22 months

Summer is here and June has been fun and busy again. We attended a few beautiful weddings and cousin Keriann's baby shower. Chase and his dad, Monte took Hunter to his first car show for father's day.

And we just got back from a great camping trip at Lake Casitas in Ventura. We went with our friends, the Alfaros, and they have 2 kids, Nate and Kristina just about Hunter's age. The campground had a water park that was perfect for small kids and the lake was beautiful and weather was nice and hot. We had a great campsite and the kids loved to play in the dirt and throwing rocks in the water. We're glad we brought Hunter's wagon because it was a big hit as well. We came home on the 4th of July, showered and headed straight out to Canyon Lake to spend a few hours with more friends and more water fun.















There has been a lot of drama with our house hunting as we found out one of our short sales we were waiting for was apparently sold, flipped, and put back on the market at a much higher price, with no one bothering to tell us. So we give up. No more waiting for short sales, we're looking in a new neighborhood with regular sale homes and hopefully we'll be homeowners this summer.

21 months

May was another great and busy month. We were able to spend mothers day with both Chase's mom and my mom. We went to an airshow for the first time, and we all really enjoyed it. Hunter loved the airplanes and it is now his new favorite word. He can and will spot them in the air and in pictures, anywhere and everywhere. We also had our annual trip to Palm Springs with my family, which was a lot of fun, as always. We still haven't heard anything from the bank on our short sale house we're trying to buy, but we just found out another one of our offers on a different house just got accepted from the sellers and is now off to the bank too! So now we have two great options and we'll just have to sit and wait and see which one goes through first.

20 months

April has been fun and busy. We had Chase's annual work picnic and baseball game, celebrated our third anniversary with a trip to Palm Springs, and Hunter had his first visit to the dentist. Chase finally broke down and visited the optometrist, where he got his very first pair of glasses. He actually looks really great in the frames he chose and enjoys being able to finally see clearly :)

We finally got approved for a home loan and started our search this month. As of now, we have 3 offers out, all on short sales. One we got outbid and are in backup position, the second we won over 4 other offers and hopefully will be signed and sent to the bank this week, and the third we still haven't heard anything on. Short sales take a really long time, and there are never any guarantees, so the more offers we put out the better our chances are of one making it to escrow.

Also this month, we celebrated easter at church, a quick egg hunt in the back yard, then at the beach with family. Hunter liked finding all the easter eggs, but I think he liked throwing them more. We found out that day that my cousin, Corissa is pregnant with her first child, due in early December! Speaking of babies, we keep getting asked if we are thinking of #2, and the answer is yes. Not just yet, but hopefully we will be adding to our family one more time in the next few months. We both are really hoping and praying for a girl, so think pink for us! :)

19 months

There's a whole lot of nothing new this month. Our one nap schedule is going great, the weather is warming up, and we have a lot to look forward to in April. Some of Chase's out of town family came for a visit and an amazing birthday party thrown by his aunt Donna. Hunter and I were able to join them at Disneyland before they left, along with many more family members.

Hunter's new art class is really fun and messy and we are working on the very important skill of sitting still. He has started to copycat lately and try to repeat words, which is really cute. He's got the tone right and the syllables, but the sound of the letters are all over the place. Such as "I love you" comes out like "aywuboo". He averages ten time-outs a day because of hitting and throwing, and now has recently added spitting to the mix. But we are being as constant and consistant as possible, hopefully he will figure it out soon. Overall, I love the toddler phase and love seeing his personality coming out.

1 1/2 years old

18 months is a milestone I have been bittersweet about. We have both lost his morning nap, and I now have the duty to start and maintain timeouts. This has been in my plan since the beginning and now it is here, it's time for a new phase for both of us. However, there has been a few perks with this half birthday. We can now attend "itty bitty time" at the library, which until now was during his naptime. And we also get to start the Art program at Gymboree. Now that we wont be in the playground room for classes, we will start using the open gym times once a week. So we just added 3 new activites to our week, which is great, and I already feel the sense of freedom now that we can join the world during the mornings. I am so happy and thankful that Hunter is such a sweet, energetic, smart and happy boy and that he is growing and learning so well. Both Chase and Hunter love and look forward to the time that they get to spend together. (Chase already has him skateboarding with him).




As for February, we took our first trip to the Zoo. Hunter's favorite thing was to watch the animals underwater.


We celebrated my mom's birthday, cousin's surprise birthday, superbowl, valentines day, and welcomed beautiful baby Addison into the world on February 24th. Addison belongs to our friends, Jeff and Cindy Denny (Jeff was Chase's best man at our wedding). We have also started going to Crossroads Church out here in Corona once a month and Hunter enjoys playing with all the other kids his age in the nursery.

17 months

It' been pretty slow around our house this month. Chase has been away for work every week, only coming home for the weekends. We are so grateful for how hard he works to support our family. Hunter is trying to speak more and more and LOVES Mickey Mouse! We had our first look inside the "sick" waiting room of our pediatrician's office. Hunter had a bad cough that the doctor diagnosed as bronchitis. After a few days of medicine he was good as new. He is still a great eater and sleeper but has really started to enjoy trouble lately. He enjoys throwing fits in public, hitting and throwing. Chase's mom used to warn me that Chase would always consider the crime worth the punishment and I am afraid Hunter may have his father's genes. :)

16 months & Christmas

Another great holiday this month and a great start to a fresh, new year. December has been busy with my dad's annual Christmas concert, 2 boat parades, Disneyland, my birthday party aboard the Irvine Railroad, Christmas Eve dinner and white elephant at Grandma MaryLou's, and of course a wonderful Christmas morning, afternoon and night with the rest of the families! Then a 2 night trip to Arrowhead where Hunter saw his first snowfall, followed by ringing in the new year, warm and cozy at home. Here's hoping for another great year, and hopefully buying our first home in 2011!








Hunter received so many great presents this year, he really enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper and all the attention he got. He has been trying to talk more and more lately and when the words wont come out, he finds another way to be very clear. Like if he is thirsty, he will take his cup in one hand, your hand in another and put them together. If you ask him a question he nods yes or no, although he may or may not understand the question, I'm still not sure sometimes. He has really been testing Chase and I lately on how firm our "no"s are, but I am proud to say we hold strong. No means no and with consistancy, we hope to curb the whining by not giving in. Pray for us. :)