Happy Birthday Chase!!!!

Chase turned 3 on April 19, and I still cannot believe it!  It really does seem like he was just born yesterday, but at the same time, I cannot really remember life without him (nor do I want to :)  He is such a joy and has the sweetest heart.  I feel like I learn something from this sweet little boy everyday...it is hard to say "little boy"- I tell him everyday that he will always be my baby, and he quickly says "No, Mama, I'm a big boy!"  He is such a great big brother and I am so glad that Hank has him and he has Hank.  He loves the Lord in such a sweet way...at least one time a day in the car, we have this conversation:
Chase:  "I see a cross, Mommy!" (on different churches that we drive by)
Me:  "That's right, what happened on the cross?"
Chase: "Jesus died on the cross and he was not alive, then an angel came and He was alive!  Now, Jesus is everywhere!"
And every time, it melts my heart and I am thankful that God sent this sweet baby to remind me of who He is and what He did for us everyday. 

Chase LOVES his family, his friends, and his teachers!  He is very aware of others and always has been.  He loves to talk about everybody, where they live, what they like, ....  He LOVES his Daddy the most (just like his brother) and any time spent with Daddy is the best!  He is really enjoying swimming and soccer and getting to do big boy things!  He has made us laugh because he is such a pleaser and a rule follower when someone else (besides Mommy and Daddy) are telling him what to do.  Which is great...he is very teachable and I am thankful for that.  He, of course, is not perfect, but he is talking a lot and learning a lot about what makes God happy and what makes Him sad, and it is so sweet!  Oh, and he LOVES Ruby still and she loves him!  He loves to sing...I may have to put a few videos on here if Drew can show me how- there are some pretty good ones! :)  I have written so much and I could continue to brag on our sweet Chase, but I will stop...there is no way I could use enough words to describe this sweet, special child that Drew and I thank God everyday for giving to us!

Here he is at school on his birthday....when I asked him what kind of cupcakes he wanted, he quickly said "white cake with chocolate icing!"

Mama Zo was so sweet to come to Chase's birthday celebration at school!  She has not missed one yet, and it meant so much to Chase that she was there!  Hank enjoyed it too, of course!

Chase eating his icing very carefully...he usually eats the icing and then he is done :)

Chase's class and his teachers on his birthday :)

Chase's birthday is on April 19, and his friend Caroline's birthday is on April 20....and they have been together since they started in the Infant 1 class.  So, we did there birthdays together at school this year...here they are with Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Abby...

Chase and Mama Zo after the party.  Mama Zo is always so sweet to bring Chase a balloon on his birthday and he was very excited this year!  The past two years, the balloon has come off the string in the parking lot and flown away.  So, this year we were very careful with it...so careful that it is currently still resting against our ceiling at home! (it is now the beginning of May!)  This year the balloon had Mickey Mouse on it and when you hit it, it plays music...Chase and Hank both love it!

After Chase's party at school, we went to meet Peg-P and Gran (and Anna, Jackson, and Alex) at the party store to pick up the inflatable that we rented for Chase's birthday party.  Chase was soooo excited!  We finally got it to our house, and Chase and Hank had to spend some time playing in the back of Gran's truck before they left :)

Later on that night, Peg-P and Gran brought Chase's present from them over to the house.  It is a table and chairs for his bedroom, and he loves it!  He loves doing his puzzles on it, and Hank always wants to sit with him!

Peg-P and Gran also brought Chase his very own birthday day...he was very excited!!

He licked the icing off and he was done!...just like the cupcake :)

Gran and Hank :)

As Peg-P and Gran were starting to leave, Daddy got home!

 And he brought Happy Meals from "Old McDonalds"...which is what Chase said he wanted for his birthday :)

 And, I tried to put the cake back together and Chase got to blow out his candles again!  He loved that!

And, he got to open his presents from Hank and Ruby!  Hank gave him Emily (the train) and Ruby gave him Captain, the boat (goes with the trains).  Drew and I got him a train table, but we weren't able to get it put together and give it to him until after the party the next day.  But, he was very excited!!!

I think Chase had a great 3rd birthday!!!