It took Kyra a while to warm up to Chloë, but in the last few months she's really given that kid all she wants. She lets Chloë pet her, and grab her fur, and poke her face, and kiss her snout, and now she lets Chloë believe she's chasing after her. Really, all she wants is to devour Chloë's cookie.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
true love
Sunday, November 22, 2009
weekend highlights
there was nothing exactly special about our weekend, other than the fact that every weekend with Chloë is special. In any case, there were a few noteworthy, and special moments that made me, for the millionth time, count my blessings, for the wonderful husband, and amazing kid we have. There is nothing cuter than Chloë calling Kyra over, or "Dog" as she refers to Kyra, and smacking her lips in the air trying to get a kiss in...after few attempts, she kissed her square on the snout, and squealed in delight. Abso-frickin'-lutely the CUTEST thing I've ever seen her do! Though, later in the afternoon, her attempts at helping Josh rake leaves in the yard might rival the love fest with Dog. As Josh dutifully piled all the leaves into the bag, Chloë followed him around and tried to grab as many handfuls of leaves OUT of the bag as she could. Again, couldn't get any cuter than that. And now, not to toot my own horn, but the kid also just cannot get enough of me. She spent much of Sunday climbing all over me in order to read a book together, or watch daddy do yardwork, or pet Kyra, it didn't matter, as long as she managed to get one leg over to climb onto my lap, or her arms over my shoulder to hang on to me, she was literally on top of me, and while I exclaimed, a couple of times, "OMG, how can I get anything done with this kid on top of me all day?" I was secretly hoping she would never let go. So, all in all, one of the BEST weekends ever. And what did we do? Nothing special. May all weekends be like this.
and because we didn't manage to get a picture of any of these moments, here's a video of her tickle fest before bedtime tonight:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
thursday evening shenanigans
after taking two pretty good tumbles today at daycare, I thought Chloë might not be at her best this evening. Much to my surprise, she was in a super mood, and was being a total ham. She made my day by showering me with her mad, sloppy kisses, and eating all of her dinner. Now I truly understand the very real frustration my own mother must have lived through day in and day out with my lack of appetite and refusal to take "just one more bite". Well, tonight was a good night. There was no frustration, and to celebrate it, Chloë went all out and hammed it up before bedtime. We even let her stay up past her bedtime because she just looked like she was having such a blast. At bedtime, I held her a little tighter as she nursed all sleepily, and I marvelled at how big she's getting. I had one of those moments when everything seems so surreal as I realized that not too long ago, I could hold her with one arm, and she fit in there just right, her teeny, tiny body, right in the nook of my arms. Tonight, her not so teeny, tiny body takes over both my arms, and stretches out by my thighs, and her feet dangle to the side.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Clemyjontri Playground
So happy going down the slide!
A change of clothes was required after the park and a messy brunch.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
my favorite monkey
we went to the Reston Zoo this weekend, and Chloë was very excited at seeing all the animals, she wanted to wander around by herself, and wanted to do all the things big kids do, namely jump off balance beams. oh--and she wanted to smile like a monkey, how could I forget about that?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
...and the festivities continue!
Chloë hosted a Halloween Party this afternoon for all her friends. While parents were encouraged to dress up, only five of us actually actually did. Most of the babes actually kept their costume for a considerable part of the day and Kyra thoroughly enjoyed cleaning the floor as she licked all the crumbs throughout the day. After the party, we took our pumpkin out for her first Trick or Treating and she was very dainty and polite, getting one piece of candy at each house (Josh managed to 'help' her select the Peanut Butter cup whenever possible.) All in all...it was a Halloween to remember, and perhaps one of the firsts that becomes filled with a while new meaning as we see it through Chloë's eyes.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Let the festivities begin
For Chloë's 2nd Halloween, we planned to dress her up as Supergirl. Except when the costume arrived, it looked more like Superman. So, off she went, a Supergirl in a Superman outfit. At the daycare party, there were some memorable firsts, among them: her first slice of pizza (LOVED it!) and her first Oreo cookie (DEVOURED IT!). Since today is not Halloween yet, she's still got all of tomorrow to be Supergirl and figure out a way to shrug off all those comments about why she's wearing a Superman outfit (hint: because mommy messed up!)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
weekend fun!
