2008 Year in Review

2008 was a busy time for me! I learned how to crawl, walk, run, and talk! I had my very first birthday which was "one"derful and got to spend plenty of time with my parents, cousins, grandparents, friends and neighbors!

No one can believe how nurturing I am with little ones and how I care for my dolls! I feed them, wash their faces, cover them with blankets, and pat and caress them!

I dress and undress myself! I even practice using the potty. I know whose shoes belong to whome and like to help around the house. I sweep, put my toys away, and sometimes, and even like to point out crumbs to Mommy so she can help keep the place clean! I teach Daddy about shortcuts on his computer keyboard and have become very-savvy with electronics. I LOVE taking baths and playing in the tub! I can quickly spot the moon and stars in almost any bedtime story and I know that spiders and ants belong outside!

Also in my repertoir of skills I have discovered magic! Every time I laugh and giggle, somebody smiles, no matter how bad their day! It's my little way of making the world a better place. I greet strangers and their eyes light up with joy! Sometimes my parents wonder if the world would be a better place if it were run by children!

I also revealed my hemoglobin stash and stopped hiding it. The doctors never figured out where I kept it and I'm not telling! But Mommy and Daddy are no longer fretting over my health and are confident I'm as strong and vigorous as the determined little girl I know I am.

Now, on to recapping the events leading up to this!

CHRISMAS, 2008!

We put up the Christmas Tree on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving! Many of it's branches were low enough for me to reach so I managed to hang a few ornaments! The advent calendar was out all month so I sampled chocolate from it and hid many other items behind it's many doors! Mommy bought me a few animated musical toys that brought the season to life for me - a Land of Misfit Toy and Rudoph and Frosty stockings!

I got to ride on the NC Museum of Life and Science Santa Train. We "travelled" to the North Pole where I was greeted by Santa and Ms. Claus. It was a really cold night and I didn't really know what was happening at the time, but while leaving the museum grounds, Mommy could tell from my mumblings that I was contemplating that I had just met Santa Claus, one of the most magical of characters!

Santa was everywhere I looked it seemed - in front yards, on stockings, clothes, cookies, and wrappers! It became easy for me to recognize him by his white beard and red suit. Christmas lights were a joy to discover as well and whenever I spotted a house adorned in light and color, I shouted "WOW!" and Mommy and Daddy cheered! 'Tis certainly a fun season!

Nana watched me on Christmas Eve and we played and laughed all day. She painted my toenails red to my delight and by night, the house was filled with food and laughter as all my nearby cousins, Uncles, and Aunts floated in for a celebration of the season! Grandma, Gramps, and Happy (my favorite puppydog) brought good Charleston cheer from West Virginia and even stayed a couple of nights! When I heard Happy was coming, I actually started dancing and clapping! She is my favorite dog and I love giving her smooches!

Cousins Brandon, Charlotte, Kyralia, Matilda, and Rylan celebrated the evening with us and we played lots of games and opened lots of presents together. We later went Christmas Caroling around the neighborhood but only caroled t0 three houses since the hour was late when we started.

I woke up on Christmas Day to another celebration of the season and a dollhouse, complete with furniture and lots of dolls to play with! Daddy got into the Spirit of Pretend and made a stuffed bunny play the make-believe piano. I was a little peaved the piano didn't have palpable keys, but once I realized it was all for pretend purposes, it was all the more fun!

The day after Christmas, Uncle Jon, Aunt Jennifer, and Cousin Harrison Lyle joined in the fun and we had another giant feast and opened yet even more presents! It was a fabulous time!

THANKSGIVING, 2008!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Moosemont! I got to play with Cousin Harrison's giant Tonka trucks and he got to ride my shiny red tricycle throughout the house! Uncles John and Chris, Aunts Andrea, Jennifer, and Elizabeth, and Grandma and Gramps really went out of their way to talk to me! I love being the only little baby girl in the family - it makes me feel special!

Harrison and I also got to share time on the Rocking Horse, an classic antique rocking horse that is sturdy enough to hold Daddy. We took turns rocking on the horse and Gramps and Grandpa saw that I loved it so much, they let me take it home to North Carolina. The horse is featured in my Christmas Card since I smile quite genuinely when I'm in the midst of a ride!

Aunt Elizabeth dressed me up in some super cute and ultra warm winter garments (pink knitted hat, scarf, and gloves) and convinced everyone to go for a long walk to the entrance gait. It was a third of a mile each way and I did it all by myself in the cold. I decidedly expressed a preference to hold the hand of my Gramps and the hand of my Grandma in lieu of Mommy's. This delighted Mommy even though I flat out turned down her offer of a hand. Half-way back, I learned how to do the kick-walk and Gramps and Grandma would pick me up and swing me.

