Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Chloe: 11 Months

Well, I did my best to get an 11 month photo with the "Growth Chart Bear," but I was about as successful as I was last time. We are still not a fan of the bear.


It seems like lately she has become especially active. She is really getting good at communicating. If you ask her for something she knows what it is, like when you say "Can I have the ball?" she'll pick up the ball (versus any of the other toys around her). One of her new favorite things is to give you stuff. She loves to hand things over to you and when you give them back sometimes you get her adorable attempt at "Thank you!" Then sometimes she'll act like she's going to give you something but holds on for dear life when you try to take it from her, and laughs ("Psych!"). It's her fun game. She also knows now what she's not supposed to do. She loves to get into my rack of CD's in the living room, and now she'll crawl over there and right before she gets to it she will turn around and flash me a, "What are you going to do about it?" grin.

It is interesting to see her interact with Chase differently, too. She now grabs all of his toys, which he HATES. And Chase has always been ALL OVER HER, and she is now starting to object more than just crying when he won't back off. She has this primitive caveman growl she'll do (and then he does it back because it makes him mad that she objects) and today she chomped her teeth at him twice, like she was threatening to bite him. I thought it was hilarious but Chase was not a fan.

Chloe does have some serious stranger anxiety.  When Chase was a baby he went through the phase of clinging to me when strangers were around, but I don't remember it being as bad as it is with Chloe.  It's getting a little better, but for awhile there we'd be in line at Target and the cashier would just say hi to her and she would burst into tears.  I feel sorry for our babysitters because they say she screams for a LONG time after I leave, which kills me!  And my daughter does have an UBER-dramatic, LOUD cry.  No, more like a blood-curdling horror flick scream.  It's hard not to laugh at it sometimes.

She has 5 teeth now. Maybe 6. I'm afraid to get too close to look because she does like to chomp these days! We are working on "No bite!"  She is getting pretty stable on those legs, but hasn't tried to walk on her own yet.  Yesterday she walked down the hall with me, with one hand holding on to my pant leg.  I feel like she is permanently attached to my leg!

Well, I think that's a good update.  I feel like I hadn't done one in awhile.  Now....  Time for some summer fun!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

We Have Babies!

A few weeks ago when I pulled my hanging plant down to water it I noticed birds had made a nest inside!


Today I heard a lot of commotion from birds on the front porch. I peered through the curtains to find 2 birds in the pot and one of them was feeding baby birds! Of course when they saw me they bolted (now what kind of mother just leaves her babies in the face of danger?)! But here is a little look at a couple of the babies (click the pictures for a better view!):



Now I am not a bird person, but I must admit I think this is pretty cool. My flowers are totally dead but the life within the mess is worth the eyesore!

Chase thought they were pretty cool, too.

P.S.  This is my second post of the day.  Check out the previous post if you haven't already!

Mommy's So Proud!

We first learned on Chloe's piano...


And then we translated it to mine!


(As you can imagine, I am just slightly proud of this milestone!)

Monday, May 9, 2011

Happy Mother's Day, Grandma!

I have been DYING to post this, but I had to wait until after my mom actually GOT her Mother's Day card from Chase before I posted pictures of it.

So he sat down with his crayons and paper to make a Mother's Day card for my mom, and what I thought was going to be a 15 minute deal turned into almost an hour. Now that he actually draws stuff versus just scribble it's interesting to watch him get creative. But sometimes creativity needs a little translation:


Apparently that's a music note.

If that's what was placed on my music stand my first day of 5th grade band I would have quit music forever.

(I have a much better joke, but if I post it my mom will have a heart attack.)

ANYWAY....  It's the placement that really kills me:


Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

P.S. This is my second post of the day.  Click the previous post to hear about my Mother's Day gift!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Well we had an eventful Mother's Day! I asked Chase what he wanted to do for Mother's Day, because let's face it.... If the kids aren't happy, Mama's not happy! If I had done what I wanted to do, I would have had a whining 4-year-old on the floor at DSW asking me why I had to try on every single pair...!

Anyway, Chase said he wanted to go to the zoo.  So on the way out of town we stopped by his daddy's house to pick up the wagon.  On the way out of the neighborhood Chloe started fussing so I pulled over to mix her a bottle before we hit the road.  While I was mixing the bottle I heard this horrible noise, like a lawnmower running over rocks.  I looked all around because it sounded like it was about to hit us, it was so close!

It was my car.

I turned it off and on again and the battery light came on. So I thought, "I'll just drive the 1 mile back to Brian's and call someone." So I put it in drive and it wouldn't steer.

Well Brian was just down the road so he came to get the kids, I called the tow truck and watched them haul my car away. Chase was really worried about not going to the zoo so Brian was gracious enough to take us. It was HOT, but we had a nice time.



As of today I still don't have a car. Cross your fingers this isn't an expensive problem!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Conversations with a 4-Year-Old: Yes, Ma'am

Chase has started calling me "Ma'am" when I talk to him seriously about his behavior. I HATE IT. I know it's the culture down here but I really don't like it. The first time he did it I said, "You don't have to call me 'Ma'am,' Chase. Just call me 'Mom.'" He said he has to because that's what they do at daycare. I didn't really fight him on it at the time because I didn't want him to be confused about it and I wasn't sure how to handle it.

Then today he was sent to time out and after he got out we had a talk about his behavior and I asked him if he understood me. He said, "Yes, ma'am." Here's the conversation that followed:

ME: Chase, please don't call me "Ma'am."
CHASE: I can if I want to.
ME: But I don't like it. Just call me "Mom."
CHASE: I can call you "Ma'am" if I want to.
ME: OK, then I'll start calling you "Sir."
CHASE: No, don't call me "Sir." I don't like it.
ME: OK, let's make a deal. I won't call you "Sir" if you don't call me "Ma'am."
CHASE: Yes, Ma'am. (*insert eye twinkle here*)

OK, I have to give him credit. That was excellent comedy!

This is my second post today.  Check out the previous post if you haven't already!

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