Go Steelers!!

It's game day! We are so psyched to see our Steelers in the Super Bowl again. Yippee! Now, let's just win it! Chloe is all dressed up in support of her Daddy's team. Naturally, Mommy and Chloe have adopted Daddy's team as their very own.

Chloe is 12 weeks old already! She now babbles and babbles as Aunt Connie and Uncle Ed witnessed this weekend. She smiles, thrashes, kicks her feet and is developing quite a little personality. She now sucks her thumb too! This has been work in progress for a little while now, but, it has just come to be a habbit over the last few days. And, she just loves it!! It is such a joy to watch her change every day. She also giggled!! It was by far one of the most amazing moments of my life so far. Brad was holding her, and I was kissing her little toe-toes and laughing....and she giggled! Like three times! This was no fluke. I got completely and utterly overwhelmed and started to cry....and she started to cry too. So, so, so precious. I can hardly take it!

Well, more to come as the days go on I am certain. Till next time - Go Steelers! I have also posted some more pics. Hope the new year is still treating everyone well.

And last but not least --- A special shout out to a very special woman, friend, mother and now grandmother - HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

Little Miss ChatterBox

Well, Chloe has certainly found her voice in recent days! She is just a little chatterbox. It's absolutely adorable! We love to hear her talk. And, it's much preferred over the screaming and crying. Although, she still does that a little bit too! But, she can carry a baby conversation like its nobody's business. Brad is in for a real treat between the two of us once she starts really talking - I do not suspect Brad will be able to get a word in edge wise!!

Here are some recent pics of the princess. I have put more on the slideshow too! (Yes, I am addicted to taking pictures....I just can't help myself!).

Sweet Smiles, Sweet Sounds

Just an ordinary week in the Kell Condo. No holidays, no milestones, no real noteworthy happenings. Except the ever-changing baby! Chloe is growing so fast, every day and every hour she does something new. Its all very exciting!

She has started really laying the smiles on us, and we are thrilled. All those cliches just keep coming true. Now that she smiles in response to something we do, usually a funny face or sound, all the "bad" stuff is so worth it. And, lets face it - really, there is no bad stuff. The worse that happens at this stage is some crying and some poop! Whoopdi-do!

She has also started making sounds. A sound other than a cry or a scream!! Oh, the joy. She makes the sweetest, most adorable little sounds. They dont happen all day...but when they do its just wonderful.

And the drooling! She has started to be a crazy drooler. You know that we both googled that one to make sure it wasn't teething already. Scary! We are not quite ready for that yet. Everything is starting to go into her mouth. Its so cute to see her figure out that she can get her hand, and I am sure feet soon enough, into her mouth. She is not into the toys so much. One thing (or body part) at a time I suppose.

Other than that, we are just working on a semi-schedule and stimulating her brain. I read to her every day. It usually puts her to sleep, but thats okay with me. At first I thought I was boring her, now I have decided that I soothe her. Big difference, right? We got her a little tummy time mat and try to put her on that everyday for a few minutes at least. She seems to really like it. And, we still get our baths in the evening and by the looks of it, she is going to be a real water rat. Just like her Mommy was! Watch out pool here we come! She goes to bed (IN HER CRIB!!) with ease now. We just mentioned what a difference a few short weeks makes. No more crying for 2 hours from midnight until 2am every nite. Last night she was asleep at 11pm. Now, thats progress!! Still eating like a champ which is good. So, all in all, I think she gets a A report card. Not an A+ because there is always room for improvement, no matter how perfect she is!

Chloe is Two Months Old!!

Chloe celebrated her 2 month birthday yesterday! Wowzers! We took her to the doctor today for her well-baby visit and the doctor was very happy with Chloe's growth. She weighed in at 10.8lbs (less than both her Daddy and Mommy guessed!) and 22.5 in. She is measuring in the 25th percentile for her weight and height and 10th percentile for her head circumference. The doctor was surprised by her neck and head strength and predicted (near guaranteed us) that Chloe would be on the move earlier than the usual guidelines. Yippy! I agree - I have been saying the very same thing for a few weeks now. She will be running circles around me in this little condo in no time! Did I forget to tell you - - she loves the camera now! Finally - she has evolved into a supermodel! She is all smiles!!

She has been a little fussy lately, really hungry and quite tired. After my inquiry with the doctor, she reassured us that she was indeed healthy and is probably going thru yet another growth spurt. I think she just gets bored! And all she really knows how to do is scream! We still get our baths at night, and that seems to help calm her for a bit. All in all, she is a happy, healthybaby and just as precious as ever. It just breaks our hearts when she cries like that.

And more crying she did today. She got her first round of shots. Oh my - what big needles you have! She got 2 shots in each leg and one oral shot. It was terrible. Horrible. But, a neccessary evil I suppose. She went to sleep for the 3 hours immediately following and I thought - well, this isn't so bad. Until she woke up! Three rounds of Baby Einstein Lullabies later.....she sleeps again! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Otherwise, the new year has been good. Brad and I are still adjusting to parenthood, I am back at work full time now, and we are learning (or trying) to just go with the flow of things (or of the baby). Life is pretty great. We hope everyones first week of the new year has been great too!

Happy New Year!

