11 months old

i think back one year ago and how much has changed. i was getting ready for the school year to begin (as i am now), but with a different mindset. last year was so unknown and a little scary and a LOT uncomfortable being pregnant and this year i'm sad to be going back as it will be cutting into my chloe time! we've had a great summer. zsuzsi came to visit yesterday and we had a nice dinner and then some fun time in the back yard. chloe loves being outside and being able to walk everywhere. i took her to the park yesterday too and she had her first swing and slide. she was more interested in watching the other kids. she loves "reading" her books outloud...even if they are upside down! she loves mimicking coughs or the neighbor's dog barking or when you clear your throat! can NOT believe she's almost one. it's gone so fast!

2 kodak gallery album links are below...


http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=b2h0app.9awdw1cl&Uy
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http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=b2h0app.20mvbov9&Uy
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i'm pretty sure she's going to be a musician

what do you think?

she's walking!

I KNEW IT! she's walking! this past weekend, she decided that she was done with just a few little steps here and there and is a walking machine! now she walks at every opportune moment and does so until she's so tired that she can't walk anymore! lots of fun. am in total denial that tomorrow is august 1st and that means that school will be back in session soon. i officially start back on the 21st..but will be there a few days early to set up my new room and go to new teacher orientation. lots to do between now and then!

10 months old

our girl is growing so fast! no walking yet...just a few steps at a time. lots of babbling and being social. she ALWAYS gets attention every time that we go out in public. summer's been great, aside from the few heatwaves that we've had. otherwise, all is well. just wanted to add some new photos for her 10 month milestone.

fourth of july eve

summer is awesome. it's been super nice getting to hang out with dave and chloe every day....sleep in, sort of. :), lounge, eat, read, etc. have had a busy couple of weeks. summer is the best time to get all of my "errands" done...smog check, doctor appointments. feeling like i've gotten a lot done. PLUS...all the visiting. kiki, chloe, and i went over to santa cruz last weekend to visit catherine, carrie, and malcolm. had a nice little lunch. kiki took all the pics though. will work on that. visited with cousin tiff and syndey this week. can't believe how grown up sydney is! 3 1/2 already and in her big-girl room. the biggest news is that i've met my half-sister elisabeth. we started emailing about 2 months ago and have met in person a few times. we went up to my mom's yesterday and they got to meet for the first time. "e" is super cool, like me (ha!) and we have a great time together. chloe's 9 month checkup was monday...currently 19 pounds, 14 ounces. she's doing really well. we've been eating solid foods for a few weeks now. she's become OBSESSED with "o" cereal and likes eating from mom's spoon. she always makes a funny face when i give her something new to try, but so far, there hasn't been anything that she absolutely refuses. of course, now that i've written that down, she won't eat tomorrow. :) she's perfected the princess wave and is still super hilarious. she loves toys that make noise and we suspect a percussionist out of this girl. she's also been taking a few steps a day unassisted...mostly between furniture or parents. she's gonna be walking before we know it. for sure by the end of the summer. she's always smiling and mostly happy....except in the car for extended periods of time. here's a link for the whole slew of recent pics. the link is at the VERY bottom of this entry after all the pics...just cut and paste it into your browser to enjoy.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=b2h0app.2hebnpr1&Uy=-wrw0pc
&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=886623716128_1918340
46605&localeid=en_US

9 months and counting

well, summer's finally here. it's only been a week since school's been out, but what a luxurious and glorious week it's been. been to meet the new math department at saratoga...super nice and very helpful. checked out my new room and am anxious to get in there to make it my own. unfortunately, summer school is in there until august so i have to be patient! something i suck at. :) have been enjoying time with chloe and dave. we spent father's day at chloe's grandparent's house with uncle mike and aunt kate. good times. she LOVES uncle mike and likes to show off her "big arms" to him. she recently discovered that she can wave both arms at the same time..hilarious (see video). she also has taken to what we call "soccer pose"...see the photo above. she loves music...shakes her maracas and plays with the baby tambourine..anything that makes noise is her favorite. she also has discovered that she can touch the piano keys and make noise. it makes her laugh. suffered through a 3 day heatwave last week. makes the days feel like forever...thankfully, we have the A/C, but it still sucks. yesterday we finally had relief...in the 70's and the doors and windows open all day. awesome. chloe has her 9 month well-baby checkup next week. am anxious to get her current stats. i think she's around 24 pounds right now and she's super tall. she can reach to the top of many tables in the house and feel around for any items that are lying about. she's still cruising around furniture and using her walk box in the kitchen. yesterday she took one step unassisted a few different times, so i know that the walking is soon to come. she's super fun and gets attention everywhere we go. she's almost always happy and smiling. we're so lucky. :)

almost summer!

can't believe that it's already june! thinking back to last year when i was just halfway done with the pregnancy to how much has happened is astounding. i certainly do not miss being pregnant! chloe is doing great. she is working on getting her top teeth as her bottom two chicklets continue to come in more and more. she's hilarious and fantastic. starting to free stand while holding toys in both hands. she hasn't quite figured out the walking thing yet, but it's not long now. her favorite things to do right now is sing and babble. "bob" is still a very popular word, but "hi" and "hello" are not far behind. she's getting into looking at books and turning the pages. she likes "brown bear, brown bear, what do you see" and a "touch and feel" book. she still loves to harass the cats. lois actually got so tired of being screeched at that she bit chloe. it certainly took chloe by surprise...but it hasn't sunk in yet that she needs to be gentle...although we're working on it. she likes to go for walks in the stroller and actually fell asleep with her head on the tray last weekend....she was completely folded in half. i tried to sneak in the house to get a picture, but she woke up before i could get the camera.  she also likes to sit on the driveway in the evening and watch the cars drive by and gets super excited when kids coming from the park with their moms and dada stop and say hi. also this month, she gets to sit in the shopping cart now that we're not using the infant carseat anymore. that's been a new experience that she totally loves....and as i'm sure you can guess, she gets LOTS of attention from complete strangers...must be because she's sooooo cute! i'm her mom...i can brag, right? thankfully, i only have a few more days of school left and then the entire summer is ours. i will be moving my classroom as i got a new job teaching at saratoga high school next year. it's been a tough decision to leave lincoln after 9 years there, but i just can't pass up the $$ they're willing to pay me for the same job i'm doing now. am a little nervous and excited...so we'll see. BUT....am sooo looking forward to hanging out with chloe all day, every day and getting to do some fun day trips with her to the beach, the pool, and maybe to happy hollow with cousin sydney. 

ps. there are new photos on kodakgallery.com, but it won't let me post the url...if you've been to the gallery before, you probably can see the new folder. check it out and let me know if it works.