With the warm weather approaching we have been enjoying the outdoors and I have been snapping away. Here are some new pictures.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Up on knees
It's not going to be long before Chloe is cruising to get where she wants to go. We had her in her pak-n-play today while we were working in the yard. I went over to check on her and she was up on her knees. She was trying hard to go somewhere. It won't be long and she's going to be all over the place and into everything.
Since I have not been able to stay up with my scrapbooking and journaling this has become like my place to journal. I will be so thankful I have all the notes when I do have the opportunity to go back and scrapbook and journal in her baby book.
Since I have not been able to stay up with my scrapbooking and journaling this has become like my place to journal. I will be so thankful I have all the notes when I do have the opportunity to go back and scrapbook and journal in her baby book.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tune of B-I-N-G-O
When Cleis was only a few weeks old and taking a bath in her baby tub I started spelling her name to her to the tune of B-I-N-G-O. It went something like,
There was a little girl, who's name was Cleis Olivia, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S and Cleis is her name-o.
There was a little girl, who lives on (street name), C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S and Cleis is her name-o.
This became a bath time ritual and added to the many songs we would sing during bath time. As she became older we would sing it at other times throughout the day. Now did this help her spell her name early? I don't know. However, I did find it interesting that earlier today she was in her room drawing and coloring and I heard her spelling her name to the tune of B-I-N-G-O. So something must have stuck.
Since I believe this has made an impression on Cleis I will begin doing the same for Chloe. Tonight at bath time I started Chloe on her B-I-N-G-O journey and she loved every minute of it. Full of smiles the entire time and even a laugh or two. Possibly in a couple of years I will hear Chloe spelling her name to the tune.
There was a little girl, who's name was Cleis Olivia, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S and Cleis is her name-o.
There was a little girl, who lives on (street name), C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S, C-L-E-I-S and Cleis is her name-o.
This became a bath time ritual and added to the many songs we would sing during bath time. As she became older we would sing it at other times throughout the day. Now did this help her spell her name early? I don't know. However, I did find it interesting that earlier today she was in her room drawing and coloring and I heard her spelling her name to the tune of B-I-N-G-O. So something must have stuck.
Since I believe this has made an impression on Cleis I will begin doing the same for Chloe. Tonight at bath time I started Chloe on her B-I-N-G-O journey and she loved every minute of it. Full of smiles the entire time and even a laugh or two. Possibly in a couple of years I will hear Chloe spelling her name to the tune.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Look Who's Sitting!!!
With every Monday that passes by Chloe becomes one week older. On these Monday's I take a picture of Chloe on her blanket so that I can see her changes. It also reminds me of what she was doing during that week. I did this with Cleis and made a scrapbook of her first 52 weeks and it is incredible to go back and look through.
On week 22 Chloe actually sat alone and I was able to capture a picture. Her sitting alone is only for seconds at a time right now but every few days it's a few more seconds. It won't be long now and she'll mobile.
On week 22 Chloe actually sat alone and I was able to capture a picture. Her sitting alone is only for seconds at a time right now but every few days it's a few more seconds. It won't be long now and she'll mobile.
Friday, March 9, 2007
My Rant of Annoyance
Today here in Louisville it was 70 degrees and absolutely beautiful. The day called for a picnic in the park and a big walk in the park. We got our stuff together and joined everyone else in the city at the park.
Before I start my rant let me preface it by saying maybe this is a normal thing that happens to other parents with their child(ren) but it isn't something I'm in the habit of doing. Today when we arrived at the park we did our walk and then headed to the play area. I took Chloe out of the hip hammock and put her in a baby swing, then Cleis from the stroller because she wanted to swing next to her sister. Immediately a lady from over at the slide area started telling me how cute my baby was and encouraging her son to look at the baby. She says, "he loves babies". So she comes on over with her son and is talking to Chloe and telling me she's smiling at me. Don't take this wrong, there is nothing wrong with this but it happens everywhere I go. And I mean everywhere. It's also not just women, it is both sexes and all ages. I once counted while I was out shopping at a local store how many times I had comments made to me about my child, the count was eight. I think that is a lot.
