This is how we do it

2006 thus far...
Yes, we finally did it, a blog. I know, what took us so long? Well, Grad school, full time job in the city, 2 kids, 19 apartments, crazy tenants, preschool, and a few pilates classes. That'll do it. Anyway, it was about time we shared our cute kids with the rest of you. Yes, I know you will probably just skip through the long journaling and go straight for the pictures, that's OK, we understand. But because of my lack of scrapbooking and outdated journal, I need to do this! It will serve many purposes at once. But most importantly, we just want to be able to keep in touch with our sweet friends and dear family that are far from us. We miss you all being out here in California and want you to be able to get a little peek into our life because these kids are growing up too fast. We will try to get you up to date, and then post every week, few weeks, month, we'll see how it goes!

Moving...
So the past year has been filled with a lot of excitement. We moved apartments at the beginning of the year thinking we would have an easier job with less units to manage. However, it didn't go the way we planned. We found that the tenants here are whinny, picky, rude, and a few are just a little crazy. Well, a lot crazy. We will spare you the details of the late night screaming outside our window, the cops pulling up 2-3 times a week, the hole in our fence, the car teetering on the edge of the embankment out front, and the countless 2am calls. I could go on and on, and that's from just one tenant! No, I am not kidding. Needless to say my patience is running out with this apartment managing. But, I have to admit, it has gotten us through grad school and been a blessing living in San Francisco with free rent. We couldn't have survived without it. It is one of those things in life that you don't really like to do it but you appreciate it so much when you do.

Graduation!!!
Next, Ronnie Graduated! Yahoo! That was wonderful. We are so proud of him. By the end of his second year he was managing to work full time, go to school full time and be a dad and husband full time. He did it too, never complained once, and always left school and work at the door to spend time with us. (Except when he did homework, I guess he had to bring that "home")
But he is done and we are thrilled. He is too, it wasn't as fun as undergrad, things are a little different going to school with a kid and a hormonal, pregnant wife. But we all made it and we are so glad we stuck with it, it is a huge accomplishment that we will add to Ronnie's long list of excellence.

Recital...
That same weekend, Madison had her very first dance recital at her Auntie Kellee's new studio in the city. We are so proud of them both. Kellee started this studio from scratch, no students, no building, and no money. Luckily she has a very supportive boyfriend and together, with a little help from friends and family, they created a beautiful studio which now has over 100 students. She is doing great and Madison and all the other kids just love class. I don't know how Kellee does it but she seems to have patience coming out her ears. Most of her classes are little kids under the age of 5.
Madison was a sea star at the "Under the Sea" themed recital. She was such a ham, not afraid of the stage one bit. She remembered all her steps and even "reminded" the other girls what to do. It was a blast. Grandma and Grandpa Chapman and Nana and Papa Blanchard were all out for the fun.

Rosa...
That same weekend I was surprised with a baby shower. It was perfect timing, everyone was in town, and why not, there was so much going on already. When the Chapmans celebrate, we celebrate big! It was so fun, my good friend Rosa threw a beautiful party with lots of good friends, family, and food. We could say that Rosa was the latest addition to our family until Beckham was born. She joined our church in April of last year and has been a huge blessing in our family. She is the only member of her family so naturally we had a few things in common. We soon figured out that we had even more in common, and as everyone loves to tell us, we "found each other". She is a great friend, and we love her tons. We consider her part of our family. So, if you see a family picture with a pretty, tall, dark haired Latina, that's probably Rosa. Rosa has been initiated really well into our family, she has attended BYU games, gone on a few road trips, watched our kids many times, she cooks us yummy Mexican food, has slept over a few times, and joins us often just to hang out at home. She is very special to us and we hope you will all meet her soon.

Beckham...
Then comes the latest edition to the Chapman family, Mr. Beckham Dennis Chapman was born June 11th 2006. He was 6lbs 12oz and is doing great. He was an easier pregnancy than Madison but he really didn't want to come out. After contracting for 12 hours or so, he was face up and not dropping, my Dr. tried turning him but he wasn't budging. After a while, he finally decided to turn around on his own time and make his entrance into this world. My mom and sister were able to be here this time and my dad and Madison were just outside waiting for his arrival. Beckham's middle name, Dennis, is my dad's name. We couldn't think of a more worthy namesake. I will be so thrilled if he turns out to be half the man my dad is. My dad is my biggest hero and I am sure he will be Beckham's hero one day as well.
Even though he was named after my dad, he looked just like Madison when he was born. Now we think he looks like Ronnie. He has been so much fun to have in our family. Madison adores him, she kisses him countless times a day and adds "awe, he is so cute!" She is a great big sister and even tolerates the fist fulls of her hair he manages to get between his chubby little fingers.
He is getting so big so fast. I have enjoyed this infant stage much more the second time. He is a very good baby; unless he is tired or hungry, he is happy. He loves to smile and giggle, and has recently found his fingers to suck on. He goos and coos and will be the most content when held.

Madison...
Our little Madison is also growing up fast. She is such a sweet little girl. She has started preschool and unlike her mommy, she loves it! She already talks about all of her new friends and Daddy is happy to hear that boys are no fun, just the girls. She loves anything with a princess on it and is set on being The Little Mermaid for Halloween...we think... It has changed from Belle, to Buzz Lightyear but has been The Little Mermaid for a while now. She also wants Beckham to be Flounder because "Flounder is the Little Mermaid's best friend". As you can see, like her daddy, she loves BYU. Her favorite part of going to the games is singing the BYU fight song. She stands up on her bench and belts out every last word. I think one of Ronnie's finest moments as a father was hearing her sing the BYU song at the first home game of the season this year, he couldn't have been more proud!

Travel...
We have also traveled a lot this summer, going to Oregon for a wedding, to Arizona for the first game of the season, to Utah for a family reunion and again for the first BYU home game, and then to Maryland for Ronnie's best friend from high school's wedding. She was lucky, we were supposed to go with our cousins to the BYU vs. Boston College game but we made the wedding instead. We learned an important lessons this summer through our travels, never go anywhere in a car, in California, over Labor Day weekend!

Family...
We have realized even more this year, with the addition of Beckham, and a few other events that are not so happy, just how important our family is. We are enjoying our kids so much and love seeing them together. We are the happiest just hanging out together as a little family. So hug your kids tight, send emails to friends you wish you kept in touch with, be a better parent, be a better child, be a better son or daughter. I was taught how precious life is, how blessed we are for each day we get with our kids, and most importantly, I was taught to never take life for granted, some don't get to breath as easy as we do.

There you have it, our year so far in a nutshell. The next entries shouldn't be so long winded, we had a big year and I felt I needed to catch up. Check back often!