Independence

What Independence Day would be complete without a few trips to the pool? Chase has never been afraid of the water, but it seems that recently he's taken a real interest in it. He would climb up and down the ramp leading into the pool for hours if you'd let him with a little bit of splashing mixed in. He isn't terribly interested in the little float he can sit it -- sitting still for long enough to relax is not his style. He loves to stand inside the pool and play with toys that are sitting poolside. Today as he was standing in the pool, I noticed he got a bit agitated after awhile and seemed to be trying to climb out. Mistaking this for a sign that he was tired of the pool, I picked him up and started walking him towards our table. He was not pleased, so I put him back down on the side of the pool and he immediately started to climb back in. After about 2 seconds, he was agitated again and trying to climb out. It took two or three times of this pattern before I finally realized that climbing in and out was the point. I look forward to the day when he can use words, but in the meantime, it's awesome that he can communicate now. He is starting to point at things that he wants, and also appears to be waving his hands to signal "all done" when he's done eating (either that or Casey, Riley and I are just interpreting it as that and making a big fuss about nothing). He is also pointing at objects and saying "dah" which roughly translated I think means "what's that?"

It's awesome to be able to communicate with him some, but I must admit, his new-found independence makes me a little bit sad. My baby is growing up much too quickly.

Fun Game

Chase has a favorite new game. It's called "Wrigley". The rules are not difficult to follow:

1. Pick up tennis ball.
2. Throw tennis ball.
3. Squeal with delight while Wrigley chases tennis ball.
4. Look confused when Wrigley does not throw tennis ball back.
5. Smile widely when Wrigley runs back with tennis ball and drops it.
6. Repeat.

The crazy thing was that this particular morning Chase outlasted Wrigley. I don't know whether that's a sign of Chase's persistence or a sad statement about Wrigley's aging process...

Enthusiasm

Chase is spending the last days of his first year trying very hard to learn to walk. He will let go of whatever he is holding onto, whether it be your finger, his shopping cart, the wall, your leg, your clothes or some very unstable object (those seem to be his preference) and just stand there looking like, "Hmmm, well what do I do now?" A few days ago he decided to take a few almost accidental, very tiny, wobbly steps toward my outstretched arms holding a bowl full of Cheerios (the things this kid will do for food). Yesterday at school, he took three consecutive steps before falling. Progress.

Chase woke up early this morning and I figured the cause was teething which I blame for most things. Lately when he's woken up early like this, he's just wanted to snuggle and will quickly fall back to sleep. Not today. I walked in to him standing in his crib with an enthusiastic grin. Still thinking he wanted to snuggle, I tried getting him to fall back to sleep. It was not to be. He is a strong little dude and squirmed and yelled until I gave up the fight. My next idea was to give him his milk because he had not eaten well last night (again, blaming teething) and I figured he was starving. Nope. More squirming, more yelling and a strong throw of the sippy cup later, I decided to turn on the light in his room and see what he would do. Immediately he gave me a great big smile, made a motion to get down, stood clutching one of the slats of his crib with a determined look on his face, let go and took a step. My enthusiastic little boy just wanted to get an early start at practicing walking.

Is it really July???