This weekend we took Chloë to the Burke Nursery Fall Festival. She sat surprisingly still for the face painting, and didn't even try to touch it after it was done. We were so impressed thinking she was a big girl and all, we decided she could handle the big kids slide instead of the toddler one. Josh went down the first time with her, and her face was priceless--very apprehensive and holding on tight to dad. During my turn with her, I got carried away and screamed in glee as we went down--poor Chloë got a little scared and shrieked and held me tight. She did enjoy the farm aminals, and was over the moon to see a duck in person. She pointed to it and kept saying "Duh! Duh!"
Showing off her ladybug face painting
Sliding down with mama!
Sliding down with dada!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
my glue
for four days last week, into early this week, Chloë was attached to me. She was sick, and I have never seen her like this before. Through countless bouts of ear infection, and colds, and fever spikes, I have never seen my pumpkin so clingy, so needy, so attached. In the last several weeks, she has become so independent, walking every which way, throwing temper tantrums like a big girl, and brushing my hugs aside, I had started to wonder if her entry into toddlerhood hadn't come a little too soon. And then, on Friday she glued herself to me and didn't let go. While I wished her well with every fiber of my body, I also cherished her warmth, the feeling of her head on my chest, her arms gripping my arms, and the overwhelming need she had for me. By Monday, I was getting a little claustrophobic, but even before it was over, even before she unstuck herself from me, I already missed her. It's now Friday night and she's been unstuck for a couple of days. I miss her.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
a (sometimes) fun filled week
While my mom was visiting, Chloë managed to get croup, as well as a stomach bug. Perhaps, that's how she also discovered she has a belly button (see pictures below.) Despite all the sniffles, and coughs, we still all managed to have a wonderful time! As usual, my mom deserves angel wings for babysitting almost every night while Josh and I went out partying (and by partying I mean to dinner, and movies, and a quiet night in with friends.)
A sick Chloë eating O's
Chloë with grandma
Finding her belly button
Yup, still there!
Monday, October 5, 2009
all dolled up
This past weekend we had a FANTASTIC time at Matt and Heather's wedding. Chloë, already trying to get on Dr. Avedissian-now-Walters' good side, insisted on going to the ceremony (though she did agree to go home early, so mom and dad could pretend they were still in college, drink too much, and take embarrassing pictures.)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
the babysitter's club
Since my mom's last visit we've had three other babysitters for Chloë. They've all been great, and Josh and I have had a few date nights here and there. I think my mom started to feel the heat, the pressure, and tonight she arrives for another grand visit where she'll happily offer to babysit every night! I think she might have missed us a little, too. Welcome back, mom!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
lest I forget
and she is always quick to remind me why I love her so, so much I could burst. Even after evenings where she is cranky, and throwing ridiculous tantrums for no reason, the kind where she looks up at me and stomps her feet, one at a time, while belting out the most piercing cry you'll ever hear, even after all that, I can still smile moments later when she is happily snuggled up in my arms, nursing contently, tracing the features of my face, and staring at me with sleepy, sleepy eyes.
Last night was one of those nights, and as she shrieked and swatted my arms away as I tried to hold her, I stayed cool, calm and collected. The motherhood Gods rewarded me moments later with a baby that was just so, so tired, that as soon as we sat in her glider, she sighed and wrapped her arms around me, positioned herself just right, and barely started nursing before she was on her way, drifting off to sleep.
I held her a little while longer than usual, enjoying the moment. I breathed her in, and I kissed her goodnight.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
the tubes are in!
These magical little tubes that have turned my little pumpkin into an even happier little pumpkin are in, in all their glory. The glory that makes Chloë smile more, giggle more, and walk even faster. Granted...all these things may have coincidentally happened the afternoon after she got her tubes in, and may have nothing to do with the magical tubes...but, regardless, they happened, and we are all SO pleased.
