:scribbles, Christmas & foooood:

first, some Christmas photos:

her Christmas outfit, compliments of Corianne.

Chloe's first scribbles with the crayons we got her.

the product of those first scribbles

she's so stinkin' cute. thanks to my dad for some of the photos.

it seems like she's developing exponentially. she copies everything. she understands everything, usually in both languages. she also eats everything, of course.

yesterday she found a q-tip in the bathroom and started putting it in her ear. i know she watches me everyday as i do that and she finally realized what it's used for.

this morning while she was eating her oatmeal, she heard the teletubbies saying "bye bye" and followed with a wave and a smile.

we have a harmonica and i was playing it to entertain her. she took it and because she hasn't mastered the blowing, she started mimicking the sound with her own voice. pretty smart.

i think one of the most shocking new things to me is how she insists on feeding herself. for so long she hasn't really been interested. she loves to eat, but seemed to prefer me feeding her. well, all of a sudden, she takes the spoon out of my hand and proceeds to try and pick up whatever is in the bowl. sometimes she's successful, but most of the time she just makes a mess. that's ok. when she does get a bite in her mouth, we cheer. needless to say, the feeding time takes a bit longer now. but it's so fun to watch her get it all. and, it seems like she uses her left hand a bit more. she still switches, but the left is definitely more favored. interesting.

not sure if i mentioned this in a past blog, but she also enjoys spinning around in circles and making herself dizzy. she's like her mother, a daredevil with an iron stomach. definitely not like her father ;)

we got her a pink soccer ball for Christmas and she loves it. we took it to the park yesterday and she was trying ever so hard to take it with her up the jungle jim and down the slide. she knows to kick it too. very coordinated.

she's very loving and sweet. she even hugs the big iron duck that sits on the playground. she knows that it represents something living. she reaches for the picture of jaelyn on the tree, kisses it and carries it around. she adores her dad, and when he gets home from work she eagerly grabs his legs for some hugs. we love her and can't imagine anything better.

:our garden:

'tis a very humble thing, our garden.

really, it's not a thing at all. i planted japanese eggplant, which yielded two small fruit. we never actually ate them so i don't know if they were good. we have a few grasses which seem to be great, and a small jade plant. that's it. i've attempted, and failed, at keeping colorful or eatible plants alive.

so, we planted. maybe chloe's magic touch will lend my brown thumb some help. we planted onions. i know, not the time to be planting, but we did. it's warm here, and maybe something will come of it. either way, it was a nice time to spend on our back deck that we neglect so much. jared played photog for all of these:



a frolic on our bed.

:ca ca poo poo:

today is a monumental one.

while chloe and i enjoyed a saturday morning full of food network, i began to smell a stinky. whenever i see her poop, or smell something, i ask her, "tienes ca ca?", meaning do you have poop. she usually gives me a silly look and ensues with the scrunched up nose.

but this time, this time she promptly got up, walked to the guest bathroom door (which we keep closed) and began knocking on it. i opened the door and she walked straight to the toilet, waiting for me to put her on it. hallelujah!

granted, this isn't all on her own. for the past couple weeks when she poops, i put her on the toilet and say "ca ca poo poo", just so she associates poop with toilet. i never expected it to work this quickly. but it did.

i hope to actually get her pooping in the toilet soon. that would be amazing.

oh yeah...she's starting to say "mom".

:15 & counting:

now that many of you may have received our Christmas card, i'll post it here for those that maybe haven't seen it:




chloe is well.
moving.everywhere.

she's currently obsessed with this little ice cream set. it's just plastic bowls, spoons and ice cream mounds, but she spends a lot of time talking to herself as she pretends to eat with the spoon. very curious.

she continues to enjoy reading. animals are still her favorite.

she now likes to hold hands, too. when we're walking on the sidewalk, she'll actually reach up to hold our hand. it's still one of the best feelings in the world.

being the big girl that she is now (just turned 15 months), she often eats at the same time and the same things as us. this is both good and challenging. good, since i don't have to spend as much time making food just for her. hard because it's a mess. the other night i made meatballs and pasta and gave her a bowl. she didn't throw it, but you can imagine the mess. she did enjoy it, though.

she can now identify her nose, bellybutton and sometimes eyes, in spanish! she seems to understand both spanish and english phrases like, "vamos" (let's go), "quieres snack" (you want a snack) or "donde esta" (where is...). if i start to say donde esta, she immediately points to somewhere on her face, trying to show me where a certain body part is.

she totally loves to watch the wii. i'm not sure what to think about that. i guess it's probably better than watching some trash on tv. we don't play that much, but she loves the high pitched sounds and mii characters.

chloe went to the zoo on thursday with jared and his friend bobby. lots of photos.



i know it's sideways, but it's cute and i didn't have time to adjust it.

:the real deal meal:

a real meal: pita with homemade hummus, pan fried potatoes, moroccan spiced chicken and mashed sweet potatoes.

it may not seem like much, but for her to eat off of her OWN plate, an entire meal, is a giant step for schauermann kind.

:ants on a log:

my mom used to make us ants on a log, or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins. delicious.

i tried it with chloe. she likes it, but eventually just wanted to get down to business with the celery stalk. i obliged.

:the juggling act:

here's jared juggling jaelyn, chloe & the phone. jaelyn is chloe's first friend. she's 7 months old and as you can see, cute as a button.

and then there's me attempting to hang Christmas lights...and failing.