Merry Christmas!

This picture made it on this year's Christmas card

Annual Santa Meltdown


Tim looking handsome before the STC Christmas party on Dec. 10th





Carrie 5 Months Pregnant (I look super sized in this picture!)

The last picture of Chase with his pacifier...he bid his pacifier farewell for good a few weeks ago (yay!)

It's Christmas Eve! I can hardly believe another year has come and gone. Time truly does fly the older I get. I remember how Christmas Eve felt like an eternity to my sisters and I when we were kids; we'd stay in our pajamas all day and couldn't wait to go to bed just so we could lay in bed wide awake anxiously awaiting for Santa Claus to come. I'm blessed to now get to see Christmas Eve from the perspective of my own child. Chase is still too young to fully understand the concept of Christmas, but it's such a blessing to see him get excited over the simple things in life. As I type this blog posting, he's downstairs giggling at the movie, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Tim and I took him to see Santa Claus last weekend, but Chase wasn't too fond of the jolly old guy in red.

It's been a few months since my last blog posting. Chase is still growing at an unbelievable rate. He's talking up a storm and starting to form sentences that others can actually understand now. He's a typical 2-year old: has a few tantrums every now and then, but is still our "Happy Feet" most of the time. As with most boys, he can be a little rough. He somehow knocked one of his front teeth a week or so ago. Praise God, the tooth is still in tact, but it's slightly discolored now. We're praying it will turn back to its normal shade of white with time and that no permanent nerve damage has occurred. Thank God for baby teeth; worse case scenario, he'll have a permanent tooth to replace it in a few years. Other than that, he's been a healthy, uninjured little boy. He loves to wrestle with Daddy (Tim) and often tries to impose the same rough play on me which doesn't go over too well now that I have a baby bump to protect.

Speaking of baby bumps, yes, Baby Breeden and I are both growing! I'd be a rich girl if I had a dime for every "Captain Obvious" comment I've heard from people at work, such as, "wow, you really look pregnant now;" "you're really getting out there now (referring to my stomach);" "dang, you're getting big;" etc. One of the joys of working at the shipyard is being on the receiving end of the insensitive comments that some of the guys make; however, I've even heard such comments coming from ladies. I take these comments in stride knowing that I'm healthy and so is Baby Breeden--a pregnant woman is supposed to grow so why be ashamed of it? I'm about 5 pounds heavier than I was at this stage in pregnancy with Chase, but I'm still within normal weight limits for a pregnant woman and all other stats are healthy.

The first 4 months of this pregnancy were miserable. I continued to suffer through the extreme nausea in the evenings through the 4th month and the exhaustion still hasn't fully dissipated even at 5 months pregnant. Of course, working long hours at work probably isn't helping with the exhaustion factor. On December 16th, Tim and I received an early Christmas present during my 20-week ultrasound appointment at EVMS: we found out our baby is healthy (#1 priority) AND it's another BOY! We're ecstatic to be having another boy (although I know the majority of people we know were rooting for a girl) and so thankful for a healthy baby. The baby is measuring slightly on the big side, so it looks like we'll have a late April baby rather than a May arrival. Tim and I harvest big boys! I have a check-up right after Christmas, so it will be so much "fun" stepping on the scale to see how much the baby and I have grown after in-taking Christmas calories.

I'm starting to feel more flutters and movement, but this baby seems to be more laid back as I recall feeling more strong kicks from Chase at this stage in pregnancy. Nonetheless, I'm excited to feel more signs of life in the weeks and months to come. Additionally, Tim and I have a few projects to conquer in the upcoming months. We've decided to leave Chase in his current room, but switch him over to a twin size bed and put the crib in the other spare room. Tim's mom has offered to do another mural for the new nursery, but we'll have to paint over the currently lavender colored walls with white so she'll have a fresh canvas to begin her work of art. As with choosing a name, we're not fully decided on a new nursery theme, but it will most likely be something that can always remain in that room as the child grows and even in the long term future when we have an empty nest.

Let me conclude this update with thankfully declaring how abundantly blessed Tim and I are as we celebrate our third Christmas with Chase while anticipating his little brother's arrival in just 4 short months from now. We pray the true meaning of Christmas will shine in each and every one of you not just this Christmas season but throughout another new year. As always, thanks for sharing adventures with the Breedens!

Finally! A Breeden Update!

First Trimester Baby Bump

Daddy and Chase having fun at a friend's pool in August




Our Happy Boy





Our Even Happier Boy with Daddy's STC Hat on

Picture from Auntie Amber's Camera When We Were Down in OBX late August/Early Sept.

