Sleeping Chloe

When I was growing up, I never could understand why my mom always snuck into our rooms and took pictures of us while we were sleeping. And then I had Chloe and from the beginning, I have taken pictures of her asleep. And it's not just because she looks so sweet and peaceful when she's asleep, or because it's so easy to forgive even the worst day when I watch her slumber. It's because Chloe can fall asleep in the middle of any activity, any time. Today, I put her in timeout for refusing to take a nap, and before she even had time to protest the timeout, she was asleep in the hallway. It made me laugh so much, I decided it was finally time to share with the rest of the world my gallery of Chloe sleeping. I'm sure there are pictures I've missed, but this is a pretty good sampling. Boy, do I love that little girl.

Our narcoleptic daughter

Firsts

On Saturday, Chloe got her very first haircut! Yeah, she's only 2 1/2. What can I say. My kids are baldies. I also got a haircut that day, which is why I actually look put together. It went really well. She was initially apprehensive, but got over it quickly. Her hair looks so pretty and healthy now, and much thicker than I thought it was.

On Sunday, we had Bracken's parents over to celebrate his mom's 70th birthday. We had a really nice time with them, but the highlight was Chloe's first poop in the potty! I never knew a bowel movement could be so exciting. This is not a picture of the blessed event, but it captures the general subject. Unfortunately, we have not had a repeat performance, but in general, the process is still going really well.

And Addie, not to be undone, has also had her first night without a feeding. She has woken up in the night still, but we have been able to put her pacifier in, and she's gone back to sleep, so we're counting that as a big step forward. This is her sitting up so big in her bouncy chair.

It's about time.

You may be wondering just what this special picture is about. It's not just a Valentine's Day decoration. No, this is the craft project of my life. Literally. Those of you who have known me for a while, and I'm talking about 23 years here, may have seen this rug in various stages of completion. Well, when my dad came to town for Addie's blessing, bringing with him various boxes of my belongings, I found it again. I decided that it was time to finish the kit I had been given when I was 8 years old. Yes, I know it's kind of lame, but I needed to finish it. And honestly, it took less than 5 hours to totally complete, backing and all. I really couldn't say why it took me until I was 31 to get it done. Maybe it was so when it was finally completed, I would have a little girl who would appreciate it.

And what can I say about Chloe this week? Tonight after feeding her baby doll with one of Addie's bottles, she filled the bottle with chocolate chips and tried to drink them. Oh yes, she is my daughter. Potty training is going pretty well. We had a bit of a relapse yesterday, when after I asked her to come sit on the potty, she instead went in the corner and peed. It's kind of hard to capture how angry I was, and how equally unsure I was of how to handle to moment. I'm so scared of her having negative associations with potty training. So she got a really long time out and things have been going better again. Chloe also had to go to the doctor this week. She's had this patch of red skin under her lip that's just not been getting better, despite my best efforts. When I called to set up the appointment, the advice nurse seemed to think she had some sort of flesh eating bacteria or leprosy or something. Fortunately, it's just some eczema, and it's already getting much better.

Addie continues to grow like a weed, though she is not quite as gargantuan as the picture on top would imply. I'm amazed when looking at the two girls side by side how different their coloring is. In fact, it looks like about the only thing they've got in common in their expression. We've been feeding Addie cereal and applesauce, and I think she's going to be an eater like her cousin Emerson. She just can't get enough. If I hold her while I eat, I have to compete with her to get the food into my mouth. This morning as I was eating my cereal, she kept getting in the way, so once I had finished the cereal, I have her my spoon. That occupied her for a minute, until she realized that there was still milk in the bowl, and she went back to trying to get the bowl. She has been teething a lot lately, which has definitely been rough since it's upset her sleeping even more.

And then today I got my first crown. It's been a long week.

But there is a ray of sunshine. Bracken just got invited to an annual recognition conference at work, which will be held in Cabo San Lucas this year! And I get to go, too! It's an all inclusive trip, which means I may get to try room service for the first time. I'm so excited, and proud of my husband to boot.

It's working! Yesterday Chloe got herself to the potty several times after just starting to pee, and today she got herself there with dry panties, and no prompting! I'm so proud of her and so excited. But now I have to figure out how we go out in public. I guess I'm going to have to get used to visiting the public restrooms of every store we go to.

So, I went to the temple last night, and aside from the irreverence of having the potty song stuck in my head the whole time, I had a really nice session. My family made a plan to coordinate a temple session in commemoration of my mom passing away 8 years ago on January 14, so it was nice to know that though I'm a couple states away, we were all together. I also didn't remember until I was in the temple that I received my endowment ten years ago on the 14th. It was a good day to be in the temple, first time since Addie was born. I think for the next little while, Bracken and I will just have to split up for our temple attendance.

