Vacation in Bermuda!!

Where to begin.....

We got up bright and early last Saturday morning and headed to the airport for our week long vacation in my home island of Bermuda. Chloe went on her first airplane ride!!! And, she was so, so good. People commented on how well behaved such a little baby was during the flight, and she didn't even sleep a wink!

The vacation was wonderful! My Mom put us up in a little guesthouse just outside the capital, Hamilton, so the location and the accomadations were great. The place was cool, quiet, clean and cozy. The weather on the other hand was completely crappy nearly the entire time. What a bummer! It rained every day except the first day we were there and the Friday before we left. This left us with a lot of nothing to do unfortunately. We got to see a lot of family and friends, and that's what's important. We didn't get to the beach and/or pool too much like planned.

We did manage to go out to dinner a few times, run around town in the rain and pick up a few souvenirs, go to the aquarium and zoo (in the rain), go to Dockyard twice and a lot of just hanging out with the fam.

On that one sunny Friday....we took Chloe in the ocean!!! Thank heavens...I would have cried if we went all the way to Bermuda and never got her in the ocean. And, she LOVED it!!! After we left Snorkel Park we went back to our guesthouse and I took her in the pool again. And she loved that too. So, that one day here must have been bad timing and mood. Yay!

Chloe also has 3 more teeth coming in!!!!!!! What a nice vacation...poor baby! She didn't sleep so well the entire time we were there and we quickly figured out why. Her top two front teeth are cutting, and one of them has completely broken the skin (so cute), and one on the bottom, a neighbor to her two teeth, is also coming in. Naps were rare as she was so severly distracted she didn't want to really eat or sleep. It was also very hot and humid, despite all the rain, and she is like her Mama and needs cool air to rest! Her Papa on the other hand dozed off on the floor every single time we were at my Moms - exhausted from the heat. Funny! So, she left with two teeth and is coming back with five!!!! Unbelievable.

She isn't doing too much else new at the moment. She has started to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time and that's very exciting to witness. Oh - she did climb all the stairs at my Moms - who knew? She just went there and did it....not a second thought about it. Our baby is growing so much!! She has been very hungry and sleepy today....making up for lost time I suppose. We are all recuperating!

We want to express our sincerest appreciation and thanks to those at home who helped make our visit wonderful....you know who you are!

Lots of New Things...

It's only been a week since I filled you in on little Miss Chloe - but she has been a busy gal this past week! She has been to new places, tried new things and learned new skills. It's crazy!

We had our wonderful friends in from Oklahoma visiting this past week - Jamie, Brett and Eli. It was really fun to watch a 1 1/2 year old boy interact with a 7 month old baby girl! Upon entering into our little condo for a visit, in one fell swoop, more baby proofing was immediately required! Eli showed me yet how much more we have to do because I am sure our lil munchkin isn't too far behind. All in all, we had a really great time visiting with them and can't wait until we meet up again - whenever that may be.

During the past week Chloe took her first dip into the pool!!! She didn't really dig it too much. I think she was wondering what the heck kind of bath tub is this? It's gi-normous and there are NO bubbles?!? She cried. Which I was not too happy about seeing as we are going to Bermuda in a few days and I am really excited to take her to the beach! Oh well. I will just keep trying.

We also went to the zoo (and on the train) for the first time. Another journey! Two babies, four adults, two strollers, two very large baby bags - on the metro and at the zoo!! It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. Brad and I already plan to go again (hey - it took us 6 years to go - now we will be going 6 times a year - maybe!) with Chloe and go early in the morning to see more of the animals. We got to see the pandas, gorillas, elephants and a few other creatures and that was enough!

Chloe has also learned how to wave!! It is so exciting to encourage her to wave. She had done it here and there...but, we were not sure how intentional it was. And this weekend she waved bye bye to Brett, Jamie and Eli as they were leaving and we were waiving. We jumped up and down in a parking lot. Yes, we did. And since then, she has been doing it much more frequently and much more intentionally.

