What's new at 16 months?

So I realize it's been an incredibly long time since I've posted, but better late than never, right? Today my sweet Chloe is 16 months old. She is certainly no longer a baby, and has been an official Toddler for quite a few months now. She is a busy little bee that spends her days walking, talking, climbing, singing, exploring, and being an all around cheeseball. Here are some of the new and fun things that she has been up to:

Sleeping: 7:30pm - 7:30am (we are soooo lucky!)

Eating: She's very into "dip" right now and has been doing great with drinking her "miwk" from a sippy cup. She has a 5oz sippy mid-morning, 5oz sippy mid-afternoon, and we are still giving her a nighttime bottle.

Screaming: She's picked up a high-pitch scream that is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. When her buddy Ana is over they have little screaming contests.

Walking: Like a champ! She rarely ever crawls anymore. As you can imagine this results in quite a few mini-injuries throughout the day. The girl is fast and fearless!

Interests: She LOVES her babydoll. She loves to hold her, feed her, and carry her from room to room. Whenever Chloe starts getting whiny I just ask "Where's your baby? I think she needs a nap" and she immediately stops what she's doing and is off to find her baby and put it in her old infant swing. She also really loves to watch the birds and squirrels in the backyard, and dogs and children that walk by in the frontyard.

Talking: Mamma, Dadda, May (Mary), Ana, Pop Pop (Grandpa) up, off (light switches), miwk (milk), dip, animo (animal), bucku (bug), picka (Piglet), cone (corn), apple, onio (onion), nack (snack), teat (treat), cookie, num num (food), book, baby, Whee! (swing), wawa (water), pwee (please), cuse you (excuse you), Atoo! (sneeze), eye, nooo (nose), mout (mouth), mout (mouse), chiwp chiwp (bird), mooo! (cow), hop hop (bunny), bawk bawk (chicken), chee (cheese), wawk (walk), poop, teet (teeth), bat (bath), peet (peach), shoe, and feet.

Favorite song: Old MacDonald

Favorite rhymes: 10 Little Monkeys and This Little Piggy

Favorite daily activities: coloring, reading books, running when mamma chases her, tea parties, swinging at the park, watching the openning song of "Cinderella" (she loves the mice and birds).

Here are some recent pics...

Spitting image?

Here new favorite game is to hide in the cupboard. It's great fun until she inevitably sticks her fingers in the door hinge.

Chloe loves her accessories!

Whee!

She's lovin' her new playclothes from Uncle Ben.

Chloe's "Home Alone" face is one of our alltime favorites!

Chloe's new friend...

We recently started sharing Chloe's wonderful nanny, Mary, with a family we met through my Mommy&Me group. Initially we were curious to see if 1) Mary would be comfortable caring for two babies at once, and 2) whether Chloe would be comfortable interacting and sharing Mary's attention with another baby. Well, after more than a few weeks now we have determined that the arrangement is working out beautifully. Chloe loves her new friend, Ana, and they are busy little bees playing throughout the day. Chloe gets so excited in the mornings when Ana arrives and Mary says they frequently bond at the window.


Since I started back to work in November and am now working 20 hours a week (T/W/TH), I have been so thankful that we were able to find such a wonderful fit with Mary, and now with Ana. It makes all the difference knowing that Chloe is happy and safe while Evan and I are away at work. Going back to work on a part-time basis has been wonderful and I definitely feel like I have gotten some balance back in my life.


Here are some pictures that Evan took while he was home for lunch one day...

Guess who turned 1 on Thanksgiving Day?

Evan and I are now officially the proud parents of a Toddler. Chloe's birthday, November 27th, happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day this year. While I'm not sure that she fully, or even partly for that matter, understood the significance of the cake, candle, singing, and presents, she enjoyed them all the same. The best moment for me was when we finished singing "Happy Birthday" and I brought her mini pumpkin pie up close so she could blow out her candle. When her soft, unintentional breath made the candle flicker she was so surprised and delighted. Aside from the ribbons on her present from Aunt Sarah (yes... it was the ribbons, not the gift, that received the most attention), I think blowing out the candle was her favorite activity of the day.

Here are some pics of Chloe on her special day...

I'm not sure who enjoyed eating the pumpkin pie more, Chloe or Mama?

Oh how she loved the ribbon!

These are adorable! She now eats off her "Big Girl" plates.

