Future Star...

Chloe got her very own basketball goal for Easter! I was a little concerned as last week I tried to get her to play basketball outside with a full size ball, but all she was interested in doing was playing soccer. But with her new goal, she shows that she's a complete natural!

First time's a charm!

And she tries again....
And again....
And again....making it each time!
See....she's showing me how it's done!
Well, that's enough of that. I can't spend all night trying to teach you to play.

Every super star needs a break every once awhile...no more cameras!

And lest you all think that was making this all up, I told the little super star that we needed to get video to show off her skills. So here it is. Enjoy! :)

So I stuck Chloe on a scale today...looks like she's right at 22.5lbs! We'll see how accurate that is...

This first picture is of Chloe playing right before bed. If you notice, she has this habit of taking one sock off and leaving the other on. It's an everyday thing.

Chloe playing on her slide. Note the one sock....

I went ahead and let her have ketchup at home. Here she is enjoying some french fries and a nice veggie burger.

Look how good she is using a fork!

Well, that didn't last too long. Notice she's starting to get ketchup on her face....

Do you guys know what fun dip is? You know the candy stick that you lick and then stick into powdered candy and then suck it off the stick? Well, ketchup and french fries are Chloe's fun dip. She basically uses the french fries to eat ketchup!


By the end, ketchup is everywhere. I especially love the hair!

It seems like there is not enough time in the day for me to accomplish everything that i want to. I feel like I'm constantly doing the same every day chores (laundry, dishes (no dishwasher), bills, picking up after Chloe) every single day. Then after all those things are done, I have to decide what I'm going to do next. There really is so much that I want to fit in, like actually CLEANING instead of picking up, organizing, dusting, exercising, watching TV, email, studying, resting, sleeping, etc. But I have to make a choice, and honestly, usually I'm so exhausted that I don't end up doing anything productive.

To help myself out, there are certain things that I will or won't do to save time and messes/work. For example, I'll only keep so many things in Chloe's reach, that way she can't make as much of a mess. Or I'll line anything that I cook on with aluminum foil to save time cleaning it later. I don't really let Chloe feed herself unless its something that is relatively non-messy. Never do I let her use ketchup by herself, for example.

However, we were having dinner at my last night, when she insisted on giving her ketchup and letting her eat on her own. And this is why I don't let her have it on her own :) :

Where has time gone???

It seems like forever since I've blogged! Things have been quite hectic around here, it hasn't been due to a lack of excitement!

First, let me start by saying that I think Chloe is perfect. But I have to admit, she's got some habits that absolutely drive me nuts.

-This is something that I really don't know what to do about. It's the only thing that I can't just laugh off. Chloe gets hysterical when she's in a car seat in a car with me. It's not your typical cry-for-a-few-minutes-then-I'm-ok. She will cry the WHOLE time. I mean SCREAM. So we only go anywhere when be absolutely have to as it drives me crazy. Actually having to go somewhere with her stresses me out. I actually plan my days around figuring out how I can do the the least amount of driving as possible. The result is that we spend very little time away from the house. Which sucks because it's nice to be able to get out sometimes. But I'm hoping that in time this will pass.

-Chloe doesn't like for me to move. It instantly makes her cry. At first I was going to say that she doesn't like for me to leave the room, or her line of sight, but really that's not even accurate. A lot of times I can't even move from a sitting to standing position without her starting to cry. Now if she notices that I'm not going anywhere, she'll stop crying after a few seconds. But still. I hate that she gets so sad so easily.

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You know how every mom has that "mean voice"? You know, the one where you KNOW you are in trouble? Or even the mom look where you don't even have to say anything? Well, I don't think I have either.

Today I kind of lost my patience with Chloe. She keeps banging on the keys to the lap top and I try everything to get her to stop. Nothing. She's on my lap and refuses to get done, but still wants to bang the keys. So finally I just close it. She starts SCREAMING. So I try to put her down, and she just screams louder. So finally I just yell at her (really I just said it loud, I didn't actually scream):

Chloe! It's about time that you learned that you can't have everything you want! When I tell you no, I mean no!

I even had a pretty mean look on my face, I think. Her response? Well, it shuts her up for a second. She just stares at me with this blank look on her face, then instantly starts laughing. And clapping her hands. Then she screams and starts laughing. She totally doesn't take me seriously....

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I feel like Chloe's is having this transition into a toddler. I mean, she's been going through that transition for awhile now, but I've just been noticing little things.

I've blogged before about Chloe refusing to call me mama. She calls me dada. I know that she can say mama because I hear her sometimes when she wakes up in the middle of the night. But I'll be like, can you say mama? She just looks at me, smiles and says dada. If I show her a picture of me and ask her who it is, she says dada.