Greetings Family and Friends! Hope this fall season finds you well. Let me start this posting with, yes, I realize it's been almost 6 months since I last updated my blog...shame on me! However, in my defense, the summer was full of unexpected events. First, Tim left the shipyard in June and took on a position at Science and Technology Corporation (STC). He LOVES his new job and seems to be adjusting well; the only downfall is that his new job doesn't give him the same amount of vacation right off the bat that he had when he left the shipyard, so we were unable to vacation much this summer and the one vacation we did have got cut short by Hurricane Irene. Nonetheless, we're praising God for this awesome new opportunity for Tim and we're thankful we have next summer to look forward to when Tim will have accrued more vacation hours by then.

Second, Chase kept us on our toes all summer. Most summer evenings after work, Chase rode around the backyard in his John Deere Gator, played on our neighbor's swing set, pushed his bubble lawnmower around, and got wet with the water hose. Of course, I was outside with him during all of these memorable summer moments, which left me little time to do things inside like update a blog (you're still probably thinking that's a lame excuse). Chase has grown leaps and bounds since his 2nd birthday. His vocabulary is now very vast although he still has a long way to go with mastering the annunciation of words. It's refreshing to be able to communicate more with him now versus facing the frustration of wondering if he fully understood me a few months ago. He has quite a sense of humor too! For the most part, he is such a happy boy. His cousin Kenden even called him "Happy Feet" while we were down in OBX because Chase was always so happy and dancing around. Even when I'm having a horrible day, I can always look forward to Chase bringing me a smile.

Third, it seems as though we had several things break over the summer: the Tahoe got a flat tire back in May and it ended up needing a new master cylinder for the brake system less than a month after the flat tire incident; the boat isn't running right; the big TV downstairs bit the dust, etc. Of course I'm beyond thankful that we even have a Tahoe, boat, and big TV, but it was still a stressful summer having things break on us left and right. We also had our weeping willow tree fall in our backyard due to Hurricane Irene--we're still working on salvaging it since it wasn't completely uprooted or damaged. I've also had horrible allergies this year and been on and off Benadryl, Zyrtec, and several different kinds of eye drops. Not that Chase was the reason for any of the aforementioned misfortunes, but he has a tendency to be rough on things around the house too.

Chase has obviously gotten very tall (no surprise with Tim being 6'4"), but he's still slender (which is also not a surprise with Tim being on the slender side). Unfortunately, his eating habits haven't improved much since he turned 2 years old. He's still a picky eater, sticking mostly to chicken nuggets, french fries, yogurt, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, chips, crackers, and fruit snacks. On the flip side, he's still steadily growing and staying healthy in spite of eating like a bird. He loves watching Wonder Pets, Yo Gabba Gabba, Diego, Dora the Explorer, Barney, and Bob the Builder. I'm thankful for the quiet moments when he watches TV so I get a break too. He watched a Halloween episode of Barney not too long ago that introduced him to pirates....so guess what Chase will be for Halloween this year? ARRR! Yo, ho, ho!

Some other milestones this summer for all of us were: me turning 30 years old and Tim turning 32; Tim and I reaching our 10th anniversary; and, last but not least, finding out we're expecting baby #2 in May 2012....that's right, I'M PREGNANT! We found out the exciting news on our 10 wedding anniversary (August 25, 2011). I was kind of caught by surprise with this pregnancy, because I had made peace with God as far as not worrying about becoming pregnant for another year or so, especially with being on allergy medication (which I can't take now that I'm pregnant)....but, God obviously had other plans. So, this puts me 11 1/2 weeks pregnant now, almost through the first trimester. I've already had two OB appointments; Praise God, all is well with the baby so far. I had an ultrasound during both appointments, so I got to see our baby jellybean and hear the heartbeat, which was 154 bpm. Unfortunately, Dr. Yonker is no longer with the practice, but the doctor who took her place is Dr. Curtis and she seems to be nice. I will have to deliver at Mary Immaculate Hospital with this baby since Peninsula Women's Care no longer delivers at Riverside; I'm a little bummed about that because I had a good experience at Riverside Hospital and Riverside is A LOT closer to our house. Mary Immaculate is all the way in Denbigh, so I'm praying when the time comes for our baby to make its debut that I'll be able to make the commute to the hospital without any hiccups. I don't think the Mary Immaculate ordeal is worth switching OB offices since I like the doctors and nurses at that practice so much and they know my history.

