Trick or Treat!!!

Ahh....Chloe's first Halloween!! So exciting! I got to dress her up in her Strawberry Fairy costume twice. And, she pretty much hated it both times. Not fun. Tonight our condo hosted a little Halloween party in the building. It was really great to meet other kids and parents in the building. We met at 6pm and all went trick or treating thru the building......17 floors.....together. It was exhausting!! We then met up again and they provided refreshments, cookies, games and a costume contest. Chloe loved walking up and down the aisles, running away from me and the crowd most of the time and just being with all the other children (about 30). Chloe is also a thief! She stole other kids jiuce boxes, cookies, candy and other odds and ends. This is nothing new as she often takes other kids' binkys, bottles and blankets from there whereever and whenever she can. It's harmless, I think...? At the party, she also walked away with Runner Up Prize for Cutest Costume!! Yay!!

All in all, as Brad said...her first Halloween was a success. She is sleeping now....and hopefully she pooped herself out so much she sleeps thru the whole night - now wouldn't that be a real TREAT!

She Climbs, She Dances!

Chloe is a modern day monkey these days!!! She is climbing everywhere! If her knee can reach...she is up! She started on our ottoman/chair, and boy was she proud. Then she ventured onto the couch from the chair. Then, one day, I turned around,...and she was on my desk!! She manages all this in steps and stages...just climbing from one piece of furniture to the next level of furniture. It's all very exciting, and a bit scary at the same time. Brad claims I am going to have a heart attack....he might be right! She is pretty fearless. She is just now learning to get down. Sometimes she just whines with her hands up for help. But, I decided to teach her how to get down....safely....as soon as she started climbing. Sometimes she turns on her belly and slides down, but, sometimes....she just rolls off. And that's never fun - for either of us!

She still likes to dance. Except now she doesn't do her little bounce as much as she likes to twirl and spin in circles. Its very cute and charming, just like her! And, she dances on the tables. I hope this is not an insight to her future career!! I always say she is destined for the stage......

Other than that not too much has been happening in the Kell household. We have been taking it easy lately. We are excited and gearing up physically and emotionally for our baby's first birthday now. We are just going to have a small gathering of mostly family and we are very much looking foward to the celebration.

I did take her to get some pictures of her in her Halloween costume this week. That was not fun, not fun at all. She would not sit or stand still for a nano second. We barely got any pictures. It was quite frustrating actually. She kept running out of the studio room, out of the lobby and into the clothing department.....all the while me chasing her each time. She did fall and bump her head during one of the chases, as you will see she has a nice red mark on her forehead. Geesh. We were both sweaty and irritated by the end and I felt like I had done about a hundred squats and ran a freakin' marathon the next day. Luckily we did manage to get a few good pics.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall weather. And the trees changing for those of you that are in areas where that happens - it's really beautiful. Check out all the new pictures of Chloe if you can.

Halloween Costume Decided!

I want to thank you all for voting for Chloe's first Halloween costume. It was exciting to see what everyone thought. Which ones you liked and really didn't like. Some got no votes. But, there were 2 front runners - the Bunny and the Fairy each with 8 votes. We went with the Fairy!

I did this for two reasons. After reviewing the bunny costume, I realized that Chloe was never gong to keep that hat on her head. She won't even wear a headband these days!! And, it looks a little bit hot. Secondly...Brad and I secretly loved the fairy idea. Then, I found one that is a STRAWBERRY FAIRY!! And it is just darling! The word 'strawberry' is the first word that Chloe ever laughed out loud at so it had some sentimental value to us as well. Here is the costume and it's on its way here. I can't wait to dress her up in and take a pic of her in it!!! So exciting!

Chloe is Eleven Months!!

Oh wow! Eleven months...really? And one day...I am late again!!

Chloe isn't doing too much new these days. Just growing, learning and discovering new things every day...every hour. She is so precious and I cannot believe we are nearing her first birthday already.

We are finished with our visit to Grandpa Allan and now we wait for Nana Alana to come in from Bermuda and Grandma Crystal and FredPa to come in from Ohio to help us celebrate her first birthday. We will just be doing something small and somewhat quiet locally. Well, the quiet depends on if little Miss Claire is able to come. Claire is scheduled for surgery on November 2nd, so her and Auntie Andie may have to postpone their visit to Virginia...but, who knows they may make it. All that is important is the health and recovery of our neice, Claire. Chloe will understand!

Hope everyone had a great summer!! Now we get ready for the winter!

Chloe Gives Kisses!!!

Finally! Chloe gives real kisses!! We have been trying and trying and trying to teach her kisses...it's just an ongoing casual thing I/we do all the time. My Mom does it to with her when we skype. I noticed on our skype session yesterday with Nana that Chloe was actually lunging toward the screen and giving her kisses. But...tonight....she really did it!! I was about to put her to bed and told her (as I do every night) to give her Daddy kisses....well....she went to him and gave him a real kiss. There have been some flukes over the past several months....but, this was real. And oh so cute!! Who would think a simple kiss could melt your heart? Brad deserved it as Chloe has been very much a Mommy's lil baby for days now, wanting nothing to do with Daddy. You win some, you lose some. I still can't get a kiss!!!!!

Check out the short video. It's a little bit dark....but you can see the kisses!

Costa Rica Vacation!!

Chloe took her second international vacation! We went for a week long vacation to visit my Dad in Costa Rica. My sister Sam and her boyfriend Aaron were also there. We had a wonderful time. Ready for our next visit already. This reality thing stinks!!! We did a lot of much needed relaxing. My Uncle Jr was kind enough to let us stay in his condos near Tamarindo for most of the week we were there. They are gorgeous! We had the pool only a few steps from our door and the beach was just a short walk across the street and down the hill. It was very secluded and isolated - we were completely out of touch with civilization (no phones, no computers, no internet), one restaurant, one mini mart, one bar and the closest gas station was an hour away.....at least we only had to go once! We did quite a bit of driving/sightseeing in our rented van (poor van took some serious beatings on our travels), a lot of grilling out and eating, a lot of swimming, played some games and really just hung around the house spending some quality time with the family. It was great!

Chloe did really well on the flights down and back. She was a bit antsy which was to be expected...this child sits still for nothing and no one!!! They were both really long days - up early, traveling all day and to bed late. There she was pretty good too. Of course everyone loved her and she got a lot of attention....she is probably wondering where everyone went! She did have a few falls....bumped her forehead, fell out of the bed and busted her lip!!! Gotta love tiled floors! She recovered at lightening speed, she is a real trooper. Mostly she just played, ate, slept and ran with the flow of things - her usual.

None of us got too burnt thank goodness. It was scortching hot there most days. For the rainy season it was awfully dry! We didn't mind too much as it allowed us to play outside more. We didn't see too many animals, but that's okay. We saw mucho cows!! If I never see a cow again, I will be alright! Lots of open fields with cows and horses, we even saw a donkey. And an iguana. No monkeys though. Next time!

Check out all the pics if you get a chance. Mostly Chloe and scenery. The country is truly beautiful and amazing....just like our baby!!

Thanks Dad, Adrianna, Kinky, Samantha and Aaron for making great memories with us!!