Today marks the first day of Chase's birthday month, so like I have done for Riley the past 3 years in the month of May, it is time to begin my daily celebration of all things Chase. At this point in his life, my absolute favorite thing about Chase is how much he delights in the little things. He loves being tickled and will giggle and giggle until you stop. When you do stop, he just looks at you in a way that makes very clear that he is not done yet and wants the tickle monster to come back and will giggle all over again until he gets the hiccups. He likes to be held, but only if it is in a way which permits him to be an involved observer of the world around him. He loves to pet the dogs and will look into their eyes sometimes like he can see all the way into their souls. He loves his little blanket that's in the shape of a baseball and will carry it all over the place if you let him in the morning. He loves water and would splash in it all day long if you'd let him. Doesn't matter if it's the bath tub, the dogs' water bowl, the pool, the water table or a puddle, he's a-splashing. He adores music. He loves to bang on the keyboard with Riley in the morning (actually, he loves to bang on just about anything). He likes any toy or book that plays music. He is absolutely wild about listening and dancing to just about anything, but Mumford & Sons and Coldplay are his favorites. He loves to eat and will devour just about anything you put in front of him. (Perhaps there is hope that at least one of our children will not inherit the picky eating gene I was inflicted with growing up.) He loves to throw things, whether it's a ball, a dish, food, a pacifier launched from his crib, or just about anything else he can get his little hands on. He has an INCREDIBLE arm for an 11-month-old (and we thought Riley was going to be our superstar baseball player...). "Talking" to his big brother and making him laugh is probably his favorite thing. He will do almost anything to elicit a laugh from Riley. (I know this spells trouble for us in future years.) He is so excited to see you at the end of a day apart that his whole face lights up when you walk in the room. If you aren't quick enough about getting to him, he will let you know and that's part of his charm. He knows what he wants and is not bashful about it.

Of all the things that I love about him, my absolute favorite (at least for today) is his self-confidence. When he does something new, it is written all over his face that he is absolutely delighted with himself. After about 10 seconds of silence the other day, I realized something was amiss, only to find him at the top of the stairs grinning like he had just summited Mount Everest. When he discovered his love of music, he squealed and bounced and flapped his arms around and wiggled his backside. When he started walking by pushing on his toy shopping cart, he held his little head up so high and practically strutted across the room. After he stood on his own for the first time without holding onto anything (a very new accomplishment), instead of crying when he eventually fell down, he smiled from ear to ear and waved his arms around in self-congratulation. When he took his first unassisted step (an even newer accomplishment), he looked around to make sure we were all watching and squealed when we clapped.

He is goofy, but can be very serious, especially when faced with a stranger. He is sweet, but opinionated. He is nosey. He is curious. He is active. He is into everything. He is amazing and somehow he is almost one.

Finally... a genuinely happy baby

Poor Chase has had a fairly rough go of things in his first year. First he had severe reflux. Then he cut a bunch of teeth all at once. Then he had sleep issues. Then he was extremely frustrated because he so badly wanted to move around on his own but couldn't quite figure it out. Then he outgrew his class at school but there were no openings in the "big boy" infant classroom and he was bored to tears (literally). He smiled a lot, but didn't say much, and getting him to giggle out loud was a challenge, if it happened at all.

I knew we had turned a page yesterday when Riley came running into the room to find me. "Monny, Monny," he gasped, "Chase just laughed!!! I haven't heard that before." And then he turned to Chase and said, "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

My heart melted on so many levels. First of all, that Riley genuinely loves his brother so much is precious. He really IS proud of him and tells him that often. But even more than that, the sound of Chase's laugh is just so delightful and contagious. Partly because it was hard-earned, partly because it is a sign that he's finally comfortable (for lack of a better word), but mostly because he does it often and on his own. His true personality is starting to shine through, and let me tell you, he is one funny dude. I would not be surprised if he ends up as the class clown someday. When you enter his room after he's been sleeping, instead of reaching up towards you so you'll pick him up, he scrambles in his crib in the other direction, giggling like it's the funniest game. When you try to change his clothes, he thinks it's hilarious to try to get away from you and climb off the bed. When he's around Riley, all he does is try to crawl away from him as fast as he can and he'll squeal in delight when Riley chases after him. In the car on the way to school, all he does is try to make Riley laugh by making silly noises or kicking his feet all around.

And if that isn't enough to make me smile, there's the dancing. This kid LOVES to dance and he loves music. No "baby" or "kid" music for him. Nope, he likes to rock out to Coldplay, Mumford & Sons and (as of yesterday at the pool) The Who. He will stand up and start bopping up and down, his little diapered bottom showing his enthusiasm. And he will grin, and not just a small smile, but a full-on goofy, semi-toothless grin which is wide enough to show off his silly fangs. There is no way not to smile and start dancing in response.