I can remember when Cleis was a baby I became paranoid to go out with her because of how often I was approached and told how pretty she was or what a beautiful baby she was. There was even a time when I was taking Cleis to have her pictures made and a lady approached asking me if she could hold her. I looked at her with this look and thought to myself are you fricken nuts or what? Of course I told her no and asked her please do not touch her.
The real getter for me today was when a young girl approached Chloe in the stroller and started "petting" her. The young girl went for Chloe's head, which was covered and kept rubbing her hands on her head. I asked her to stop. She then was rubbing on Chloe's face, which again I asked her to stop. Then the young girl ignoring every word I said begins to play with Chloe's hands. Well of course Chloe is going to hold her fingers and you know the next step for Chloe. I immediately stepped in here and removed the young girls dirty hands from my child's before reaching her mouth and told her no more touching her, that was enough. She continued to go on about how pretty she was, asking me how old was she, saying she is so cute, blah, blah, blah..... I of course, was very uneasy about this. Not only did I not like a stranger touching my child but she was not catching my drift on not touching her either. It took me removing her from my child to catch on. I understand she was a young girl but where in the heck was her guardian?
I don't know about others but first of all I don't like strangers touching my children, especially after I have asked them to stop. Secondly, sad to say but you just don't know who you can trust. Call me rude, unfriendly, stand offish what have you but I'm not comfortable with strangers touching my baby everywhere I go. While it's nice for the comments about my children, is this really a normal gesture?
Okay enough of my rant.
Before I start my rant let me preface it by saying maybe this is a normal thing that happens to other parents with their child(ren) but it isn't something I'm in the habit of doing. Today when we arrived at the park we did our walk and then headed to the play area. I took Chloe out of the hip hammock and put her in a baby swing, then Cleis from the stroller because she wanted to swing next to her sister. Immediately a lady from over at the slide area started telling me how cute my baby was and encouraging her son to look at the baby. She says, "he loves babies". So she comes on over with her son and is talking to Chloe and telling me she's smiling at me. Don't take this wrong, there is nothing wrong with this but it happens everywhere I go. And I mean everywhere. It's also not just women, it is both sexes and all ages. I once counted while I was out shopping at a local store how many times I had comments made to me about my child, the count was eight. I think that is a lot.
I can remember when Cleis was a baby I became paranoid to go out with her because of how often I was approached and told how pretty she was or what a beautiful baby she was. There was even a time when I was taking Cleis to have her pictures made and a lady approached asking me if she could hold her. I looked at her with this look and thought to myself are you fricken nuts or what? Of course I told her no and asked her please do not touch her.
The real getter for me today was when a young girl approached Chloe in the stroller and started "petting" her. The young girl went for Chloe's head, which was covered and kept rubbing her hands on her head. I asked her to stop. She then was rubbing on Chloe's face, which again I asked her to stop. Then the young girl ignoring every word I said begins to play with Chloe's hands. Well of course Chloe is going to hold her fingers and you know the next step for Chloe. I immediately stepped in here and removed the young girls dirty hands from my child's before reaching her mouth and told her no more touching her, that was enough. She continued to go on about how pretty she was, asking me how old was she, saying she is so cute, blah, blah, blah..... I of course, was very uneasy about this. Not only did I not like a stranger touching my child but she was not catching my drift on not touching her either. It took me removing her from my child to catch on. I understand she was a young girl but where in the heck was her guardian?
I don't know about others but first of all I don't like strangers touching my children, especially after I have asked them to stop. Secondly, sad to say but you just don't know who you can trust. Call me rude, unfriendly, stand offish what have you but I'm not comfortable with strangers touching my baby everywhere I go. While it's nice for the comments about my children, is this really a normal gesture?
Okay enough of my rant.
Personality
Another month has gone by and today Chloe is 5 months old. Since her four month post, Chloe has blossomed, and is becoming a very active baby. She is also developing a personality. Thus far she has been a very easy baby, you don't hear that a lot with second babies but she is truly a delight. She will always give you a smile and is happy a majority of the time. Below is a list of her accomplishments and her (or my) favorite activities. In no certain order, we have:
1, 2, 3, up, 1, 2, 3, up- this is an activity we do every time we are on the changing table and other times through out the day. This is where I hold Chloe's hand and we go 1, 2, 3, up to sitting and then 1, 2, 3, up to standing. She loves it, she smiles and she giggles (sometimes). It also works on making her neck and leg muscles strong. From the looks of how she stands on her legs, I will be really surprised if she is not an early walker.