Saturday we were in the car on the way home from the store. Chloe had been crying in her carseat like usual. Towards the end, she was so ready for a nap. She was kind of whimpering and zoning out, but with eyes completely open. When we pull into the garage, I get in to the back seat to get her out. The moments she sees me, we have the following conversation/exchange:

Chloe: (Obviously tired and in a zone) Mamaaa.....

Me: (Smiling, sort of cutting her off) Did you just say mama????

Chloe: (Instantly her mouth drops and this look of shock comes across her face. Then she starts screaming.) DADA DADA DADA DADA!

She's doing it on purpose! So then later I ask her who I am, and she looks at me with this devilish smile on her face....Dada!!!!

She's really into doing things that make people laugh. She's really stepped this up in the past week. She'll do something, show you, then want you to laugh with her. Here's something new that she's picked up that she thinks is the funniest thing in the world. She does this every time she eats now and it just cracks herself up!

Picture Post....make sure you look to the end!!!!

Ok--So I've been a bad blogger. But I promise to do better. Anyway, I wanted to share a few pictures...

So I FINALLY refurnished the living room with furniture that was more my taste. I have to tell you, this was quite the ordeal. One day, two Thursdays ago, I got it in my mind that I was going to get rid of my living room furniture. So I put it up for sale on Craigslist and it was gone that same night!!! So I had no furniture!!! Then I went shopping for new furniture but couldn't find anything that was quite perfect. The sets that I loved just weren't comfortable enough for me, and the ones that were comfortable enough I didn't like. So finally I compromised, and this is what we ended up with. I think I did quite well... :)

Now this chair is awesome. I wouldn't have gotten it expect it's an awesome Chloe toy. You see, it spins around 360 degrees, just like a merry-g0-round, and Chloe LOVES it. I know, I know. But it entertains her and I don't let her play on it by herself...:)

The only problem with the couch is that the pillows all come off. Chloe's left them alone for not, but not sure how much longer that will last....

CHLOE'S ROOM

This leopard is her FAVORITE stuffed animal. Every single day when she wakes up from her naps she has to go over and kiss him. And before bed. And generally every few minutes when she's in her room.



CHLOE IN PIG TAILS.
I think she's way too cute. Keep in mind these pictures were taken right after her evening nap so they weren't the freshest. But still way cute!

Weekend Highlights...

So I put this dress on Chloe and thought i would find some tights for her later. After looking for a bit, I gave up and decided to put jeans on her. Only she wouldn't let me take the dress off...so this is how she stayed Saturday... :) (Notice I accidentally put her dress on backwards!)

Chloe at Uncle Marty and Aunt Charity's. Isn't she way too cute???
It's so hard to get a good picture of Chloe anymore. She's always distracted by something and REFUSES to look at the camera!

I *heart* her. I really do. :)

One Tired Mama...

Ok--I must admit, I'm tired. I get up, go to work, and then when I get home, I'm ready to crash. But of course I've got four or so hours until Chloe is ready to. It's gotten really bad this week...

Last night Chloe woke up about a half hour after I put her down. I usually get at least a solid three-four hours before this happens. Not last night. And it was the type of cry where I knew she wasn't going to stop. I walk in her room and she's actually standing up in her crib...so I pick her up and walk around with her. She won't let me sit down and rock her, as that requires me to stop standing up. She calms down when I walk around, but the second I start to put her down it starts back up again.

So I bring her into my room where I was *trying* to sleep, thinking that I might regret this, but I would try to let her sleep with me. No such luck. She wants to play. So we play for the next hour and half, until finally 1030 or so when I put her back down and she goes back to sleep. She actually stayed asleep for a little while, but still got up two more times before 6am when I had to wake her up.

Tonight we try again. She wakes up after an hour and again, nothing I do will soothe her unless I walk around with her in the dark. But after a half hour she's still not asleep. Or at least not to the point where I can put her down without her waking her self up screaming. It wouldn't be so bad if she would let me rock her. So finally I put her back down. And she screams. She's been screaming for the past 30 minutes, so I'm about to go back in there. But man, I sure hope this isn't a new habit.

One difference in her routine from the last few days is that both last night and tonight she missed her evening nap. I usually lay her down about five and then wake her up by six if she doesn't wake up on her own... maybe that's throwing her off???

In my defense and more attitude

I will try to repost the video of Chloe later to see if it will work. The problem that I am having is that my lap top is sort of broken. More specifically, the power supply cord split and I had to get a replacement. Instead of ordering the actual model specific cord, I just got a generic replacement. Unfortunately I don't think it hits the place inside the little hole that puts the power to it as it doesn't always work. I have to keep adjusting the plug thing in different directions for it it to hold a charge. Then I have to either hold it there with one hand the whole time, or on some occasions I can find a position that will work, but that I can't let anything move or touch it, etc. Sucks. (Hope that makes sense, as I don't know all the technical terms for what I am talking about. That being said, if anybody knows how to help me, feel free to share)

Why don't I buy the proper cord, you ask? Well, it's like $150 and I'd just as soon buy a new lap top. That's why.

