: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.