OCD

Since birth Chloe has had many OCD tendencies that are a cosmic blend of annoying and amusing. She likes things to be neat, preferably in straight rows. Every door has to be closed, including the dishwasher and pantry. Chloe has the uncanny ability to see when a door has been closed, but hasn't clicked. She can't handle the slightest amount of food or dirt on her clothes, dolly, self, or the floor. More than once microscopic pieces of fuzz have found their way to dolly's face, bringing Chloe into hysterics. As soon as one is done eating, his/her dishes must be cleared away. There is no time to waste chatting, digesting, or breathing. Any violation of the above laws results in panicked yelling "Uh-Oh Uh-Oh Uh-Oh" while running at blazing speeds to rectify the situation. Her most recent obsession is "tash." Every speck of fuzz or dust that she finds on the floor elicits a wail and a run to the pantry door to reach the trashcan. It sounds something like, "OhNo! Tash!" Zoom. Screech. Turn, Click, Squeak, Open. Close, Slam. Zoom. Repeat all. About 200 times a day.
Amazingly, my floor still isn't clean enough to eat off of.... not to say that we don't...

It's A Zoo Out There

For Chloe's birthday, we decided to get the whole family together and take a trip to the zoo. So last Saturday we packed up the caravan and headed to Asheboro. There was Mimi and Grandpa and Uncabee and MeMaw and PaPa and Lissa and Mommy and Daddy. And of course, Chloe. We left Eli behind with the awesome McBrayer family where he got to enjoy his own personal zoo (a dog, a rabbit, a hamster, and five kids).

Here are some favorite tidbits from our trip...

Chloe looking at the polar bear who happened to be sleeping:
"Shh.. white boo seeping"

Chloe upon entering the steamy, slightly stinky Marsh exhibit area:
"Daddy pooped!"

For the first half of the trip, Chloe had no interest in anything other than whining and parroting Melissa, her 3 year-old cousin. About halfway through we took matters into our own hands and got her some french fries. Once more all was right with the world.

Annoyingly, the polar bear wasn't the only animal sleeping. So was the arctic fox, the otters, the cougars, and a whole slew of animals with names that I didn't catch (you notice a lot less of the academic stuff pushing a double stroller). Basically every animal in the zoo was catching some zzzzs. Don't they know we payed good money to gawk at them?? One of the gorillas was asleep, too. But at least they were lying near the glass..

Chloe looking in on the "Gowiwa"

Chloe and Melissa looking in at the Manatees swimming by. Chloe missed them every time.

Chloe in her primeate viewing spot (HA!)

World's Greatest Daddy on exhibit

Chloe looking in on a HUGE fancy-named Tortoise (turtle?) from Africa

It's Only Fair

We have been working very diligently for the past week on taking turns. It has been somewhat of a struggle more times than not, but I think Wormy is finally getting the idea. This is not to say she is happy about the concept, but she is becoming a much better sharer. She has begun bringing toys out of her room for Eli to play with without being prompted, and has even stopped screaming every time Eli touches an unauthorized object. Her dolls remain offlimits. In her finest hour, Chloe picked out one of her very own sippy cups for Eli to drink out of. She is becoming a very responsible big sister; very concerned with Eli's wellbeing.

Of course, as Chloe has pointed out many times, Eli has to share too. Chloe has made sure that she gets a turn playing in his crib, eating his baby cereal, playing with his toys, holding his "essephant", and jumping in his JohnnyJumpUp (which is pretty hilarious.)

There have also been a few downsides to all this sharing.. Chloe has become very eager to share all of her candy, cookies, and other treats with Eli. Whenever I hear her little voice proclaiming "Eli Eat, Eli Eat!" I know to come running. Yesterday those very words led me to discover Chloe sharing the four pieces of chalk she was eating with her baby brother. I will say, she did a very good job of grinding Eli's pieces into a kind of lumpy powder. I scraped little pink, blue, and white chunks from their tongues for quite some time. I couldn't get it all out, but I figured they would survive. At best they should be free from indigestion for a while.

Chloe Wanna Cracker?

It's amazing how having a child makes you aware of all of your quirky little habits and annoying phrases. Things that have always been there, but you never really noticed. For example, since Chloe has been vocal, I have realized that I growl when I'm frustrated about something. I also know that I do this weird thing with my throat when I laugh. Occasionally I snort. I know all of this because each time I make a weird sound, a younger sounding echo can be heard from down the hall or across the room or in the backseat.
As my echo has matured, it has moved beyond mimicing my embarrassing sounds to parroting my nagging.
From the mouth of Chloe in the past 24 hours:
"Hush, EI"
"Thats too Loud, EI!"
"Good boy EI!"
"Sshhh EI, Shhh"
"Bo-ey!"
"Hush, Bo-Ey!"
Or after she has yelled something loudly "Co-Ey! Too Loud! (giggles)"

Can't help but notice the growing trend in my speech....

Go!

One of the advantages of staying home with my children is I get to teach them the things I want them to know, the truly important things in life. Last week I took the opportunity to teach Chloe to say "Go Heels!", (I have no idea why I didnt jump on this sooner) and she now has great fun yelling it at random throughout the day.
Her daddy loves me even more for it :o)

First Love

Being the sentimentalist that I am, I have been waiting patiently to hear those three little magical words fall from Chloe's lips- "I love you." Several times over the past two years I have thought about how sweet and fulfilling it will be to hear those words for the first time. Like most things in motherhood, somehow, things didn't sound quite like I had planned.

This morning Chloe and I left her foodsick daddy and napping brother at home to go do the weekly grocery shopping. It was quite an exhausting weekend, so both of us were kind of grumpy as we set out. After several minutes of incessant whining, I told Chloe she had to sit quietly until she could be sweet. So she did. About 30 seconds go by when I hear this....

