9 lbs 7.8 oz of love!

Chloe got a good bill of health from the doctor! She is a healthy little baby girl! Today was her 6 week check up, and she has grown so much. She is now 21 and 1/2 inches long....that is a 1 and 1/2 inch gain since she was born. She is now just below the 50th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Phew, she is in proportion and still completely adorable.

Not all of the visit was fun though.... she had her first immunizations (since leaving the hospital). Doesn't this just break your heart. What a horribly sad little face-- her's not mine.

This is the worst one. It isn't easy seeing your baby in pain and not be able to do anything for them. Chloe's little baby band aids. She had so many vaccinations, that they had to use both legs. She is doing much better now that it is all over.

Does it make us bad parents that we took pictures while our baby screamed? In our defense she almost never cries, and never screams so we wanted to capture the moment.

The doctor's visit wore poor Chloe out. She has been sleeping in these huge 4 hour stretches since we got home. She wakes up to eat then is out for the count again. Here's hoping it lasts through the night.

Also I have to show what Chloe looked like before the doctor today. She is wearing the sweater Amber made for her! Oh my gosh I LOVE this sweater! Amber can we have one in every size?

Tomorrow is another day of work, so I am going to get my rest. Today was my first day back and it was actually good to get back into the swing of things. I forgot how much I love my job! Sure a 6 week break was nice, but like they say-- distance makes the heart grow fonder :)

6 weeks old!

Wow how time flies! Chloe is already 6 weeks old and counting. Although she is still a tiny little thing, she has already outgrown a few of her newborn outfits! It's a mixture of sad and happy for me. Sad because she is getting bigger and won't be a baby forever, and happy because she is getting bigger and will soon be able to fit into some of the super cute 0-3 month size outfits I have for her. These past few days haven't been too eventful, it seems the day is over before it begins! We are trying to get her on a good sleep schedule so bedtime routine starts around 7:45 with an expected sleep time of 8:45. We put her down at 8, but it seems to take an hour for her to actually fall asleep. This is a great improvement over just a few weeks ago when it would take 2-3 hours for her to fall asleep.


Andrew took this shot of us in the morning before he took off for a bike ride. It is probably around 8. Chloe woke up at 7 and I put her in bed with me, because I was still exhausted. Thanks for the flash Andrew.

Another Chloe and Daddy picture. Look how big she is getting. She is much better at holding up her head, and can focus on things much further away now. Its pretty great!

We have a few videos to upload, but are still having technical difficulties.....hopefully they will be coming soon. Off to bed!

Yay a Package!!

Yay! We love getting surprise packages!! This one looks like it had a rough journey up to Alaska, but luckily there were no breakables inside!

But there were hand knit treasures from Amber and Julie! Aren't they gorgeous?!! I am forever amazed by their talent! I can knit a scarf or a blanket...that's it. These are incredible!Amber also sent up some other super adorable things, one of which is a shirt/dress that Chloe wore today! It is scorching hot here today, so the breezy design is perfect!

Hey a girl has to keep cool somehow!

We went out shopping today (Chloe and I) and it went really well! Chloe is already an expert shopper, although she slept most of the time she did manage to find a great sun hat to keep those hot rays off her delicate skin. With my maternity leave coming to an end I suddenly have to be working again and my wardrobe needs a little boost. Maybe stretch is a better word....definitely not back to my pre-pregnancy size yet. Only a few more days until I have the doctor's okay to get back into the swing of exercising....just waiting for the 6 week mark to get running again. I just can't wait to get out there again!

Getting Out of the House

Whew we had quite an eventful long weekend, which is weird because on Thursday we didn't think we would be doing anything exciting for the 4th. We thought we would just hang around the house. Andrew finished working early on Friday and so we headed out to Girdwood Friday for the Forrest Fair. It was really good this year! There were tons of vendors and great music. (for those of you not familiar- the forest fair is a big hippie art fair, with lot of live music, hula hooping and beer garden all in the forest in Girdwood) The weather was super hot and sunny, a perfect afternoon! We started out at the beer garden, where we both got beers and Chloe ordered a milk cocktail. After we all finished our yummy drinks we went strolling through the booths! I spent the most time at my favorite vendor's booth Sister Hipster. They sell the BEST baby gear ; it's all handmade and all really awesome. Most baby gear around is cutsie, so it is really nice to find an artist who also happens to make cool baby clothes! Chloe picked up something for her pen pal Tuesday. (surprise Amber!). After the Forest Fair we stopped by Chair Five for some nachos, and burgers before the drive home. It was good!

