I’ve heard parents say this countless times, although it’s hard to really understand until you’re living it, but I can’t believe how quickly Chloe has grown!! I’m amazed that she’s almost a year old. It’s mind boggling to think back to a year ago and how differently our lives were. Or even 6 months ago and how much Chloe has changed in that time. *sigh* I digress…
Chloe is a big fan of fruit, and will eat veggies if we sneak bites of it in between bites of cheese. We’re happy that she likes her fruit and will put up with veggies, so we’re not pushing the issue too much. She loves to feed herself mandarin oranges and pineapple and she eats her apple-pear sauce from a spoon almost faster than we can feed it to her. We tried chunks of kiwi last week, but it came right back out. However, when we pureed it and mixed it with yogurt, she gobbled it up, so I think it must be a texture thing. She recognizes foods she loves by sight and will refuse to eat other foods if she can see the favorites. For example, last night I tried to give her chunks of sweet potatoes, but she could see her pineapple on the plate nearby, so the sweet potato was a no-go. She’s definitely a girl who knows what she wants!!
Chloe Mae does not say “Mama,” “Dada” or even “Baba” (for bottle.) She does however say “Og” or “Gog” every time she sees, or even thinks about, her dogs. She love, love, loves her dogs!! When she gets done with her bottle after she wakes up, she’ll sit on the bed and say dog until we get up, go downstairs and let them out. Then there’s an even more enthusiastic “Og!” as she watches them run up the stairs and outside. She’s constantly talking about them and giggles when they sniff her. It’s adorable. Chloe also has a little stuffed animal dog and a pink-polka dotted dog that now live on her changing table. As soon as we lay her down, she picks them up and talks all about her dogs will we change her.
And while dog is the only word she says, it’s obvious that she understands a whole lot more!! She definitely understands the signs for “eat,” “more” and “all done.” Chloe also understands the word “No” both spoken and the sign. When she’s about to drop food on the floor for her dogs and I say, “Chloe, no!” she slowly moves her hand, with the food in it, to her mouth without taking her eyes off me. It’s almost like she’s saying, Geez mom. I was totally gonna eat that anyways… It is absolutely amazing to watch her grow and learn as she learns new words and how to communicate with us!!
We’ve been working on identifying Chloe’s Little People Farm Animals. So far she can pick her pig and cow out of a line-up. They’re also her favorites. I don’t know if she can identify them because they’re her favorites or if they’re her favorites because she can identify them. Either way, she’s pretty proud of herself.
The way I see it, we’re just days away from Chloe dressing herself. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, ok, a big exaggeration…. But, she has figured out that her socks and shoes go on her feet. Instead of just chewing on her socks, she now holds them out in front of her, then puts them down by her feet. Then she usually looks up at me and repeats. She did the same thing with her jelly-sandals the other day. I was so proud that I let her wear them even though they didn’t really go with her outfit 🙂
*Readers beware* In a month, you’ll see another post that starts with… “I can’t believe how big Chloe is!!” or “I can’t believe how much she’s changed!!” or “I’m amazed it’s been a year already!!” I can’t help myself.
MamaMort 
