What goes in the nose, must come out...

The other day I noticed that Chloe had a bead up her nose. After laughing at her pain (lol) - I tried to extract the bead with tweezers, only to succeed in pushing it FURTHER up her nose. I called a friend who had 4 kids (I figured one of them had to have put something up there), she told me that I could plug the nose without the bead, and then blow hard into Chloe's mouth. That didn't work, it just made Chloe scream LOUDLY in my ear. So I packed up the kid and all of her toys, and took her to the doctor. Jeff met us at the doctor's office (I figured we'd need the extra manpower to hold Chloe down while the doctor did his thing). Jeff and I waited and waited, and then decided to try the CPR thing one more time and VOILA - out came the bead and lots of boogers. Eeeww, gross... but who needs doctors anyway? So, for all you parents out there, now you know what works. I don't remember going through all of this when I put popcorn seeds up my nose :o)

Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch

There is an awesome pumpkin patch in Lathrop. Chloe loves it. She loves pumpkins! She calls them punkins and Jeff, punkin-head. We had lots of fun.

Band-Aids Fix Everything

Chloe got a little scrape on the side of her nose. For the last week, as soon as she wakes up, she asks for a band-aid. It's hilarious. She is such a drama queen. I have no idea where she gets this from.

When Toddlers Dress Themselves

Chloe came downstairs the other day, all ready to go visit her BFF, Corey. She'd dressed herself and everything. I tried to explain that leopard skin doesn't go with stripes, but she has a fine tuned sense of fashion and overuled my objections. Actually, I think that one of the BEST things about being a two-year old is being able to wear what you want and having people say you're "CUTE!". When I wear leopard print and stripes people either avoid looking me in the eyes, as they shake their heads in pity - or they just run screaming the other way. Either way... it's a self-esteem killer.

Seasons

The change of seasons always makes me a little nostalgic. Especially the change of summer to fall. I love summer. I love lush summer days full of pools, parks and popsicles. I love walking barefoot on hot cement and sitting in the shade enjoying the breeze. I love the sound of buzzing bees and of children laughing as they run through the sprinklers.

As the summer gives way to fall, all of that changes. But as sad as I am to see summer go, I LOVE fall best of all. I love to open the windows and let the cool breeze fill the house. I love pulling out my sweaters and warm cuddly clothes. I LOVE Halloween and Thanksgiving. Living in California, I miss seeing the mountains filled with amber leaves, but I love those too!

The change of summer into fall also means that Chloe's about to turn one year older. I love to watch her grow up. She's so funny and sweet and independent. As each season passes, she gets a little bigger and smarter and stronger. I'm so proud of her. I wouldn't want her to do anything but grow up and experience the changing seasons of her life, but just like the passing of seasons makes me a little sad, so sometimes, does her growing up. One day to the world, she'll be all big and independent, but to me, there will always be a part of her that will be my little girl.

Friends

One of the things we miss most about Madera (and trust me, I never thought I'd miss much about Madera... I'm as surprised as you are that I do!! LOL), is our friends. We made so many awesome friends in Madera and I miss them all the time! We especially miss our favorite baby-sitter Melissa (I think she checks our blog sometimes - so MELISSA... WE MISS YOU!).

Chloe misses her BFF Cory most of all. Cory and Chloe are two peas in a pod. They love all things girly. They love to dress up and change clothes fifty times an hour, they love shoes, dolls, make-up and fingernail polish. They also love to shop. But most of all, they love each other. We went and visited for a few days this summer and went to waterpark with two of mommy's BFF's, Sarah and Jenn, and all the rugrats. I forgot to take pics at the waterpark, but I got some cute ones of Cory and Chloe playing in the pool at Jenn's. SO FUN!!!

Aunt Tasha

Chloe's favorite person in the whole, wide world (even more than mommy and daddy) is her aunt Tasha. She LOVES Tasha!!! She talks about her all the time, dreams about her (I hear her talking to Tasha in her sleep), and when she grows up, she's going to be just like Tasha (except not so tall and with darker coloring... lol).

Tasha came and stayed with us for a few days over the summer and Chloe was her shadow. She took over Tasha's blankie, slept with Tasha and cried when she left. We went to Discovery Kingdom on one of the days when Tasha was here and had a blast! Ever since Tasha left, Chloe keeps saying that she will see Tasha tomorrow.

It's so cute to see them together. It reminds me of when I was about Tasha's age and she was my little shadow. How time flies!

Pismo Beach

We had lots of fun with Grandma, Punka (Chloe's name for Grandpa), and Tasha. We spent time on the beach, played dominoes, watched 24 and spoiled Chloe. Does life get better than this?

Just Hangin' Out

Chloe likes to do lots of things. She likes coloring, playing with her dolls (her "babies"), helping mommy around the house, playing outside, but most of all - she likes to be a princess!

Pixie Woods

Chloe loves to come to Pixie Woods. It's a cute park here in Stockton. They have all of these adorable playgrounds centered around kid's themes. Her favorite part is the merry-go-round and the train. I love summer!

A Hot Summer's Day

Nothing's better than a park day! We had lots of fun in downtown Stockton, by the riverfront.

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission!

Chloe has a picture of Jesus that the missionaries gave her a few weeks ago. She loves that picture. She carries it in her "purse" and takes it out to kiss every once in a while. It's been so fun to watch the things that she does with it.

The other day she had her barbies lined up on a chair and she brought her picture of Jesus over to them to be introduced.

I watched around the corner as she said, "Hi Barbie, what's your name? My name's Jesus." Answering for Barbie, she replied, "Hi, I'm Barbie." Then she gathered her barbies up for a hug and had each one kiss her picture of Jesus.

I guess we're never too young to start missionary work.