The next day we headed out to Big Lake!! Thanks for inviting us out Per and Carrie! They picked us up at the boat landing with the party barge, and drove all of us out to their boat access cabin. It was another hot day and we soaked up every ray. We spent most of the time out on the dock and walking around with Chloe. Andrew got to go out jet skiing, and got flung into the water more than once tubing. I didn't bring a swim suit and stayed on shore (tactical move- if I brought one, I would have to wear it and I am in no shape to be out in anything less than a mu mu). I did spend some time on the trampoline, I thought Chloe might like the light bouncing motion. She did! We brought the camera, but it was out of batteries so only got this shot with the iPhone.

Sunday we spent time around home. We went out to lunch at Red Robin with Dustin and Amy. Chloe slept thru most of it, but you can imagine the dread we felt as 20 red robin workers descended upon our next door table all ready to clap and scream the happy birthday song at the top of their lungs... They did it, and man I think they were extra loud, but Chloe just slept thru it. Thank goodness.

This is my last week being at home full time with Chloe before going back to work so I am trying to enjoy every minute of it. Right now she is sleeping. Such an adorable little sleeper. (another iPhone pic)We will probably head out for a walk once she wakes up. Again it is another amazing sunny day.

One More Cute Picture

Couldn't resist putting just one more picture up today. Chloe is sleeping and laughing at the same time. So cute!

Great Outdoors

This week we got outside for a little nature. I should actually say a lot of nature. We hiked the trail from Potters to McHugh Creek. Andrew had the Dogs and the Diaper Bag, and I had Chloe strapped in the Baby Bjorn. It was quite evident to me how out of shape I was within the first 5 minutes of the hike. It starts with an uphill climb, and wow, it felt like 30 minutes. I really need to get back into shape! We stayed out there on the trail for about 2 and a half hours, and made it 6 miles round trip. It was a gorgeous gorgeous day!!

At the very end there is a fork in the trail and you can choose one of two ways down hill to the parking lot. Well we chose the wrong one. At the very end of the trail (seriously 3 minutes left to get to the car) we ran into a momma moose and her two babies. Great.

They were super adorable, but they were also right on the trail....we couldn't go by, and we couldn't go around. Rather than hike all the way back up the hill and choose the other fork, we tried to wait it out. As we were waiting the mom crossed the trail, but the babies stayed on the other side.

This wasn't good news for me or my exhausted legs. It is dangerous to get between a momma moose and her babies. Then we heard rustling (more like big footsteps coming closer) in the brush next to us... we got out of there fast. It was either another moose or a bear....we didn't want to stick around to find out which one it was. So we climbed all the way back up the hill and went down the other fork to the car. By the end my legs were rubber, climbing back in the car felt like work! Phew, the other path was uneventful. Chloe slept the whole time in the bjorn, and the whole way back home. She is such a good baby!

When I was telling this story to Donna (Andrew's Mom), she told me that this was where Andrew's Music teacher and his mother were EATEN by a bear. When I asked Andrew about this, he said "Well no they were attacked on the other side of McHugh Creek".... great.... so they were eaten just a little further down the trail, my bad. I guess they were running, so they startled the bear. We walk with bells (dinner bell?) instead to alert the bears we are coming so we don't catch them off guard.

Here's Hoping!

Our New Backyard!

Finally we finished up the last few projects in the backyard this weekend. Of course when my parents were up here they put in the bulk of the work, but we wanted to put the final touches on before we posted their masterpiece. Yes, for those of you asking, we do rent them out, it is just plane fare, food and lodging, and we do charge a finders fee. Although there is quite a waiting list for them, and we have them reserved until all of our projects are all done! :)

So before I show the after, I will show the before....it is actually the "during" picture, but it is the best I can do. We did not have steps leading off the back deck, and we decided that now that we have a little one in the house, we should work on safety projects first. So steps were the first idea.....this blossomed into steps, a paved patio and built in planter boxes, oh and also a new sliding glass door off the kitchen. My parents were here for less than two weeks, and somehow we all thought that this would be a good idea.

BEFORE (during)

OUR CREW (Andrew helped too, I was very little help- mostly just baby duty)

TA DA!!

Doesn't it look fantastic??? We had to finish leveling the soil and planting grass around the patio, laying the slate around the garden, painting the trim around the door, and planting in the planters....oh and moving the mountain of dirt from the middle of the backyard to the corner of the backyard, and the mountain of extra gravel to the dog run. A pretty busy Sunday afternoon, but it is all done now!

It feels so great to go back there and enjoy our backyard, instead of see a project to complete!

Thank you so much Mom and Dad!!! Chloe loves her new play/lounge area, and the dogs are constantly outside laying on the new patio! It is wonderful!