A Week of Celebrating

My 1st birthday was everything that I thought it would be...and more! We began the celebrating on Tuesday, February 24th (my actual birthday), and everyone came over to the house for cake and presents.

The birthday hat didn't last too long on my head, but my mom managed to get a quick shot before the hat came off!

Then, the real fun began. I had my very own baseball cupcake, and I just dug right in. There wasn't as much mess as everyone expected there to be....I was very careful to get every bite in my mouth (a true Lewandowski-Dera never lets cake go to waste).

I was still pretty clean after I polished off the cupcake....and then somebody told me to touch my head.

Opening presents was a ton of fun, and there was an Elmo theme to a lot of my gifts. As you can see, Elmo makes me smile every time I see him!

My Grandma B and Grampa Ed got me Elmo Live, and he sings, dances, blow kisses, and tells jokes. I love Elmo!



Then, I opened the big mystery present, which was wrapped in a giant garbage bag and balloons. I wonder what this could be?!
Both my dad and I were very excited to see that it was my very own motorized car!

Here is a picture of me in action. As soon as the weather got nice, my mom and I went outside to take a drive. It didn't take me long at all to figure out how to operate the vehicle. Now, I just have to work on my steering skills!


Back to the week of celebration - my birthday continued on Saturday, February 28th when I had a birthday party with all my friends and family. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but the party had a baseball theme. Here is a look at the cake before we cut into it.


Yum, I know what this means.....can I dig in now?

I actually didn't have any of the big cake because my mom and dad got me my very own baseball cake. Again, I was pretty cautious with the cake and didn't make too much of a mess.

I was so exhausted after my party that I didn't even open any of my gifts. But first thing on Sunday morning, we had a present opening party, and boy was it fun!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special! I am so lucky to have such great friends and family.

Some Serious Blog Slacking

Okay, okay...I know it has been a long time since my mom and I updated the blog. A lot has been happening around here in the last few months, and we've been extremely busy. I'm sure most of you have heard by now that I am going to be a big brother. The baby is due on September 19th, and we couldn't be more excited! Here is a picture of Baby Dera from our last appointment, which was on Tuesday. My mom wished she had the camera during the appointment because I kept waving at the monitor screen, and I was making everyone laugh!

My mom hasn't been feeling very good for the last three months...something called "morning sickness." I am not sure why they call it that because she is sick all day long, especially at night. As you can see from the pictures below, I have been helping out around the house as much as I can.

The laundry around here just keeps piling up!

Just a few quick things to update you on what I have been doing since January. When I was 9 months old, I started crawling, and I haven't stopped moving since. I am working on walking now, but I still prefer crawling....it's much faster to get me where I want to go. My mom can barely keep up with me these days.

I also had a visit from my great grandfather, Poppy, and he and G gave me my first "real" haircut. I say "real haircut" because my dad tried to trim my hair one night after a bath, and it was pretty much a disaster (those of you who saw it know exactly what I am talking about)!

I have been playing a lot with my toys, and I always find new ways to use them. Here I am being silly with Aunt Jen...we decided to wear the basketballs on our heads.

And lastly, I am enjoying a "big boy bath" every night. My mom and dad got rid of the infant tub, and now they let me spash and swim all over the place. Bath time is still my favorite part of the day, and it's my special bonding time with daddy.

Stay tuned for more pictures coming soon....I am hoping to have birthday pictures on the blog in a few days.

All my love,

Chase Joseph

Superbowl Fun

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Superbowl this year, only because my mom and dad throw a big party and their friends from college come up for the weekend. I was promised a good time, but I had no idea how much fun we were going to have. The picture above is me with Kristin and Ted. Ted is a huge Duke fan, but we caught this picture of him holding an SU basketball. I think it was his way of saying, "Go SU!"

The whole weekend I was pretty fascinated with Ted, and I especially loved playing with his face. Thanks for being such a good sport, Ted!

Here I am on the couch with Kristin and Pete....we are "in training" for Superbowl Sunday. And unfortunately, that ends the pictures for Superbowl weekend. We had so much fun that my mom didn't even pick up the camera again. Sorry!

New Toys

As you can probably tell from the plastic mesh behind me, there have been a few new additions to our house. Yup, you guessed it...baby gates!

My mom and dad have been trying to baby proof the house since I started standing and crusing around everything and anything. My favorite toy in the whole house is the entertainment center with the TV, VCR, XBox 360, and DVD player.

My mom and dad knew that it would be tough to baby proof that area, so they just decided to put gates around the whole thing. Party's over for me!

Now that my favorite toys are off-limits, I had to find some new things to play with.

Ever since Jack's birthday party, I have been really into playing with balloons. I love banging them and chasing them all over the house.

I've also been using my tools more lately. Since my mom and dad are refinishing the basement, I decided that I should practice my skills and maybe they'll let me help out.

Just kidding...these aren't real tools. They are from my new puzzle.

And my favorite thing to do these days is walk around the house. I can't quite walk by myself yet, but I love using my push toys for help (or anything else with wheels that I can push around....like my highchair). My mom spends most of the day just chasing me around, and as you can see by my face...I absolutely love it!!!!