We also have 1, 2, 3, push- this is where Chloe lays on her back and we take her feet in the palm of our hands and say 1, 2, 3, push and she will push her feet against the palm of our hand. She can move all over the room this way. Lets just hope this doesn't make her a scooter and she does crawl.
Baby Signs - I have started working with Chloe on teaching her baby sign language. Currently we are working on bath, milk, eat, all done, all finished and bird. When Cleis was a baby we did baby sign language with her and it's been funny to see her begin using it again. Even though she can talk she will sometimes do the sign of what she is asking for. I'm glad to see she remembers them, she can help me teach Chloe.
Hip Hammock - This is Mommy's favorite. The hammock has been great to have, it allows me to carry Chloe on my hip and have both of my hands free. Allowing me to still do things and help Cleis. When Cleis was a baby I carried her around in a sling, she loved it. I tried my sling with Chloe and she did not care for it much. Chloe likes to feel safe and be close, not that Cleis didn't, she just fit well in the sling and liked it. I love my hammock since I haven't been brave enough yet to get the double stroller out the hammock has been a true winner for me. I can put Cleis in the stroller, carry Chloe on my hip and it's off to the park we go. It's also handy to have around the house and get the chores done.
Storybook Time - There are some days I feel like all I do is read books. Cleis loves to have books read to her and she is now actually starting to read (or memorize) the story back to you. Cleis also loves to read to Chloe so Chloe gets double dose of books being read to her. Chloe does crack me up with her book time though. She already wants to hold the books and act as though she is reading them and turn the pages. I laugh every time at this and I must get it on video because it's like she knows when to turn the page. My favorite books are still the books from the Usbourne collection. Our favorite night time book is Sleepy Baby, which was given to me by my friend Nicole. Both of the girls love to feel the different materials in the book. The little baby's socks feel one way, his wash cloth feels another. It's a great book. We also love Good Night Moon and Guess How Much I Love You.
Morning Time - Chloe is now getting to the age where she wakes up in the morning and will lay in her crib and talk. She also likes looking at herself in the mirror and playing with the toys on the mirror. She must think she has a friend with her when she sees that 'other' baby. She is a very happy baby in the morning (and other times too). In the mornings when Cleis and I go in to get Chloe she lights up the room with her smile. I get smiles and kicks of excitement. Sometimes a giggle too.
We are now discovering our Exersaucer. I got up in the attic yesterday and cleaned it up. Then I had two babies that wanted to try it out. Sometimes when Cleis sees things that were hers she has a wee bit of regression but it soon passes and I have a big girl again. Chloe has only been in her Exersaucer a couple of times but she seems to enjoy it. We now have a new toy to switch around with during activity times. I try to keep each activity time a little different.
Chloe is getting close to sitting up, she will sit tri-pod for a tiny bit and for seconds she will sit alone. Stay tuned to see if she make this accomplishment in her fifth month.
1, 2, 3, up, 1, 2, 3, up- this is an activity we do every time we are on the changing table and other times through out the day. This is where I hold Chloe's hand and we go 1, 2, 3, up to sitting and then 1, 2, 3, up to standing. She loves it, she smiles and she giggles (sometimes). It also works on making her neck and leg muscles strong. From the looks of how she stands on her legs, I will be really surprised if she is not an early walker.
We also have 1, 2, 3, push- this is where Chloe lays on her back and we take her feet in the palm of our hands and say 1, 2, 3, push and she will push her feet against the palm of our hand. She can move all over the room this way. Lets just hope this doesn't make her a scooter and she does crawl.
Baby Signs - I have started working with Chloe on teaching her baby sign language. Currently we are working on bath, milk, eat, all done, all finished and bird. When Cleis was a baby we did baby sign language with her and it's been funny to see her begin using it again. Even though she can talk she will sometimes do the sign of what she is asking for. I'm glad to see she remembers them, she can help me teach Chloe.
