Cheeser!

Chloë is definitely a product of the modern generation!

She knows what a picture is, that you pose with a big ol' cheesy grin, :-/ and that you can see it immediately afterward.

But she has also quickly learned that phones=talking+taking pictures. Anytime she sees a cell phone she pulls out her cheesiest-shut eye-fake smile-wrinkle nose-camera face.

This particular day, she was enjoying one of her Grandma Paula's green smoothies (which she chugs by the pint) and entertaining us with her ensuing green handlebar mustache.

Little Things About Chloe...

1. Chloe will be your best friend, for a while, if you have any strings/ties/ropes attached to your clothing that she can play with!!
2. Grandma Neener (my mom) discovered her 2nd tooth about two weeks after Grandpa Jan discovered the first. (Her first tooth was lower front right, 2nd tooth lower front left.)
3. Chloe takes good naps most of the time. She usually fusses when we lay her down but most times stops immediately when we either stick her pacifier in her mouth or put her little silk blanket over her face. It's almost like a switch. :) Then she'll roll around a bit and lately she's been ending up falling asleep with her little bum in the air. :)
4. She still likes to wave at people. It's not 100% of the time and she's notorious for not being willing to perform on cue. But her favorite time to wave is over "Daddy's" shoulder. She seems to know that she's the one that gets to leave and perfectly happy to let everybody know. One night Rob was holding her and reading scriptures. Every few minutes she'd look over at me at which point I'd smile and wave at her. She'd smile and wave back and then look away, perfectly happy listening to her daddy read.
5. Coco is extremely flexible. She pulls her legs in all kinds of weird contortions without a moments thought. She still, occasionally chews on her toes, when there isn't something else more interesting to look at/grab/chew/suck. And almost always has one or both of her legs straight in the air.
6. Like most kids, Chloe has an affinity for other kids. She likes Ben and other kids quite a bit but it's a pretty well-known fact around here that she really, really likes her sister. It seems that, when Coco is in the mood to laugh, Molly will frequently make her laugh without even meaning to. (Not to mention the belly-laughs she gives when Molly is trying.) She likes her siblings so much that when she's in my room with me and I go to the door and open it she gets all wiggly and fast-breathing as she excitedly looks around for Molly and Ben. As if to say, "Here I am guys!! Let's play!!"
7. Chloe loves to play games and loves music. If you start to play: "patty cake", "this little piggy", one of her musical toys or books, or even a fun children's song, her eyes light up with a happy knowing look. And with the music she'll try to dance. :)
8. The past few days she's started to squint her eyes all the way shut, scrunch up her nose and smile when somebody looks over at her.
9. Her first encounter with any kind of solid food was on July first. She was quite dubious. We offered food to her a few more times in the next few weeks. She wasn't a big fan. Then about a month later or so, we tried food again and she's a BIG fan. Anytime she sees me carrying food, she instinctively knows what it is and starts smacking her lips and waving her little arms and kicking her little legs. She thinks she gets to eat whatever I do. :-P She even tried to eat a chip right out of my mouth (on two different occasions). So far she's had, and likes (in order of appearance...to the best of my memory and knowledge):

• zucchini
• sweet potato/yam
• avocado
• yellow squash
• rice
• rice cereal
• bananas (whole or mashed)
• cucumber
• grapes
• pear
• yogurt (doesn't matter what kind)
• Baby Mum Mums (crispy rice cracker things)
• applesauce
• "Morning O's" (a version of Cheerios)
• potato
• a bite of poppy seed muffin (fed to her by daddy) :P
• jarred baby food (we got some for our camping trip, winter squash, spinach and potatoes, grandma's turkey dinner, berries and apples... she liked the spinach and potatoes least)
• celery
• carrots
• chicken
• peach
• cantaloupe
• homemade chicken and rice soup

So Much to Catch Up On....Where Oh Where Do I Start???

Before I forget I need to document some milestones that Chloe has reached. (I know I'm really the main one interested in these little details) :)

• Chloe sat up on her own for the first time on July 14th while she and I were at the pool watching the kids swim. She just suddenly figured it out and has gotten better and better at it ever since.