The driveway is amazing as it is on top of a narrow mountain ridge that falls off sharply on either side. I walked over to the ridge a couple of times as the night came down and was amazed by the site (lights from the city shining up from all directions). I was so amazed I learned two new expressions... WOOOOOWWW! and WOOOOOOAH! No matter what I said, it seemed everyone was delighted!

HALLOWEEN, 2008!

There were many occassions to dress up Halloween! I actually had two costumes, but can only be seen pictured in one, the ladybug outfit. The Anne Geddes Flower costume was fun for a while but I am not comfortable in it for long since it makes me feel clostorphobic!

Mommy and Daddy selected Jackolantern templates online and then, Daddy ended up carving both pumpkins because Mommy had no idea how much strength it required.

I went trick-or-treating with Cousins Charlotte, Kyralia, and Rylan in our neighborhood and got the hang right away of knocking on the door and extending my little lamb basket for goodies. I was the first to knock on the door several times and the host would answer and then, smile as he or she looked down to discover me way down below! I didn't master the "trick or treat" request, but they seemed to understand me just fine! The idea that I could knock on a door and get these shiny wrapped goodies was fascinating to me! At first, I didn't even realize I was collecting candy!

On Saturday night, we celebrated at Cousin Matilda's house and got door prizes for dressing up!

GENERAL AUTUMNAL HAPPENINGS, 2008!

I went to the NC State Fair in October and got to see lots of animals, ride lots of rides, and eat lots of goodies. Mommy and Daddy were surprized to learn that I am NOT a fan of cotton candy! That stuff looks so weird it's scarry. I did love the animals and danced to a lot of music that was playing. Daddy had broken his foot in late September so it was difficult for him to amble around but Mommy was able to keep up with me. I enjoyed seeing Cousins Charlotte, Kyralia, and Rylan at the fair but we only spent enough time together to ride a few rides and compete over a few toys!

I got to rake some leaves with Mommy in the front yard! I helped her load the leaves into trash bags and that was so much fun!

BEACH TRIP, 2008

The annual family beach vacation at Duck was a blast this year! I got to play in the pool, sand, and ocean! I must say, I'm not incredibly fond of sand yet, but the water play was great! I went on long rides in the stroller and had a great time out of daycare all week! A fun time was to be had by all at the Cousins' Party! We fingerpainted, placed stickers, made cookies, colored, and found fish all throughout the house! Next year, I want to fly a kite and do some extraordinary site-seeing. I brought back a Christmas a sand-dollar, a lighthouse bulb tree ornament, a pair of sponge-bob shoes that I picked out myself and a couple of pairs of crocks, one orange and glittery and the other blue/purple tie dye. I also got a pair of shades with orange crab collapsable shields and a mini-beachbag! I did discover salt water taffee and love it!

SUMMER, 2008

In early to mid-August, we made a trip to Moosemont and hung out with family for the weekend. I got to spend some time with Cousin Harrison.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hiding Hemoglobin:
I revealed a small stash of hemoglobin yesterday during a trip to the doctor's. I revealed just enough for a 10.5 (the lowest end of normal, but my highest level yet). It was fun hiding it but I was running out of secret places!

Tugging Tails:
My kitty cats Balthezar, Ivan, and George are getting more comfortable around me. I can get real close and pat them gently and then, occassionally I get overcome by an urge to tackle them and hug them like a teddy bear. I could chase them around for hours if they would let me but they dash away in an instant if I'm not quick at snatching their tails. I've tugged George's and Ivan's tails but Balthezar isn't one to get too close. All the kitties are particularly fond of me in the morning though so they come a little closer and play their luck a little more.

Ba-zar!
This is one of my words. Mommy thinks I'm calling Balthezar, but sometimes, she thinks it's a catch all word.

EXUBERANT

Definition:

1. effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant.

2. abounding in vitality; extremely joyful and vigorous.
3. extremely good; overflowing; plentiful: exuberant health.
4. profuse in growth or production; luxuriant; superabundant: exuberant vegetation.

Nanna and Papa describe me as being exuberant, a fabulously fitting description in my opinion.

Little Lemme-Do-It-Myself
I can occassionally feed myself with a spoon, drink from a small-mouthed bottle, and put caps back with an ever-so-slight twist. I also have begun having a say in what I eat. If given options, I'm delightfully decisive about selecting a favorite through pointing and saying "dat."

