Kevin and Alison

Chloe loves to help me bake! Maybe it's because she gets to stir a bowl of sugar and cinnamon, lick the beaters, and sample the results of all the hard work :)

I guess when it snows and we stay at home for a few days.....I start experimenting with Chloe's hair :) We've done pigtails: and a regular ponytail: Fun having a girl! :)

Happy Birthday!! I woke up this morning excited - because it's your birthday! Hope you have a fun day :) See you soon! Love, Chloe

We had another fun weekend with visitors - this time it was Mimi and Poppop! They brought with them some really warm weather, so we got to go the park and try out the slides: Mimi went down.... And so did Dad.... and of course, Chloe had to try it out for herself too: and she loved it! Even though you can't tell by her expressions in the pictures, she would get to the bottom with a huge smile on her face. Pure terror on the way down, but a big grin at the end :) We had to leave the park when some little feet got stuck in the mud.....Mom went in to rescue her.... Chloe enjoyed spending time coloring with both of them: And she invented a special game to play with Mimi. They both laid on the floor doing leg kicks and arm circles and then Mimi was "rewarded" with a hug from Chloe. She hasn't wanted to do this with any one else and it will interesting to see if she wants to play again the next time we see Mimi :) Thank you for the great visit! We enjoyed the food -- a...

We had visitors this past weekend - Grandpa and Grandma S.! Here are some pictures from their visit: Chloe, where is Grandma? Playing with legos Grandpa and Chloe reading books before bedtime Group shot!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chloe Grace is 1 1/2 years old! She's headed to the doctor's soon and we'll know how much she weighs and how tall she is. She is a great eater and thinks that pepper is a magical spice that makes things taste better (Cousin Matt would be proud!). She will also be keeping pace with the Deterding girls this summer with her love of ketchup. Her favorites would probably be cheese (of any kind - sliced, string, grilled, cheez-its), pasta, and milk. We're not hurting on the calcium intake here! Chloe loves to color (I'll have to take some pictures of her artwork soon) and right now her drawings are mostly swirls and circles. She also really likes the little people that came with her lego set at Christmas, baby dolls of any kind, reading books, and the Cat in the Hat. Chloe is an active little girl - walking, running, climbing into her chair and rocker, and dancing are some of the things she does several times a day :) She does sit still when you read to her and sh...

Our new camera came the other day in the mail! Our old one, the one we've had for five years, broke around Christmas time. We've been borrowing my cousin's camera since then and we've also been bugging her for camera advice and finally picked one. We took more pictures last night than we did the day Chloe was born! :) It's an SLR camera so it can take pictures really fast - important with Miss-I-Never-Sit-Still Chloe :) It's fun to use and takes some great pictures: yes, this is a Merry Christmas bib....but it was laundry day :) This is what happens when you ask Chloe to say "cheese" for the camera pretty good grip on that crayon! :) We've been busy this week with activities in the morning. I'm trying to switch Chloe over to one nap a day - sounds crazy, but up until this point she was still taking two 2-hour naps a day! Then, last week she started singing and talking during her afternoon nap instead of sleeping. So I thought maybe we'...

What have we been up to in this winter weather? Well, Chloe is becoming quite the artist - she could easily spend her entire day drawing on any piece of paper given to her. I finally have a use for all my old work notepads! and....this 'little' project has been taking up my time! It's a 1,500 piece puzzle...probably the largest puzzle I've ever put together. Kevin helped by fitting in 3 pieces, putting up with the card table in our living room, and finding a piece (the last one actually) that had fallen on the floor. He also insisted on taking my picture with it - which helps show how large the puzzle is! I've also been going through all my "Chloe Pictures" to save to our external hard drive. What kind of crazy parent takes a picture of her child every day for a year? I hope to do it again for Baby #2! :)

I'm at the beginning of the end! 28 weeks means I've started the 3rd trimester, which I can hardly believe. What is baby girl up to? According to babycenter.com, By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds ( like a Chinese cabbage ) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. She's very active and my whole belly moves when she kicks her legs or throws a punch. Chloe likes to point to my belly and say "baby" :) Kevin is working his way through the baby name book and I'm trying to hold off on pulling out all the newborn clothes to exclaim over and over about how small they are :) Our nephew was born on the 21st of January and I'm due the 21st or ...

Chloe and I got to spend a week with Aunt Laura, Uncle Bill, and cousin Connor! I was trying to be a help for the new parents, Chloe was learning about being the "helper" and being around a new baby, and Connor was learning all about being adorable :) Kevin and Chloe came down the day after Connor was born, spent the weekend with us, and then Kevin had to come back home to go to work. He stayed busy through the week and then came back for the next weekend. What did we do while at Bill and Laura's? We looked at this cute face: Uncle Bill gave Chloe some play-dough (and she loves it!): We watched Uncle Bill shovel snow from the dining room window. Bill and Laura's house has low windows, which I've decided everyone's house should have because it's perfect for kiddo's to check out what's happening outside! and checked out Connor's car seat 394875 times :) It's the perfect place for a babydoll! The new parents are doing great & have bee...