Chloe's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was Chloe's first day of preschool. She was so excited and ready to go! All week she's been waiting and today was finally her day. I'm so glad I was able to take her - I almost missed it because of Calvin's doctor's appointment, but we finished just in time for me to take her. It was nice having already been through it with Aubrey because we knew the routine and what to do. Chloe seemed to transition easily into the classroom. I'm sure partly because Grandma was there, but partly too because she's seen Aubrey in that room for so long it just felt normal to be there. When I went to pick her up after school was over, I was standing in the hallway looking into the classroom and could see her sitting at her table watching for me. I waved to her and she got this huge smile on her face. She was so cute! She said she loves school and talked nonstop about the things they did. I'm so glad my girls love school - it makes it so much easier!

Siblings

I opened Coye's drawer up last week and saw this onesie. He's growing like a weed and isn't going to last much longer in 3 month clothes, so I decided that he better get some use out of this one while he can. The girls have matching ones that they of course wanted to wear too. And because all three of them matched so well, I had to take a few pictures. :)

Aubrey was talking to him and making him smile.

My favorite picture of the three of them to date!
Chloe wanted a turn to hold him. Coye wasn't so sure.

He's recently found his fists and loves to suck on them, but he's not a huge fun of being on his tummy.

Chloe's Big Move

This past week I've been working on getting the upstairs ready for the girls to move into the same room. The computer desk had to be taken down, file cabinets moved downstairs, furniture moved out of Chloe's room, and clothing switched around. Calvin helped me move the bigger things, while I worked on the little things throughout the week. By Friday, everything was moved, even the pictures had been rehung. The girls had been counting down all week until they could sleep together - they've been so excited. Aubrey has been saying all week how she's going to take care of her sister and even take her potty in the middle of the night, so Chloe won't wake us up. She's so sweet! Last night was their first night together. I knew the biggest adjustment would be getting Chloe to stop talking long enough that they could both fall asleep. Neither one of them had a nap on Friday, so I knew they were both tired and was hoping that they would fall asleep easier. Calvin put them to bed and came down around 8:15 p.m. He went back up about 20 minutes later to check on them and found them reading books in bed. He took the books away and then told them to go to sleep. I went back up about 30 minutes later only to find Chloe still talking and laying right next to Aubrey on Aubrey's pillow. I convinced her to lay on her pillow (she kept saying that she just wanted to cuddle someone). About 20 minutes later, Chloe came down to the basement saying that Aubrey had hurt her hand. I took her back upstairs and told her to be quiet and go to sleep. When I checked on them around 9:45 p.m., they were both asleep. I was hoping they would sleep in this morning, but they were both up around 7:15 a.m., which is normal for Chloe, but not for Aubrey. Needless to say, they were both pretty tired today. We only had to go upstairs once tonight to tell them to go to bed, which is much better and when I checked on them at 8:45 p.m., they were asleep. Hopefully they stay that way and sleep well tonight!

We let Chloe have this dresser since the drawers are lower.

Aubrey's "new" dresser - it's actually part of the set from the basement. I told her if she had this dresser, Chloe wouldn't be able to reach her stuff. She was all about it! :) Their bed with the rail so Chloe won't fall out.

This side used to have the doll house.

Getting ready to read books with Daddy.

I moved the doll houses and Chloe's bookshelf out into the old office. The girls have played upstairs with their dollhouses all week. They love having them right next to each other. I should have done that a long time ago!

Their new school corner

Battle of the Wills

For the past week, Chloe and I have been in a battle - one in which really no one is the winner. She came down with a cold last week and was crabby and whiny all week, not to mention the fact that for everything I said or asked her to do, she responded with the opposite and then tears if she couldn't get me to change my mind. She has always been my more strong-willed child, but it has been so much worse lately. Usually it just takes a little coaxing or re-phrasing, but that's definitely not working. Mom thinks that it might be because she's sick and the fact that she knows somethings up with the new baby coming and her moving into Aubrey's room. While I can sympathize, it doesn't make it any easier to deal with her defiance and strong will. The past couple of days have been slightly better, but we still go round and round at times. I remember Aubrey going through this phase and it not being very pleasant, so I'm sure it's just going to be the same with Chloe too. Thank goodness that Aubrey is pretty easy-going now. There's hope for Chloe yet.