PEAKABOO
This game will never grow old. I put my hands over my eyes until my family responds, "Where's Chloë? Where's Chloë? Where's Chloë?" I don't want the suspense to get too great, so I usually reveal myself quickly with a loud "heyyyyyyyyyyy". They cheer and applaud after finding me!

Getting Dressed
I like getting dressed and am very cooperative. It's a lot of fun getting my shoes and socks on because that usually means I'm going some place fun (outside, to the museum, or even daycare).

Bedtime Ritual
So I like to go to bed when I'm tired. In fact, sometimes there's nothing better than hearing Mommy ask "are you ready to go to bed?" I smile, get up, and start telling everyone "buh, buh" (bye).

Catch (up with) Me if You Can

WALKING

I can walk everyone! I have been walking everyday now since the 27th of June! I was at the doctor's office and my cousin Brandon showed me the ropes. He told Mommy to put her hands out and he stood behind me coaxing me along. I turned into a pro on the spot and have been impressing everybody since! I actually had started walking 6 weeks earlier. I took my first steps at Butterfly Kisses Academy one Friday afternoon when Mommy came to pick me up. I would take a series of steps here and there for the couple of weeks to follow, but then, I must have hit a growth spurt because I totally stopped walking for a few weeks. When we're really young, we have to catch up with our bodies before we can try new things. When we get older, it's usually our bodies that have to catch up with us.

SOME LATIN INFLUENCE?

Last night, I mastered walking with one hand behind my back. I'm getting the hang of walking so much that I only need one hand to balance. I like challenging myself so it's always fun when Mommy, Daddy, and Miss Aliki cheer like crazy for me when I accomplish something new. Sometimes, I even cheer for myself. I say "Yayyyyyy" or "Bravo" but I'm not sure Mommy and Daddy understand all my words yet.

ILUHYADAH!

Last week, Mommy thought she heard me tell Daddy that I love him. I crawled up to him in bed and mumbled, "Iluhyadah" and gave him a hug and a great big smile!

A NATURAL ACROBAT

I'm also quite an acrobat. I can climb to all levels of the cat hotel now, such that Mommy is going to remove it front he main room. She thinks it possible that I could literally break my neck if I fell from it so she doesn't want any crazy accidents to happen. There's so many things in life that are out of our control she figures we might as well limit the hazards by removing the ones we can. Still, there's nothing more fun that diving off the second floor of the hotel onto the couch and then, making a dash for the other arm of the sofa where I can wrestle with the floor lamp.

DIAPERS AND WIPERS

I can't stand having my diaper changed! Nothing more patronizing than that! Sometimes, I just get so fed up with it that I crawl with as much speed and haste that my limbs will allow to escape the whole ritual. Sometimes, it's funny how slippery I can be and how much Mommy and Daddy have to struggle to keep me in one place. One time, though, when I was wearing a really small diaper (an "emergency diaper"), I actually suggested they change it when it got wet - I lied down on my back and waved a clean diaper in the air advertising that I'm a good little girl who likes to have a clean dry diaper.

GOING DOWN THE STEPS

Mommy taught me how to come down the stairs last Friday, July 4th, on my rump. She thought it might be a good lesson for me in the event that I ever encountered stairs so that I wouldn't just try to descend them on foot... a process that would quickly turn into a scary and dangerous tumble. She encouraged me to put my rump down on each step and slowly descend to the next step. I perfected the art by rolling over and doing the tummy-descend trick. Mommy was impressed by how quickly I understood her gestures and guidance! She's convinced I'm a genius!

I'M A SWEETIE PIE!

My little cousin Matilda visited me over the last weekend in June. I impressed Mommy and Daddy with my TLC skills. I would wake up each morning and peak into the crib and on finding Matilda there, I would smile and point out to Mommy and Daddy that she had slept over that night. Mommy would bring her out of the crib and I got to give Matilda a big huge smile followed by a hug and several kisses. I would put my hand on her belly, head and cheek and just rub her gently. Mommy and Daddy were very impressed with my sweet nature. They thought I'd be a bit jealous of the attention given to Matilda, but if anything, I just wanted to help make her stay as pleasant as possible. I even put a bottle in her mouth when she was crying. I adept at comforting the little baby that when a baby in my class at daycare was crying, I put his pacifier back in his mouth several times to soothe him, too. Little babies just need love and attention! I know that more than any other baby now!

KNOCK KNOCK

I stayed home with Daddy quit a bit over the last month. I got sick on quite a few occasions and got to hang out with Dad. It was really fun, actually, even though I had a temperature. One thing that we like to do is play knock-knock. I knock on doors and he swings it open and I giggle and squeal with excitement that makes him coo in delight. So we play that game quite a bit. Over the weekend, Daddy exited the house via the front door and I crawled off Mommy's lap and rushed over and started banging on the door, thinking he would bang back. He didn't so Mommy took me to the garage where he was working and that made me feel better, knowing he wasn't outgrowing our fun game!

