Every blog needs a GiGi...

Before I had Chloe I often wondered if anyone read my blog. Probably no one did. Now that our little cupcake is in the picture her GiGi keeps me on top of the blogging and starts "reminding" me (READ: calls pretending to ask about my day but works in a reminder EVERY TIME to add new stuff to the blog) if more than a few days has passed. Since I've been bad about the videos, here's a Chloe video slam for all of her biggest fans. Enjoy!

Chloe's first night with Sweet potatoes:




Chloe loves kicking the ball in her bumbo. I always knew she had strong kicking legs. I call this her Soccer Skills:





Chloe LOVES her splash mat. Here's a video of her talking and splashing for us!




Chloe has been a maniac lately in her jumperoo...this one doesn't do her jumps justice so I'll try to get another better video soon.



At the Austin Zoo we got to get super close to the animals. Check out this Tiger Video!




Chloe loves her bath! She splashes so much these days that Mommy often gets a shower too!





This is my current favorite video of our little cupcake!

Interesting Timing...

I'm sitting here watching Texas and Texas Tech on ABC and my Mom reminded me I had not posted these pictures. A few weeks ago we went to Chic-fil-a for FREE sandwich day. I think Chloe was pretty happy that she didn't have to wear a cow costume this time. I was even happier with how cute my little Red Raider looked. Oh...and of course we all loved the FREE Chic-fil-a. We heart Chic-fil-a here at the Crack House. Yum and fun...a great combination. Check out the picture of Chloe and her friend Jenna (with her parents, our friends, Marty & Jen) in her first Texas shirt. They're a cute duo...or they were until this week :). Click the picture for a larger view. WRECK EM TECH!!!

Chloe Jane...6 months

Today is Chloe's 6 month birthday! I'll attach a few of the previous months pictures plus the ones from today. We don't have her six month appointment until next Tuesday so I'll have to get back to you on weight, height, and the percentiles!

Some milestones:
Chloe is sitting mostly on her own with a little support here and there. She is eating Sweet Potatoes, Peaches, Avocado, Swaccoli (sweet potatoes and broccoli), and Baby Blue (apples and blueberries). She is babbling up a storm and we think she is teething. She is on a great sleep schedule and naps twice a day. She goes to sleep without crying and wakes up happy with the rare exception where she'll wake up fussy with sore teeth. She loves toys that light up or make noise. She'll laugh when she thinks something is fun but usually doesn't think the same thing is funny twice so it's hard to get her to laugh on command! She's also got strong legs and jumps in her jumperoo like a maniac. She's trying to crawl and today scooted right off her play mat and towards the hall. Yikes! No more blow drying my hair and expecting her to be where I left her. We LOVE LOVE LOVE being in this stage of discovery and fun.

Happy 6 months Chloe! (Thanks Grandma Sally for the birthday call!)

Lions and Tigers and Bears...OH MY!

Staycation Day 4 included a trip to the Austin Zoo. Most people think this animal sanctuary is nothing special. It's certainly MUCH smaller than the Houston or San Antonio Zoo but true to Austin's earth friendly spirit operates under the motto that in a perfect world zoos would not exist and animals would be free to enjoy their own natural habit. But since people misuse them there needs to be places like the Austin "zoo" for these animals to live our their days in peace. All of the animals are rescued from circus's, laboratory testing facilities, or the home of people who thought owning an exotic pet was cool...until they realized the weight of their decision. Since it is a smaller zoo we were able to do the whole thing in 2.5 hours. It was the perfect size for Chloe and we could get super close to the animals! Sooo close that the lion and tiger dens even have signs that read "Please step back, females may spray!" I was glad I didn't have to explain that one to Chloe. Anyway, she LOVED the zoo. With her interest in animals, I am not surprised. She just looked, laughed, and smiled...and then passed out in her stroller. It was a super fun outing for us all!

