was much older when he started to talk. I was holding Chase on Thanksgiving and heard him saying, "baba" and I thought it was just baby babbling until I looked at him and realized he was desperately reaching for his bottle. Now that I'm more aware of the fact that he CAN talk here are a few of the words he is saying...Mama, Dada, Baba, Nana (banana), Papa (something Jerry is VERY proud of), More, Moon, Eat, Hot. Here are a few of the signs he'll do (when HE wants to)...please, more, all done.
Likes - Chasey LOVES anything his brother is doing. They are a little tag team that now keep Jason and I VERY busy. His favorite thing to do right now is rip as many ornaments off of the tree as he can before I come stomping over to yell at him (and as soon as I do that he runs away as fast as he can, giggling while he goes! This is why we call him, little booger!) He loves playing with his cell phone (a demo model they gave to the boys while we were at Verizon the other day), he loves playing with the changers, opening drawers and climbing in (even drawers I would never think of him getting in to he'll try and cry when he can't get in), taking out all of the clothes from his dresser, dancing (he has some moves too! He'll do a head bob, a booty shake and even a pelvic thrust, I can't wait to get him into break dancing classes!), taking any empty bottle or cup and yelling into it to hear the echo, taking baths, reading stories (and unfortunately, tearing books, something we're having to work on). He loves to snuggle and just melts into me when I sing to him but he is still a very active and independent little boy. He is VERY loud (something I'll admit he gets from me!), he is outgoing and fearless. He is such a fun little boy who keeps us on our toes. He also loves his paci!
Food - He is a little bit of a picky eater. He gets thrown off by textures and likes whatever he's eating to all be the SAME texture (ie: no baked potato soup with chunks of potatoes in it, makes him gag when he gets a potato bite and he spits it right out), he loves grapes, crasins and bananas. Also loves cottage cheese, ice cream and cheerios. He doesn't like tomatoes (both of my boys hate them, I think they think they are going to taste sweet because they look like fruit and are totally grossed out when they don't). He loves milk. Nowadays we're going through about 2 1/2 gallons a week between the two boys. Thank you Royal Crest!!!
Size - He is wearing 12 month onsies, 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers (although we should probably move to 5's since we're starting to get a little plumbers crack!). He is probably around 27 or 28 pounds.

Thanksgiving Music...

My mom had us over for Thanksgiving and it was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful and as usual, the boys had a blast at "Suka's" house. Cousin Bella was kind enough to give the boys a piano lesson and there was beautiful music for everyone's Thanksgiving enjoyment! Colby was apparently inherited the 'tongue sticking out to help with concentration' gene that I inherited from Aunty Cindy. As you can see he had to concentrate quite hard on the drumming. Chase discovered his talent for playing the recorder, I was quite impressed to see he could master the playing while walking technique which will come in quite handy if he ever plans on joining marching band!

Bubble Bath...

Colby is always excited about the idea of having a bubble bath but when they're actually in the tub with him he does not like it at all, as you can see in the picture he has scooted all the bubbles on Chasey's side. Fortunately Chase loves bubbles. When Colby accidentally gets some on his face or hands he'll whine until I've rinsed them off, Chase on the other hand will put his face right down in the bubbles on purpose and than laugh. Two very different boys!

Chasey Loves Garland!

I know, the garland is a strangulation hazard but he was carefully supervised while playing with it! I should have taken warning with his interest in the garland, ever since I put it up it's been a struggle because Chase keeps trying to take it down! He just loves those red beads!

So Big!

I just love this picture, those chubby little wrists and those baby blues...