What Color Do You See??

We decided to let Chloe be the first to know the sex of the new baby.
We had the doctor write the result in a blue or pink pen, respective to
boy or girl, in a card for us so Chloe could "read" the verdict. It
worked perfectly! Here's a recreation of the event!

Gina

A few days before her birthday party I surprised Chloe with this
dolphin balloon I intended to use as a decoration for her party. I figured she would be excited to have a balloon around the house in the meantime but I never expected such a beautiful friendship to blossom! Chloe was beyond delighted to make the acquaintance of Gina (as she instantly proclaimed the dolphins name to be). She giggled and danced with Gina, pulling her by the attached ribbon and merrily shouting "come on, Gina!". When we would return home after running errands she would tear off her coat and call out "Gina, I'm home!" She would race upstairs to find her friend and then gleefully shout "there she is!" when she saw her. It was so utterly adorable.

"Maybe" from Annie

Chloe has been singing so much lately and she's really able to carry a tune! I'm very, very impressed!

Kissing in Garfield Park

This is from last month but it's so darn cute I had to repost it. This
is Chloe with her dear friend Evan. Or maybe he's a little more than a
friend!

Chloe's 2nd Bday Party

We went to Gymboree on the 26th to ring in the new year with 20 of Chloe's closest friends! The birthday girl had a blast playing and singing and dancing and her huge cake turned out beautifully. Grandmom and Gundor were in town to celebrate with us, which really made her day! Here is Chloe in a "rowboat" with her friend Milo. They have known each other since....well before they were born!

And We're Back

Okay....Chloe's Two and there's a new baby on the way. It's time to start blogging again! Chloe does so many cute things that I just need to remember but far be it from me to rely on my weak little brain for such an important task. This requires photos and detailed written journal entries. I keep a journal, but handwriting is annoying, so I'm coming back to the blogosphere. No one needs to feel obligated to read this...but here I am again.

When in need take a deep breath and bake a cake

Ok, my cake is baking. My baby is still asleep. Everything is ok.
I had a tough morning.
I got so upset with Panda. I really lost my temper and was yelling at her and I gave her a time out, mainly because I needed a time out. She was pinching me and she pinches really hard-- Really hard! --and she has these long nails like little daggers to boot. I filed her nails and told her she cannot pinch people...I won't allow it! She thought I was being really silly, because I was being so emphatic. She just kept coming right back and pinching me again and giggling. She thought we were playing a really fun game...and I just lost it! Nothing I did could dissuade her and I put her away because I honestly thought I was going to hurt her I was getting so angry.
It was a scary mom moment.
And it made me feel bad all morning.
But now I feel better.
Baking really helps.

Carrot Zucchini Cake For Skinny Babies

Ingredients:
2 zucchinis
2 carrots
2 1/2 cups white wheat flour
1 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
4 oz. apple sauce
6 oz. yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

While your baby is napping:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a deep 9 inch cake pan. Grate carrots and zucchini. Whisk dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss veggies in with flour mixture. Process sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla to blend in large bowl. Stir into carrot/flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around bread to loosen. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

To be or not to be?

That is the question... Between facebook, buzz, picasa and other various forms of sharing, the blog seems sort of unnecessary. Is anyone out there? I think I'm the only one who reads it, and for the sake of posterity it seems worthwhile...but I also keep a journal! I'm feeling sort of overburdened by record keeping, and I don't want my sense of responsibility for capturing the moment to eclipse my experience of that moment. What to do? Posts may be few and far in between, but I suppose I'll keep it up. Meanwhile, follow me on Facebook if you're not already and keep checking in with Picasa for updates!

Chloe's First Bike Ride!

Yesterday we went for a bike ride-Chloe's first ever! It was a beautiful cloudy day and we had a blast! Chloe was clapping her hands as we cruised the lakefront! Mark found this iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat on Amazon and it is awesome! We are so happy to have discovered such a fun and exciting way to spend time together as a family.

Grocery Shopping

So much fun!