Cute Monkeys behind us. They put on quite a show:














Tigers! Chloe LOVED their bright colors:

















We got to hear the male Lion roar...it was LOUD! Here the female comes in for a closer look:
















The poor bears seemed sooo hot in Austin with their big furry coats. But they still came over to Chloe:













Feeding a few hoofed friends:











Family shot near the jaguars:














HUGE turtles:

Chloe's first Choo choo...

Staycation Day 3 included a trip to Austin's Zilker Park and a ride on the infamous Zilker train. It was Chloe's first time to be on a train ride and more significantly for her...her first time in a moving vehicle not strapped in tightly to her car seat. We assume she liked it because she sat forward, practically jumping out of our arms and her tongue was sticking out in the wind. It was 25 minutes of tongue out, drool streaming on Mom and Dad fun! Here's a few pictures, click for larger view:


Chloe and Dad before the ride:











Look Ma...no carseat!:
















Tongue out fun:

Chloe's BIG splash...

Staycation Day 1 included a trip to our neighborhood pool with our sweet friends the Martin's. The beautiful thing about going to the pool on Wednesday afternoon is that we had the pool practically to ourselves. We packed a lunch and enough equipment for a three day stay (at least that's what it feels like Liza and I tow along anytime we take the girls to the pool). It was a great afternoon. We even caved and let Chloe in the baby pool. Since there weren't other kiddos in the pool we figured it was less bacteria full than usual. Our baby pool is equipped with a precious frog slide and we figured at almost 6 months it was time for Chloe to take a ride on her FIRST slide!

Check out these pictures from her big splash. If you click the pictures for larger view, it's undeniable. Chloe not only has her Daddy's hair color, lips, gentle personality, and long and lean figure...she has his adventuresome, thrill seeking, joyful personality. I seriously thought she would have been screaming. Her Mommy would have...and her Gigi would have likely peed her pants but don't tell her I told you that! Enjoy Chloe's BIG Splash:

First we held her up on the slide:












Then we slid her down with the help of some running water:
















Then it was SPLASH:

















A big happy faced SPLASH!

Boy Meets Girl

Joshua and Chloe play dates are no new thing. In fact, let's take a quick look at how things have progressed (click each picture for larger, full appreciation view!):

Joshua and Chloe in April:
















Joshua and Chloe in August:












Now that these two kiddos have put a few more months under their belt, things have become more...well...physical. Here's their most recent play date:



Chloe: Helloooo Handsome













Joshua: Hellooo...OH the one with all the hair again!












Chloe: Let's hold hands....













Joshua: I will kiss your hand (Daddy taught me the smooth moves).













Chloe: (smooth moves? what are smooth moves?) Ok... then I will kiss your elbow! (Is that smooth)?












Joshua: Let's get closer!












Chloe: Closer? I like closer....












Joshua: Ahhhh, perfect! Chloe: Yes, perfect! I'm so thankful for my special friend Joshua!

Staycation? Yes please!

Sorry I've been terrible about uploading recently. August was just a crazy month for the Crack Team. It's amazing how even with Chloe in the picture we can easily slip into the routine of being super busy and over committing leaving little free time or down time. But September will be a different story! Motel Craxton is closed and we're not going outside the city limits. Should be a welcomed change of pace!

Little did we know that we'd jump start the month with a mandatory 3 day vacation. Chris's new company required that employees take a three day vacation which actually leads up to Labor Day meaning Chris isn't working from Wednesday through Monday. Needless to say, we're enjoying the extra family time and our little stay-cation. I'll have more to post on our family adventures soon...but for now, a little catch up!


Chloe loves being outside:

























And going on walks:

















She's doing great with food. Below is post-peaches. She HATES apples, LOVES sweet potatoes and avocados, and likes peaches. I really enjoy making baby food...in fact keep telling the hubs that I want a peach orchard to make my own peach baby food every day. The house smells sooooo yummy when making peaches!









Also we had a nice visit with Grandpa and Grandma Ann last weekend: