June in Chicago

Perks to naming your son after a large corporation...plenty of photo ops for kid + name!

My favorite pic that Ryan took of the downtown scenery. He's quite talented if I do say so myself.

Chase and I in Millenium park. Note the foot on the stroller. He rode through downtown like that all day. I couldn't help myself from saying, "chillaxing". Embarassing, I know.

Chase amongst the pillows on our king-sized bed. His first hotel stay was at a 4-star establishment. I told him not to get used to it. This was before he launched himself off the bed.

Chase's first taste of Ryan's ice cream. I have this thing about no refined sugars for our busy boy. That's out the window...

Chase visiting with a 12 month old little girl. They reached out and touched eachother, so cute!

Chase in the fountain, Millenium Park

Chase as a full-on crawler (!) in Millenium Park fountain

Ryan and Chase, happy as clams. Note Chase's scrunched up nose face.

He loves splashing!

Chase turned 9 months a week (or so) ago. 9 months is a hard number to get my mind around. 9 months means that he has been in the world as long, well, a little longer, than he was inside of me. Getting to know him as an outside being has been fun, but part of me misses the little nudges and movements that were so familiar when he was an inside being.

We took Chase to Dr. Franklin (the best pediatrician in the entire world, hands down.) last Monday for his check-up. He is 17 lbs 2 oz, 28.5 inches long, and his head is big (I already forget how big). He falls between the 10th and 50th percentile for his measurements. She said, "he's a busy boy, isn't he?" That statement couldn't be further from the truth! He is 11.5 months developmentally, which makes sense, because he never stops moving, talking, and/or gesturing.

Chase makes plenty of sounds these days. He says bbbb sounds, da da da da, sometimes ffff or llll sounds, and often says what sounds exactly like, "hi dad" in a whisper voice. Speaking of whispering, he talks to himself in a whisper voice while he's on the move, which is incredibly cute (in my opinion) but concerning that he's already started talking to himself like his mother (in Ryan's opinion). Chase also squeals, clicks and buzzes, depending on his mood.

Chase (as the picture above demonstrates) is a full-on crawler now. No more inch-worming to get from dangerous object A to dangerous object B. He likes to crawl till he finds something and then pull up, which may or may not result in a tumble. Thank goodness for hard heads; I have an internal count of the number of brain cells he has killed, but I suspect it will only get worse for awhile. Here's hoping he has Ryan's coordination!

Chase was a very pleasant traveler on our recent unexpected trip to Chicago. I had plans to go and do field work at my new field site in Chicago sans Ryan and Chase. The trip fell through, but I had made a non-refundable hotel reservation, so we all went to Chicago together instead. We had a great time. Chase swam in the hotel pool several times and we all had the most fun playing at Millenium Park downtown. Chase didn't mind being pushed all day in his fancy stroller and Ryan estimates that we walked 9 miles that day. I realized something about vacationing with a child while on the trip. We all had the most fun when we were doing something that Chase enjoyed, like playing in water or swimming. It was another reminder that the pace of life has changed and that we need to embrace that. There's nothing like being a part of something that makes your little one smile to send sunshine into your heart!

Chase continues to be a joy. He is a very silly kid who loves laughing and smiling. Hardly anything gets him down (except being told 'no') and I find his happiness contagious. I was talking with someone the other day and reflecting that, yeah, parenting is a lot of work, and yeah, we were tired a lot, but I laugh and smile more on a daily basis since Chase has arrived, and that is what makes him worth it.

Happy June to you all!