Sunny days chasing the clouds away.

It was not a sunny day on the day we had scheduled Chloe's 6 month pictures. This was also going to be our first family photo shoot. Mother nature had different ideas. At first I thought it would be fine, but then the wind started and our photo shoot was scheduled at a local park. Go figure that we live in one of the top sunshine states and the one day we have something planned it is 40 degrees, rainy and windy. So we rescheduled (good thing-because it poured about 30 minutes after our appt. time). Since we were all dressed to go we went to our little neighborhood park and did our own photo shoot. Chloe's six month pictures will now be her seven month pictures.

Shake it like a polaroid picture!

For those of you who are nostalgic and miss the way pictures used to be with the fading and funny colors--this post is for you. I've been so curious how Nicole has been doing poloroids on her blog and finally asked her secret. She introduced me to a site called poladroid where you download an app. that lets you turn your photos into poloroid pics--you even get to watch it develop and can save it along the way. I had fun with this cute picture of Chloe in her brand new snow suit. It is a little big, but has two more months before she needs to wear it. We will be going to Lake Tahoe in February.

Come light the menorah!

Chloe spent 8 crazy nights celebrating Hanukkah. She learned all about Hanukkah from her new hanukkah books. She got her very own stuffed menorah complete with little stuffed candles and learned that there are many different ways to spell chanukah. She celebrating by spending a couple of nights home with Mom and Dad, two nights with Nana and Grandpa Kron, one night at a Suns Game, and on the last night attended the annual Hanukkah Dinner at the Flax House. She loves all her hanukkah gifts, and got to eat some applesauce (minus the latkes).

Run Mommy Run!

Chloe cheered on her mom at the Las Vegas Rock n'Roll 1/2 Marathon.

A Bunch of Darlings

Meeting Great-Grandpa Darling for the first time. 3 Darling Men and 1 Little Darling
4 Generations of Darlings, Great-Grandpa Ray, Grandpa Randy, Uncle Bryan, Mom Kelly and Baby Chloe

It is amazing that this little girl has 4 great-grandparents and she managed to meet them all in her first 6 months. Great -Grandpa Darling lives in Lake Havasu, AZ. Her Great-Grandma Frances lives in Southern California, Great-Grandma Arlene lives in Minnesota, and Great-Grandma Elizabeth lives here in Phoenix.

Let the baby proofing begin...

Chloe is quite mobile now. Not really crawling but definately scooting around. Since our downstairs is all tile--we invested in some play mats. The letters each pop out for fun when she is older, for now she loves the colors and different textures of the mats. We simply like the fact that there is 3/4 inch of foam between her head and the tile.

6 Months Old

Thanksgiving Day was Chloe's 6 Month Birthday. 6 months brought on alot of milestones for this little princess. Chloe's first feast--Yes, Chloe is finally eating real food. She started by eating rice cereal but was quickly onto sweet potatoes.

Chloe loves to sit in her high chair, however sometimes I think she is more interested in chewing on the spoon than eating what is on it. This 6 month milestone also marks the beginning of the weening process. I am very happy that I was able to give her breast milk exclusively for her first 6 months, but being a working mom presents alot of challenges in this area, so we are gradually making our way toward formula. Right now she is having 1 bottle of formula a day at school and seems to be doing well with it--Just a few projectile vomit episodes after she fell asleep while eating and didn't burp. The plan is to work our way to nursing in the morning and night until she is closer to 9 months and then we will ween off breastfeeding altogether.

6 months also meant the next doctor check up. Chloe weighs in at a whopping 14 pounds 4 oz and is the 15t% for weight, she has also grown more than 6 inches since she was born and is now 25 3/4 inches and in the 46th percentile for height, and I guess she has a small head at 16.1 inches and in the 11th percentile for head circumference. The doctor assures me that she is small but perfectly normal and healthy. She also received her 3rd round of immunizations and was able to get both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine as well. Our biggest surprise is that she is getting her first tooth-Yes her proud parents are very excited. Chloe also is sitting up all by herself, and continues to smile, laugh, coo, and hum. She can roll over in both directions and can sit up from a laying position. She scoots backwards, pivots, and lunges, but can't really crawl yet. I can tell our baby proofing house mission is right around the corner. She loves animals and we are trying to teach her how to pet the cats, but just likes to grab at them and pull out their fur. She has been sleeping through the night for the past week, but she seems to be following a pattern of sleep through the night for 3 weeks, wake up for 3 weeks. Her favorite toys are her piano, taggy dog, pink poodle and her rainforest play gym.

