Two Weeks

I can't believe Chloe is already two weeks old... yet it's hard to believe she has only been here for two weeks. And you will probably hear me say this every week, because it's so true! Here is what Chloe is doing at two weeks (probably pretty typical for most two week old babies...)*Eating every 4 hours
*At night will do a 6-7 hour stretch!!
*Sleeps most the day
*Smiles
*Loves her pacifier
*Loves to be held and cuddled
*Pulls blankets over her face to sleep (This is one my mom says I did as a baby. She said she would put a blanket over my face and I'd fall asleep instantly!)
*Doesn't like having her diaper changed
*Doesn't like getting out of the bathThis morning Maddie was playing with her 'Little People' toys and decided Chloe was going to play with her. Looks like Chloe didn't seem to mind too much, she just used them for pacifiers!This evening at dinner, Chloe was sitting in her bouncy chair on the table and Maddie kept 'petting' her head and saying in her high pitched sweet voice, "Ohhh, Chloe! Your so cute!" It was so sweet!!! These two girls absolutely melt my heart!!!

Girls, Girls, Girls

I just love my girls! Although one of them just about drove me nuts today (I won't mention any names), I'm glad I didn't give her away because she was just so sweet tonight.

Chloe was laying on the bed, and Maddie decided she wanted to lay with her.
She just laid there and giggled.
It was so cute to see Chloe just stare at her... although, I'm not sure this is a good thing. I think Maddie can and will be a good example to her sister at times, but there are things Maddie says or does that I don't necessarily want Chloe to copy! :)
It was just so sweet to see them look at each other.
Such cute girls!!!

Here is Chloe just staring at her dad!
My sweet little baby!
I caught it... well, a partial smile anyway! My three favorite people in the whole world!!!

I just love my little family!!!

Ilee's Birthday Party

This afternoon we went to Maddie's friend, Ilee's birthday party! These girls have been the best of friends since we moved to Shoreline and met them (not too long after these girls were born). They are just so cute to watch play together, interact together, and now to hear them talk to each other. They keep us all laughing! This is one of the friends we will miss the most when we move!!!I think Maddie forgot who's birthday it was!!! :)

Sunday Best

Today was Chloe's first day at church. She did great! And I loved dropping Maddie off at nursery and leaving!!! Yea!!! For those of you who didn't know, nursery has been my calling since about two weeks before Maddie was 'legal' to be in nursery! Why do they do that??? Maddie does so much better without me in there so I am very excited to be back in the adult classes, especially with my nice quiet newborn! I know this will all change when she begins crawling and walking, when my class time will end up back out on the couch again until she's 18 months! But I will enjoy it while I can!I tried to get a cute picture of the girls together, but as you can see, I didn't succeed! Maddie wouldn't sit still for even a second, so they turned out blurry and then she decided that she was going to take pictures of Chloe with her camera.

Evergreen State Fair

Today we went to the Evergreen State Fair, and boy did we have a fun day! We started out on the pony rides. This was a first for Maddie. She has never been a big fan of the carousel rides (although she loved them today), so I was worried how she would do on a real horse... but, she loved it! She wanted to go again and again and again. She keeps wanting to look at the videos we took of her on the pony and is still talking about it!We were surprised by the rides Maddie wanted to go on. This girl has no fear!!! She was wanting to go on all of the big kid rides, and because she is over 36 inches tall, she was able to go on a few of them... but I made Mike ride along with her... ok, I didn't really have to 'make' him, he was pretty excited to go with her.

After going on a few of the bigger kid rides, eating lunch, and seeing the animals, we found all of the 'kiddie rides'... the funny thing is, Maddie was bored on those ones! She wanted to go back and do the big ones. One of her favorites was the roller coaster. It was cute when the girls in front of her put their hands up in the air, so Maddie copied them and put her hands up too!

It was such a hot day today. By the afternoon, we were exhausted! We didn't even feel like an 'elephant ear' by the end, which was shocking. We felt like we needed to buy one because that's the best part of the fair but we resisted, because it just really didn't sound good... so we got some ice cold waters instead! :)

Maddie zonked out by the time we made it back to the car and slept for nearly 3 hours! Putting her down for bed this evening was a piece of cake too! Obviously we wore her out!

I didn't manage to get any pictures of Chloe at the fair, and since I was the photographer the whole time, there aren't any of me either. But Mike happened to catch us both tonight after we returned home. We are a little worn out, but had a great day!!I have a couple videos we took of Maddie riding the pony. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page and pause the music first). I'm bummed the videos are a bit blurry, but Maddie was smiling from ear to ear the entire time. It was so worth the money we spent! :)

