Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

For those of you who don't know, the boys and I are spending time in Tennessee with the Grandparents while Mike is off in NASCAR-land. We left Charlotte on Friday. It was just me, a 1-year-old, a 3-year-old and a dog in the car. I was a bit nervous as to how the 5+ hour drive was going to go, but honestly, it was perfect. The boys were so well-behaved. I could not have been prouder! The trip was off to a great start and I knew we were going to have a wonderful visit.

That is until we all - and I do mean ALL - got sick.

It started with Chase. I should have known something was wrong when he didn't wake up until 8:30 am on Saturday. When I walked into his room to get him, I discovered that he was covered from head to toe in... well... vomit. (Sorry, there's no other way to say it. Trust me. I could be more graphic.)

Charlie followed later in the day, then me, later that night. Grammy and Poppy were healthy on Sunday, thankfully, so they were able to take care of the boys while I wallowed in agony and self-pity.

But, then it was their turn to get sick on Monday. I didn't see them all day, because they stayed in their room wishing for their own escape from the hell that was this horrible stomach flu. But, I was feeling better, so I was able to take over and watch the boys. (How nice of this stomach flu to take turns with the adults so at least the kids wouldn't be left to fend for themselves!)

Long story short, by the time Wednesday morning came, we were all at least 24-hours healthy, but by then, it was time for me to pack up the car and head to Grandma and Grandpa's house (although I'm sure they're a bit leery to have us over at this point...)

Suffice it to say, we are all happy to be healthy and back to normal. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take many pictures at Grammy and Poppy's, but here are a few. And since I'm feeling better, I promise to blog regularly from this point forward, so it's safe to say...

"...And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming."

Enjoy the photos!

This is pretty much how we all felt when we were sick.

And this is us after we all felt better!

Pensive Chase.

Million dollar smile Chase.

Charlie, spotting a truck in the distance. (I'm not making that up just for this caption. I mean it.)

How often do you see both boys in one picture at the same time? It is very rare... like a solar eclipse.

And this has nothing to do with our TN trip, but we're all missing Dada. Me, especially.

Until next time!

...And That's All I Have to Say About That!

The funniest things happen at dinnertime at our house.

Here's video of Chase doing..., well, I'm not exactly sure what he's doing, but it's funny nonetheless. You can hear poor Charlie in the background trying to talk to Chase who, clearly, has his own thoughts on the matter.

CHEERS!

Here's a silly video, but this is one of Chase and Charlie's new favorite things to do. (Not sure what that says about us as parents, but hey! We'll just go with it.)

CHEERS!

All Done!

Our baby Chase isn't really a baby anymore. He's a full blown toddler, walking and talking. Well, sort of talking.

Chase can say a few words like "no," "light," "nite nite," "doggie," "duck," "socks," and "Dada." (No, he does not say Mama, yet. I don't know what that's about but WHATEVER!)

Anyway, I digress. Chase can also say "all done" when he's finished eating. I was able to get a snippet of it on video for you all to see. And no, I did not plan the ending of this video. (You'll see what I mean.) What can I say? He's an Arning man already.

Here's the video. Enjoy!

P.S. Hope you like "see food." Sorry about that!

Whose Crib is this Anyway?

Hi! My name is Chase and this is my crib.

This is my big brother, Charlie, and today, he dropped by my crib to say hello. Charlie told me that this used to be his crib, but I'm not sure if I believe him or not. (It's also hard to understand him sometimes, so I'm not exactly sure that's what he said anyway.)

What? You mean he's telling the truth? I am sleeping in a hand-me-down crib? I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Charlie did show me a couple of cool tricks, though, like how to "rattle the cage." It makes a great racket which I'm sure my Mama just loves.

I really got into "rattling the cage." This is my rocker look. I got some tips from KISS frontman, Gene Simmons.

Wait a minute. Where'd Charlie go? I was having so much fun with him! (I can't believe I just admitted that. Don't tell Charlie I said that or I'll never hear the end of it.)

Hi! I'm Charlie and this is my little brother, Chase. I'm teaching him everything I know.

As you can see, he really needs to work on his social skills. He sometimes makes loud noises and funny faces and he drools constantly. It's kind of embarrassing. He doesn't really know how to play it cool yet.

It's me. Chase, again. Charlie likes to tell me what to do, and most of the time, I just pretend like I'm listening. Really, Charlie can be quite boring. Just talk, talk, talk, talk...

See! I make faces behind his back and he doesn't even notice!

And, when Charlie isn't looking, I TACKLE him from behind. It's quite fun. You should try it sometime.

Brotherly love. This is what it's all about...

Ok, enough already. It's me, Kellye/Mama, back at the helm of the blog again. Here's video of Charlie's visit to Chase's crib. I'm sure this is a glimpse into the future - Charlie finding ways to aggravate Chase. Enjoy!

Puzzle Master

Of course, I am being totally unbiased when I say this, but my just-turned-3-year-old son, Charlie, is a puzzle master. He absolutely loves them!

This is video of Charlie putting a 12-piece puzzle together for the first time. He had never seen this puzzle before I took this video. I am amazed at how fast he can do it! He's barely three!

By the way, he also has several 24-piece puzzles that he can put together with ease, but I wanted to show you how good he is at a puzzle that he's never seen before. Amazing!

Has Anyone Seen My Chase?

Has anyone seen my Chase?

He's the cutest, sweetest little boy with long, brown, Justin Bieber-type locks, a cute button nose and a million dollar smile, but he's also very dramatic, extremely daring, an early riser and a horrible, horrible napper!

Several days ago, someone switched my Chase for this incredible look alike!

It's uncanny, isn't it?

Let's compare the similarities and differences between my Chase and this new version of Chase.

Cute? Most definitely!

Sweet? Absolutely!

Long, brown, Justin Bieber-type locks? Well, they're a little shorter now, but still...

Million dollar smile? You bet!

Dramatic? Uh, at times.

Extremely daring? Yes, but has been listening to the word "no" rather well and even sitting still in time out for the full minute when he's being punished.

Now here's where it starts to get strange.

An early riser? NO! In fact, this new, look alike Chase has been waking up at 7 am and even slept as late as 7:20 am this morning! Oh, happy day!

A horrible, horrible napper? NO! New Chase has napped like a champ and even took a 2 1/2-hour nap yesterday!

So, as you can see, I have a problem. Someone has switched my Chase for this new (and, dare I say, improved) look alike. I am not sure what to do, because I rather enjoy new Chase. I kind of hope he sticks around for awhile!

(Don't tell old Chase I said that. I don't want to hurt his feelings...)

Umm... by the way, there will not be a reward for information leading to the whereabouts of old Chase.

Thank you.