All that being said...

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SWEET LITTLE INNOCENT GIRL!?!?!?

That's definitely an exageration. She's still sweet. Most of the time at least.

But she's definitely developed this full on "I want my way RIGHT now" type attitude.

What is she doing you ask?

I will tell you. (Some of these I might have already blogged about, but that's ok)

Biting: She's discovered that her teeth do things. For example, I'll be holding her, going about my business, not expecting anything, next thing I know, my shoulder is getting gnawed into. Granted, I almost feel that's sort of a discovery type thing--so I won't dwell on it. Next, I'll be walking along, holding her hand, leading her somewhere she doesn't want to go. She wants me to let go of her hand, but I'm pretty stubborn too, so I don't. Next thing I know she's got my hand in her mouth biting it! I will say that this behavior has NEVER resulted in me letting go of her hand, no matter how much I wanted to.

If I try to put her down when she doesn't want down, she instantly resorts to the "make your body go limp and throw yourself on the floor screaming and crying". Unfortunately, it's hard to ignore as I can't just let her go at this point because most of my floors are hardwood and she'll hurt herself. So I try to gently get her to the floor and let her scream and kick and cry.

Heaven forbid another child try to take something from her. She definitely defends herself. She'll hit, scream, smack, etc. My only consolation here is that she NEVER starts it. If people leave her alone, she leaves them alone. I try to avoid putting her into the situation where this would become an issue.

These are just to name a few. Now don't get me wrong, if you met her you wouldn't nessecarily notice these things and she's in no way a problem child. These are just behaviors that I've noticed starting to come out of her. I'm pretty confident that these are stages that all children go through and I'm pretty sure that my sweet little bella will return in all her glory.

It's more of a battle of the wills at this point. The child will learn that more than likely she won't be able to out-stubborn me. And if she does, it's only because I am picking my battles with her...

Chloe the race car driver....

Whenever we go by any kind of arcade, Chloe HAS to go in. And there's one game in particular that she HAS to play.

RACING. Huh. Go figure.

Anyway, I just got one of those flip cameras and am figuring out how to use it. I tried taking some video of Chloe playing her game, but it didn't turn out really well. She gets really into it, jumping up and down and everything. But for some reason, whenever I turn the camera on, she stops. So I did the best I could, you'll just have to imagine the rest... :)

I know the video isn't the greatest, but like I said, I'm just learning and I wanted to see how video does on my blog. So enjoy~

My, how things change...

It's so funny how different things can change your perspective on life.

When the idea of children first came up, I was one of those people who never thought I could be a stay at home mom. My career was too important to me, I would get bored, not feel like I'm productive, etc. Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel like being a stay at home mom was a bad thing, just not something that I wanted to do.

I babysat a lot growing up. I knew how hard children would be. I just always felt like I would need a break from that.

Fast forward to 2007--Chloe coming along. She has totally changed my outlook on life. She adds so much to my life, I can't even begin to tell you. And all I can think about is how awesome it would be if I had the chance to stay home with her. I did stay at home with her for a few months until circumstances changed and I had to get a job. And I admit that it was a very stressful time...but I wouldn't change it for the world, I just wish that I could have enjoyed it more.

I can honestly say that I hate going to work everyday. All I can think about is how much of her life I'm missing. The real possibility that I won't be there to see her "firsts". I go to work and I fantasize about winning the lottery so that I can stay home with her...it's crazy! (Especially since I don't buy lottery tickets) I just want to be around to experience life with her. I can honestly say that I am VERY jealous of stay at home moms. Isn't that crazy???

I will say that there is a priceless moment that happens every single day that I go to work that just melts my heart. The second that I walk through the door at my mom's and Chloe sees me, she stops everything she's doing, starts smiling and laughing, excitedly swinging her arms up and down, and runs over to me! And she just has to sit on my lap for a little bit and do nothing else. If I try to put her down, forget it!

Today when I walked in, my mom was in the kitchen on the phone holding her and she was completely content. When Chloe saw me, she did her excited thing and basically leapt into my arms and hugged me. My mom goes to touch her arm and Chloe swats her away, I guess thinking she was trying to take her away from me. I admit, that wasn't very nice, but it's nice to know that she misses me.

All that being said, I still wish I could stay at home with her. Or at least find a job that I can do from home. Maybe I should try working for myself... If anybody needs any accounting, tax, or bookkeeping work done, feel free to contact me! ;)

Misc Information

I'm sure that I've mentioned this before, but Chloe is not a "morning" baby. Upon waking up, she just wants me to hold her. I can't talk to her, play with her, put her down. I just have to hold her and go about my business until she decides she's ready to start her day. If I try putting her down, the result is a replay from my last post... :) This includes after naps.

