special day out

today after a family trip to the playground, I asked Chloë if she wanted to go out for lunch with just mommy, and that we could have a special date, just us girls, we'd go have some lunch, maybe some ice cream, and after we could go to the store and she could pick one toy. Her face lit up, and she asked me, just to be sure, I think, "mommy and Chloë? No daddy, and no Lucas?" I smiled and confirmed that it'd be just us. She was almost out the door before I could even grab my purse, without any shoes on or jacket. I reminded her to put her shoes on, and we quickly put on her jacket. Right before she was about to walk out the door, she did a double take and looked at daddy on the couch and ran to him for a "big hug and a kiss."

Soon after, we were on our way. Her excitement and giggles were all I needed to make this sunshining day even brighter. We ate amidst laughs and jokes, and throughout she kept saying she was going to get a new baby for her new toy. Mind you, she has over 10 babies already. We walked over to get some ice cream, and stopped by the girl scouts' stand and bought some tagalongs. She skipped towards the ice cream parlor hugging her box of cookies "Mine cookies!" She had cotton candy ice cream with M&M's, but barely finished it, because she couldn't contain the excitement of what was to come "I want to go get my new baby!" So off we went.

She is smarter than I give her credit for, and she managed to pick the one box that had not one, but two babies, they were twins, so for the price of one toy, you got two babies! I think that was a little too much excitement for her, because as she looked at all the displays with only one 'baby dolly', she couldn't understand why anyone would pick anything other than the one with "TWO babies!!" Before we paid, she asked me "Lucas get a new toy, too?" So I told her to pick something for him, I thought it was just so sweet that she would think of him. She choose a box of little books, Toy Story books, or as she calls it "Cowboy movie." It was only once we got home, and we finished showing daddy her new baby dollies, that I realized, the toy for Lucas was really just another toy for her. "Chloë, show daddy what we picked out for Lucas." "Lucas no toy, mommy, Chloë got new toys, baby and Cowboy books!"

So, it was really the perfect outing for her. And for me. I have missed having my baby girl just to myself, all by myself. Thanks for a perfect day, Chloë.

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bath time!

Yesterday while I was getting dinner ready and Josh was telling me about his day, Chloë puttered around playing with her baby doll. As the two of us talked, we could hear her talking to her baby, and kissing the baby, and generally having a great time. At one point, things went a little too quiet, and once Josh went to check on her all I heard was "Oh, no" in a very defeated tone. I looked over, and he said "Chloë went to give the baby a bath." I walked over, and realized what he truly meant. She had indeed decided to give the baby a bath. In the toilet. We both stood there looking at her, and she held one of the baby's arm, and then we realized she must have tried to dry the baby with the toilet paper rolls, because there were TWO of them inside the toilet as well as the baby. Josh approached her slowly, and explained he'd have to take the baby away and everyone had to get their hands washed, and she freaked out. It seemed as if she was scared that she had done something wrong, so we tried to calm her down while also explaining to her that toilet water is just yucky.

We washed her hands, and arms, and face, and we hid the baby in the kitchen sink for a proper bath later on. The next thing we did was sit down for dinner. But now, thinking back, I so wish we had grabbed the camera and taken a picture of Chloë's baby in the 'bath'. It is certainly a vision to remember.

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a princess in NYC

This past weekend we took a road trip to NYC to visit my dad and his wife. As an added bonus my oldest sister and her son were there as well. What should have taken us 4 1/2 hours ended up taking 7, and towards those last couple of hours, not even Dora the Explorer could entertain Chloë who desperately wanted out of her carseat and kept pleading with me "Mommy, peeeeas!" Once we finally arrived at the hotel, way past her dinner time and bedtime, she was SO excited to get out of the car, she forgot all about being tired and hungry. While I tried to think quick and order some dinner so we could put her to bed, Chloë made quick friends with Max, and the two of them ran all around the suite. By the end of her dinner, she was completely comfortable with everyone and slightly annoyed when we took her to bed. She crashed pretty quickly a little before 9pm (!!) and Josh and I joined everyone for a terrific dinner at the Post House.

The weekend was pretty full of activities, much of which involved Chloë constantly wanting to wear her new princess costume and crown, as Max ran around in his Star Wars get up. We went to the Central Park Zoo, and walked around, and played with ducks, and Chloë was even treated to a fancy shopping spree and made out with 4 beautiful dresses!

On Monday morning when we were getting ready to leave slightly after breakfast, she started to get moody, and I think she had a feeling that the free-for-all weekend theme of being able to do anything she wanted and get away with it all was coming to an end. She gave everyone goodbye kisses and loudly waved "byeeeeee! byeeeeee!"

Thankfully, the drive back took us the expected 4 1/2 hours, and in the evening everyone was asleep by 8pm.

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true love

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.

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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:

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Chloë's new toy--simple things...

turn your volume up...hear her laugh at her new toy

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