Hello! I'm still here!

Hello everyone! I'm back!

Sorry I fell off the planet there for a while. Let me esplain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

To be totally honest, I got depressed. I lost interest in just about everything, cept Chloe. She's been my only link to sanity lately. It's hard to even pretend to write happy just to update a blog. It happens to everyone. I started seeing a therapist and made (and still am making) some changes. I've also discovered a lot about myself too. I've learned that if I don't like something all I have to do is open my mouth and say something. I started exercising and I actually like it! I quit buying junk food and instead have a small out of sight, out of mind, stash of chocolate for those cravings that refuse to leave me in peace and cause me to tear apart my kitchen looking for anything that even resembles chocolate.

It all started with stress. I was babysitting October for Brittany for a while and it just got to be too much. I love that baby girl but she's a high maintenance kid at least compared to Chloe who is ridiculously low maintenance. Not only that but taking care of two babies under one is hard. I have no idea how people with twins and more do it! Kudos to you if you have!!!

The next blow was my Uncle Frank's funeral. We weren't ever close but I was always close with my Aunt Therese and my cousin Nancy. It was hard for our whole family. He was the Fire Marshal Chief of the Salt River Fire Department. He died from leukemia at 41, and he was diagnosed at the age of 21. I think he had been in remission twice. The funeral was very grand and beautiful, with 27 fire trucks, probably 50 ambulances and hundreds of police vehicles. There was a wall of blue about 50 feet long at the graveside and a final call over the police radio that brought everyone to tears. Someone found a blog entry about it for the family and here is the fire department's memorial online. Just in case you wanted to know more.

A month later we had another funeral. This one was for Cory Jenkins. Preston was in the same ward and was good friends with him and his younger brother growing up. I had only met him once or twice before but it was still very emotional. He died in Afghanistan an had a 10 week old daughter Reagan. They had a 21 gun salute and played taps at the graveside and folded two flags for his mother and wife Brooke. Here is an AZ central article about him.

Now to bring this thing around to what we've all been waiting for! CHLOE!!! And me! Basically what's been going on around here. We're gonna do this list style (or at least I'm gonna try) because there's so much to get through.

Aug 14: I got a blackberry! It has GPS and it's wonderful because I haven't gotten lost since then!

Aug 17th: Preston called me from work and, very much like a kid in high school, asked me out on a date! That night he came home with two roses (one red, one white) and we took Chloe to the in-laws and went to dinner at the Olive Garden. I needed that so bad!

Aug 20: Chloe had a doctors appointment. She was 29 inches (90th percentile) and 20lbs 7oz (75th percentile). Tall and skinny!

Aug 21st: I was watching her crawl around and she sat herself up all by herself! I couldn't believe it!

Aug 27th: I had a smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe (I highly recommend the Pomegranate Plunge with kiwi replacing the bananas!) I was giving Chloe little tastes by getting a little in the straw with my finger over the end of it but that wasn't fast enough for her so I just put the straw in her mouth and she just sucked it right up! I had no idea she was going to be able to to that!

Sept 13th: Chloe broke her first tooth finally!!! Bottom right. It's a sharp little sucker too! I found it at church (well after church) mid conversation with someone. Yelled out "It broke through!" in the middle of a sentence. As of right now there is a growing bump right next to it on the left. Maybe by her birthday she'll have two!

Sept 20th: Chloe's first spaghetti dinner. Also the first dinner she fed herself! See pictures:

Sept 22nd: Had a boring adventure! Left the house to go get drinking water and to fill the car with gas. I made it .6 miles from my house and put-putted to a stop. If you know where I live, that's not even all the way to Val Vista! Lora Linn and Meredith came to my rescue w ith a gallon of gas!

Sept 26th: Patty called me to tell me she wasn't going to be able to make it to the valley to see the play she had tickets for and asked if I wanted them. Heck yeah! Meredith and I went to see Legally Blonde at Gammage! Lots of fun! Great play but the intro song WILL get stuck in your head and it feels like the only way to remove it would be to remove your head!

Oct 1st: In celebration of my favorite month and the fact that I could open the door to let the dog out and not deep fry, I went for a walk! (I'm also sick of being fat!) It was wondrous! I walked .3 miles from my house but I count it as .6 total!

Oct 7th: Got ambitious and 1.2 miles up the road from my house, 2.4 total! I took Charlie with me that time (he thinks I was trying to kill him or something). I'm very proud of myself!

Oct 6th: Preston stood Chloe up facing away from him and she actually balanced herself using her toes and moving her weight. It kinda freaked her out when she realized she was on her own like that and hasn't done it since, but I did snap a picture with my trusty little Blackberry that night.

Oct 12th: Another call from Patty to tell me my brother Adam was in the ICU with what they think was swine flu. The test results take three weeks to get back so we still don't know. He's fine now, by the way!

Oct 14th: My mom and Selena found a house they both love. (Back story: My mom needs to move to the valley for work and school. She's been looking for about a month now.) They put in a rental application and got accepted! The house is right around the corner from Preston's parents. Like literally three turns in the neighborhood! Christmas is going to be so much more convenient!!!

Oct 16th: Ordered Chloe's Halloween costume on Amazon. Crossing my fingers it doesn't get held up in the mail system. I'll post pictures of her in it when it gets here! (Hint: it's Disney)

That's it for my list of everything that's happened since my last post!

My little monkey is growing like a weed! She pulls herself up on the couch, in her playpen, in her crib (which she jumped out of the other morning) and on my leg. She will walk along the sides of the couch or playpen and now when she is in her playpen she's started throwing her toys out of it. She can have all the toys out after 10 minutes in the playpen except for the big heavy ones she can't pick up with one hand!

We went to Breena's (Bridget's baby girl) 1st Birthday party last weekend and Chloe saw her walking all over the place and ever since then she'll let go of what she's holding onto, realize what she's done and either grab it again or land on her bum.

She's also started imitating my motions in just the last couple days. She always does this thing that I love where she throws her hands up with her palms up and makes a "eh?" or a "huh?" noise like she's asking a question. I always do it when I'm asking her where the doggie is and she repeats the noise and looks for him but never does the hand motion. Last night she did and it was soooo hilarious! I did it like 5 more times after that and have been doing all day today too. I clap and cheer every time she does it and she claps too. I seriously have the cutest kid in the world. Yes, I am biased!

Well... I've taken up enough of your time, if anyone even made it to the end. Hopefully, you'll hear from me again in the next couple days.

Amy Lynn