Snow Day Activities

Stuck at home under 30 inches of snow means lots of time to get into trouble...

Fun weekend in the winter

At the grocery store




At the mall playground

Chase's first Christmas

To Chase, Christmas means ...

Presents?! The best part is unwrapping and eating the paper


Wearing holiday-appropriate footie pajamas


Being the "butt" of the joke while entertaining the family


More jokes ... it never gets old


Enjoying Christmas brunch served by the best chef


Family! (and posing for lots of pictures)


Being Santa at GG's ... it's your turn now, buddy


Lots of cheek-pinching (we know he loves it!)


Being a kid at Christmas is the best!

Santa baby

A few firsts today

Today is Chase's 9 month birthday, and to celebrate he decided to accomplish a few things.

Visiting with Santa - check. Chase had to dress appropriately for going outside in freezing temps and the first snowfall of the season. Doesn't he look happy about it? Pictures of Chase's first visit with Santa may come later, but for the record they had a quick conversation and no one cried.


Waving good-bye - check. Chase saved this one to share with perfect strangers. We were waiting in line to see Santa when a few little kids started waving and smiling at him. To our surprise, Chase waved back! A fluke we thought, but later in the evening Chase waved good night to Dad. Amazing!

Standing on his own (well, for a bit) - check. Chase actually started this a few days ago, but now we can get a count of a few seconds in before he loses his balance. Long enough to snap a photo for proof. He seems to know he's doing something new and gets excited about it.




Making us really happy parents - check! Chase, it has been a thrilling adventure with you. Time has gone by so fast already. You make us laugh every day. Even the hard stuff is worth it because one smile from you makes it all better! Love you, kid!

Fruit puff advent

To kick off the Christmas season, Chase opened his first advent calendar door today to find one of his favorite treats - a fruit puff - waiting inside. 24 more fruit puffs until the big day!

Thanksgiving with a new friend

Chase celebrated his first Thanksgiving with Chloë, his new friend in our new town. Mom and Dad enjoyed reuniting with her parents Cris and Josh over a delicious meal.
Luckily, Cris had the good idea to get a nice family photo early before the kids had a meltdown. So we have that, and then we have Chase's attempt to get fresh. Chloë wasn't pleased.

Home sweet home

After a few months of crashing at Nana and Granddaddy's house, Chase moved into his new crib this week. He supervised the movers and helped Mom and Dad unpack. We are all happy to be settled, even among the boxes. (But we miss our temporary landlords)

East meets West

Last weekend Chase was treated to a visit from his grandparents, and we spent time in our nation's capital. Chase showed off his latest skills of crawling, pulling up, and clapping for Goddess and Grandpa. They spoiled him, too, of course.
We all soaked up political culture during our tours of the Library of Congress, the White House, and the Capitol. Chase was most animated and vocal during the introduction video at the Capitol - you tell 'em, buddy!

Baby dunkin'

Chase was baptized on Sunday. It was a sweet ceremony, and he wooed the church congregation with a little cute baby chatter. He didn't like Reverend Bell's wet hand on his head, but he tolerated it well enough and only tried to swat it away. Thanks to family and friends for joining us on his special day!

On the move

Our little guy has learned to crawl! He's been warming up for weeks, but finally took a few tentative steps on Friday when he figured out how his arms work. By today, he is covering ground like a pro.

As you'll see in the video, it only takes the motivation of a little fringe on a door mat to keep him moving. Tonight he crawled around the coffee table to find Mom while playing peek-a-boo, then took off in the other direction while looking over his shoulder and smiling - as if to say "catch me now!"

For everyone who predicted a quick and active kid, you were spot on.

Great Pumkin Chase

Chase enjoyed his 1st pumpkin patch today. We explored the variety of pumpkins at the Allen Farm in Vultare, Virginia. Special thanks to his Great Grandparent Bevacqua (GG) for the awesome dinosaur costume!!