How can 18 months go by so quickly?

  

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Chloe at 18 months

I haven't been keeping up with my monthly updates ... I think from now on I will just post about Chloe's growth and development as interesting changes show up.  

So lately ... well, interesting changes have been showing up.   :)

First:  the positive developments.

Chloe is saying more words.  My favorite new word by far is "Please" ... she signs the word "more" while saying (oh-so-sweetly) "Please!"  It is way cute but now she does have the idea that if she says please (and gives her sweetest smile) that she can have anything she wants.  Which has occasionally led to a meltdown when the request is for cookies for dinner! 

Here is a little sneak peek at her saying please ...

Moving onto other developments ... Chloe has learned to "sing."  Her favorite right now is "Twinkle, twinkle little star" ... she sings it - well, her version of it - while doing hand motions (the best part is that she can make a little diamond with her fingers - too cute).  She enjoys music and also does a little dancing when music comes on.  

Today she started a Mommy & Me swim class.  She really seemed to enjoy it and she was totally relaxed in the water.  She is a little bit of a fishie ... every night after dinner she begs for a bath (with sign language) and if you ask her if she wants to get out ... she hides in the corner of the tub!  

Chloe's new favorite thing is BOOKS.  She loves to look at book after book - as long as they are interactive in some way (lifting flaps, touch & feel, etc.)  I hope she keeps loving books ... like her mama!

And one of my favorite new Chloe developments is that she is giving hugs, kisses, blowing kisses ... and sometimes it is totally unsolicited.  She will just reach for you and say "Ooh-wah!" and hug you.  So sweet.

And now for the more, ahem, "challenging" developments ...

Chloe has become quite the picky eater.  She has about 5 foods that she will dependably eat (well, excluding ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, and the like).  The rest of the time?  I am busy guessing what she might find worthy of putting in that delicate little mouth of hers.  Or cleaning up the mess after she has tossed her plate and every last piece of food on the floor.  You think I'm kidding.  The other night I gave her some macaroni and cheese.  What kid doesn't like good ol' mac & cheese?  Well, I placed it on her tray, turned around and that quickly the whole bowl had been thrown on the floor.  UGH.  So, she had applesauce and crackers for dinner.  Because that is what her highness would allow to pass by her lips that particular night.  This too shall pass, this too shall pass (repeat to self while counting to ten). 

[However, she does have a little bit of table manners lately.  She has been using a spoon with increasing accuracy ... because of course she refuses to let us feed her anything.  Miss Independent!]

Chloe also knows when she is being naughty.  The problem is:  If I reprimand her and she knows I am not happy.... she will turn around and do something even MORE naughty.  It's like a mini-standoff!   Example:  Me:  "Chloe, don't bang that on the coffee table!"  Chloe:  Bangs item even harder on coffee table.  And then throws everything on the coffee table on the floor.  All while giving me a defiant look.  Other example:  Chloe tried to pull something out of the wall socket.  Not good ... so Chad gives her hand a little smack and says "NO Chloe, danger!"  She looks at him, sizes him up, and laughs while trying to pull it out again.  The louder he reprimanded her, the more determined she was to defy us.... My, oh my.   This too shall pass, this too shall pass (repeat to self while counting to ten.)

Chloe has also picked up another skill ... and this one is our own fault ... she wants to play Wii:

Of course, all these "challenges" are a normal part of developing into a little person, so I take the picky, naughty stuff with a grain of salt at this point.  It's all about exploring her world and figuring out boundaries and understanding cause and effect at this point.  She is just exploding with new actions and words and funny stuff each day, and  I am just so happy to have her around.  She is a little ray of sunshine and fills our days with lots of laughs right now!

15 months old

At 15 months we are in the thick of the "exploration" stage. Everything is about -What does this thing do? What happens when I bang this against the table? How fast can I run before I wipe out? What does that taste like? (which is why I had to call poison control yesterday ... and just in case you were wondering ... eating a small bite of deoderant tastes disgusting but is not really dangerous). :P

So Chloe pretty much spends her day exploring everything she can get her hands on. (Which is why my house pretty much constantly looks like the toy box threw up.)

But despite the messes, the bumps and bruises, and the constant motion Chloe is in ... this stage is really so much fun.

She is learning so many new things - like how to show us her belly button and how to moo like a cow (all important life skills, huh??!) She is not saying many words but she sure is a constant stream of jibber-jabber. I think right now she is focusing on all these physical skills, and then one day a few months from now she is going to wake up one morning and have sentences start pouring out of her little mouth!

Here are a few of the other new things she is learning:

How to sort shapes

How to climb up on stools and get into stuff

How to give Mom a dirty look when busted with contraband
(and apparently also how to overaccessorize!)

How to sing and dance

And last but not least ... Chloe has learned to be so cute that it is hard to be upset when she creates all sorts of mayhem around the house :)

She is a ton of fun these days!

14 Months

Yeah, yeah, I missed 13 months. Oh well, can't be on top of it ALL the time ...

I was just looking through my pictures from the past month and surprisingly - don't have too many of Chloe. The last month has been more about her siblings really - Audrey had a birthday, both older kids are starting school this month, etc. We also took the older two kids on a few outings where we left Chloe home with my mom.

But don't you worry, Chlo-Chlo has been getting plenty of attention too.

I have to say - she is at such a GREAT age. I can't believe how much she has changed from just 2 short months ago when she turned one.

For example -

She is communicating SO MUCH now. Not really with words much, but she definitely understands what we are saying and lets us know what she wants. You can give her a simple command, and she will do what you say. She goes over to the counter where I keep the cups and raises a ruckus when she is thirsty, and to her chair when she is hungry. (Last night she even went over to her crib when she was tired!)