She has also gotten very, very, very, loud! She just randomly yells. Its cute. Not annoying - yet. It can be a tad embarrassing depending on where you are. Like at a Japanese Steakhouse (it was Brad and I's 4 year wedding anniversary on June 11th)...but, everyone thought it was pretty cute and didn't seem to mind too much. She also cried bloody murder at the hibatchi fire...again - pretty funny to us. She does make the Ba sound pretty clearly now. We are anxiously awaiting a Ma or a Da. But, Ba is good too. In addition to making a lot of noise she has started to move her mouth (a lot). Brad calls it a fish face. And, he is right. She moves her lips, but doesn't make a sound! Just wait until she figures this one out and starts making all that noise and moving those lips!! We are in for it.

Chloe is slightly mischevious....as are most babies figuring out the world they live in. She manages to get into absolutely everything. She is still pulling her self up constantly and we think the standing alone is around the corner. She finds everything that an adult naked eye would never see - this I do not like (I had to extract a strand of carpet from her mouth today!! Scary!). She pulls everything and anything off of shelves and tables. Fun picking that all up. She can now open drawers. She has also started crawling over things, like me, pillows and furniture.

It's just amazing all the new things she can learn in a day! And some things haven't changed much at all. Like the eating and sleeping situation. Still not the best eater or sleeper...but, we just keep at it.

Here we come Bermuda!! We cannot wait to visit my family and friends on the island. Only my Mom has meet Chloe so I think she has a lot of people waiting to meet her for the first time. It's going to be a busy week and I am going to love and cherish each moment! Probably won't get a chance to blog again (and....what else can she do in 5 days...LOL!) with all the packing and everything else I have to do to prepare to travel for a week. As always we hope that everyone is doing great and enjoying the summer so far!

Chloe is Seven Months Old!

Seven on Seven. Chloe is seven months old today. Amazing!

Brad and I are trying to teach her how to wave and kiss....and we are getting very close! Its so exciting. Sometimes she waves both arms and recently just one - which seems more like an intentional wave. Tonight she finally gave me a kiss (three in a row actually). Mind you they are open mouth, sloppy kisses...but I loved each of them and can't wait for more!

She has been having a bit of a rough time lately. We think she is teething again. She is waking often thru the night, not too interested in food (again) and gets pretty cranky at times. This is all to be expected though, right?

We haven't had too many bumps lately as she is getting slightly more stable with her standing. She has finally learned to fall back on her bum as opposed to foward on her face. This is good, real good. She can also cruise a little bit along the coffee table and such. Sometimes she thinks that she can spin around and jump from one place to the other (the couch, chair and table). But, not so much, but at least she tries. She is so smart it's crazy. The other day she pulled two books down from the tv stand, stood on them and advanced her reach and discovery. Geesh!

Chloe is starting to make a lot more noises....we know she can't wait to talk...like her Mother!! It's pretty cute, and sometimes scary (the monster noises) all the sounds she can make. Brad swears she says things (that only he can hear) - like 'I want my mommy'!! Funny stuff.

Road Trip

This weekend we made another road trip. Chloe has another state under her belt...or bib! We went to PA to visit with the Kell family and attend a wedding shower. We had a wonderful time. Chloe got to see her cousin Claire again and meet her other cousins, the John twins - Kate and Mackenzie. It was so cute to see all the little girls together. And of course it was nice to see all the other aunts, uncles and cousins she had yet to meet as well as the ones she has grown to know and love already (Grandma, FredPa, Andie, Mitch, Connie and Ed).

She did o-kay on the 3.5 hour trip down and excellent on the way home. We had her going all day on Saturday and I think she is still recuperating from all the excitement as she has been sleeping like an angel since. Yay for us!

Check out a short clip of her playing with her new First Learning Purse Auntie Andie, Uncle Mitch and Claire got for her. She is so cute...so was getting so excited as the purse sings and talks to her.

Not too much else new. Weather has improved and we are ready for the sunshine. And maybe the pool! Hope everyone is having a great start to thier summers!

Winnie - wherever you are, whatever you are doing - have a piece of cake for us! Happy 88th (June 2nd)!! We know you are looking down and over us just as much as we are looking up at and remembering you.