:number one:

hard to believe, but in a mere month and a half, chloe will be turning one. i know it's a little early, but i figured i'd put up the invite to let everyone know! all are welcome!

ciao.

:uh oh:

it finally happened...



i guess it's one of those things that all parents have to experience at least once. it's kinda cute, in a weird way. at least it wasn't one of those cow patty ones.

chloe and i took a sort of last minute getaway to vegas to see the family. good, relaxing times. here's chloe and grandpa tip hanging out.

:the throwdown:

as you parents know, there comes a time in every child's life where anything within reach is throwdown material-meaning, they can pick it up and most likely drop it. case in point, our bookshelves. chloe finally found it and figured out that these lovely little bounded papers can become throwing toys. one by one, she throws every book off of the shelf she can reach, while standing, and then proceeds to choose the one she likes best (always the U.S. Constitution, which is very small) and then starts crawling with it.

so, here are some photos from her book encounters.

:poop and cookbooks:

it seems to be chloe's pooping routine, to do it in her jumparoo. there isn't really a specific time of day that it happens, but more often than not, it is in that thing. maybe it's the gravity from standing pulling it down or something. i don't know.

also, while making cauliflower soup and chloe's various purees, i got an idea that i never thought about before, and want opinions/ideas.

since i was a kid, my mom has always told me that i should be a chef or have a restaurant. while the dream of having my own restaurant died with the discovery of my love for photography, i continue to love to cook. she said i loved to mix since i was very small.

as you know, i also enjoy writing.

so, what about a cookbook? i didn't really formulate a theme for it, which i know would be important, but that could be where you come in.

why am i talking about it here? because i would want it to be a cookbook for moms cooking for their kids (toddler on up), wanting CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE, ORGANIC dishes, but not necessarily fancy and difficult.

i checked out books on amazon and there wasn't really much that would fit in that genre. i found one which was for organic cooking from infant to toddler, but that was it. most of it was quick fix meals for soccer moms. literally, i saw two books with the words "soccer mom" in the title. yikes! that's not me.

so, i'm looking for input. how would i do this? where do i start? would people even buy something like this? i have no formal training so how do i convince someone that i'm a credible source for food information?

that's all.

:weekly update:

i know i know...we've been negligent in writing. i guess as time goes on, it's difficult to be updating everyday.

so, what's new with chloe?

she does peek-a-boo.

she is nearly standing on her own.

she claps, sometimes while standing up.

she's been waking up at 5am for some reason.

she will be 10 months old(!) on sunday.

i'm trying to think over the past week for any other morsels of information, but i think that sums it up.

my mom came out monday-wednesday for a spur of the moment visit. of course, chloe was a huge fuss while she was here, and only while she was here. she had to sleep in our room for those 2 nights, and we were really happy to let chloe have her own room back. she continues to awake early, though. i'm investigating why.

she loves to move around. so much so, that she sometimes gets herself out of breath. as you'll see in the photos below, she enjoys a few key things: climbing under things, crawling with toys in her hands (she never crawls without one, or two!) and going into the guest bathroom. the latter i haven't figured out. if we do let her crawl in the living room, she defaults to the bathroom everytime. i decided to let her go with it, and of course, she tried to climb up the toilet, toys in hand. i had to take her away from the toilet.

she doesn't have any sort of specific toy as a security "blanket", but she is very insistent on crawling with A toy, which i see has her version of security, or simply challenging herself. i don't know. she cracks us up.

yesterday she started doing a pull-up in the pack-n-play, trying to lift her leg up to climb out. she actually got pretty far. future rock climber?? maybe. she's extremely determined, hardy and slow to cry if she falls down. i don't know if it's a matter of high pain tolerance or pride, or simply not caring. she just goes for it all.

jared had to start disciplining her with a little hand slap. not fun. but, she listens. she no longer goes near the plug and cord in her room. so smart.

as chloe quickly approaches her FIRST birthday, we are starting to think out how it will all go. here's the deal, just so anyone who wants to come (all are welcome) can plan for it...we will be having a modest little party in the park down the street from our house, potluck style, on saturday, 15 september. bring sunscreen, blankets, beach chairs, baseball mitts, footballs, whatever you like to do at the park, and enjoy the so cal weather! i will be taking care of the cake, so please don't bring a cake! chloe said she wants a special (healthier) cake made by mommy :)

anyway, any questions about that, just email me. i know it's a couple months away, but things like this creep up quickly!

hope you are all enjoying a wonderful summer!

ciao. shalom.

:4th and things:

so, we've been busy.

mondays we go to community group. thursdays we meet with a couple families from church. sunday we go to church. and in between we do our walks, shopping, laundry, try to have dates and whatever else life throws at us.

this week was especially busy with the 4th. we had a big 'ol gathering for our community group at our place. great fun. lots 'o food. walked to the park and watched fireworks with the rest of north park. really nice. hopefully we'll have some photos sent to us from the night. i didn't get any cause i was so busy hosting. bad me.

my dad came up the morning of the 4th and spent some time peeling grapes for chloe and caught this great photo, which i put in sepia.



chloe now has a half of a tooth, and its partner beginning to poke through on the bottom. it's a bit hard to see unless she gives a big smile, but i'll try to get a photo.

hope you are all well!

peace.