Happy Birthday Little Bear!

Yesterday was Chloe's birthday. She turned 3! It's so hard to believe that she is 3 years old already. I feel like she was just born not that long ago. She has grown and changed so much in the past year. She and Aubrey are definitely buddies and playmates - something that was definitely not happening last year. Her vocabulary, thought processes, attention span, and ability to do things have changed too. She's no longer my baby girl (which I know she wasn't last year either, but...). Next year she'll go to preschool - it's just so hard to believe. While I know it's a natural process for our children to grow older, that doesn't make it any easier. Some days I just wish I could freeze time and have my kids stay little forever. They are at such fun ages right now and are so much fun to watch and see the ideas they have and the things they come up with. Not that they won't be fun when they're older, but I just love where they're at right now.

Okay. Enough with the sappiness. Calvin was inside a little later yesterday morning, so he woke the girls up. It's so funny how different they are when they wake up. Chloe takes about 10 seconds to open her eyes before she puts a smile on her face and starts talking about whatever random thought enters her mind. Aubrey, on the other hand, does not like getting up in the morning and you are usually met with crabbiness and her laying in bed for at least 5 minutes trying to wake up before she'll actually get out of bed. Calvin was met with these responses. Chloe was excited that it was her birthday. She asked me when she would be 3 - was it after school? When I told her that she would be 3 all day today and that the whole day was her birthday, she was thrilled. The girls got dressed and then went downstairs to eat breakfast. I had put up balloons and a birthday sign in the kitchen, so they were excited to see that. After breakfast and taking Aubrey to school, Chloe had a birthday donut that Aunt Kathy gave her. She then decided that she wanted to play Barbies. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning up, setting up the Barbies, and then playing with them. After getting Aubrey from school and eating lunch, we went outside to play. It was the first time that we had been outside since all of the snow. The girls had a blast playing on the big snow piles and the piles around the house. It was so nice out - no wind, sunshine, and decently warm (25 degrees) temperatures. When we were done playing in the snow, the girls took a nap and then we went to my niece Abby's volleyball game. The girls had been wanting to go to one for several weeks. They got to have popcorn and a ring pop, so they were happy. After the game, we came home and ate supper with Calvin, had birthday cake, and then opened presents. Chloe was so cute when she said that she would share her presents with Aubrey, since Aubrey didn't have any to open. We let them stay up a little later so they could play with Chloe's new Dora tent. They had such a good time. What a great day for my little Chloe bear!

Eating birthday donuts from Aunt Kathy

Aubrey standing on one of our big snow piles

The huge drift by the horse barn - Aubrey loved sliding down the drift.

The girls sitting on the mountain of snow Calvin has made by clearing out our lane

Making snow angels

Happy birthday Chloe!

Blowing out her candles
Ready to open presents

Chloe's new book from Aunt Norma and Uncle Al - she loves them!

Opening cards

They were both excited about the Dora tent.

The new Dora tent

Puzzles

The girls loved making their own puzzles. Thanks Uncle Nic and Aunt Ingrid!