The Treasures of a Two-Year Old

Chloe has a few things that she considers "indespensable". The first and foremost is "bubbles". "Bubbles" is her FAVORITE dress. She asks for it almost immediately upon waking and wears it every day. "Bubbles" became so threadbare that her mother rushed to the store to buy a back-up (which works out well, now I can clean one while she wears the other... she used to stand by the washer until it was clean). Her next favorite thing is chocolate (chocolate milk, popsicles, dove chocolates). She loves chocolate milk, and drinks it constantly (I know, I know, I should never have started her on it - regular milk is better... blah, blah, blah. LOL). Chloe's last thing on her list is her "suit". Her minnie suit. She loves it almost as much as "bubbles" and wears it whenever she's not wearing "bubbles" (scroll down and you can see her wearing it in our 4th of July pics). What a girl. She's got her parents wrapped around her chocolate covered fingers!

4th of July

We had lots of fun on the 4th! We were lucky that Jeff was able to spend the day with us... since he's probably going to have to work every holiday for the next few years :( It was a nice, easygoing day. We went to a ward BBQ, took a long nap, watched a movie and then lit our fireworks. Chloe kind of like the fireworks. As you can see above, she found a good place to hide while the fireworks did their thing (in the middle of of our unpacked boxes)!

Packing the Important Stuff

Chloe loved the boxes when we were packing. She loved to hide in them, climb on them and draw on them. We put a lot of CRAP in the boxes - stuff we didn't need and don't use, but Chloe made sure that we got the important stuff - HER!

CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY!

I've been really bad about posting things on our blog lately - and it's because I was packing and getting ready for the move. Yikes! I didn't realize how much stuff we had accumulated and a few times I pondered setting the whole mess on fire.

Jeff graduated from Correctional Officer Academy last week and we moved last weekend. It's nice to be done with that - I had no one to boss around for 4 months. LOL!!!! Seriously though, I'm so proud of Jeff and all he's done. He's worked his buns off with the academy and keeping up his business at the same time. He's my own personal SUPERMAN!

I plan on posting a few things in the next week or so - so check back soon and I'll have up some new pics and fun stuff!

Between the Lines

About a week or so, Chloe started to color in between the lines on her coloring pages. She's also started to put names to things that she draws... for example - a line is a "snake" and a stick figure is a "pumpkin" (sometimes a stick figure is her aunt Tasha or Tasha's boyfriend "Traigy", which is her way of saying Craigy).

It's so fun to watch her grow up and develop into such a big girl. I'm so proud of her! But I've also been thinking about drawing between the lines and how from now on, when Chloe colors a picture, she will consciously try color between the lines. She won't remember when she started to do this, and maybe I'll forget too, but I hope that throughout her life, that every once in a while, she'll go a little crazy and color COMPLETELY outside the lines.

Growing up is such a special time, it's full of smiles and laughter, tears and tantrums. Sadly, though, it's also a time when we start to color between lines. It's a time when we lose some of that innocence and carefree spirit that makes childhood so special. Now... I know Chloe has lots more childhood left and she's just a little tyke. I just hope that she always keeps a BIG piece of the carefree, energetic, and sassy spirit she has now, and that she remembers that sometimes life is funner when we COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES.

Signs of Summer & Other Important Blurbs

Yea! Summer fun. Chloe has had lots of fun swimming in her pool and having her friends over to splash in the sprinklers.

A princess gets to wear her crown any way she wants to...
even backwards!

Being a Mommy

As many of you know, Jeff and I have been trying to get PREGNANT again, and sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in this that I forget to focus on the little one right in front of me. Chloe has been such a blessing in our lives and I can't imagine life without her. She is so sweet and funny and sassy! I love her hugs and kisses and spunky attitude. Sometimes it drives me crazy that she has to pick her clothes and walks around with her shoes on the wrong feet, but I know that one day I will miss this. So... for now, I'm going to remember how much I love being a mommy and how grateful I am for the oportunity. I'm going to treasure sticky kisses, baby hugs and the sweet sound of my little girl saying "ya you, mommy" (translation, "love you, mommy"). Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!

Fun in Utah!

Chloe and Mommy got back last night from Utah. We had a blast. Chloe loved spending time with her cousins and her Tasha. Here are some pics of the Chloe with her cousins and Tasha, and putting on Grandma's makeup. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

She's definitely her momma's girl!

I couldn't resist posting this picture of Chloe. We read before naps and bed, and then Chloe likes to read her own books till she falls asleep. I won't scare anyone with pictures of me falling asleep with a book (I'd probably be drooling), but I do the same thing all the time.

4-17-08

Today is Jeff and Kellie's 11-year anniversary. Is that crazy or what? It seems like just yesterday we were married. It's been a fun ride though. And now that we have Chloe to share in the fun, each day is an adventure waiting to happen.

Jeff's doing good at Correctional Training. He had his first test last week and passed with flying colors. This week he was tested on his range skills... but since he like guns this was pretty easy for him. He was tested today and passed that too. As you can see from the picture, he's very serious about his work and has really impressed his boss with his strong work ethic. (okay, so I just added this picture to be funny, but you have to admit he looks good in earings)



Chloe is keeping her mom busy. She likes to follow her around and help her with EVERYTHING. We had an adventure with some window paints yesterday and got paint all over. It's fun to be a kid! Chloe went straight from the paint to the tub. Chloe's new thing this week is dressing herself. Since she dresses herself, she now wears her clothes inside out and backwards at all times. We went to the store the other day in her pink pajama bottoms (Ariel) and a striped purple, blue and white tank top. Her shoes were on the wrong feet, and oh yea, one was a tennis shoe and the other was a flip flop. She has a very refined fashion sense. She gets that from her dad. LOL!