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.