How am I feeling about the pregnancy? Obviously excited emotionally, but absolutely miserable physically. I'm feeling a lot like I did when I was pregnant with Chase with the nausea and exhaustion striking me the hardest in the evenings; however, I think the nausea is more intense this time around. One reason I think it's worse is because I'm more tired now that I have Chase to look after, whereas I had all the time to rest when I was pregnant the first time around when it was just Tim and me. Tim has been a HUGE help with Chase in the evenings when I'm feeling crappy. Some people think the intense nausea is a sign I'm having a girl this go-round, but I'm not banking on old wives' tales. It's funny because I've heard so many comments from people along the lines of, "you need to experience what it's like to raise a girl." I'm a firm believer God knows what will complete our family best, whether it be a girl or another boy. In fact, I'd be perfectly happy with another boy because I think practically--like being able to reuse all of Chase's clothes and not have to redo everything in pink. Plus, the seasons will line up with this baby just as they did with Chase. Tim is rooting for another boy and Chase still doesn't fully understand that he has a sibling on the way. We'll try to break him into the idea as I start to show more obviously. The new baby and Chase will be almost 3 years apart to the day. Chase was born on April 22nd, 2009 and this baby is due May 2nd, 2012.

I still have a long, long road ahead of me with this pregnancy. I take some comfort in knowing that I've had a baby before and know more of what to expect, but I'm also completely aware that every pregnancy and baby are unique. I can't promise I'll update the blog as frequently as I did during my pre-Chase days, but I'll do the best I can to keep everyone updated. I also won't promise to post monthly belly shots of myself this time around, because I'm sure you'd much rather see pictures of Chase growing instead of me. I'm already showing only at 3 months, so it scares me to think of what toll this pregnancy will take on my body within the next 6 months! It's as if my uterus and abdominal muscles are like memory foam and they popped out to the "bubbly-poochy-pregnant" look as soon as I found out I was expecting--I'm convinced smaller-framed girls just have a harder time hiding pregnancies, especially after the first baby. But beyond those shallow thoughts of worrying about the physical attributes of pregnancy, I'm truly blessed to share adventures of yet another Baby Breeden in the months and years to come. So as always, thanks for sharing the journey with me and please keep our growing family in your prayers. To be perfectly honest, I still often think about my first pregnancy with Connor, but God is helping me to overcome any fears and doubts concerning the health of this new baby. I've claimed in God's holy name that this baby will be as healthy as Chase was when he was born. I have to remind myself that every new day comes with its new blessings; sometimes those blessings entail growing pains to bring me closer to God, but it's all a part of His grand purpose for my life. "My times are in Your hands." Psalm 31:15

Happy 2nd Birthday Chase!

Getting ready to blow out the #2 birthday candle on the Easter Bunny cake

Having a blast on the neighbor's trampoline


Contagious Smile


Wearing Dad's John Deere hat

Enjoying lunch at Plaza Azteca

Chase celebrated his 2nd birthday last weekend (April 23rd) with an Easter egg hunt and cookout with a few close friends and family. His actual birthday was on the 22nd, which happened to fall on Good Friday this year. We were blessed with a beautiful Easter weekend to celebrate our little guy turning two, and moreover, to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So what's going on with Chase these days? In spite of his persnickety eating habits, he has grown quite a bit since his 18 month check-up. He saw Dr. Baust on April 29th, and weighed in at 26 pounds, 8 ounces, which is around the 25th percentile for weight. However, he was at the high end of the chart for his height at a whopping 36 1/2 inches long. Dr. Baust predicted he would be about 6' 3" as an adult. It won't be long until Chase towers over me! Overall, the check-up went well, although Chase did NOT like getting his finger pricked or having his ears and throat checked. He got over it pretty quickly as Dr. Baust was able to get him to laugh throughout the remainder of the appointment. He was saying the word "doctor" all afternoon and actually cried when he had to leave the office. Chase is gradually developing more words in his vocabulary, and we're hoping he'll put together more phrases in the next month or two, as Dr. Baust cautioned it's not uncommon for toddlers to need speech classes if they're not speaking more fluently by the age of two.

We're very thankful for warmer weather as Chase would live outside if we let him. Chase has loved playing on our neighbor's swingset in the past few months--he swings and goes down the slide almost every day. He also loves playing with his bubble lawn mower that his Grammie Breeden got him for Easter and he enjoys going for wagon rides around the block. He's even had fun with the water hose on the few days when the temperature spiked in the 80's. As with any two year-old, he is beginning to pitch a few temper tantrums, especially when we have to take him inside after a long day of playing outdoors. However, this stage isn't called the "terrible two's" for nothing, and we're trying to handle each tantrum with as much patience as possible (easier said than done). Overall, Chase is pretty easy to please and he gets over tantrums relatively quickly with distractions. He's easy to get to laugh and his smile is contagious. I prefer to call this stage the "terrific two's" instead. After all, every stage of watching him grow is a blessing.

