Saturday was beautiful and we wanted nothing more than to be outside enjoying the fresh spring air. Being cooped up in the house is not an option when there's so much fun to be had outdoors! These moments with Chase and Derek are especially meaningful to me as, in about 11 weeks time, I'll be hospitalized and giving birth to Chase's little brother. I'll be inside recovering from surgery and minding our newborn from early August through the remainder of the summer.
Chase's buddy LT came from Jersey to the city to spend the day playing with his best pal.
Chase grudgingly sharing his ball with LT.
The dads encouraging the boys to play together… but, according to BabyCenter.com, right now our boys prefer to engage in parallel play. This is a perfectly normal developmental stage in which toddlers play "next" to one another but with very little interaction. It looks funny to behold but, don't be mistaken, they're well aware of the other – and from time to time will steal little glances to check out what the other is doing!
Chase just loves coming to this park. It's pretty much in our front yard, so this is his domain and he feels like he rules the area! Right now he's checking out the scene and deciding where to explore first.
One thing Chase LOVES is dogs. He's seen enough dogs in story books and learned to say "Woof woof!" to any four-legged creature about three months ago…. and that's when his obsession began. Now when we see any dog we have to stop and pet him. Fortunately, in our neighborhood, the dog owners are pretty friendly and don't mind stopping to chat and indulge a curious toddler.
Chase laughing hysterically as he strokes the dog's soft coat. He is so tickled! As you can see, I do keep a gentle hold on him, because he's real good about darting that chubby little hand out and grabbing a tail or face.
Chase enjoying the pail and shovel Daddy bought him to collect all his cool nature finds. Of course, he prefers to use his hands to dig in the earth. What can I say? lol. Our boy loves being at one with nature.
And yes, this is the same shovel that was just on the ground in his mouth. *sigh*
Off to find the next treasure!
*Please note the big kids in the back breaking park rules and climbing over the gate to get inside.*
Of course, Chase was watching them with great interest…. and as soon as the kids left he went racing over and attempted to leap over the gate himself. Luckily, Derek was able to grab him as he started to make the treacherous climb up.
Lester and LT enjoying some Daddy and son time.
Chase paused just long enough for me to take this awesome picture of him and Derek. (Please click to enlarge – I love it so much!) Then once again he was off and running!
Chase and LT engaging in dangerous stick play. *sigh* Yes, Bad Mommy.
Back at the ranch… LT checking out Chase's new kitchen set.
We almost had a little "situation" when Chase initially refused to let LT play with his broom and swiffer… and then smacked Mommy in the head when I asked him to be a nice boy and share. Fortunately, Chase decided to do the right thing in the end. Although he has learned to share toys at day care, he still feels a bit territorial when it comes to his own things, which is understandable since we don't have play dates at the house all that often.
The fellas resting after a long day of fun in the sun.
Once our house guests left Chase was exhausted, and understandably so! He ate dinner and fell asleep right away.
Derek and I went out to a Brazilian steakhouse called Churrascaria Plataforma to enjoy an early birthday dinner. Our good friend, Holly, had agreed to watch Chase for us. This was really awesome, as paying a sitter for our regular "date night" had become awfully expensive and, sadly, we had decided to scale back. We had a really nice time. It's always special, after a full day with "family," to come together as just a "couple." Thank you Holly, for granting us that – you're the best!!!!!
These are great pictures. YOu are encouraging me to be a more “outdoorsie” mom. I want nothing more to sit inside with my feet up sipping a glass of lemonade while flipping the TV channels. But my kids will have none of that. They love to be outside riding their bikes. I guess I’d better buy some sunglasses and a lawn chair and have at it!
what a great post! i love the pic of chase laughing at the dog hahah..he’s such a happy baby! you look really pretty in the first pic too!
Wow! what a fun day; too bad it was cold-d-d when i took him there one day….; of course, i’m still laughing at the ‘parallel play’ as they eyeballed each other every so often to spy on what the other was doing; BUT.. i had to laugh loudly once they returned home to the toy kitchen and the battle of territory began…LOL @ fighting over the brooms; now, wouldn’t that be nice if that lasted when they were teens fighting to sweep the floor…lol
i knew a battle was going to ensue, sooner or later; trust me, the territorial battle could have occurred at the park with that same red ball…LOL; kiddies are so-o-o funny at this age.
Yakini, I love you in that flowsy sundress; you look mightey “purty”, little mommy:) Kudos to two great daddies chillin’ with their “mini-me’s”
So sweet! Love your day…and wow…only 11 more weeks huh? Congrats on such a beautiful family!
how cute was this playdate!?! i look forward to when my little guy can really enjoy being around other little guys because im sure he will grow unenthused to be around girls all the time (me and his sisters, lol). and im really bad about being outdoors so *yikes* nonetheless, cute pics!
omg i loooved this post! such great pictures! and chase is SUCH a trip, lol, i love that boy…so full of life and adventure
i’m glad that all of you got to take advantage of the amazing saturday weather (it was beautiful in DC as well). and lol @ chase smacking you upside the head for not wanting to share his kitchen set…bwahaha..i know i shouldn’t laugh at that..forgive me 
So many things…first of all I died laughing at Chase cracking up at that dog…that was priceless! Now YOU …You look soo cute…please tell me you had those cute maternity clothes from Chase because I’m going to feel horrible if you went out shopping and got all new gear! SMH..i just pulled out my clothes from before I lost the weight! lol….now I’m jelly! And how quickly did this pregnancy progress..OMG..it was like overnight! This post was awesome, I am so loving the fact that Chase has a BFF in LT already. TTYS!
Love the way you chronicled this beautiful day. Your son’s face when he’s petting the dog is priceless. (And I like seeing little guys getting an early start in the kitchen!) Thanks for sharing!
-Deb for Ouidad
Darn! I wrote a long comment and I deleted it by mistake LOL
So in a nutshell, glad you were able to go out for an early Birthday dinner, esp. after such a busy morning!
Looks like y’all had a great day. You look fabulous by the way.
yakini, you look gorgeous! 11 weeks is no time at all…so excited for you and your growing family. great sunday photos…thanks for sharing!
First off… I LOVE that dress/top you have on in the first pic! You look amazing. It looked like a lovely day! And I love brazilian! So glad you and D still take time out for yourselves!
I’d love to have a boy because I’m rough and I like to rough-house a lot.
And I think the little boys are just being boys… all that eating dirt and hitting with sticks… totally all boy!