Looking back at photos from this month, I forgot how much stuff actually happened! Most of it was great, but we did have a bit of Covid that took me and Chloe out for a week (everyone was feeling good, but going a bit crazy with quarantine).

We started the month with a visit to the apple orchard with Sam, Alice and Bryn. We rarely even think to to go apple picking this early, but it’s honestly the best time because the Honey Crisp apples are the first to come to bloom! We also got to take advantage of late season blackberry picking. They have signs telling you not to eat the berries as you pick them, but try telling that to a toddler. I think both Bryn and Chloe ate their weight in blackberries, and they had the diaper evidence to prove it…

The next day, we woke up very early to go visit Granny and PopPop. We hadn’t seen them since our trip in July and that’s just too long. So, we hopped on a plane and headed to Texas! It was such a great trip. We didn’t do a ton because Granny had just had her surgery, but Chloe was more than happy to play in the pool every day and just spend time with her two favorite people in the world.

We also got to visit with family, which is always so fun! Chloe is very obsessed with her cousins and loved playing with Hazel. Hazee is a natural with Chlo and they read lots of books and ran around playing games with each other. I wish we lived closer so that we could get them together more!

We also crashed the Bolner household for a playdate with Miles. Even though they are two years apart, Miles is so gentle and sweet with Chloe. He shared his guitars with her and they gave us a little show 🙂

On the way home, our flight was re-routed to Atlanta due to weather. It was…a bit rough…but we found ways to cope.

When we got back from our trip, we promptly came down with Covid. It had been going around Chloe’s daycare for a while, and I thought that we might have missed it, but nope! Thankfully, we both felt pretty good, but it did mean that we had to stay home for a week. Somehow Rob managed to not get it, but he was recruited for regular entertainment needs.

Once everyone was feeling better and testing negative, we were able to get back to more fun things, like visits to the farm and the aquarium.

As you can see, Chloe has truly mastered the art of “CHEESE!”

I’m learning with toddlerhood that things change week to week. Chloe was great in Texas, but has struggled with “listening ears” a lot the rest of the month. However, I think she is starting to get better now. She has been telling me that “big girls are good listeners”. I think they’ve been telling her this at school, and for that, I will be forever grateful 🙂

Despite the challenges, she is still so funny and I love seeing her little personality continue to develop. Some things that have cracked me up recently:

• Chloe asking me how I am and when I say, “I’m good,” she asks, “Are you great?” I don’t know why, but this kills me every time!
• Chloe adding “prolly” (probably) to her sentences, e.g. “I prolly want to take a nap.”
• Chloe trying to tickle me under my chin while saying “tickle, tickle, tickle!”
• And she’s recently started to say, “No, no, no, no, no!” instead of just, “No”. I have no idea where this came from, but again, it cracks me up.

In summary, I’m easily entertained by this kid! How could you not be?