Two Cute Girls

Of course I think I have the two cutest girls in the world... what mother doesn't think that of her kids?! This evening, Maddie kept going back and forth to Mike and I and would ask us if we wanted a hug. Of course we'd say yes... and she'd give us this big hug and said, "I wuv you" (I love you). It was the sweetest thing... just melted my heart! We didn't do anything exciting today, but we had a fun day anyway. We took a trip over to grandma's, which is one of Maddie's favorite things to do. She was so excited to help her clean out her pantry and help refill her flour and sugar tubs! We also went on a walk for the first time in the new stroller since Chloe's been here. Both girls loved it. Maddie was smiling and excited the whole time, she kept asking me, "Your happy mom?" When I'd reply, she'd tell me she's happy too and kept telling me it's fun and she's excited! She keeps me laughing all day long with the things she says. The other day she walked past Scout, grandma's dog, and said, "What's up Scout!" Chloe also loved the stroller ride. I think she really likes being outside. She just laid there, very content the whole time, just looking around.As I mentioned in a previous post, Maddie's little imagination has gotten greater and greater. Sometimes good, and sometimes not so good. She woke up in the middle of the night with a nightmare and told me there were bugs in her bed, that she was scared, and they were going to get her. So I brought her in my bed, and she continued to tell me something about auntie Heather and a snake. I didn't quite catch all of that one, it was about 3am and I was a little out of it! Then today in the car, she was holding her monkey leash and told me her monkey's name is Luna. This is the first time she has named one of her animals, so I of course thought it was the cutest thing ever, even called Mike to tell him about it! (I'm sure he thought I was crazy!) She went on to tell me all about Luna. That she was thirsty and needed juice. Then she was tired and needed her blankie. The list went on of things Luna was and needed. It was pretty cute though! All these pictures are just pictures I took throughout the day. I just can't help myself... look how cute these little faces are! And before you know it, your little baby is two years old!

Taking a snooze on daddy's leg!

Chloe's First Bath

Well, Chloe's first 'real bath' at home. I had given her a sponge bath, and she had her first bath at the hospital. Maddie could hardly wait to see Chloe in the bath. She was so excited! (Check out those long, skinny legs... those definitely came from her dad!)

Chloe LOVED her bath! She didn't cry at all, and was pretty content in there. I guess it hasn't been too long since she once lived in that kind of environment! :)

After we took her out was when she was not happy! She cried a sad cry!

But once she was dressed again, she was happy as can be!!!

1 Week Old & Newborn Check-Up

Chloe is one week old today! Holy cow!! It's weird because I can't believe it's only been a week, but on the other hand, I can't really remember life without her. We LOVE having her here! She is such a huge blessing in our lives!! Today also happens to be my actual due date! I am so thankful to have her here and not still be pregnant!!! However, that being said, this recovery has been amazing! I can't believe how good I feel! I remember after having Maddie, I was exhausted. I was on the couch sleeping all day long with her for a couple weeks. This time, I sort of rested (meaning I had a nap or two, and just took it easy) for 2 or 3 days. By the fourth day, I was up cleaning my house, doing laundry, etc! I have been a better wife and mother since Chloe's been here. I don't know why, but I have. I have been so motivated to keep my house clean each day, have dinner cooked and ready on the table by the time Mike gets home from work, laundry has been all caught up and put away, and I've made time each day to spend one on one time with Maddie. That's easy to do when Chloe sleeps all day long. I have only napped one day this week, and yet I've felt good! I am thankful for so many things this time around. I'm not sure where all this energy and motivation came from, but I love it!

I think Heavenly Father knows how much I need energy with a daughter like Maddie who is like the 'energizer battery' commercial... she keeps going, and going, and going! Chloe is so easy so far (knock on wood). I'm worried that I will get my pay back when she gets older. Since the day she was born this girl sleeps amazingly! She eats every 4 hours, and sleeps the rest!!!!

Today I took Chloe to the doctor for her newborn check up. She is now 20 3/8 inches (60th percentile). She weighs 7 pounds!!! At her appointment 2 days after she was born, her weight dropped down to 6lbs, 7oz, so she has gained back up to her birth weight, and then some! But 7 pounds still only puts her in the 20th percentile! Her head is 13.5 inches (25th percentile). The doctor said she looks great!

All About Maddie

Maddie is definitely two. When we are out in public, most people don't ask how old she is, they normally ask me, "is she two?" because it is so obvious... Anyone who has been around Maddie recently knows exactly what I'm talking about!

Maddie has had quite the imagination lately. Her newest thing (besides stripping down to a diaper) is 'building a fly boat'. Most of you probably ask "what is a fly boat?" But for those of you who have children and have seen The Wonder Pets would know what a fly boat is. When we pulled out Chloe's bath last night, that became her new 'fly boat'. Before this, it was her basket that holds all of her little people. She usually finds 'friends' to come in her fly boat with her. And the whole time she 'builds' her fly boat, she sings over and over and over and over and over again, "What's gonna work? Team Work! What's gonna work? Team Work!" That's the song the animals sing on The Wonder Pets while they build their fly boat.

Speaking of singing, this is another one of Maddie's favorite things to do. No exaggeration, she sings ALL DAY LONG! Most of the time they are songs from the cartoons she watches, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC's, and probably more I'm forgetting but sometimes, she even makes up her own song. Sometimes they have words that go along to a tune she makes up, and sometimes it is just a tune that she hums. Just as everything else Maddie does, her singing is NEVER quiet! It was especially cute the other night when she was singing Chloe a lullaby. The lullaby song is just a tune that Maddie sings the word 'lullaby' over and over again. I'm not sure where she got this song from, it's not one we have ever sung to her! :)

Check out this video! I finally caught Maddie on tape singing the alphabet. It's pretty cute, she is really getting it down! (Scroll to the very bottom to pause the background music!)