Hhmmm.... Delicious!

Lok Family Thanksgiving 2008

Some of you might already know this about me, but Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. And this Thanksgiving was particulary exciting because 1) it was the first time we hosted a Thanksgiving family dinner at our house, and 2) Chloe's birthday (the 27th) happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day this year. I could hardly stand it! In fact, I ended up leaving work early the day before because I was so excited about the dishes I was going to prepare. So, I made a quick stop at New Season's to pick up a few last minute ingredients and then settled in at home to do some cooking. I thought I was so clever to keep Mary (Chloe's nanny) at the house for a few hours to entertain the little munchkin while I cooked, but Chloe just hovered at the kitchen gate the entire time curiously watching me in the kitchen. I cranked up the Christmas music and away I baked.

Here are some pics from the day...

This is the second year in a row that I made a pecan pie. It turned out delicious, but I do think this might be the easiest pie in the world to bake, so the fact that it turned out delicious probably has no relation to my ability to bake.

This was my first attempt at a pumpkin pie, and I was feeling confident enough to try it with fresh pumpkin rather than using the stuff in the can (however I did by the stuff in the can just in case). I think Pumpkin Pie is my favorite, and I must say that it turned out pretty yummy. Next year I might try making my own crust.

Here's a cute picture of Chloe getting some lap time with her Aunt Sarah.

And here is the end result...

While we did have a small amount of turkey drama, the dinner turned out great and Sarah and I had a great time preparing it. I am already looking forward to next year's Thanksgiving dinner!

A lovely weekend for the Lok family...

This weekend has probably been one of the best weekends we've had in quite some time. I don't mean to imply that our weekends normally aren't very fun, but this weekend we decided to toss our ever growing "To do" list and do exactly what we wanted. Here are some of this weekend's highlights...

Saturday:

• slept in until 8am
• went out for breakfast
• shopped at Jantzen Beach while Chloe napped in her stroller (unbelievable timing!)
• took an hourlong family nap in the afternoon
• Date Night - movie and dinner at Palimino (including cocktails)
• made it home just in time to tuck our little pumkin in for bed.

Sunday:

• slept in until 8am (two days in a row... can you hardly stand it?)
• worked on childproofing the lower level
• family stroll to a neighborhood coffee shop and splurged on a hot chocolate and eggnog latte
• Chloe took her afternoon nap on our walk back from the coffee shop
• moved Chloe's crib up to her nursery (Finally!!!)
• didn't feel like cooking so it was off to New Seasons for some dinner, along with some grocery shopping
• Chloe went to sleep after only 5 minutes of tears. Not bad for her first night in her new room
• downloaded some new music for Chloe

The picture doesn't really show it, but we finally "babyproofed" our living room table with the sharp edges, and Chloe doen't even seem interested in trying to pull the padding off.

Here's a pic of Chloe behind the new gate that blocks off the kitchen. To her it's just another toy to play with.

Chloe's 1st Halloween...

Better late than never! Here are some adorable pics (if I do say so myself) of Chloe as a little cow. I can't believe I was contemplating not getting a costume for Chloe's 1st Halloween. Thankfully, my best friend Nicole offered her daughter's 1st costume, which happened to be a cow. We had tons of trick-or-treaters, which was expected, and Chloe could hardly stand the excitement of a constant stream of kiddos in costumes walking up to our doorway. She would just stand at the window and point every time she saw someone coming. To make the day even better, my parents came over and spent the entire evening with us.

The Lok Family trip to NY...

After much anxiety and anticipation, we made our first trip to New York with baby in tow. The plane ride was probably our biggest source of anxiety, but the ride there turned out to be absolutely seemless. It was truly a "best case" scenario, which I suppose is why the plane ride back caught us so off guard.

We spent 5 days at Livia's home in Little Neck, Queens. Chloe was amazing the entire time. Not a single meltdown! Although she hadn't seen Grandma Livia in a few months, and this was her first time meeting Grandpa Bill, you never would have known. She was completely at ease and enjoyed getting to explore new surroundings and especially loved getting to eat Grandma Livia's fish congee. And of course she loved spending time with her Uncle Kevin.

For me, the best part of the trip was getting to spend 5 whole days with my husband and baby girl, with the loving, helping hands of Livia, Bill, and Kevin. I mean seriously... can it get any better than that? All in all it was a great trip and I am looking forward to the next one (hopefully in the Spring!).