Oh, and here is one last picture of me with one of the best toys in the whole world...my Uncle Teddy.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Just wanted to wish my dad a very special birthday. I love you sooo much, and I can't wait until you come home so we can celebrate.

Happy Birthday!

New Camera

My mom got a new camera for Christmas, and she has been trying to learn how to use it for the last month. As you can see from the picture above, she hasn't quite mastered it yet. She was trying to make the background in this picture blurry, but instead, my face is out of focus and the background is crystal clear.

Taking pictures of me isn't easy these days because I am constantly on the move. As my mom would say, "here is a rare moment" of me being still.

And of course, when my mom is practicing her photography skills, I usually end up in a basket. Maybe if I clap, she will put down the camera and play patty-cake with me.

And one last picture - for comic relief. My mom and dad just love the face that I am making here. Seriously?!?

Busy Time of Year

Sorry for the delay in posting...it has been quite hectic since the holidays. Mom and I have been doing lots of shopping lately (especially returning some of the presents that we got for daddy). Here I am helping mom out by carrying her purse.

"I'm ready to go, mom."

Last weekend, we went over to Jack's house for his birthday celebration. The party had a bear theme because Jack's parents always call him "little bear." Here we are in our bear ears.


I had tons of fun at Jack's party. It was really great watching him dig into his special birthday cake. Boy, I can't wait until I turn 1. It looks like sooo much fun!

Happy Birthday, Jack! Thanks for letting me be a part of your big day!

Happy Holidays!

My first Christmas was just as special as I thought it would be. When I woke up and came downstairs, my Grandma B entertained me in the living room so mom and dad could get all of the presents together and the stockings filled (it was quite a late night on Christmas Eve...as many of you know).
When they brought me into the family room (which was overflowing with presents), I just didn't know what to do first. This was pretty much the look on my face all morning as I opened gifts and played with wrapping paper.

After a fun-filled morning with the Deras, I took a very long nap to recharge for the afternoon festivities. We went to Grandma Deenie and G's house for our second Christmas celebration. I couldn't believe that there were more presents to open. One of my favorite gifts was this sled, which I spent most of Christmas riding around in.

Once I opened everything, it was time to get in the sled and play. Here I am looking at my very first baseball plate. Awesome!

Since there were so many fun pictures and videos from Christmas Eve and Christmas day, my mom put together this little video. I hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas

After hearing about Christmas for the last few months, I finally got to see what all of the hype was about. These pictures were taken before Christmas, but the photo below pretty much sums up my facial expressions all day long. My mom likes to call this picture "Christmas Wonder."

I also made a lot of smiley faces, especially when I was opening gifts and spending time with my family.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday as well as a New Year filled with health and happiness.

Check back soon for pictures of our Christmas celebration....

On another note, I want to wish my friend, Jack, a very Happy Birthday! He was born last Christmas, so today is a big day for him as he is celebrating his 1st Christmas and his 1st birthday with his family. I know they are going to make everything extra special for him, and I can't wait to hear all about his big day and celebrate with him.

We've come a long way from our "peanut" days. Here is a picture of when Jack and his mom came to visit us in the hospital right after I was born.

Happy Birthday, Jack!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I haven't been so good about posting videos lately, so here are some action shots of me playing with my favorite toys and doing some new tricks. Hope you enjoy!

For the last few weeks, I've been imitating sounds - of course, "dada" is my favorite to say!

And here's a video of me cruising around the furniture. Grandma says it's only a matter of time before I start walking....look out, everyone!

Saturday Morning Breakfast

Every Saturday morning (and sometimes on Sundays too), me and my mom go over to Grandma Deenie and G's house for breakfast. This morning we had scrambled eggs, ham, and bagels, and as you can see, I enjoyed every bite!

The furniture set up at my grandparents' house is perfect for my cruising. They even have an ottoman for a coffee table so there are no sharp edges as I navigate around it.

"Look, mom....no hands."

Before breakfast, I got to open an early Christmas present - a busy box!! Every time an animal popped up, I started laughing hysterically. I think this is going to be one of my new favorite toys.

Some Updates

Lots has happened in the last week. Probably the biggest thing to report is that I got my Christmas wish....two teeth! They popped up one after the other. Now that I am a big boy, my mom said that I could experiment with some real food that's not pureed. Over the weekend, I ate waffles with strawberries, cheerios, and pizza. Today, I even had homemade lasagna for lunch. If you check out the picture above, you can see my "lasagna face." Mmmm, mmm...good!

Besides eating real food, standing up and walking is my next favorite thing to do. I started cruising around furniture last week, and now I'm even starting to let go and balance without holding on to anything. I especially love grabbing my dad's fingers and "walking" laps around the house.

And, I've also taken up guitar. Wait, that was just a joke....but I do love playing with my dad's guitar hero game. You know, my favorite toys are the ones that my parents play with (remote controls, cell phones, and laptops - go figure)!

Fun with the Twins

Today, the twins came over for another playdate. We had tons of fun hanging out, and I got to practice sharing my toys. Dairien and William both loved the learning table. William pretty much spent the whole playdate singing and groovin' to the music. Dairien and I spent lots of time just playing and watching eachother.

And of course, we played a little football in the ballpit.