The procedure went really well, and truth be told, it was a lot better than I had imagined. Leading up to it I was nervous, and planning for the worst, but the best happened. I woke Chloë up at 2:30am for some milk, she drank lots and went back to sleep at around 3am until we woke her up at 6:30am. She was a little cranky at having to get changed and not get to nurse, but quickly forgot about it as we got in the carsear, and drove away. She was yawning, but otherwise seemed ok. She was enthralled by the fishtank in the waiting room, and then enjoyed playing in the pediatric playroom before it was time to go with Dr. G. When her time came, my heart got tight, and I held my tears back as I gave her a hug and a kiss, and daddy took her to the OR. They led me to a private waiting room, and I went to the bathroom. When I came back, Josh was waiting for me and said she fell asleep with the anesthesia before he finished singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and that she did well. We had a granola bar each, and as I barely started reading an article on People when Dr. G. came in and said they were done. He recalled the procedure, told us it was great, and went well. There was a lot of 'stuff' behind her ear drums, and that she'll be hearing a lot better now, and that she's basically going to wake up to no earache which will probably feel fantastic.
Once he finished giving us all these good news, the nurse came in and said she was waking up in the recovery room. We walked in and she was a little groggy, but as soon as she got into my arms, she was ready for some milk. It's as if she knew that now she COULD nurse, and I couldn't say no. We sat there as she nursed, and looked around a bit, and 10 minutes later they sent us on our way.
At home, she was a little dizzy and unsteady but wanted to play a little. After about a half hour she was very sleepy, and so she took a hugely long nap that spanned from morning to the afternoon, and once she woke up she ate her lunch and was much, much happier than I've seen her in a while. We took her for some ice cream, and played for the rest of the afternoon. By night time, she went to bed easily and I imagine, very, very happy to not have her ears bothering her for the first time in a long time.
Thank you, Dr. S. and Dr. G., and thank you Magical Tubes!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
why breastmilk is really the bomb
So, after suffering from ear infection after ear infection since December, Chloë will be getting tubes put in on Monday morning. What's breastmilk got to do with it? Well, obviously this whole nursing thing did not help with the ear infections, unless without all the milky goodness she might have had way more ear infections, which I don't even think it's possible because she's basically had one a month, and the last round has lasted a full 5 weeks. Anyway, I digress. What's milk got to do with it? (and not any milk...BREAST milk, because dairy wouldn't have worked...) Well, Chloë has to fast for 12 hours prior to surgery (Monday at 8:15am), so that would mean that from 7pm on Sunday until late morning on Monday, she'd go without any food, and would likely wake up on Monday PISSED on her way to the hospital. BUT it turns out breast milk is sooo special that she can have some 4 hours before surgery. So, the plan will be to dream feed Chloë at around 2:30-3am, let her get lots of milk in her tummy, so when we wake her up at 6:30am to head over to the hospital, she'll forget that for the last 14 months the FIRST thing she does when she wakes up for the day is nurse. Fingers crossed, and wish us luck.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
i give it two, maybe three days
till she has me running around after her like a maniac. she's been taking three, four steps here and there for a month now, but now she knows where she's going and she means business...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
getting better...
but still not 100%. hence the lack of new blog posts...nothing to report, just a lingering cough and Chloë's persistent ear infection which, if I could, I would take it from her, so she could feel better. Even if it meant I would feel awful, awful...I just want her to be 100%.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
back from the dead (not quite, but still....)
so now it's been 9 days since our household has been sick. Josh was late to the party and only got sick 3 days ago. By sick I mean, we all have the flu, Chloë has a persistent double ear infection, a cut on her cheek (not sick related, but it adds to the misery) and while Chloë and Josh seem to be on the mend (barely), I've had a temperature now for 7 days. You would think it could not possible get any worse. Right? I mean, what more do we need? We can barely function and I'm surprised Chloë is still living with us and hasn't decided to move out because we are just so out of it. I half expect that any day now she's going to grab the diaper bag (which she loves to do anyway) and skip her way on out. But no. She's still here, and as of last night I now have conjunctivitis. It is beyond gross and it only adds additional steps to our normal every day things to do that already feel like herculean tasks in our condition.
This is a sneak preview of our day:
-7am wake up as Chloë whimpers because her ears hurt and she's also hungry.
-Cannot go nurse her immediately because I have to change my clothes in case I stuck my finger in my dirty, germ infested eye, and then slathered it all over my clothes.
-Douse myself in purel.
