"Pretty"

Yesterday, I was cleaning up Chloe's face after dinner and I said to Aaron while holding Chloe up, "How does my face look, daddy?" I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Chloe then simply replied before Aaron could answer, "Pretty!" Man, are we raising a humble child or what?

She says some of the cutest things, so while I am thinking about it I will write a few down. Now you just have to remember that this is coming out of a two year old's mouth.

"Look mom, its a boooger."

"Boo Yah!"

"Ah, Man!"

"Come on, Daaad!"

"Can I have this? K...thanks." (She likes to answer her own question before I can)

She also likes to go to into the bathroom to do her business...this is a good sing, we hope...and after she is done, she comes out and tells us, "I poopie."

That's all that I can think of at the moment, so I guess that's all for now. :)

Chloe's Two Year Stats

We had Chloe's two year check-up on Monday and here are her stats:

Weight: 21.03 lbs 0.86 percentile
Length: 32.75 in 23rd percentile
Head:18.5 in 36th percentile

The doctor said that she was healthy and as long as she is growing we shouldn't be too concernced about her weight. But hey, at least we are not off the charts yet!

Chloe's Second Birthday

Chloe turned two yesterday and we had a big party for her at my mom's house. Chloe had all of her grandparents/great grandparents there except one and she was in heaven being with them all at the same time.

It's so crazy to think that she is already two! These past two years have just flown by. Chloe is such a smarty-pants and she surprises us every day with the things that she knows and says. Some of her favorite things right now are babies, toy food/dishes, books, singing and playing with her mommy, daddy and grandmas and grandpas. She is using full sentences and using I, me, mine, etc. when she is talking about herself. However, she still doesn't like to eat anything but peanuts, oranges, cheese and...candy.

At her party we played pin the nose on the clown and took we even bowled! Then she was bombarded with a ton of gifts and stuffed herself with cake and ice cream. We all had a blast and were wiped out by the end of the evening.

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us and for all the great gifts!

Chloe's Photo Shoot

Since Chloe is turning 2 this Saturday, I thought I would take her out to take her two year old photos. The only problem with the shoot was that there were just too many dang cute pictures to choose. Here are a few of my favorites. Isn't she just so dang cute?!

I am a Child of God

The other day, Chloe and I were playing in her room waiting for Aaron to come home from work and Chloe starts to sing the song "I am a Child of God." I had my phone close by, so I grabbed it and recorded her singing (which explains the poor quality of this video). Of course, when I go and get my actual camera, she refuses to sing, but at least I have something.

She never ceases to amaze me with what she learns and remembers. We sing her this song when she goes to bed or when she gets a bonk and needs to be comforted, but she has never sung it before.

Here are the lyrics to the part of the song that she is singing.

Lead me, guide me, walk besideme.

Help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do.

To live with him some day.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Looking back on 2009, I realize how blessed Aaron and I have been. We have a beautiful and healthy daughter, we both have good jobs, Aaron made it through two rounds of layoffs at work, we were able to sell our condo in three days and buy a new town home, our parents live close enough that they can watch Chloe while I work and most especially, we have the Gospel in our lives. With all of our blessings, we can't help but know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who watches over and blesses us.


This year, we spent New Year's Eve at my parents house. We played games, ate food and did sparklers at midnight. And yes, Chloe stayed up until midnight and was a happy camper the whole night. She is such a night owl.

Jumpin' Jacks

It was my niece Kadence's 4th birthday on the 28th and for it, she had a party at Jumpin' Jacks. It is a warehouse filled with huge bouncy toys. There are slides, obstacle courses, and a bouncy toy just for small kids.
The best part about it is that it is not only for kids- adults get to jump too! I'm not sure who had more fun jumping- Chloe, me or maybe my mom? We had so much fun we might even have Chloe's birthday there. She had a great time and didn't want to leave.



The whole family was still in town for Christmas so it made the event tons of fun. I got a good scrape on my arm and ripped out a huge chunk of hair while racing Tawna, but it was worth it.

Our Sweet New Ride!

So, on Christmas Eve, we were driving home after spending the evening at my parents house when we noticed that the heater in our car, a 2008 Honda Accord, wasn't blowing hot air. Aaron made an appointment with the dealership to get it in and have them look it over this past Monday. Well, Monday afternoon we got a call saying that the "heater box" wasn't working properly and it would have to be replaced (under warranty). They said they ordered the part and that it would arrive on Tuesday and we should get the car back on Wednesday.

When Wednesday afternoon rolled around, they called us and said that they had mistakenly ordered the wrong part and the correct one would arrive on Thursday morning and the car would be done by Thursday evening.

Well, on Thursday afternoon, Aaron called and found out that due to bad weather, the part had not arrived yet and we likely would not get the car back until Monday at the earliest! :( This didn't make Aaron very happy and he demanded that they give us a loaner vehicle to drive until our car is fixed. Well, here is what they hooked us up with...not exactly a luxury vehicle, but it's better than driving the Jeep around, burning through a tank of gas everything three days...

When we went to pick up this beauty, Aaron had to get the car seat out of the Accord, and this is the sight that awaited him...

Christmas with the Dollahites

Our final Christmas was with my family. My brother and his family came in from Idaho and my sister, Melinda, finally came in from Ohio...after having her flight canceled multiple times, she finally made it in 3 days late. It was so much fun having the whole family in town for Christmas. We haven't all been together for Christmas for about 4 years.

We put off having Christmas until Melinda got there, which meant we had Christmas on the 27th. After church, we all went to my mom's house, had dinner, opened presents and played the present game.

With all her newfound experience, Chloe didn't even need to be told to open presents...she just went to town. Her favorite present was the toy pizza that "cut" into pieces and had cheese and red peppers that you could shake on. My parents got Aaron some jeep stuff (what a surprise, huh?) and I got some scrapbook stuff and a beautiful cream-colored coat (that I will hardly get to wear because I am a mom, but hey, I love coats).

It was a wonderful way to end the Christmas season and, of course, it has been a wonderful time to reflect on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his birth.

Christmas with the Searles

This year, it was our turn to spend Christmas day with the Searle family. We spent the morning at Aaon's sister's house and then had dinner at his parents. Aaron's sister Paula and her family came down from Idaho this year which was so much fun and made Christmas morning even bigger. We had four different families opening presents, which made for five hours of opening gifts, five huge bags of garbage, lots of treats and a few jealous cries (mainly from Chloe, who didn't like anyone else playing with her toys).

Santa brought Chloe a big red Radio Flier wagon and she loved it. She spent most of the morning climbing in and out of it and the rest of the morning playing in the tent and tunnel that she also got from Santa. We weren't sure if she would like the tunnel, but she loved it. We have had it up in our bedroom ever since Christmas. Chloe also loves her new baby with a stroller, high chair and crib that she got from Grandma and Grandpa.

Aaron got some more stuff for the Jeep and I got a memory foam topper for our mattress. I have been sleeping like a baby ever since. I also got a new tripod for my camera and some new clothes. I surprised Aaron with a BYU car flag and a year subscription to JP Magazine.

Chloe was so excited to open presents and she was constantly telling us that "ho ho" (Santa) was bringing her toys. Her favorite Christmas song has been "Santa Clause is coming to Town". I would sing the part "Santa Clause is coming..." then Chloe would finish in a high falsetto voice "to town."

Chloe has just loved this whole Christmas season. She points out all the reindeer, Santas, snowmen, lights and trees that she sees. She will be sad to see it all go, but I think all her new toys will ease the pain. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!