Sunday, July 31, 2011

Dragons

Chase and some other lil' critters cheer on the racers at the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival at Sloan's Lake right here in Denver.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011

Hugs


Chase learned quickly today that unrestrained public demonstrations of affection are not always appreciated. However, his heart was in the right place.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Eeeeeeeeeeee!


Bath time = learning time when Mommy's in charge. Tonight's lesson: the letter E. Not only did Chase catch on quickly, he found saying "Eeeeee!" absolutely hilarious.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Little Engineer

Chase continues to be fascinated with all buttons, latches, levers, and handles. Here, he examines the latch of the baby gate for possible defects.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Name that kid

Chase still sports his name tag an hour after returning from the gym, where Mommy worked out and the Critter played in "Kids Watch!"

Monday, July 25, 2011

Family Dinner

We have begun to sit down as a family for dinners on certain nights. Even Bird circled the table to get in on the fun, although she is no good at cleaning up the scraps that inevitably shower down from Chase's chair.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Little Cobbler

Chase doesn't hide his disappointment upon discovering that the shoe store is out of Keens in his size.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Van "Go!"

The family enjoyed a crowd-free and fee-free morning at the Children's Museum of Denver, courtesy of Teach For America, which coordinated the event, and Grandpas Fred & Laurent, who gave us our membership.

Chase created his first painting -- surely making Nanna happy -- which we have dubbed, "A Study in Vertical Brushstrokes." It shall be on display in the rumpus room through the rest of the summer.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Pool Ball


Ace met up with his friend, Anthony, at the pool this afternoon.

They had a ball.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

In the Man Cave

Chase is perfectly happy riding his Spider-Man truck backwards, he just wishes it had a decent cup holder.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Goodbye Grandpas

Chase bid farewell to his Grandpas today. Pictured here pre-Udi's french toast, Chase gets a last minute cuddle from Fred and Laurent. After a great visit, the critter is ready to visit DC and explore our nation's capital!

Monday, July 18, 2011

One-student schoolhouse

Chase merrily self-educates while visiting the Children's Museum of Denver with Mommy and Grandpas Fred and Laurent.

In addition to working on the three R's, the kid weighed produce, studied veterinary medicine, drove a firetruck, pretended he was an ant, and attempted to thoroughly soap himself up in the bubble room.

Certainly a full day.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Sign of Love

After a day of hiking through Eldorado Canyon State Park and the wilds of Boulder's Pearl Street, Chase and Grandpa Laurent kick back in the rumpus room, enjoying some well-earned air conditioning.

Oh, and of course it was Mommy's birthday today, so the Critter tried to be a little extra clingy to show his affection and appreciation.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Pool Pout

Ace only looks tough here. Actually he was having a ball (thank goodness for the huge daisies in our yard), as Mommy brought out his new mini-pool.

He pretty much ignored all the toys, but took great delight in pouring cups of water down his own chest.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Puddle Jumpers

The swimming pool, water table, and doting grandfathers (Fred manning the dry areas, Laurent in the pool) provided some great morning playtime for the Critter.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Crackers


Ace got a double dose of Grandpas today (Fred & Laurent) and a lesson in American Sign Language ("cracker"), as we enjoyed dinner out.

Note the visual aide Mommy is providing to speed language development.

This is clearly an educational team for the ages.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Pony Express


Chase rides a horse -- check out how tightly he's grasping the reigns -- during music class with Grandpa Fred, who is here in Denver for the week.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

American Gladiator


Chase runs the gauntlet at Lil' Monkey Bizness this morning. His adventure also included climbing and sliding, almost independently.

Watch out for this warrior!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Full Plate

Chase reaches another milestone, using his fancy new plate and serving himself.

Later, a Dustbuster was used to clean up both the kid and his immediate surroundings.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

A River Runs Through It

Chase enjoyed the wading stream in the Children's Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens this afternoon, as temps approached ninety.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Island of Misfit Toys

Chase discovers the crate of toys that his unloving parents have squirreled away in the guest bedroom. Oh, such treasures!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Sand & Surf


The true beach may be far away, but Mommy shall be denied neither her sand nor her water. Ace spent some quality time at a friend's house today, frolicking in their play table, channeling his inner Downeaster.

Oh, and check out that cool Superman shirt.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

iParent

One great advantage of being born into the 21st century is that you never have to deal with those annoying things called books, which neither talk nor move on their own.

In fact, we're working on a theory that the iPad may be able to take over most aspects of not only Chase's education, but his regular feeding and basic care, as well.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Going Postal


On our afternoon walk of the neighborhood, Ace plays a game of "Where's Chasah?" by ducking behind the mailbox.

Can you tell he loves being found?

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Lil' Rascals

The Critter (wearing a "new" hand-me-down dinosaur hat) and neighbor Parker do their best to dismantle the irrigation system in our front yard.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Barbecue them veggies


As if Chase's outfit wasn't exciting enough, his anticipation for the arrival of his favorite family, the Cassetta-Waxmans, overwhelms him. Mommy grills a delish vegetarian dinner in the background, while Daddy and Chase play in the courtyard.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Hair Apparent

Clearly, the first haircut hasn't yet happened.

At this point, Ace is starting to look like the love child of The Incredible's Syndrome and Heat Miser from The Year Without a Santa Clause.

But the ladies do love it...

Friday, July 1, 2011

Montessori Method


Chase explores the Toddler Room at Monarch Montessori. We checked it out as a possible school for the Critter. Mommy's not so sure about someone else getting to share their days with Ace, but it may turn out to be a necessity.