3, wait no 4 months home!

Can you believe its been 4 months? I seriously cannot believe that Chloe has only lived with us for 4 months. How is that even possible? My heart bursts with love for this amazing little girl.
We took our first vacation last month when Sean's mom came to visit. I had everything planned out for the last month but I hadn't realized how confusing it would be for Chloe. Although the bulk of the trip went well, Chloe really struggled when it came to sleeping. By the second night of our 4 night vacation, I was ready to come home. Luckily, the daytime fun was enough to keep me sane and we survived our first vacation. Chloe experienced many firsts on this trip - the beach, swimming by herself (with a life jacket), feeding animals at the zoo, mini golf, and the many sights and sounds of Cocoa Beach.

Chloe had no idea what to do with the sand on the beach. When we first placed her down she just stood and stared at her feet. She wouldn't move and we had to pick her up to get to our spot further down the beach. After watching her siblings and other kids on the beach she decided to be brave and head towards the water, sand or no sand! That was all it took and Chloe became a happy beach baby from there on out. We looked for sea shells ("where are you shells?"), waded up and down the beach, and built sand castles.

First time on sand. "What is this stuff?!"

Checking out the monkeys at the zoo with Noah

Just before she got her first mouth full of salt water

Group selfie aka Groupie ;)

And a one and a two...

Feeding the deer at the zoo

Chloe has become more verbal in the last month, often trying to repeat the words we say. They are often still unrecognizable by most people but we understand a lot of the baby talk. She certainly knows how to get her point across and a big smile lights up her face when we understand her words. Current vocab: Mommy, Baba, Daddy, Noah (Nan), Ben (Bee), Teagan, Pop (for Poppa), Nana, Dexter, Strider, up, tacky (she loves weird al), bye, hi, eyes, hair, teeth, night-night, yeah, more, see you later, I love you, where are you, stop, baby, and the list goes on and grows constantly.

She can show you where her hair, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, teeth, and tongue are, as well as hands and toes. She loves music and will give me a big smile if I ask her if she wants me to sing at bedtime.
Bedtime involves me laying her down, and then laying on the floor beside her crib. She will smoosh her face up to the bar with a giggle and wait for me to give her a kiss through the bars, then she will push each hand out to be kissed. Once she has gotten her kisses, she will settle in and is out after 20-30 minutes usually. I lay on the floor holding her hand until she is out and she sleeps through the night until 7:00. Some nights she will wake in the middle crying for Mama but she is comforted quickly and asleep again in no time.

During the first weeks with Chloe, she had a few mishaps using stairs (running full force off the steps) and had no idea how to sit correctly on the slide or use any playground equipment. Last week we were at the park and I realized she can play by herself on the toddler playground. She was climbing steps (and correctly going down them), climbing ladders, going down the slide (and climbing back up it), even using the rock wall! What a huge change! She has learned so much in the last few months.
This little girl lights up our life and brings joy wherever she goes. Our local grocery store always gives her the royal treatment and if either or us happen to go without Chloe we will be stopped by no less than three employees asking where the baby is.

With the start of school, Chloe has begun a new routine. She now spends one morning a week with a friend of the family. I was very anxious about this, as some days I worry about her attachment. Chloe has a very friendly personality and seems to get along and interact with anyone. This girl has never met a stranger. However, it became quite clear upon leaving her that she is truly attached to me as her momma, as she cried when we talked about staying with Miss Vicky, and then really brought out the waterworks when I left her. It was very hard to leave her, but it makes work so much easier for those few hours! Chloe always calms down quickly and enjoys her time, and the joy on her face when I come to pick her up is the best!

Chloe has always struggled with eating. We have had a very hard time getting her to eat anything. After the seizure that landed her in the hospital, we became very concerned with the number of calories she was consuming and put her on three pediasures a day. Thankfully, she is finally over 20 lbs and is eating a little bit better. We can pretty much guarantee that she will eat grapes, noodles, oatmeal, and peas. Everything else seems to change daily. She may devour a chicken nugget one day, and then the next day she will throw it on the floor and tell you she is all done (having eaten nothing). It's definitely a work in progress but we are happy to see 2 lbs added to her little frame. And did i mention she gained an inch and a half the first 6 weeks home? We have some serious catching up to do over here!

And here are a couple random shots for you to end the post :)

Singing in the truck

At the Dr's office. Before shots. It's a bit dark but she is belly laughing.