During the week, I have to leave really early for work, so what happens is I get ready, then I go get her as I'm walking out the door. I try not to turn on any lights, transport her straight from her bed, to car seat, and then back to bed at my mom's. I try not to rouse her too much, so unless she starts "talking" to me, I don't really talk to her, besides giving her a hug and kiss (which I realize isn't talking:).

So this morning I go in and get Chloe out of bed. I hear this awful, awful sound. What is it you ask? Well, little Miss Chloe is grinding her teeth! Mind you, she only has her two front top and bottom teeth at this point, four total. But she is grinding them somehow. So I'm like, "No, No. Stop, baby girl" as I try to stop her with my hand to her mouth. She stops after a few seconds and I am able to stop cringing. I get her in her car seat and all is well. Until I get to my mom's and take her out again. Again, she starts doing it, so I try to get her to stop. She finally does once I lay her down. I'm hoping, hoping that this isn't going to become a habit...keep your fingers crossed!

In other Teeth news, Chloe is also about to get her two top incisor teeth. They are not poking through the surface yet, but you can feel them.

Also, I have to wonder about the person who developed the infant tooth brush! It must not have been someone with a baby... Or maybe I just have one of "those" children. We had our first attempt at toothbrushing over the weekend. Chloe LOVES it, but when I stick my finger in her mouth, she automatically bites down as hard as she can! Go figure...

Some things Chloe is learning:

-She knows how to turn lights on/off
-She knows what the light is
-She's learning to jump. She's got the bend the knees part down good, but still needs a little help getting airborne!
-She's getting really good at throwing balls.
-She understands A LOT of words, but won't really say any besides her usual, "what's that", "yeah", and "Dora", or "Do-Do-Do, Do Dora!" And some other miscellaneous sounds.
-Her go-to phrase is Da Da Da Da. She randomly says it all the time. Try as I might, I can't get her to say Ma ma ma ma. I think she just doesn't because she knows I want her to do it. I go, "Can you say Mama?" She looks at me, laughs, and says, Da Da Da Da. Hmmm.

I had a lot more on my list to update about, but I don't want this post to go too long.

One other thing. I've been hesitant on posting certain things on this blog. Basically as I want this to be a blog about Chloe, so I don't want to diverge much from that. But there have been times that I've really wanted to post about certain random topics, but I've refrained from doing so, so after much consideration, I decided to make another blog. Just about random life things. I've decided to do it over at wordpress in order to utilize the password feature if I need to. So feel free to check it out over at www.fracturedfairytale.wordpress.com .

I haven't posted anything on it yet, so give me a day or two...

Anatomy of a Fit...

They say the "two's" are terrible...if so, I'm really in for it!

Chloe Birthday Tribute!

It's kinda long (8 minutes), but totally worth it!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's been awhile...

Since my last post. Things have been pretty busy. Chloe's been sick for the last few weeks, then we had Christmas on the 25th, my birthday on the 29th, New Years Eve, New Years, and then Chloe's birthday is tomorrow.

I have to get some posts up that I've been working on concerning Christmas and birthdays. I'm working on something extra special for Chloe's birthday, so be sure to check back!

Being the genius that I am, I am going to share with you my extra special moment of the night.

To set the stage, as I said, Chloe's been sick. She hasn't been sleeping well at night, on top of the fact that it's normal for her to still wake up 3-4 times a night. Last night she was waking up EVERY hour. So tonight after getting her to sleep, I decide to take a nice, hot, RELAXING bath. I bring a book in there with me so read. So I'm laying back reading while the water is still running. I think I hear the phone ring, so I go to turn the water off. Somehow, I accidentally turn the shower on and soak myself with cold water. But I finally get it all off, only I don't hear the phone anymore. So I return to my book. Phone starts ringing again. I REALLY don't want it to wake Chloe up, so I jump out of the bath, grab a towel, and take off running on the hardwood floor, down the hardwood steps, across the tile hallway, down the three carpeted steps, onto the laminate hardwood floor. I spot the phone...then BAM! Did I mention that I was running?!?! And soaking wet???? The next thing I know, as I'm reaching out for the phone, my feet slide out from underneath me and I land HARD on my hip, hand/wrist, and shoulder. As I was starting to fall, it flashes through my head that I'm going to be luck if I come out of this without any broken bones. Fortunately, I'm ok, just a little sore. Everything is a little swollen, but no permanent damage. Hopefully it's not going to be one of those things were I'm REALLY feeling it tomorrow!

Well, Chloe just woke up, so I'm gonna jump off. Remember to check back for Chloe's birthday post!