Little Elf

Little Elf Stockings

Little Elf Hat

Playin' With the Boys!

Chloe took her first road trip to Los Angeles. The car ride went great. Chloe is taking after her Grandma T and Mom and can sleep just about anywhere. She slept from Phoenix to the border of California and only woke up because we stopped at the Flying J for a pit stop. She was awake for about 2 hours and then drifted off to sleep somewhere around Palm Springs and then slept the rest of the trip. We stayed with our good friends Jon and Nicole -who also just had Baby Noah last August. Friday night was Chloe's first play date. Jon and Nicole invited over several of their friends. It is so hard to get babies to pose--here is Chloe (6 months) , Noah (4 months), and Jake (8months) all looking in different directions.
Toy Time!

Even though Noah is 2 months younger than Chloe--he towers above her.

3 Great Grandmas--1 Lucky Little Girl

Great -Grandma Arlene

Great-Grandma Elizabeth

Great-Grandma Frances

1st School Pictures

When they announced Chloe's school was going to have picture day, I was a little surprised that the infant room was included on the schedule. I wondered, how would get they get a 4 month old to pose for a picture. I don't know how they did it, but they got the "stare off into the distance" picture and the "say cheese" picture.

High Chair Time

Chloe with her new high chair/shopping cart cover. What a big girl-sitting up in a high chair for the very first time!

Little girl pedicure!

I saw these at my local nail salon and couldn't resist taking a picture. I just found myself staring at the chairs imagining the day when Chloe will be old enough to get her first pedicure.

Giraffes, Giraffes.

We had some fun while Grandpa and Grandma Darling visited before halloween. Giraffe grandbaby and giraffe grandkitty!

Camera phone uploads

Cutie Chloe!
Shopping at Costco.

Chloe with her friends--Monkey, Counting Crab, and Lady Bug!

Clapping with her feet!

Chloe eating, groundhog, daddy's tie, and elmo. Is someone is ready for food!

Bye Bye Bassinet!

Look who's sitting!
In the past week, Chloe has been sitting up all by herself. That means no more bassinet in her play yard. She is now sitting all the way at the bottom and loves to move around and play with her toys. This also means we have to lower her mattress in her crib as well. Where did our little newborn go?

Happy Halloween!

Changing her hair already:

The 80's Hair Band LookDaddy decided he wanted to sport the rocker hair--how about the afro? Do blondes really have more fun? I like this Goldilocks look.

5 Month Birthday Princess

Its hard to believe 5 months ago we were in a hospital room staring at this little girl for the first time. Now it is hard to imagine our world without her. However at 5 months, she is no longer a sleepy newborn. Our little girl is a happy little baby ready to explore the world. She can roll over from her back to belly and from belly to her back--even though she isn't quite sure how she does it yet. She laughs, coos, and hums and sometimes does so very loudly. She loves her toys--her favorites being her pink poodle and lady bug. She is holding her own bottle and is even starting to sit up all by herself. She has discovered her feet and can put them in her mouth and has discovered the noses of her mommy and daddy--she loves to grab at them. When she is on her belly, she can lift up onto her hands and lift her chest. She even scoots around in a circle or tries to move forward. She enjoys going for walks in the stroller and is starting to sleep with her arms unswaddled. She was sleeping through the night when she was all swaddled up--but due to her twisting and turning over at night--she needs her arms free--so we are waking up 1-2 times a night, but she goes back to sleep fairly quickly. She has also discovered that she lives with a cat named Alex. She loves to stare and grab at him and even tried to eat his tail one time. In one month she will begin to eat solids. She will be ready--while we are eating dinner, she sits in her bumbo chair and watches us. She can play motorboat with her mouth and suck in her bottom lip to make funny noses. And finally she loves to bear weight on her legs and stand up (with support of course). Happy 5 month birthday Chloe!

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

Chloe and Nana Anna chillin' in Grandpa Henry's School Bus."All you kids better be quiet back there--I'm a baby and I'm ready to drive" All the cool kids sit in the back of the bus.