-Nurse Chloë--may or may not get the chills.
-Josh comes to help with breakfast in case one of us collapses. Whoever has the lowest temperature gets the baby.
-BLUR for the next few hours as one, or both of us attempt to entertain Chloë until her nap time. Again, depends on how sick we both are.
-NAP TIME. A happy time...we all sleep.
-Lunch time...Chloë wake up, nurses, same routine as above is repeated to ensure no nasty conjunctivitis germs will get to her.
-On to her lunch...she barely eats, because you know, she's sick too, I almost forget.
-ANOTHER BLUR BLOCK OF TIME.
-NAP TIME. Same as above.
-Chloë wakes up, countdown to bedtime begins so we can all curl up in bed again.
So, yes, I'm still very much surprised Chloë is sticking around with us. We did sanitize the entire house a few times, so with any luck we should be feeling better soon. For now, I'm going to crawl back into my rock.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
nana's visit!
In between the hectic and chaotic month that we've had, Nana Karen came to visit and it was a great time!! We went for picnics, and lunches, and ice cream, and like any good grandma she also babysat while Josh and I went to the movies (yay for date night!) Thankfully, I only got sick (really sick..) on her last day here.
Friday, August 21, 2009
because sometimes life gets in the way...
...and I wish there were more hours in the day.
Meanwhile, while my wish sits in the wishing well, here are some things that keep me sane.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
teething sucks
and that is why I now understand exactly why Chloë was so whiny and clingy all of Saturday. Three of her top teeth just popped through. When I looked on Friday, nothing, come Saturday night, they were all there, with a fourth on the edge of breaking through. If I had three teeth piercing through my gums, all at the same time, I might be a little bit cranky too.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
beach vacation part II
After recovering from a nasty stomach bug we thought we'd left behind, we were all ready to start enjoying the California sun by Thursday afternoon. What we ended up doing on Thurday pretty much repeated itself on all the days we were on vacation. And that's a GOOD thing. We laid out by the pool, played the sand, stood by the water's edge as the water splashed us, and had nice outside lunches, and relaxing dinners. Chloë LOVED the pool, and the ocean even more. Though getting the sand off of her took days, as we kept finding little grains of sand EVERYWHERE. How is it possible the sand got INSIDE her diaper? I will never know. What I do know is that I would be getting her dressed for lunch, and as I wiped her clean I'd look, and oh look! there's more sand near the folds of her thighs. Oh, wait! And what is THAT? Yup, sand in her ear.
Despite all the sand (eveywhere!), the California sun treated us well. That is, until Saturday evening when thinking he was in the clear, Josh was hit by...yup-you guessed it. THE STOMACH BUG. That one we thought we'd left behind, only to find it upon our arrival. That one we thought we'd finally gotten rid of on Thursday. That same one managed to give us all enough time to think we were free, allowed us some enjoyment during our vacation, and on Saturday night showed its claws, full force and took hold of Josh. It hit him at around dinner time, so thankfully by Sunday late morning he was all good. But still! We can't get over the fact that we managed to bring the bug with us from DC, and it survived for days until tagging the final member of our little pack.
Thankfully we did not infect anyone else with our special bug, and despite having been accused of bringing the plague with us to our nice family vacation, we kept it contained, and some people were even contemplating how to get our bug thinking they might use it to their advantage and lose a few pounds!
All in all, it was a trip to remember. If anything, Chloë's sheer joy at seeing the ocean for the first time, and playing with the waves and the sand totally helped me forget (am I seriously admitting this?) the hours of whining and whimpering in the plane and have me almost convinced those were just minor blips during an otherwise fantastic vacation. I could even almost be convinced to take another 5 hour flight with Chloë before she turns, oh say, 10 or 11 years old. We'll see.
Now, enjoy some pictures from our trip. 
Chloë contemplating her next move at the playground by the beach.
Chloë looking all sunned out.
Us girls hanging by the pool. Chloë dressed like a nun as my mom pointed out.
Vovo with Max and Chloë.
Family picture on the beach (note the camera was propped up on a sand castle or something similar.)
Chloë very Jackie O-like.
(Mis)behaving at a fancy restaurant in Santa Monica.
Sunset in Santa Monica.
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