Growing Up!

Chase is growing up so fast - he'll be 9 months old this week! I have been really bad about taking pictures and blogging, but I've been trying really hard to savor these days. I'm very content with life at the moment... of course, who wouldn't be when you get to wake up to such a cute little smile every morning! Rob and I have been trying to get out a little more now (emerge from the cave) and get a little bit of a social life back! We actually had our first "real babysitters" the last two weekends. We got to go ice skating and out to dinner for Valentine's Day, and we had a girl from church (and her mom) watch Chase for a few hours. Then, last night we got to go out for bowling and ice cream with friends, and we had my cousin, Abbie, babysit. Of course, we didn't go out til after Chase was in bed, but hey! (He goes to bed at 7 every night!) I feel so grown up! It makes me remember when I used to babysit. It's definitely so different having your own children!

Here's a little Valentine's card I made:

And he also made valentines for mommy and daddy: (hehe!)

In other news, Chase is crawling everywhere. He especially loves to crawl into the kitchen and play with the trash and recycling and eat any crumbs that are on the floor (don't worry, I stop him...er, mostly). He likes to play with anything that's not a toy (and he's less interested in toys)! He loves the vaccum, and follows me around the house when I use it. He loves watching me dry my hair and brush my teeth. Which is good, because that's about all I do to get ready these days. Chase also loves finger foods and seems less interested in baby food. He can be distracted long enough to force it in, but it is usually a battle!  He loves playing at the top of the stairs with the new gate that daddy built. It's great seeing his face light up when daddy comes home from work.

Here's a few more favorites from this month:

 Chase is not the only one growing up too fast... I'm going to be 27 this Friday! I feel so old!