Sick-y naptime

Chloe got puky sick the other night. Poor thing was waking up with cramps and the whole bit. She was so brave, she never got scared and she used the little bucket I gave her. She let me hold her hair back and talked to me when she had questions about what was going on. She ended up slepung for a few hours after 4am or so. She woke up at 6 and came in my room. She was tired and sweet but still wanted to get up. We were talking about being sick and how her body would tell her if she was going to throw up again. She told me about how the night before, before she could go to sleep after throwing up she went under the covers and told her feet to be cat ears so then they would be alert enough to wake her up if she was going to be sick again. I love her creativity and how she can share her thoughts with me. I love that weve had the relationship so she can trust me and not be afraid. Layer that morning she slept on the couch for a few hours! That never happens, it was so sweet to watch her sleeping.

Clean as a Bean!

Story from daddy: Chloe got out of the bath and told me she was done. I asked her if she was clean. She said "clean as a bean!"

Shoe tying champ

Chloe is tying my shoe. It's been about two weeks since she learned to tie. One day she did it for the first time ever. From then on she just had it. Within a week she was double knotting. She really likes double knotting. It makes so much sence to her to prevent them from coming undone.

New Candy

I just introduced Chloe to Charleston Chews. She said "Mmm... Is this... Like....a... Smore!!??"

Best Friends

Chloe's got her first best friend.  Well, we can count Josiah, but she didn't really have a choice on that one.  Lily is a sweet little girl that goes to school with Chloe at Whatcom Day Academy.  This is the first friendship that Chloe has that she made completely on her own.  It's super cute to watch this little friendship blossom.  On the weekends, Chloe asks to go play with Lily and when they are together they giggle and share jokes and antics.  They are super affectionate and like to tell each other they are best friends and they like to play together.   The first time we hung out with Lily and her parents we met at the park and then went to pizza dinner.  On the way into the restaurant, the girls were holding hands.  so cute.  They both have kind of a (for lack of a better phrase) "tomboy" streak in them.   Lily is seen here with her first dress on.  She's slowly warming up to them.  She also threw away all of her dolls and replaced them with trains.  The pictures below are taken at Lily's birthday party.  

Oh man, birthday parties are the social talk of the preschool classroom!  Everyone knows when one is coming up and they talk among themselves about where it's going to be at and who is going to be there.  This spring, the first birthday party was Peters.  It was at Jump Around Fun Zone.  That place is like the disneyland of Bellingham.  Then it was Chloe's party.  We had it at our apartment clubhouse.  (yes I plan to do a blog on that, too... but I have to get caught up on downloading my pictures. :)  )  

Then shortly after Chloe's party, was Lily's.  The bowling ally was pretty fun.  It was contained and neat for the parents, and fun and novel for the kids.  I was cringing every time I saw all the little ones hovered around the bowling balls... My mommy eyes saw smashed little fingers and big crocodile tears.  Luckily, it never happened, and I somehow managed to harness my over-mommy-urges.  I stayed out of the way, and they did great with just the reminders from Lily's parents.  

Chloe never got overwhelmed and did super good with the hustle and bustle of the bowling.  Lily had put together some little goodie bags for her friends and they had those little "candy buttons" in there.  Ya know the ones that are solid sugar stuck to paper and in all different colors.  When you pull the candy off the paper, you usually eat some paper with it?  Yea, they were a hit.  Who knew.  But it was Lily's idea.  So much to be said for following what the little ones want at their parties.  Oh, and Chloe and Mikey had bought a gift for Lily.  Chloe picked out a little petshop toy set that was a car.  perfect because they like to play little pet shops together and Lily loves cars.  After she opened her gift Chloe told me that she picked that one out for Lily because she wanted it herself.  I think that is pretty nice.  I saw her look longingly at the toy, but she still smiled knowing it was for Lily.  

Hula Hoopin'

Chloe and I went to the Bellingham Farmers Market the other weekend with my Mom, Shana and the girls.  It was a beautiful day, and we all had a pretty good time.  There were plenty of things I really enjoyed seeing there.  Chloe especially liked the live music, the hula hoops and the balloon guy.  We also got some yummy cookies from a local bakery.  She was super into practicing the hoops.  She is still trying to master the art of twirling hips, so she still does the hold and spin method using her arms.  as the hoop spins its way down her body, she's trying to wiggle her little body in just the right way.  

I love this picture below with her little shoes and how she's standing on the outside of her foot.  I like her little sagging pants and the way she's holding her hands shows her concentration.  I also like how this picture makes it look like she's an old pro.  

At one point she and Keiani were both hoopin' and when Chloe spun her hoop it popped Keiani in the mouth and gave her a bloody lip.  Keiani was pretty much ok, but definitely had  a sore there.  Chloe felt absolutely horrible and was tearing up watching Shana tend to her cousin.  She immediately forgot about the hoops and followed them while they went to get some napkins.  I talked Chloe through her feelings and she told me she really wanted to appologize to Keiani, so we waited till the right time and she was so sweet and sincere.  It was kind of sad, but also good because it was a vital moment for me to help her through her feelings.  Chloe is super hard on herself about things, which is good because she is pretty much self regulating, but I work hard on helping her identify her feelings and figure the best way to act on them.  I would rather not let her keep all those beautiful, conscientious feelings inside to where they could become hurtful to her spirit.  We talk about what might help her feel better and its a good time to ask her what might help others, too.  I make sure she knows that her feelings are good and it means she really cares about Keiani.  I remind her that it was an accident and everyone makes mistakes.  I make sure she knows that no one is upset with her at all.  With Chloe, it's beautiful when her feelings are so raw.  Her face changes and she gets this completely innocent frown and her eyes well up with tears.  She tries so hard to talk through her emotion and tell me what she's thinking.  It tugs so hard at my mommy heart and more than once I've teared up with her.  She is so sincere and fragile in these moments.  I hold them like they are the single most important moment in her life.  These are the moments I just cannot mess up.  Ever.  

5 years old today

Ok so I'm a month late in posting these cute pictures from my phone, but it was a good day.