Happy Birthday Dad!

This April 24th was my dad's 70th birthday. My mom had planned a big party for him to celebrate. Many relatives from out of town were coming to visit and wish my dad a happy 70th. I, of course, planned on attending too...until I found out the date. Unfortunately, the party was the same day as the March for Babies event that I am the logistics chair for. I certainly couldn't miss that. I told the very disappointing news to my dad, and being true to form, he completely understood and very much supports my efforts with the March of Dimes. I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself that I couldn't make this momentous occasion for my father. One day after work, as I was going through the mail, I came across the party invitation that my mom had sent for my dad's party. She wrote on it, "I know you can't make it but I just wanted to send this anyway." I decided right then and there that I was going - somehow. I went online and found a flight that left Boise at 2pm onSaturday the 25th and would get me in to Phoenix at 3:00pm (thank you time zone change!). I called my sister to see how I might get from the airport to the party. Her response was, "Just book your ticket - we'll get you there." So I did...but I didn't tell my dad. Saturday, April 25th was a big day. I got up at 4am, got ready, packed, and made it to the venue for the walk by 5:30am. We set up and held the event, cleaned up, and I was out of there by 12:30pm. Dave and I dropped a car off for me at work and then took me to the airport. I was through airport security by 1:15pm and went to the bathroom to change for the party. I boarded the plane at 1:45pm and we took off on time. We arrived in Phoenix 15 minutes early at 2:45pm and I was in my sister's car (that she had left for me at the airport) by 3PM. A quick drive and I was in Payson by 4:30pm. Surprise Dad! I had so much fun surprising him and visiting with everyone I hadn't seen in a long time. We also celebrated Ryan's birthday too as his birthday was a couple weeks beforehand.

Chase meets Elmo

March for Babies was held this past Saturday and WOW what a day. This year's event took much more planning than in past years for various reasons and the walk day was also much more hectic than normal. All in all, we raised money and at the end of the day, that's what matters (I am still awaiting final numbers as to how much we raised). A big perk of the event this year was that we had a surprise visit from Elmo and Sponge Bob so Aunt Dawn and Aunt Judy brought the boys down to meet them. Chase was so cute as he just danced and danced with Elmo and Sponge Bob (play the two videos below to see him in action). The March for Babies website even has a picture of Chase dancing with them. Too cute! Chase bounced in the bounce houses and he also got his first ever temporary tatoo...he wasn't too sure what to make of that.

April Picnic

A beautiful, warm April day...a perfect day for a picnic. We decided to pack up the family for a picnic today and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. We went to a small, favorite park of ours not too far from our house called "Storey Park." We enjoyed a great lunch, and then Chase played while Grayson took a nap. Later, at home, we played with play dough (for the first time) on Chase's new Little Tikes picnic table. It was a simple, yet memorable day!

ER

Every parent's nightmare - the dreaded visit to the ER. Well this was our first visit with Chase, and I fear probably not our last. Chase had come down with a cold on Monday afternoon (the 6th) and started running a mild fever. His mild fever began to spike on Friday, and with five days of a fever and heading into a holiday weekend, I made an appointment with his pediatrician's office. The on-duty doctor told me that it was just a cold, but he was starting to show some early signs of an ear infection and prescribed an antibiotic for Chase. Chase started taking it on Friday night, and by Easter Sunday his fever was gone and he appeared to be feeling better. Monday morning Chase woke up crying in his bed. I came in to say good morning and he kept sobbing and saying, "walk." So I thought, ok...walk. Apparently that was the problem - he couldn't walk. His legs were not paralyzed, but they certianly were not willing to bear weight. I remembered back to my childhood when my sister was paralyzed from the waist down from what the doctors thought was an allergy to penicillin. In an effort not to panic, I thought that perhaps the antibiotic that Chase was prescribed (and the only drug outside of tylenol and benadryl he has ever taken) had caused an allergic reaction. The nurse line I called told me to take Chase to the ER. After 4 hours and 8 x-rays later, the ER doctor determined that his respiratory virus had settled in his hip. Chase didn't mind the ER though. He had is own room with a nice bed and cartoons running continuously. He even summond the nurse on his own once with the buttons on the bed...oops. He even looked cute in his hospital gown. When it was time to leave and I removed the gown to get him dressed, he yelled, "no, no," and tried to put it back on. I'm sure he was in love with the fact that he had watched more TV in his ER visit than in one week at home. :) The ER doctor recommended that we see Chase's pediatrician over the next couple of days to make sure that it did not turn into an infection which could be serious. We did just that, and by Wednesday, Chase was showing improvement. Phew! What a scare...but he is (will be) as good as new.

Grayson turns 4 months

Grayson is 4 months old today and is growing like a weed. He was over 14 lbs. at his doctors visit today, and steady at the the 40th percentile in all categories. This is pretty surprising to me as he is such a spitter...he spits up all the time. I tried to control it with a change in formula, which worked to control the spit-ups...but then nothing came out either end. LOL! Not an improvement. So we are back to his old formula and several outfit changes a day. The spit-ups don't seem to bother him and he is obviously gaining weight well enough. We started giving him cereal in an effort to weight the formula down, but he is still learning how to swallow it (he still has the tongue thrust reflex). He is just the happiest baby and LOVES to tell us stories. Every day when I get home from work and get the run down from the nanny, Grayson is always interrupting trying to tell me about his day. It is just too cute!

Grayson's Baptism

Easter was extra special for us this year as it was also Grayson's baptism. It seemed like just a really great occassion for his baptism, as well as being coincident with his grandparent's visit. Grayson did so awesome! Never cried a bit, and even seemed rather interested in the ceremony. Dawn of course made a beautiful cake for the occassion with an open bible on top and a bookmark with Grayson's name on it. She is truly talented!

Happy Easter!

Chase woke up Easter morning feeling a little better than he did on Saturday. This was a huge relief as I was not sure who would stay with him at home if he was still running a fever and could not go to the nursery. Staying home from church was not an option as Grayson was being baptised that day. Chase immediately headed out first thing in the morning to search for what the Easter Bunny had brought him. We were so busy getting ready for the day, he didn't get a chance to do his outside easter egg hunt until after church. It was a beautiful day!