LITTLE TRICKSTER

I'm a little trickster, you know, and some of my tricks I like to keep my very own secret. During my 12-month appointment on April 29th, the doctors discovered that I was hiding hemoglobin. They're not sure if I've been hiding it ever since I was born and I won't tell, but they are sure that it's been low since April. The doctors can't seem to unlock the logic behind my game. I got tired of giving blood though and decided to reveal some of my hidden stash because it's not fun getting a needle in the arm all the time. I'm still not giving away my secret though because I get lots more time out from daycare since I go to the doctor more often. Plus, Mommy isn't making me sleep in my own crib or even worse, my own room! As long as my hemoglobin is low, I get spoiled rotten out of her concern for me.

MY PEARLS

I have twelve teeth you know. I've had four molars for over a month or two and really have sprouted my teeth early. I've been drooling quite a bit lately and may even been teething now. I am owed four canines and four more molars. Then, I'll have my full set of twenty baby teeth!

ZERBERTS and RASBERRIES

I am a pro at giving zerberts and blowing rasberries. I give Mommy zerberts on her thighs all the time and it makes me giggle with joy! Mommy finds it funny that I'm such a little cook!

OUCH!

Since I've been teething, I've also been biting a bit. Lately, after a quick bite or smack, I'll say "ouch!" in anticipation of hearing that out of the mouths of my loved ones! I don't always mean to bite; it's just that sometimes it feels better to clamp down on something. As for hitting, well, sometimes, I really am just exploring the world around me. I smack the table or the wall or the door just to know what the general density of the substance that I'm coming into contact with. I'm a very inquisitive individual, you know!

CUDDLY KITTIES

I know the difference between George, Ivan, and Balthazar now. Ivan is my biggest cuddlebug. He will let me tackle and hug him and even yank on his tail. Balthezar and George usually leap to escape my approach but lately, as I've become more docile with them, they will be receptive to my approach. But as soon as my hand opens to smack them on the face, they're off! I'm gathering that creatures of varied backgrounds don't like to be smacked in the face. Guess you learn something new every day!

BYE-BYE

So I figured out how to say bye-bye, such that when someone else waves bye-bye to me, I almost can't help waving back even if I don't want them to go bye-bye. Daddy was taking me out of a restaurant last night and I really wanted to hang out on Mommy's lap and as I was leaving, I was crying and simultanously waving bye-bye. Mommy looked heartbroken so my ploy worked. The other night at my cousin Charlotte's house, I was ready to leave so I tugged on Daddy's hand and dragged him towards the door and started waving and saying "bye-bye". Daddy was amused!

NOW FOR THE PICTURES

Below you can see me with Gramps! I had just eaten a big greasy hamburger patty at Wendy's, having just gotten over a few bugs and was feeling great! I also enjoyed playing with Granny's jewelry! She likes to dress up more than Mommy so I enjoyed playing with her accessories. We visited Granny and Gramps at Virginia Tech where Gramps talked to the Blacksburg Athletic Club about his book, It's More Than Just Winning. We had a great time and I got to run around and play with Daddy.

Milestones of May

I took my very first steps on Friday, May 16 when Mommy picked me up from Daycare. I didn't take too many steps again until May 30th two weeks later.

I am also knocking on doors now, licking my pointer finger (a trick I've seen Mommy do on a number of times when she wipes yummy goop of my chin), giving high fives, climbing the cat hotels like a monkey, entertaining pseudo-pretend fake laughter and entertaining pseudo-pretend fake crying, putting things back where they belong, stacking blocks, drinking from a cup with assistance, sipping from a straw, and as a budding flautist, I occassionally toot on my red plastic recorder. On June 1, I began dancing to both country and hip hop. While most of my moves are original, I've mastered some of the old-skool moves such as the fist over fist bread role of "Pattycake, Pattycake".

One of my most humorous maneuvers is speed-crawling. I am quick on the crawl and I can always get to my destination fastest by tucking my head down and extending my arms out in front of me. I am more aerodynamic when I use this form and it helps me get to my favorite peeps fastest.

MOTHER'S DAY

I made a card for Mommy to show her how much I appreciate her. Of course, Daddy helped and I signed it with my handprint. Mommy will cherish it forever. Later in the day, we celebrated with Aunts Liz, Tember, and Tara and of course, Nana. I had a good time.





RUCKAS