Here are some pics from the trip:

Our peaceful plane ride to NY. Lovely!

Grandma Livia's fish congee...delicious!

Uncle Kevin gettin' some cuddle time before heading back to the grinding stone (aka - med school).

Chloe and sweet Eleanor... so this is what a sweet, quiet, peaceful baby looks like.

Chloe and Grandpa Bill.

Chloe and Grandma Livia in the cleanest house known to man.

The guilty look of a baby who peed on Grandma's carpet.

Chloe's 1st trip to the Pumpkin Patch...

We decided to take Chloe to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island to pick out some pumpkins for carving. Grandma Terri came along and we all had a great morning. The weather was a bit chilly but fortunately I had the good sense to bundle my baby up before we headed out. Chloe loved the pumpkins and we got some great pictures to prove it.

Evan found this really cool looking pumpking but wasn't sure if he wanted to buy it. By the time he made up his mind the pumpkin was gone:(

I don't think she quite understood what we were doing here.

So serious!

This is fast becoming Chloe's signature facial expression.

Chloe really seemed to like all the pumpkins around her.

Cute pic of Daddy & Baby.

Grandma Terri and Chloe.

Game Night...

Here's a cute picture of Chloe with her pink barrett. Some of my old friends from TKW were having a game night and we decided to bring Chloe along. She stayed up past her normal bedtime of 8pm and was out for the entire ride home. There was another itty bitty newborn baby at the gathering and it reminded me of when Chloe was that little. I can't believe how fast she is growing!

Trip to the Oregon Zoo...

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo. I think this must have been the last really sunny weekend in October. I don't think Chloe is quite old enough to really have fun at the Zoo, but she seemed to really enjoy the shuttle to and from the parking lot. We ended up sitting in the very back of the yellow school bus and the ride was quite bumpy.

Books, books, books...

Evan and I have recently noticed that Chloe seems to be really into books these days. When deciding on what toys to play with, she pulls her books out first passing over talking dolls and rolling, singing turtles. Who would have thought? Her favorite book is currently "10 Kisses", perhaps because it is the biggest in size? She actually turns the pages, points to the pictures, and occasionally says "baby".

New friends for Chloe...

I recently purchased some adorable animal pictures to bring some life to Chloe's playroom. We finally got around to hanging them this last week, and they have brought nothing but pure entertainment for our little girl. She talks to her new friends all day long and even points them out to us if she feels we're not giving them proper attention. It is hilarious! The other night I was rocking her in the chair as she finished her bedtime bottle and watched as her eyes finally shut indicating she was down for the night. Suddenly, her eyes pop wide open, she sits up completely alert and points to the alligator and says "dat", and then slumps back down in my arms and falls back asleep.

Day at the Park...

One day last week Chloe woke up from her nap in a particularly grumpy mood. I had a feeling that feeding her lunch was going to be challenging so I decided a change of scenery would do us both some good. So, I packed up the stroller and we headed off to Columbia Park, which is conveniently located a mere two blocks away. Although she put up quite a fight getting into the stroller, once we left the house and the wheels started rolling her mood changed quickly.

Chloe seems to be fascinated with trees and birds these days. It was actually a little difficult feeding her because she was constantly looking up at the tall trees around her. Every little sound or child passing by caught her attention, and she waved to almost every person that walked by. It was a bit chilly out, especially since we were in the shade the entire time, but I welcomed the opportunity to bust out some of her warmer Fall clothing.

We had a lovely afternoon at the park. It's days like these that remind me how lucky I am to get to be home with her. Here are some pictures I took to try and capture the mood.

First two teeth...

Chloe's two bottom front teeth are now through the gum. She seemed a little grumpier than usual the week they came through, but other than a little extra whine she was a trooper.

Chloe's Playdate...

This past Friday we invited the kiddos from our Baby&Me group over to our house for a playdate. I think there were 5 babies + Chloe. She had a great time and didn't even seem to notice that other babies were playing with her toys.

Things can get a bit competitive at these weekly playdates. Here is Chloe vying for a spot on the blanket.

Chloe in her pretty blue dress.

Sweet little Neve in the Jumperoo.

Hewet looks like he's ready for a nap.

Who needs toys when you have vents and windows?