Last but not least, Chase loves playing with his cousin Bella--they fight like siblings at times, but they're always asking for the other one when he/she isn't around. They're a trip! Chase also enjoys playing with his friends at church and our neighbor's son and daughter. It's so much fun to see him play with other kids around his age because he learns so much from them. He's usually the tallest out of all of the kids in his age range and his strawberry blond curls that often flow wildly can easily add another inch to his height. He's a tall, lean 2-year old with a HUGE personality. We still think he looks a lot like I did at that age, only I was much shorter; but, we still get plenty of people who think he's Tim's spitting image. He's still a Momma's boy on most days, although he enjoys tickle/wrestle time with Daddy every night before bedtime. Ultimately, he's a perfect combination of both of us that only God could have created so wonderfully: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful..." Psalm 139:14.

January/February 2011

Dexter & Sadie (Chase's best friends)

Chase after his 1st haircut

What did Daddy do to my hair? (before the haircut)




Contagious Smile




Eating Goldfish Crackers...num! num!

Hope 2011 has been a great year for everyone so far! I figured it would be easier for me to post blog updates every other month or on a quarterly basis instead of trying to keep up with it every month. Chase definitely lives up to his name, which leaves me little time to do blog updates outside of the normal work routine. My last posting was in December right before Christmas, so I have a lot to catch up on with the Adventures of Baby Breeden. First off, I should probably rename the blog to something other than “Adventures with Baby Breeden,” because Chase is hardly a baby anymore at 22 months old. At times when I look at him he seems like such a grown little boy. He’s tall (well over 2.5 feet) and weighs around 25 pounds. I’ll get the exact measurements when he goes for his 2 year check-up in April.

His hair has grown like crazy in the past few months, so Tim finally broke down and gave him his first haircut on February 6^th. His hair was getting to where it was in his eyes and tickling his ears. I fought the haircut the entire time because I think Chase has beautiful hair and I hated to see those perfect strawberry blond curls getting snipped; however, I will say Tim did a great job considering how Chase screamed, cried, and wiggled the entire time. Of course I saved the locks for Chase’s baby book!

Chase is speaking more words with each passing month. It’s hilarious to hear him say “poo-poo” and “pee-pee;” don’t jump to conclusions and think we’re teaching him nasty words, because we’re really trying to introduce the factors of potty training to him. My grandmother is going to attempt to start potty training him this summer when it’s warm enough to where she can strip him down to underwear—we’ll cross that bridge when we get there to see if he’s ready for the potty. Some other words that are beyond cute coming out of Chase’s mouth are “alright” (he’ll draw out the “al-” part of it, so it sounds like “aaawwwwlright!”) and “amen.” We say the “God is great, God is good…” blessing before every meal and he can’t wait to get to the end of it when we say “AMEN!”

This winter has been one of the coldest, gloomiest ones I can remember. Since Tim, Chase, and I are all “outdoorsy” people, it’s been rough being cooped up indoors and fighting off cabin fever. However, overall, Chase has done well playing with his many toys inside. He loves playing with legos, blocks, trucks/cars, and shapes—which is great because they’re all fundamental, learning toys. He also loves to play with our chocolate lab Sadie (who is a permanent member of our family now). Nonetheless, we’re all looking forward to spring and can’t wait for warmer weather.

Introducing new foods and trying to get Chase to eat well has been a roller coaster. He goes through spells where he’ll eat a great variety of foods and lots of them at a time; and, he also goes through phases where he’ll be persnickety and eat like a bird. Praise God; he’s been healthy and he’s growing like a weed—that must mean he’s getting plenty of nutrients even when he goes through his eating-like-a-bird phases. Another roller coaster situation has been trying to reduce Chase’s pacifier time to only when he’s napping or sleeping at night. Most of the time, he’s distracted enough with toys and other things to where he hardly notices he doesn’t have the pacifier. Then there are other times when he’ll stand by his crib crying wanting me to get his pacifier for him. I keep telling myself I’m not going to cave in—ultimately, I want to completely eliminate the pacifier habit within the next year.

I think the hardest thing for me as a parent is not having enough play time with Chase. More often than not, Tim and I end up spending the majority of our weeknights and weekends keeping up with household chores. Tim often reminds me that sometimes we just need to put household chores on the backburner and give Chase our time. We’ll always have piles of laundry to do, cars and dishes to wash, floors to sweep and vacuum, etc; but, we won’t always have Chase in this precious stage of life.