Chloe Danielle

What can I say about this little girl? She's got such a personality. I tell Calvin all the time how there cannot be a child more accurately named than her. She is named after my grandma Chloe and my sister Danielle, both of whom are headstrong, independent, stubborn, and love to talk. My little darling Chloe has all of these traits already. While at times she drives us absolutely crazy, all we have to do is look in those blue eyes and that irresistable smile and we can't help but melt and forgive her for whatever she is doing. She loves to talk - anyone whom she is familiar with can attest to that fact. She could probably talk to a wall. (I think she gets this quality from her Daddy.) About a month ago, she had a cold that affected her voice. Those few days were so quiet - it was very strange, but kind of nice too. She loves her sister and most days is found following Aubrey around. There was some readjustment last week when Aubrey went back to school and Chloe found herself at home with just me. I don't think I'm nearly as much fun as Aubrey. :) For the past four months or so, she's been getting up every night to go to the bathroom. She refuses to go by herself and instead comes down and gets me up. With a new baby coming, I decided that this habit needed to be broken, so for the past few weeks we've been bribing her with skittles if she stays in bed all night. I was a little worried that she would wet the bed, but she hasn't and the past three nights I've been able to stay in bed all night. It's been wonderful! Hopefully this continues. She is such a little stinker, but she's also such a joy and delight. Our family would be lost without her. She definitely keeps life interesting.

Best Buds

The girls lately have been playing so well together. While they do fight some, they are such good buddies. I love watching them together - it's so sweet watching them hold each other's hands or do nice things for one another. Chloe is a little lost without Aubrey when she's at school. I'm pretty sure I'm a poor substitute for her. Their favorite thing to play continues to be "house" where Aubrey is almost always the mom. I'm usually the dad. It gets a little confusing occasionally when Chloe is calling for mommy but she doesn't want me - she's talking to Aubrey. I usually have to decide if I'm the mommy or the daddy at the moment.

Both girls have been going to Sunday School. Chloe's the youngest in her class, but I decided to send her anyway, seeing as how Aubrey is in the same class. Her teachers tell me that she does fine and listens well. I'm really enjoying going to Bible class without taking any children with me.

Mom and Dad came over Labor Day and helped me close the pool. They picked up Jenna on their way by Lafayette so she could come too. While it was a very windy weekend, we were able to get the cover on and everything cleaned up and put away. I could never have done it by myself. They also helped me put edging and river rock around the outside of the pool, which was a huge project in itself. It definitely makes it look nicer though.

Calvin continues to work on things around the house. This past weekend he took down one of our small bulk bins and hauled some more junk to the junkyard. He then rearranged some of the stuff outside so it wouldn't be so cluttered. He also cut down the three big pine trees that were to the west of the house. The one was dead, and the other two were filled with suckers and just looked out of place. It definitely looks different without them - you can see more. He promised Aubrey that we would roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire once we burn it. She's excited about it even though she doesn't really like hot dogs or marshmallows.

Chloe also recently decided that she wanted to start wearing panties to bed for nap and night time. I was a little weary at first because she's always been so wet in the morning. But she's been wearing panties for almost a week and has only had two accidents. We are pretty excited about it!

Coloring with Grandma

Chloe and her baby
My new nephew - Edwin David - was born September 9th. He's so adorable and the girls fell in love with him! They, of course, had to hold him.

Watching TV together

I love my sissy!

The Girls' Terminology

The girls continue to grow and change. I've had several people comment on how tall they've both gotten over the summer. It's hard for me to see it as I see them every day, but I have noticed that their pants don't seem to fit as well in the length. They continue to love to play house and babies. I'd say they play that almost 95% of the time. I'm usually either the big sister or the grandma. They are constantly going to the hospital to "have" their babies. Thank goodness neither one of them has asked how that happens yet. Although I have told Aubrey that when she was born they cut my tummy open to get her out, so maybe that has satisfied her curiousity so far. They really do play very well together. On Thursday, they played together by themselves for over two hours with no fighting. It was awesome and I was able to catch up on some paperwork I was majorly behind on! Chloe continues to talk non-stop. Sometimes I wish that girl had a mute button. She constantly wants to know what or why and asks me every night where we are going the next day. For the most part, she talks like a little adult except for a few things like calling the computer a "mickpooter" and calling the fly swatter a "shooflyper". Not really sure where she came up with those. Aubrey is the typical older, bossy sister who loves to be in charge and tell Chloe what to do. Most of the conflict comes when Chloe refuses. Lately I've been trying to let them work it out, unless one of them is hurt of course. Aubrey's cute phrase right now is when she asks you, "Can you do me a favorite?" instead of a favor. She says it all the time and it's so cute I hate to correct her. They are both such good helpers with the baby I babsit two to three afternoon/evenings a week. They love Logan and genuinely miss him when he's not around. They love to "babysit" him and keep him entertained. They are so good! Chloe gets his food out every time for me and will get diapers and wipes too when a diaper needs to be changed. They definitely make life a little easier, that's for sure.