The Potty Song - HILARIOUS - MUST SEE

Firstly, I just thought I'd include a couple pictures of Chloe taking out the gingerbread house. After she gnawed on it for a couple of days, we put in the backyard to see what the wildlife would do to it. And the answer is--nothing. It's been interesting to watch the candy dissolve, though.


Matt told me about the potty song they've been using with Owen, and I've had just the parts he sung to me stuck in my head, so I found the video on YouTube today. So far, Chloe finds the song catchier than the actual act of potty training, but that's to be expected.

Yes, I finally committed to potty training her. We spent the day over our tile floor, camped out with the potty and lots of beverages. We had a lot of accidents, but we have four stars on our potty chart, and that's what really matters. I just never knew how exhausting potty training would be. It's just that constant anxiety over getting her on the potty at the right time. And obviously it made Chloe so tired, she couldn't even sleep in her bed.

I think it wore out Addie too. She actually fell asleep in her jumper today. Things are not going well at night still, but tonight for the first time we implemented the double swaddle, and I'm hoping that will help. We've been concerned about her still needing to be swaddled, but I did read that some babies do need it up until about 9 months, so I'm feeling a little better about it.

She has started eating food now. We started her on rice cereal right after Christmas, and Addie had her first bananas on Saturday. She loves to eat. In fact, if I'm holding her and eating, she leans right in everytime I put a bite in my mouth. Having solids hasn't really made a difference in her sleeping, but it has helped with the spit up! Hooray! It's nice to be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel in one of our problem areas.

I've got a whole list of New Year's Resolutions right now. I've combined several of them, such as reading my scriptures while walking on the treadmill to aid in weight loss, which really gives me more motivation to do it every day.

Bracken is still enjoying his time off from school, but realizes the days are flying fast. It is so nice to know, though, that he only has three classes left, and then he will have his MBA. It's very exciting.

We went with friends this weekend to see Bodies Revealed. It's a display of preserved bodies from China. All the different body systems are shown in different galleries, and it was really incredible to see how things are put together. The most amazing display was of the circulatory system. To see all the veins in the body really illustrated the artistry of our Heavenly Father.

And that's about it for right now. Oh, there was one more amazing event this week. We had stake conference on Sunday, and with the exception of Addie being taken out because she blew out her diaper, we made it through the entire meeting. No tears, no problems. Maybe soon we'll actually be able to listen to the meeting again!

It's a cleaning miracle! I try to be a good housekeeper, try being the operative term here, but there is one cleaning task I have never been able to conquer--the dreaded shower door. Despite my best efforts, I always seem to have a nasty build up on them. I could blame it somewhat on the texture of the glass in our past showers, but in our master shower in our house, the doors are untextured glass. Despite daily squeegy-ing, they've not been looking good. Well, today I cut a lemon in half, dipped it in water softener crystals (available in the laundry aisle at the grocery store) and scrubbed away. It worked! I am so excited to have discovered something that works and works easily, I just had to share.

Happy New Year!

I'm like the mad poster today. I just wanted to add a little commentary to our New Year's slide show. We decided to host a New Year's party this year, which was dampened somewhat by our little girl throwing up in the middle. Yes, that makes two years in a row that Chloe has vomited on New Years. Fortunately this time didn't turn into the major flu fest we had last year. She's feeling much better, but it does make me wonder if we should just accept the fact that we are not meant to celebrate New Year's Eve.

I've just been thinking these last few days about things I love about my family.


Top Five Things About Chloe that Make Me Smile

1. The way her hair flies back when she goes running down the hallway.

2. How in the last week, she's noticed when her sleeves are gathered at the top, and she turns and looks at them and says with a smile, "Princess."

3. Her ability to fall asleep, after fighting it so hard, right in the middle of an activity.


4. Listening to her sing. Her repertoire has expanded from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Stinky, Stinky diaper change, and Dora the Explore Theme Song to include Jingle Bells, parts of the Alphabet song, and her new favorite, Frotty Noman.

5. The way she holds her hands in imitation of Micky Mouse when saying the magic words to make his clubhouse appear.



Top Five Things About Addie that Make Me Smile

1. The way she laughs at the silly things her sister does. No one else makes her laugh harder.

2. Her eyes--the way she watches me like no one else could ever matter, and the way they turn up when she smiles her impish grin.

3. Her excitement over cramming things into her mouth.

4. The surprise of seeing her roll over for the first time this week.

5. The smiles she gives me while nursing, because she's just so happy she can't contain herself.

6. And a bonus, because I can't leave off her cute chubby legs. She has one roll that is just so squishy, I just don't know what to do with myself.



And Finally, 5 Reasons my Husband makes me Smile

1. He always forgives me for my irrational rants.

2. He takes the night shift so I can get some sleep (and hopefully decrease the irrational rants.)

3. He does the dishes, and puts them away.

4. He works so hard for us.

5. I'm so glad to be yoked to someone who pulls an equal, if not better, portion of the load.

It's nice to sit here in the blustering rain and know there are no other people I'd rather be with.

Merry Christmas!