Hip Hammock - This is Mommy's favorite. The hammock has been great to have, it allows me to carry Chloe on my hip and have both of my hands free. Allowing me to still do things and help Cleis. When Cleis was a baby I carried her around in a sling, she loved it. I tried my sling with Chloe and she did not care for it much. Chloe likes to feel safe and be close, not that Cleis didn't, she just fit well in the sling and liked it. I love my hammock since I haven't been brave enough yet to get the double stroller out the hammock has been a true winner for me. I can put Cleis in the stroller, carry Chloe on my hip and it's off to the park we go. It's also handy to have around the house and get the chores done.
Storybook Time - There are some days I feel like all I do is read books. Cleis loves to have books read to her and she is now actually starting to read (or memorize) the story back to you. Cleis also loves to read to Chloe so Chloe gets double dose of books being read to her. Chloe does crack me up with her book time though. She already wants to hold the books and act as though she is reading them and turn the pages. I laugh every time at this and I must get it on video because it's like she knows when to turn the page. My favorite books are still the books from the Usbourne collection. Our favorite night time book is Sleepy Baby, which was given to me by my friend Nicole. Both of the girls love to feel the different materials in the book. The little baby's socks feel one way, his wash cloth feels another. It's a great book. We also love Good Night Moon and Guess How Much I Love You.
Morning Time - Chloe is now getting to the age where she wakes up in the morning and will lay in her crib and talk. She also likes looking at herself in the mirror and playing with the toys on the mirror. She must think she has a friend with her when she sees that 'other' baby. She is a very happy baby in the morning (and other times too). In the mornings when Cleis and I go in to get Chloe she lights up the room with her smile. I get smiles and kicks of excitement. Sometimes a giggle too.
We are now discovering our Exersaucer. I got up in the attic yesterday and cleaned it up. Then I had two babies that wanted to try it out. Sometimes when Cleis sees things that were hers she has a wee bit of regression but it soon passes and I have a big girl again. Chloe has only been in her Exersaucer a couple of times but she seems to enjoy it. We now have a new toy to switch around with during activity times. I try to keep each activity time a little different.
Chloe is getting close to sitting up, she will sit tri-pod for a tiny bit and for seconds she will sit alone. Stay tuned to see if she make this accomplishment in her fifth month.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Rollin, Rollin, Rollin
Another milestone achieved!
Yesterday was a very busy day for the Newell family so I'm not sure how Chloe squeezed her roll over into her day, but she did. She had spent most of her day in her car seat or was being held.
During one of our stops at home I laid her down on her tummy and stepped away for 3 minutes to pack her cereal. When I came back she was on her back and had started her music on her Leap Start toy. I immediately got excited that she had finally rolled over. I also had a bit of disappointment because I did not see her achieve her first roll over. Then I thought maybe Cleis put her on her back and started her music, so off I went to check with Cleis that she had not put Chloe on her back. She said she did not.
Yesterday was a very busy day for the Newell family so I'm not sure how Chloe squeezed her roll over into her day, but she did. She had spent most of her day in her car seat or was being held.
During one of our stops at home I laid her down on her tummy and stepped away for 3 minutes to pack her cereal. When I came back she was on her back and had started her music on her Leap Start toy. I immediately got excited that she had finally rolled over. I also had a bit of disappointment because I did not see her achieve her first roll over. Then I thought maybe Cleis put her on her back and started her music, so off I went to check with Cleis that she had not put Chloe on her back. She said she did not.
After this Chloe had an audience to witness her next roll over. We waited, we encouraged, we cheered and we backed away. NOTHING!!!! It was time for us to go and continue with our errands so we all packed up and headed back out.
Much later in the evening I put her back on her blanket, tummy side down. Cleis and I were sitting there next to her playing Legos and watching Baby Einstein waiting for the moment to happen. Finally she raised herself up and a push there was and she was on her back. Cleis and I screamed with excitement, congratulated Chloe and Cleis ran to tell her Daddy.
What a big day for Chloe. Yeah, Chloe!!!
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