They were both up really early one morning, so I made them read books in my bed while I finished getting ready.

They love to play church and demo derby on the steps. Not really sure which one this is - Aubrey took the picture.
Chloe read books to Logan one day.

Summer Fun

The girls and I have been enjoying the warm weather that we've been having. We've been busy playing and working outside (hence the not blogging for over a month). They have helped me plant flowers and a few bushes, weed several times, and put mulch around our trees, flower beds, and playground. We finally found one litter of kittens, and the girls are trying to tame them so that we will actually be able to pet some of our cats. Aubrey has already laid claim to the all orange one and has named it "Lias" (her own creation), while Chloe says the orange and white one is hers and has named it "Ella", even though its a boy. We tried to get her to change the name, but she insists on it being called "Ella". They love being outside and would probably play outside all day every day if I let them.

Aubrey ended up missing her last full week of school due to strep throat. She actually wasn't too upset about it - she just wanted to make sure that she didn't miss her field trip. She got to go on her field trip to the park and then Burger King. She found out that she CAN go to the top of the indoor playground (she never had before) and loved it! Now every time we pass by a place with a playground she wants to stop and play. I thought for sure she would miss school terribly, but she hasn't talked about it too much. We have had a few playdates with friends, so that helps. The girls have actually been getting along pretty well. They fight, of course, but for the most part they play very well together. Their latest thing to play is house. They take turns being the mommy and the baby (Chloe makes a very good baby), and sometimes I even get to be the big sister. She loves being in charge and telling Chloe what to do - hence the fighting, because Chloe doesn't always want to do what Aubrey tells her to do. Aubrey's been a great helper and is getting so big. She loves to talk about going to kindergarten and being five, to which I tell her to quit growing. She just tells me that "she'll still love me even when she gets big".

Chloe continues to be the more ornery one, but she's just so cute it's hard to stay too mad at her. She knows just how to push Aubrey's buttons to make her mad, which also causes some arguments. :) She loves to talk and talks non-stop. Some of the things she says just crack me up, although there are times that I wish she had a mute button. She loves playing with her baby (NOT the new one I bought her, but this old one that was Aubrey's) and takes that thing with her everywhere - to the store, church, friends' houses - and of course has to sleep with it. She continues to be mommy's girl and is my shadow most of the time. I trip over her quite often, because she is constantly standing right next to me. I'll tell her to quit being my shadow and she'll say that she's not my shadow, she's Chloe. She's pretty much potty trained. She has a few accidents now and then, but does pretty good most of the time. We just need to work on her going by herself now. It is so nice not to have to change diapers though. She's also gotten to the stage where she has to do everything by herself, which is sometimes great and other times just annoying. Although, she loves to be carried around alot of the time. I'm not really sure how that fits into her independent personality. :) She's quite the character, but overall is such a cute, sweet little thing.

Last weekend we went to the Fireball Festival where Aubrey got her face painted for the first time. She wasn't so sure about it, but once Abby did it, she was brave enough to try it and loved it.

The girls were playing house - Chloe was the mommy and Aubrey was her baby. Chloe had to feed Aubrey her bottle.
They are going to be expert texters.

We got out the kites the girls got and flew them. They had a blast, although it was hard to keep both girls' kites going at the same time.

Aubrey did a good job holding onto her kite.

Aubrey's last day of school

Getting ready to go and run through the sprinkler for the first time.

Aubrey loved it and even got her face wet!

Chloe was content to stay on the sidewalk and just watch Aubrey.