2 Years, 2 Months

Maybe I'm biased, but I think she's beautiful.

Two months after her second birthday, and I'm pretty sure she thinks she's much older than she is. It probably has something to do with the fact that her most frequent playmate is a solid year older than she is.

But Chloë is assertive, tough, and crazy adventurous. She recently figured out how to open the front door, so now we have to lock the dead bolt to keep her from wandering outside and down the street. She got all the way to the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps before I realized where she was. And of course a sweet lady happened to be walking by, so she stopped to ask Chloë where her mommy and daddy were. I mumbled my apologies and brought my daughter back inside.

She loves going to the park. She likes the slides (as long as she doesn't fall off the ladder), but I'm pretty sure she could swing all day long.




She also loves the water, loves high speeds, and bounces back up after most tumbles and bonks. She's such a trooper.

She loves Elaina. She loves talking to her, and showing her things, and holding and patting her, and sharing her toys, and making her laugh.

This makes my life so rich.

Chloë is very sweet and affectionate, offering hugs and kisses to the people she loves. I love it when she wakes up in the morning, and I pick her up, and she rests her head on my shoulder and pats or rubs my back. She is sometimes hesitant to kiss her uncles or grandpas, since their whiskers are often too "scratchy!". So hugs and high-fives are a good compromise.

She can be very bold and outgoing, but sometimes she gets really awkward and shy. She doesn't like to perform for the camera, so I usually have to be sneaky about pulling out the camera. But sometimes she sees the big black thing, and when I ask her to repeat whatever cute thing I was trying to capture, she gets very distraught and hesitantly obeys my request.


She likes to talk. There is usually some sort of dialogue when she is playing by herself or reading her books. The other day she was building with her duplos, and I heard her say "oh for goodness sakes." And then a minute late she congratulated herself: "Good job." She also remembered her polite response to her toots during breakfast, and quietly said "excuse me." She usually has no trouble communicating exactly what she wants or needs, although I do get confused with words such as "pencil" and "pretzel."

She discovered that an empty Gatorade bottle is her new favorite toy. I think it makes her feel very grown up.


Way back in March, when we were in Seattle to see Samuel play a rugby game, we hung out in the hotel room while Samuel used a rolling pin to massage his wounded hamstring. So when we were at a friend's house a few weeks ago, and Chloë discovered their toy rolling pin, she didn't pretend to make a pie. Of course not. She sat down and rolled the pin back and forth across her thigh. "Like Unc-ah Sam-yoo," she told me.


Eating sushi. I think this is such a Katie face.

She is very aware of our daily routine, which is usually to take our time though breakfast, then slowly get ready for the day, daddy home for lunch, then maybe get out of the house or have someone over for a playdate, then naptime, and then daddy home for dinner. Of course if I actually get ready for the day first thing in the morning, she says, "where goin', Mama?" If I tell her we aren't going anywhere, she asks, "kids comin' over?!"

Talking on her toy phone.

"Hello 'Saiah. Oh. Yeah. Oooooh, yeeeah. Alriiight. Talk to you later!"

I painted my nails last week, and Chloë spent the entire day asking me for "pink nails, Mama?" She was thrilled when we finally sat down to grant her request.


She loves shoes and babies and purses. Here she is, all ready to "go shopping."


This kid is such a joy.