  

• Chloe began standing up (with help of course) around the 29th of July. Before that if you tried to get her to stand up she'd just let her legs buckle under her. She didn't start by standing straight up though. When she first started standing she'd stand with her legs straight but she'd bend at the waist as if she were taking a bow. After a few days of standing like that she started to straighten up and now, more than a week later, she's standing like a pro.
• Chloe also began shaking her head back and forth around the 29th of July. We're pretty sure she doesn't know what it means but we have fun with it, asking her questions and waiting to see if she shakes her head or not.
• Around 4 August 2010 Chloe started waving but it was a funny circuitous wave, sometimes making beckoning motions, sometimes waving her hand in circles, and sometimes actually waving her hand up and down. The past few days she's actually figured out how to wave up and down on cue....when she wants to. :)
• The past two days Chloe has been holding up her index finger while holding the rest of her fingers down with her thumb as if she's giving somebody "the what for" or telling us that she's going to be one year old.
• Today Grandpa Jan was holding Chloe at church and she bit his finger, the pain of which led him to discover that she's recently cut her first tooth. (A few days ago she started pulling at her ear so it probably started cutting through her gums at that time).

Bus Ride With Grandma and Grandpa

Chloe loves to snuggle. She snuggles her face down into my neck and cheek when she's going to sleep on my shoulder, and when she's in her bassinet, she snuggles her face right up into the bumper pad. It makes us nervous so we try to move her face away from it, but she turns right back every time. :P

The Sunday before Molly's birthday my parents wanted to spend some time with Molly for her upcoming birthday. They are very busy during the week with their mission of teaching English in the inner city wards so they took the opportunity to come by on Sunday night. They brought their bus/motor home to take Molly, and anybody else who wanted to tag along, for a ride. We drove up to Julie's house and picked up her and Dalton and Lindy (Dalton's birthday is the day before Molly's). The kids always have a blast riding in the bus. It was Chloe's first time. :) And it always brings back fond memories for me of all the good times/trips we had in that bus!! Lots of fun!! Thanks mom and dad for all the good times then and now!! :)

7 March 2010

2 March 2010

Chloe and I went to visit Grandma Grace on March 2nd. We had fun visiting with her and Monica and Maria who were there for their "rug class" with Grandma. (Every week she teaches them how to make a braided rug. A skill she learned from her mom.)Chloe Grace and Grandma Grace. :)Her cousins Lindy and Dalton were also there for a while.

Lindy loves babies and tried to take very good care of her little cousin. After that we went to visit Grandma Neener. :)

We found some more cousins for Chloe to see.

Left to Right:
Milo, born October 2009;

Chloe, born December 2009;

Ryker, born same day as Chloe, except about 22 hours earlier;
Lindy, born October 2008.Milo, Chloe and Ryker kept trying to hold hands. :)

Day Number 5

Daddy got me all lotioned and dressed

I got to meet more of my favorite people...

Cousin Emily...

(I already met Aunt April on the day I was born,

but she missed me and needed to come get another "Chloe Fix")

Cousin Cambria...

Uncle Alan...

Cousin Ryker....Guess who's older....we were born the same day!!

Ryker was born around 2 in the morning tho so he's older.

Great Grandma Linford
Other visitors that day: Uncle Adam, Aunt Melissa (Ryker's parents), Aunt Julie, Cousin Dalton, Cousin Lindy, Cousin Alex, Grandma and Grandpa Dalton, Great Grandma Grace, Uncle Johnny

Chloe tells all about her 3rd and 4th Days:

I'm 3 Days Old:

Daddy changing my diaperI met my older cousin Milo and his mom,

my favorite Aunt Amber.

Milo is almost exactly 2 months older than I am.

But guess what?! He was only a bit longer,

although he definitely had more meat on his bones. :)

I slept the whole time, so I guess I'll have to get to know Milo another day.

I'm 4 Days Old:

I was getting ready for my first outing

...it's hard work

...had to stop and rest. :)My big sister Molly loves to help take care of me any chance she gets...

She helped Daddy give me my first bath at home...

I didn't like the bath very much...

but I felt much better once they took me out and put me in that nice warm towel!!

...I'm so lucky to have such a cool big sister!!All ready to go....

My 1st Outing: Getting my biliruben tested.

(Note: Mommy had never heard of biliruben.

When the hospital doctor told us we had to get my biliruben level checked,

Mommy thought: "Who's Billy Ruben?!? And what does he have to do with my baby?!")

P.S. My biliruben level was down when they tested it!!

I got to meet my favorite Aunt Maria...
And my favorite Great Grandma Grace...
I'm named after her!! Then I got to hang out with my favorite Grandpa Jan!!

Ahhhh....I'm SO loved!!!

Chloe's Birth Story: Picture Version

Talking to Gretchen, my midwife, and putting in my first 20 minutes on the "machines"

After taking a walk around the maternity ward and trying to figure out when/how long the contractions were...without much success. :-/

We never were able to measure them.

(When I was at about 8 cm my sister started unofficially trying to track what she saw because that's about the time the contractions got a bit more intense,

but by that time I was too distracted to focus on timing). Spending some time on the ball...the ball is part of what saved me from a cesarean!!!