I can't tell you exactly what has changed for him. Maybe it's the table food -- this kid eats more than any baby I've ever seen (he usually outeats Riley who is over three years older) -- so much so that we often refer to him as a garbage disposal. Maybe he spent the first several months of his life starving and uncomfortable because his reflux made him hate formula. Maybe it's that he's mobile. Maybe he's having an easier time with teething. Maybe it's that he can finally communicate with us some -- he will point at things and clearly wants us to identify them because he will smile once you've told him what it is that he's pointing at. Maybe he's less bored. Maybe it's that he's finally taking real naps at school and getting the sleep that he so desperately needed. I don't know what it is, but I'm just so happy for him. Life is good.

Snuggle Time

Not sure exactly what is happening, but for the past few nights Chase has woken up around 6:00 a.m., a good hour and a half before his normal wake-up call. It will start out with him just jabbering, clearly talking about something and not sounding the slightest bit tired. Then he'll get quiet for a few minutes, lulling you almost into a false sense of security that you can, in fact, go back to sleep. Then he'll start whining, followed a few minutes later by crying. And not the type of crying that makes you think you can just let him "cry it out." We know the difference by now.

So I've reluctantly gotten out of bed and gone into his room only to find him standing up in his crib waiting for me. He immediately stops crying and breaks out into a big smile when he sees me as if to say, "Look lady, I tried talking to you about it first, but you ignored me, so I gave up and have resorted to this ridiculous crying." As I pick him up out of his crib, instead of squirming to get down as he normally would, he just buries his head in my chest, still clearly tired. Turns out that he was trying to tell me he wanted something and that "something" was me. With my sweet little boy laying with his head resting on my chest, silently sleeping the most contentedly peaceful sleep, I get the very rare chance to study every little feature on his tiny face and count my many blessings until I too fall back to sleep.

Musical Lesson

This past week, two significant events have occurred in Chase's life:

1. He graduated to the older infants classroom at school where he is the only child under the age of 1. It has been a good move for him -- the class is much more regimented in terms of specific play time, specific meal times and specific nap time. From about the second week of life, he has demonstrated that he does much better on a schedule, and the move to his new classroom has made a world of difference both at school and at home. He is more content and seems much happier. He has made leaps in his development (although that could be coincidental). He has started pointing at things and when you tell him what the object is, he smiles signifying that you have done exactly what he was requesting. We can also tell that he's trying really hard to learn how to stand on his own and to walk. He will let go briefly and stand on his own (I think 3 seconds is the current record) and grins like he is the most capable little dude in the whole world. He will walk across a room as long as you hold onto his hands and the focus you see written all over his face is incredible. He is babbling more, starting to wave hello and goodbye, and I would swear I've heard him say a few words (hey, bye, mama, dada and Ry-ry). It has been a fun week.

2. He graduated to the big boy car seat. He still has to sit facing the rear of the car and after one weekday incident and four additional incidents over the course of the drive to and from Chicago for Cody's graduation, we have determined that he shares my motion sickness gene. Poor guy. We are hopeful that this will cease when he can sit forward-facing when he turns one.

As a result of #2, he has developed a new hatred for the car (and believe me, he has never been a huge fan of the car). This morning was no exception and after about 3 minutes of screaming and crying on the drive to school, I thought I might have a mental breakdown. Following Riley's advice, I turned on the radio. Mumford & Sons was singing "I Will Wait", a song I like anyway, but that brought a new-found happiness to my life this morning when the screaming and crying from the back seat immediately turned into Riley slapping his knees as if they were drums, Chase squealing in delight, and both boys giggling. My only regret is that I couldn't see either one of them in my review mirror because I am certain the smiles on their faces at that moment would have been worth every single second of the crying and screaming (Chase) and resultant whining (Riley) I've had to endure on that 6 minute car ride for the past 7 months. That's the amazing thing about being a parent -- one great moment erases hundreds of less favorable ones.