I PASSED!!!

I passed the first of four sections of the CPA exam. I just received my score in the mail today for the test I took back in mid July. Not only did I pass... I killed it with a 95%. I am ecstatic! It is such a relief to know that all of the time I've been sacrificing and hard work I have been putting in are actually paying off (not to mention the $$$ we've been spending on babysitting during study time). I took the second of four sections this past Wednesday, but I won't find out if I passed that exam for another 5 weeks. I feel pretty good, but keep those fingers crossed!!!

Hopefully I will be finished with all four sections in late November. This was just the boost of confidence that I needed, and at just the right time. CPA, here I come!

We're still here!

I know it's been quite some time since my last post, but things have been very busy at the Lok household. I finished my big exam this past Wednesday. I hadn't been posting because all of my extra time away from Chloe was going towards studying. But now that I'm finished with that horrendous section, life should be going back to normal and hopefully I will be posting on a more regular basis.

So...what's new? Chloe will be 9 months old this coming Wednesday. Evan and I can hardly believe it. Life keeps changing month by month as she reaches new milestones. It seems like each new milestone magnifies her developing personality. She is quite the charmer these days. Here are some of her recent accomplishments:

• Chloe now loves to wave at strangers, whereas they used to make her cry. I think she is practicing to be the next Miss America.


• She is still clapping like a champ.


• She is slowly beginning to crawl, but only a step or two with her tummy fully off the ground. "Creeping" is still her method of choice. Here is a pic of daddy and Chloe, with the silly knee pads that daddy purchased...

• The most exciting (and also the scariest) new milestone is that she can now pull herself up to a standing position completely on her own. I went into her room one night to see what all the fuss was about, and I was astonished to see her standing in her crib, hands attached to the top rail, just screaming at the top of her lungs because she could not figure out how to get back down.


• She is eating two "meals" a day now, breakfast and dinner. It's amazing to think that in just three months we will start weaning her of her daytime bottles. She is currently eating: banana, sweet potato, sweet pea, pear, peaches, applesauce, mango, prunes, brown rice or millet (ground up to a powder and cooked as a porridge), occasional cooked egg yoke, and she has recently started on finger foods "puffs". She is quite good at grabbing a single puff and getting it to her mouth.


• She loves to sit in a highchair when we go out to restaurants. This is absolutely wonderful for me, because I actually get to eat most of my meal before she is ready to be held again. We usually feed her after we order but before our food arrives. Then when our food arrives, we keep her occupied by giving her a single puff at a time. Thank to Lord for highchairs and puffs!!!

What's new at 7 months?

It seems like just yesterday that we brought our baby girl home from the hospital. It is truly amazing how fast they grow. Here are the details of Chloe at 7 months old:

• She can sit completely unassisted for a few minutes at a time before she topples over. She can also bring a toy to her mouth while in the sitting position.


• Chloe is now a professional roller. She can easily move from one side of a room to the other. She definitely prefers being on her tummy to being on her back these days.


• She weighed in at 17lbs 11oz on her 7 month b-day.


• In addition to rice cereal, sweet potato, and banana, we have added sweet peas, pear and applesauce to her weekly menu options. She still seems to like sweet potato the most.


• She adores her "Tea Party" excersaucer. She probably plays in this about 15 minutes at a time, twice a day. She also likes to jump in her jumperoo, but only when she is in a happy mood.


• Even though we haven't been letting her watch T.V., she loves the remote control and my cell phone. I try to keep these two items out of sight, but if she happens to see them she will whine until I finally give in and let her play with them.


• Helen, our summer babysitter, has been coming over 2 days a week for 3 hours so Mama can study. Chloe now recognizes her instantly and greets her with a smile. She is ready to play just as soon as she walks in the door.


• She has seemed to settle on a regular nap schedule. Her morning nap is usually around 9:30am and usually lasts around an hour, just enough time for me to take a shower and clean up a bit. Her afternoon nap is usually around 3:30pm and usually lasts for an hour and a half. She is usually ready for her last bottle of the day at 8-ish, and is usually down for the night by 8:30pm.


• She has mastered the concept of whining until she gets what she wants, and even lifts her arms up and leans in when she wants to be held.


• She had her first swim lesson last week and seems to really enjoy the water. She has learned how to splash, and loves to slap her hands against the water to get Mommy wet.

That's all for now.

The drive to Lake Chelan

We recently took a 5 day family vacation to Lake Chelan, which is about 3-1/2 hours east of Seattle, Washington. The lake was absolutely beautiful, but the drive there wasn't quite as fun. We decided to break up the drive by stopping in Seattle to visit my good friend Tracy. Our plan was to leave for Seattle at 9am so we wouldn't interupt Chloe's nap schedule. Of course we didn't actually make it out of the house until 11:30am, so that idea was out the window. You should have seen our car, it was insane how much "Chloe stuff" we ended up bringing. Stroller, bottle warmer, bottle sterilizer, baby bath tub, toys, blankets, etc. Lord help us if we ever decide to have another baby.

Tracy was awesome and made us a yummy BBQ lunch/dinner as we sat out on her deck. Chloe got to wear her little sun hat, but still no luck with the sunglasses:(

Here's a pic of us just the girls...

After soaking up a little sun on the deck we were ready to head indoors for some play time before starting the second part of our drive.

A rare family photo...

Of course it would happen that one of the rare instances we had someone with us to snap a family photo, Chloe was both hungry and tired, which didn't make for the best photo opportunity.

And here's Chloe after a 7oz bottle. What a difference!!!

A visit from Uncle Kevin...

Evan's younger brother came to stay with us for a week before spending his summer in Texas for military training. Although Evan didn't get to spend nearly as much time with him as he would have liked, Chloe got in loads of quality time with her Uncle Kevin. It was so nice having a third pair of hands to help out here and there. I most enjoyed the leisurely showers without straining to hear the baby monitor for crying, spontaneous trips to my favorite neighborhood coffeeshop for a quick latte, and getting to eat when I was actually hungry vs. when I had a free hand. The last time Kevin came to visit was in December, when Chloe was just a month old, so it was exciting to show him all her new little tricks.

Baby's first haircut...

For the record, our intention was to give her a trim. However, Chloe has turned into quite the wiggle worm these days.

Oh, well... it will grow back eventually:(