Memories on Memorial Day

The Elm Grove Memorial Day parade...


...2010...


...and 2011.

Love. Making. Memories.

Reckless Driver Already?

Sunny Sunday

Chloe here. Today was warm and sunny in southeast Wisconsin, so we took the opportunity to play outside.

Chloe got a really cool playhouse from one of Grammie's friends, but it needed a little bit of clean up. So we got out the bucket and soap and water.


Scrub, scrub, scrub!


I got a little sudsy!


Daddy let me fill the bucket up with his hose.


And rinse the roof off.


Help, help!!!!


Daddy's spraying me!!!


I tried to get Daddy back, but ended up only getting myself. Typical.

Looks like the rest of the week will be rainy and cold, but we enjoyed the sunshine for today!

Cleaning Lady

Chloe here.

Sometimes I like to get all dolled up and clean my house. Ready to go!


Got my trusty vaccuum.


Work it, work it.


This piece was too big for my vaccuum to handle.


I'm such a good helper... when I'm wearing rainboots, no pants and a band aid. Cheers!

2 1/2 years... how did this happen?

Chloe is officially 2 1/2 years old (or 30 months if that's how you roll). Notice that we have abandoned the monthly signs and have chosen to do the "photo shoot" outside. This was Chloe's choice. Don't ever say this girl doesn't have an opinion.

She is a major chatterbox when she is at home, but a little more reserved in front of people she doesn't know well. She speaks in sentences, which we can understand about 75% of the time. Favorite Chloe phrases include:

"Hungry, Chloe! Hungry, Chloe!"
"No poopies!"
"Ouch, Chloe's _________ (insert body part here). Band Aid? Watch George?"
"I ubb ooo." (I love you.)
"Dab ooo." (Thank you.)
"Chloe liiiiikes __________. (Even if she doesn't really like it.)
"Where's Chloe's _________?"

She is 35 1/4 inches tall and weighs 27 lbs (based on our own measurements, not the doctor's). I don't know about head circumference. Kind of seems like a weird stat to me. She's basically wearing 2T bottoms and 3T tops. She continues to be long and lean and her (pregnant or not) Mommy continues to be jealous.

She is running and jumping and climbing all over... she's had a few bumps on the head and a cut over her eye (pictures to come someday) but nothing major yet.

She knows all of the main colors, as well as some like "dark pink" and "aqua." Her favorite color is "ye-yo." (yellow) She can also count to 20, and counts things all day long.

We think she's popped all of her 2 year molars and we're grateful that teething is over. She gets a bit naughty and gets a wicked diaper rash whenever she gets a new tooth. She probably started getting her new teeth about a month ago and got the last one about 2 days ago. She even told Dan she got her new tooth.

She still loves being outside, playing on her swing set, in her playhouse, planting and watering in the garden, going for walks, riding her tricycle around a track that Daddy draws with chalk and tooling around in her Cozy Coupe, complete with trailer now.

She loves watching Curious George and asks all day to "Watch one more George?" Don't worry, we don't always say yes. She also watches Dancing with the Stars and American Idol with Mommy sometimes.

Her hair seems to be growing fast, and her bangs are almost grown out, which means we won't have to put a clippie in every day unless we want to. Dan has mastered both the ponytail and pigtails and we are very proud of him.

She still naps from 1 1/2 to 2 hours per day and sleeps from about 8:30 pm to 8:00 am. We. Are. So. Lucky. (we realize this)

She is currently in the middle of "soft" potty training, using a method that our friend, Sarah, told us about. We are not pushing it, but she goes potty (no poop) on the toilet 1-3 times per day. We're working on it and will let you know!

She's been very good about trying new food lately and is expanding her "Chloe menu" to include everything from steak to apple slices to barbecued chicken to scrambled and hard boiled eggs to andouille sausage. She's asks to try things off of our plates and does a good job sharing whatever is on her plate as well.

She is funny and exhausting and clever and sweet and we just love her. Happy 2 1/2 years, Chloe Jo!

Mother's Day - Chloe and Baby Ben

Chloe here. One of my favorite things about Mother's Day is getting to spend time with my "cousin," Baby Ben. In case you didn't know, his mommy is Mary and his daddy is Matt

Uncle Momo supervised some playtime between Ben and I.


I showed him my puppy.


And then tickled him on the head.


This is how he looks when he watches me.


And then I make him smile, just like this! Isn't he adorable?

All the Mommies (and a Daddy and Auntie too)

Chloe here. We had a wonderful Mother's Day and here are some of the pictures of my family we took.

Just Mommy, Chloe and Baby #2 in the belly!


Cheese!


Kisses for Mommy.


Mommy, Daddy, Chloe


Grammie, Mommy, Chloe, Daddy and Nana, who came down for the weekend.


Grammy, Mommy, Chloe and Auntie Megan (my Godmother).


Taking pictures is sooo fun!


The Simeks... Nana, Daddy, Chloe and Mommy (at 18 weeks).

More Mother's Day fun to come tomorrow!

To All the Moms Out There

Mommy here. We wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of our friends and family that are mommies. Especially you moms who are enjoying their first Mother's Day. Enjoy your day. And I hope your little ones are HALF as silly as mine. XOXO

Easter Day

So back to Easter day. After nap we went back to Grammie and Grandpa's for dinner and fun activities.

Here I am engaging in the traditional Easter egg fight with Mommy. She beat me in this round, but Uncle Pete ended up winning it all.


Here's Baby Ben with his first baseball bat!


Mommy Mary has him in a bit of a head lock here...


I picked some flowers and handed them out to people.


Don't even ask...

Coloring Eggs

Chloe here. The Friday before Easter we dyed eggs with our good friends the Ms, the Gs, and the As. Grammie and Grandpa were there too.

Ashlyn and I enjoyed a fruit appetizer.


She even fed me a little bit!


Then on to the egg coloring. I started with Mommy.


Here's a good video of how we did it.


Hmmmm... can I please have that color over there?


Here's Ashlyn being silly with her Daddy.


She was very patient while coloring her eggs.


Gabriella tried to eat one... and almost succeeded!


Then I moved over to color some eggs with Grandpa.


When Ashlyn was done, she had get cleaned up.


And Aubrey snoozed with her Grandpa.


There's that crazy bunny again!


Watch out, here she comes...


Good times with good friends :)