And a happy new year it is! If how and with whom you bring the new year in is any indication of the year to come, well, thats okay with us. Brad, Chloe and I brought in the new year simply, lovingly and most importantly - together. As predicted, there was no extravagance to our evening....although, we did pop some bubbly in celebration!

We are happy, healthy and have much to be grateful for and look foward to in this year 2009 as well as many, many years to come. We hope that all of you that we love and care about have the same joy and prosperity this year!

Merry Christmas!

It was a week of firsts for lil' miss Chloe. She went on her first road trip. She stayed at her first hotel. She met more family members for the first time. And it was her first Christmas!! OMG!

We spent the week of Christmas in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Brad's grandparents got a timeshare for the whole family and it was really, really nice. There we ate, drank, played games, opened gifts, shopped, ate some more and just had a really great time visiting with the family.

I have added some pictures of the lil' one to the slideshow. She is getting a bit less cooperative for her Mommy who still wants to take a gazillion pictures of her. She likes to cry or close her eyes when I want her to be a super model, which results in a few less pictures. But, thats okay.

She is growing so fast! She has lept out of her newborn size diapers and into number 1's. She is pretty much out of her newborn size clothes and into 0-3 months. Frown. And a smile because she is also a bit calmer throughout the day and at that midnight until 2am time frame. She is now able to drift off to sleep with more ease...which is wonderful progress for her Daddy and I. She enjoys her baths for the most part, which I enjoy giving her - so relaxing. She also coos and oohs quite loudly now and we swear she has a 'friend' named Innga.

Next we have New Years! I imagine that Brad, Chloe and I will be bringing in the new year pretty low key - probably on the couch watching the ball drop! Our baby will be 8 weeks old on January 2nd. Hard to believe......

Preparing for the Holidays

It's hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. And that Chloe is 6 weeks old today! C-R-A-Z-Y!!

We will be getting ready for the holidays this weekend. We are looking foward to some time out of the 'city' and introducing the lil one to more of her family and visiting with everyone. What we are not so sure about is the 8-10 hour drive to Tennesse. We may split it up into two days just to be cautious. It's all new territory to us. Should be exciting!

Chloe had a sick-baby visit on Thursday (frown). She is a-okay, she just has a granuloma (in her belly button). But, during the dreadful 2.5 hour visit at the doctors office, I got to weigh her. She is now 9lbs 12oz!!! OMG! So, we know she is getting enough milk. Little piglet!

There will be no exchange of gifts this year in this little family. Chloe is too little to want anything, and has everything she could possibly need. And Brad and I have everything we could need or want - Chloe.

I will be sure to take lots of picture over Christmas. I have added the picture slideshow to the bottom of the blog for future reference. Probably won't write anymore until after the holiday.

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

"I'm Yours"

Chloe is 5 weeks old already! Time is simply flying by us. She is changing day by day, minute by minute, actually. She enjoys eating, sleeping, pooing and crying! A swing is on order and in the meantime I have put her Daddy to work! Dancing!! And, what a sight it is...so adorable. Brad even ran through the Kidz Choice songs on the music tv stations, but has managed to find Chloe her very own song - "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. She loves it! We love the silence. I picked up on how much she enjoys music, mostly R&B style songs (think Beyonce, Rihanna, TI), while out shopping with her Nana Banana.

She is more alert, staying awake for several hours at a time now. She really loves sitting up (holding her own head up I might add) surveying the world, or condo, around her. Her bedtime is usually at the 2am hour...but, who's counting? Between the crying, eating, and pooing - we also got a smile, a silent laugh and some oohs and aahhs this week. And, that's what makes it all worthwhile!

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Check out the slideshow with a few updates!

http://picasaweb.google.com/babychloekell/BabyChloeKell?authkey=WhceIACX8z4#slideshow

Slideshow Update

MORE PICS!! http://picasaweb.google.com/babychloekell/BabyChloeKell?authkey=WhceIACX8z4#slideshow

Chloe is One Month Old!!

It's hard to believe that lil Chloe is one month old today!!! We must be doing somthing right...we have all survived the first month!

Although more fussy than previous reports, she still makes it all pretty easy. She has started to take a real liking to crying for several hours at a time. But, I suppose thats just part of being a baby, right? Even if she cried 24-hours a day, she would still be perfect and precious in our eyes.

And, lets face it, this past month has been pretty crazy for a lil girl! She was exported from her Mommy's tummy, whereby she was quite comfy, without any warning or notice. She was met by a room full of strange doctors and nurses, who would be poking and proding her for the next 4 days. Shortly after that she is introduced to the two people who are due to take care of her for the rest of her life (who, by the way, have no idea what they are doing!). This is followed by meeting most of her immediate family and family friends, who come and go, each holding and loving her along the way. In the mix there is Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Then drastically............it's all over. No more family visiting, no more holidays - just her Mommy, her Daddy and her. All thats enough to send anybody into a tailspin!

Next on the agenda is Christmas. Til then there will be numerous phone calls and video messaging with Gradma Crystal, Grandpa Fred, Nana Alana, GrandPapa Allan, Auntie Andie, Uncle Mitch, Uncle Joe and Auntie Sammy and some visits with the locals, Aunt Connie and Uncle Ed. And lots of pictures and blogging to keep everyone one updated!