Thanks to Claire Stanely!!!!Support for my support.

We asked my sister, April, to come be the photographer/videographer of Chloe's birth.

She ended up doing much more than that as Rob realized that he needed support in his role of support. :) This ended up being one of my most preferred ways to deal with a contraction (but towards the end April and my mom took turns pushing on the pressure points on my lower back, which helped immensely, and Rob couldn't do it because I was holding onto him) :)She actually came out!!!

I kept saying between pushes: "I don't think she'll come out". :-/

We were both exhausted!!!

She was so quiet and alert.They had to take her and clean out her mouth because she was turning blue. Being weighed.

She didn't like being meddled with by all the medical staff!Holding Daddy's hand in the bassinet...I wish it weren't blurry. :-/Another darn nurse poking and prodding...at least she had daddy to hold her and make it better!!Her footprints.

Being admired by daddy and papa.Grandma and Papa adoring their second new grandchild of the day!!!Saying thanks to Aunt April for all her help!!
Cuddle time with Daddy

Grandma and Grandpa came to meet their precious new granddaughter.
Getting to know each other

First time in the car seat, getting ready for her first car ride...

Heading Home!!!Chloe's first size picture...2 days old.

Molly's Baptism

Molly's baptism weekend was really a great experience for her. To start off the weekend, Grandma Carol and Grandpa Don arrived on Friday afternoon (May 1st). They came bearing gifts (that's what they do). ;) Ben got the usual Lego set plus a traditional 4th of July shirt and a handy little pen with his name embossed/printed on it. Ben enjoyed his gifts but it was Molly's weekend to shine so hers were extra special gifts!! Grandpa Don made Molly an amazing doll chest with a real lock and key (I think the lock was her favorite part). :) The chest was made out of cherry wood to match the hope chest that he made for her mom! I can't even count how many times she opened, closed, locked, then unlocked her chest that weekend! She loved it! Then she got a queen size quilt made by Grandma Carol. It's beautiful and a real keepsake too!! She made this one for Molly because Ben gets the one she made for Rachel shortly before she passed away. Molly also got a traditional 4th of July T-shirt (Grandma Carol gives them one every year) and a fun little pen like Ben's, only her name was embossed/printed on it.After visiting for a while and enjoying the gifts (and waiting for Rob to get off work) we went out to eat. We tried letting Molly pick the restaurant, but we wanted something nicer than Chick-fil-A. ;) We chose Johnny Corinos. The kids had a blast and Ben ate everything in sight (as usual). Molly ate her pizza, a few bites of other people's food, and definitely her dessert! ;) (Dessert's the best part).

Saturday morning at 10:00 was the baptism (May 2nd). I forgot my camera (which is ironic because I'm known in my family to be the one to ALWAYS have my camera.) :( So Grandma Carol and Grandpa Don came to the rescue by having TWO and took lots of pics for us! :)

Molly asked my dad to baptize her a few months before her baptism. I thought it was just a whim and that she'd change her mind when it was crunch time because she's such a daddy's girl. However, right until the end she remained firm in her decision and knew exactly how she wanted it to be. She wanted Grandpa Doug to baptize and Daddy to confirm. (I was asked by the stake to give a talk on baptism and was a nervous wreck until that part was over....me and public speaking are not friends.)

The service wasn't really personal, since it was the whole stake combined, (I think it was 6 kids...we had the biggest group and it wasn't even Molly's whole family!!) which was kind of a disappointment for Rob. But then we were able to have just our group for the actual baptism and confirmation. Molly wanted people to write their testimony for her while she dressed after her baptism. (The building was SUPER cold that day and Molly shivered the entire time, except in the font, she said that was nice and warm.) :) The confirmation was really neat and Molly felt that her Mom (Rachel) was proud of her and happy for her decision.

After the baptism we had a shindig at our house. It was pretty packed!! (We'd never tried such a gathering in our little house....it was declared adequate for the group, only just!)

(FYI: In the following picture, Grandpa Don and Molly are sitting on the hope chest Don made for her mom, and next to the doll chest he made for Molly, as well as the quilt that Carol made Molly. Also, Molly's pre/post baptism dress was provided by Grandma Paula. It's one of the silk dresses she had for "Somewhere In Time." After the party Grandma Carol and Grandpa Don went to their hotel for a nap. Daddy went with some of our BIL's and my sisters to watch the latest X-men movie and got out just in time to meet us at Mimi's Cafe where we had dinner with Grandpa Don, Grandma Carol, Grandpa Jan, Grandma Paula, Ben, Molly and I. Lots of fun. After that we visited with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Don a bit more and then had to say good-bye again because they had to head back early Sunday morning.