She is so steady on her feet now - practically running sometimes! I especially love watching her run around with all the older neighborhood kids like she's one of the gang!

She is busy, busy, busy and into everything. It has its down side in that you can turn your back and she is eating something gross off the floor or unrolling the entire toilet paper roll or emptying a laundry basket full of just folded clean clothes ... but the upside (which for me WAY outweighs the down side) is that she entertains herself for very long periods of time. AAAAHH! Every day is a new adventure when you're one.

She is a tough little chick. She wipes out a lot (see previous comment about running) but she usually gets right back up without a whimper. She LOVES to play tackle. And she also attempted going down the tube slide head first but I got her ankle before she went hurtling facedown into the mulch! But she did go down the tube slide on her bottom about a zillion times.

She now has all 4 of her molars! Holy cow am I glad that is over. There were some hairy days back when they were coming through. My very happy girl was WAY unhappy. :(

And of course - the piggy tails are a cute addition. :) So is the way Chloe has taken to carrying around a baby doll. This morning she was walking around with her baby slung around her waist, kinda like I would be carrying her!

A few 14 month Chloe pics:

Audrey is teaching Chloe the joys of playing dress-up.

Our cat Diesel is endlessly fascinating to Chloe. Much to Diesel's chagrin.

Chloe now has 3 mornings with Mommy ALL TO HERSELF while Carter is in preschool!
Oh the fun we are having! :)

Although this is how Chloe & Carter usually feel about each other.
So far they are the best of friends. :)
I so love this picture.
And I am going to pull it out when they are 13 & 15 and ready to kill each other ...

Chloe's 1st birthday party ... a few pics

Just a few memories of her 1st birthday party ....

I have a thing about making the cake. I enjoy it, so I always make the birthday cake myself!

And on your first birthday, you get your own personal cake!

It hit triple digits on party day, so what else could we do but get out every pool we owned? :)

(Even the grown-ups all stuck their feet in the pool!!)

I tried to get a picture of the cousins together and looking at the camera but this is as close as it got.

Here is cousin Brooke playing in the water.

And Chloe.

Chloe was having so much fun and got so excited she bit her brother on the cheek and left teeth marks ... fortunately she didn't break any skin. Little vampire!

Opening some presents, sort of.

Chloe and "Mama"

And eating some cake ... again!

We were so glad to have Chad's parents here from Minnesota, Chad's sister & bro-in-law, Molly & Josh (and their daughter Brooke) from Long Island, and of course my parents, brother, and uncle from good old Pennsylvania. Thank you all for coming and making it a fun and special day! We love you!

Let her eat cake

Hey, guess what everyone? I'm one!

My big party isn't til next week but we had fun celebrating just the 5 of us today.
My family got me a princess cake.
Mommy took all my clothes off because she knew that I was gonna make a big mess!

When I saw that piece of cake, I didn't mess around. I picked up the whole thing and shoved it right into my mouth.

It was really good!

Why is everyone laughing at me?

Hmmm, how much can I fit in my mouth?

Delish.

That was really good, now what else can I eat?

Maybe this plate will taste good too?

Hmm... these hands are feeling pretty disgusting now.

Come on now, clean me up already!

And I mean now! My bozo hair has got to go!

Aaaah, much better now. :)

10 months old

The months continue to fly by... and our little girl is just 2 months shy of her first birthday already.

So what is she up to these days?

Crawling at lightning speed...

Playing under chairs ...

Climbing up on everything ...

... and sometimes having trouble getting back down again ...

Wrestling with her brother - already!

Seriously, she tries to tackle him!

Playing and exploring ...




... and a little dancing :) well, kind of.

Going to her first Dogwood Parade - an annual event in Phoenixville
(I think she's wondering what on earth those Mummers string band people are wearing ...)

All that parade business is pretty tiring though. Sometimes a girl just needs her nap! :)

Chloe continues to be a very happy and smiley little girl. Fortunately, she is also very laid back and easy to take anywhere. She has also been sleeping through the night for us for a little while now, which is so nice. [Understatement of the year there.]

She loves to play with Carter & Audrey. It is funny to see how she already interacts differently with each of her siblings. She loves to laugh out loud at Audrey's shenanigans; then with Carter she is much more physical and as I said above, tries to tackle him. Carter & Audrey both just love Chloe, and she loves them too. It is a beautiful sight for a mother to behold. :)

We love you Chlo-Chlo!

Wow. 9 months old already!

Chloe has now been outside in the world for as long as she was inside the womb! Weird to think of it that way. It still blows my mind how much a baby changes in utero ... from a single cell to a complex little person. And also equally amazing is how much Chloe has changed from birth to now.

Those first days were kinda scary with Chloe being hooked up to monitors and IV's and spending time in the NICU. But we knew she was in God's hands.

And praise God! Look at her now. Into everything, on the move, full of smiles, curious about her world, and filling our hearts with so much joy.

So what is Chloe up to these days?

Well, she has decided to celebrate 9 months of life by running a fever and wanting Mommy to hold her all the livelong day ... I don't know what's going on. She has no symptoms other than fever and lack of appetite and fussiness.

But fortunately, Chloe is usually such a happy little girl! So that is what I will focus on in this post. ;)

A few firsts this month ...

First Easter

Crawling on hands and knees now ...
First swim

.... have I mentioned that I think this swimsuit is darling? haha

And just for fun ... a few more pictures of Chloe at 9 months.

Oh, another "first" ... I am now able to get a hair bow to stay in Chloe's hair!
Hooray!