All right already, here’s the update (back by popular demand).
If you have checked out our gallery lately, you know that we went to visit Robert and Becky Smeets in Germany. Chloe is a natural traveler and we had a great time! We were able to be there the same time as Karsten and Sonja, so we got to see all of our world traveling friends. We saw a lot of castles (Germany is covered in them!) and we picked the one that is “move in ready” for Chloe when she officially accepts her crown.
Its perfect for our little princess!
Chloe did exceptionally well during the trip. Well, except for the airplane flight out there, that kind of sucked, but the rest of the time she did well. Of course, she loves to see stuff. And when you’re a tourist, you see a lot of stuff. Plus, she had a full court attending to her…Robert, Becky, Karsten, Sonja, John and I. We jokingly called her stroller her chariot as we carried it up and down staircases. She also started walking completely independently while we were there. Before she would only take a few steps and it was usually between people. She liked Robert and Becky’s floors (they were all one level without any pesky obstacles to trip over.) She also liked walking around the airport. When we got home, however, she reverted back and will now only walk short distances alone and she has to really want what she is going after.
We started swimming lessons when we got back. Chloe is a little unsure of the pool. We have been to three lessons so far, and she’s a little wary. She always has this look on her face like, “uhh…what are you doing to me, Mom.”
The swimming pool is next to a really nice park, so Ellen, Seth, Chloe and I have a picnic lunch after swimming and we let the kids play in the park. There is a sand pit there, and we have been trying to get Chloe to play in the sand. But, she is SUCH a girl! Ellen puts Seth in the sand and he is digging, and getting covered in dirt and mud, he’s as happy as a clam. Chloe won’t let me put her down on the sand. Today, I just set her down and handed her a shovel, and she was okay for a little while. Then she got a little sand on her foot, and she freaked out and she just sat there and whimpered until I picked her up. She HATES to get dirty! I am really curious how she is going to handle the beach this summer.
She has picked up a few more skills since my last post. She finally figured out how to crawl! And I do mean on hands and knees like most babies. However, she is REALLY slow, and she will only crawl to something that she can pull up on. Which is another skill she has mastered, she is finally pulling up on furniture. She has a hard time with our couch and ottoman, but she does well with harder surfaces.
She has added a few words to her repertoire. She will now say “fish” although she actually says, “gish.” And she knows that a sheep says, “baaa.” Of course, she also thinks a horse says, “baaa.” But we’ll work on that. She calls a diaper a “dia-dia.” She independently signs “more,” and “milk.” And, I am going to call this a skill, she falls asleep independently now. We used to rock her to sleep every time she either went to bed or took a nap. When we got back from Germany, she decided she didn’t want to be rocked anymore. So, we lay her down with a pacifier in her mouth and a spare that she can hold on to, and she falls asleep on her own. It was kind of sad, at first. I liked rocking her to sleep. But, I have to admit, it adds so much time on to her nap. She seems to sleep longer when she falls asleep on her own. Plus, I now have an extra 15-20 minutes free that I used to spend rocking her to sleep. She is also getting a little bit more adventurous when it comes to food. She is trying things now. She won’t eat them, but she is trying them, which is a huge step.
Well, that’s it for now. I will try to update more often so these posts aren’t so long!