"Truck! Truck!"
"Hi Truck!"
"Bye truck!"
"Bye truck, I wuv you truck. I wuv you!"
"I wuv you, truck!"

Hmph. I wanted to be loved first.

As I carried her into the store, we talked things through...
Me: I love you, Chloe!
Chloe: blank stare
Me: Do you love mommy, Chloe?
Chloe: blank stare
Me: Well mommy looooooves you, Chloe!
Chloe: blank stare

Oh well, it's just a truck. Trucks are pretty cool. It could be worse, right? Right! Very, very right.....

After the groceries are unloaded, everyone is sitting around the lunchtable eating. I am in the kitchen making myself a sandwich when I hear.....

"Flyyyy! Flyyy!"
"Hi, fly!"
"Hi, fly, I wuv you!"


Double hmph. Maybe one day I will rank among the trucks and flies.

Birthday Party Fun

This past weekend we travelled to Shallotte to celebrate Chloe's 2nd birthday- PolkaDot style :) It was great fun being able to spend time with family and old friends. We had hot dogs and chili and chips and cake. Chloe opened her presents and enjoyed each one of them thoroughly. She got 5 new puzzles, lots of fun stuff for her new kitchen, a tea set, a doctor's kit, dress-up shoes, and lots of art supplies. She has had lots of fun playing with everything today.

A rare look at the whole family

Chloe gives the icing her seal of approval

Chloe with her new tea set, stick on earrings, and dress-up shoes.

The cake

Asthma Nights

A couple of nights ago, Chloe started having what appear to be asthma attacks during the night. I have to say, it was pretty terrifying to see and hear my little girl barking and panicking for hours on end. We thought at first that she had a really bad cold, but as the night wore on she became more and more hysterical. We knew something was really wrong when she wanted me to sleep with her. After two long, scary nights, I realized what was going on. Since 6 months old, Chlo has been on a combination of Zyrtec and Singulair for her eczema and allergies, but had missed her dosage of Singulair (which is actually an asthma drug used to treat allergies as well) on both nights of her episodes. So, yesterday the kids and I strolled over to Person Street to pick up her prescription and I gave it to her immediately. Within an hour after we returned home she was fast asleep breathing beautifully. She slept from 3pm-11pm. We just didn't have the heart to wake her. Patrick graciously stayed up with her until 1am so that I could go on to bed. She slept peacefully the rest of the night. Praise God for modern medicine.

As long as she stays on her medicine and we don't have any more episodes, we can wait until her already scheduled 2 year appointment to discuss all of our options with Dr. Lopez. Chloe is terrified of the doctor's office, so we try to keep our visits to a minimum.

Even through all of her exhaustion, she had such a sweet spirit. Yesterday I was absolutely exhausted from the previous two nights and laid down on the couch while Eli was sleeping. Chloe saw me, ran to her room and got her favorite blanket, and put it on my legs. She said, "Shh, Mommy sleepy. Mommy peenk blanky." Then sat down on the floor beside the couch and played quietly while I rested. What a sweet girl.

Sing-a-long

Not long ago, Chloe began to sing along with her favorite CDs and videos, and more recently has started singing on her own. She loves to make up songs, usually with lyrics like "Mommy, Mommy, MOMMMMY, MomMomMommy" or "DaddyDaddyDADADADADDY" or "CoeyCoeyCoeeey". She is also really good at singing and doing the motions to songs like The Wheels on the Bus (the peoples go updownupdown all over tap) and the ItsyBitsy Spider (out Suuuun climb ageeee). She chimes right in with all of the noises and e-i-e-i-o's in Old McDonald (she still thinks it's a song about her brother whom she calls "EI"), and gets several letters right in the Alphabet Song. I love hearing her sing them all, but I have to say the song that just makes me melt is hearing her sing "Tic-kleTic-kle Lit-tle Star" while tickling her toes.

Uncabee's Girl

After Sunday lunch, Chloe was sitting on the couch and the Panthers game came on TV. Out of nowhere we hear "Pan-ters!" Maybe she will be well-rounded afterall.

A Glimpse into the Future

This morning was Chloe's first time in a real Sunday School class complete with songs and a lesson. Up until now she has been in the nursery during both SS and Morning Service. As I kissed her cheek and left her sitting all straight and smart and confident at the table, I had to hold back the tears. Sigh. My baby is a little girl. Kindergarten is just around the corner...

SeeyaNite

A fun new morning ritual Chloe has developed to deal with the trauma of covering her beloved Toes with **gasp** socks.

As I put on one sock.
"Aw, Toes. Aw."

As I put on the other sock.
"Aw, Toes, Bye Bye Toes"

After both socks are on. Legs straighten. Toes wiggle.
"Bye Bye Toes! SeeYaNite!"

23 Months

At 23 months Chloe is full of life. She has always been a bookworm and still chooses her beloved books over any of her toys. She is cautious and slow to warm up to people, especially other children, but after she gets to know someone, she is a great friend. Lately, her toy of choice has been her ABC and 123 puzzles. Somehow she has managed to learn all of the alphabet and her numbers 0-9. I didn't teach them to her! She puts her puzzles together at least 40 times a day. She knows C is for Chloe, E is for Eli, M is for Mommy, D is for Daddy, N is for "N-n-n-n-no", and J is for UncleB. She will be reading before I know it. Bittersweet.

Introducing the Blog

Recently I have become intrigued with the world of blogging. At first I had no idea what I would write about or why anyone would even care... but I have begun to see just how quickly my kids are growing up, and I am realizing just how quickly I forget all of the fun things they do and say. Since these are the only baby years I will ever have, I want to preserve them and share them with friends and family. Wormy's World will be life through Chloe's eyes. I am sad 23 months have already gone by blog-free, but I am excited to start posting now.