WARNING: This is long because I have a lot of catching up to do. Feel free to retreat at any point that this becomes too lengthy.. But, some have been on me for my lack of up to date information so for those OCD people in my life, here you go...
I have some sad, sad news. My 2 GB memory card is damaged and I can't retrieve the pictures from it. This is sad for a couple of reasons. First, it's my largest form of memory. The next largest that I have is 256 MB which only holds a few pictures so I will have to break down and buy a new one. And even more devastating, is that among others that I'm not even sure about, Chloe's birthday pictures were on there. I do have video that we can capture stills so I guess all is not lost but, depressing regardless.
Anyway, I have been following her around trying to get a portrait since her birthday when I got some that I wasn't really happy with. The following is the only one I even remotely cared for.
So, after many attempts to try to get the girl to sit still, I resisted my need to try to make all photos look professional and switched to a wider lens and used a flash (I hate using a flash). I followed her around for about 15 minutes (maybe even less) so when she gets older and wonders why there aren't many pictures of her at this age, I can prove to her that 1. She wouldn't cooperate and 2. I was so exhausted from chasing her that I didn't try as hard as I might otherwise have.
So here we go... 15 minutes in the life of Chloe
I had been cleaning out all of the clothes that were too little for her. I got up to do something for Maggie and forgot to close the drawers.. whoops!
Since Maggie and I were in my bedroom, she joined us there. Here, she stops to play with Maggie..
Ooh, is that the bumbo seat I see in mom's closet?
and this must be where my head goes..
I wonder if mom has anything fun in the bathroom...
and off to the livingroom, I'll help her with her coupons..
Oh no, she caught me..
I guess I probably wouldn't have used that coupon that she has wadded up in her hand anyway..
And this is how our days go.. As busy as a bee. Her because she's on a learning adventure and me well, I guess I'm on a learning adventure too!
And for my thoughts about her turning one that I haven't gotten around to yet:
I've said it all before, she's growing up before my eyes.. I love this age, but sometimes my arms ache for that baby that was gone too quickly. On occasion, I go back through this blog to remind myself that I was actually there her first year. I hate to admit it but there was so much going on.. job interviews, very little sleep, broken legs, moving, preschool graduation and so on that a lot of it is a blur to me now. So much has happened since then that it seems like ages ago. So many people have told me to soak it up... That is my plan for this next year but I'm afraid that no mother ever gets to the next age thinking that the one before took too long..
As far as her development goes... She's doing great... Running around like crazy and she has about 25 words. She loves to dance. She's pretty sneaky so I'm sure she's going to keep me on my toes.. We're still working on the weaning. It's hard when you wait until they can talk. She walks around behind me doing the sign language for more and saying "peas" (That is baby talk for please, not a reference to the taste of my milk)... It's sometimes more than I can take so, I'm just trying to remind myself that a year from now, I'll be longing for these days..
And now I leave you with some footage that I've gotten lately that I think depicts the sweet mess that she really is. It's kind of long too. I guess that's the theme for the day.. There was just too much that Adam couldn't cut when he was making the clip for me.
I have to say a huge thank you to my friend Julie for sending her the personalized CD for her birthday. She loves it! Listen closely and the first time they say, "Hey Chloe" you can hear Chloe say "hey" back :).
Blessings,
Dana
PS: Update coming on Emma soon!