18 Months Old!!!

It really amazes me how quickly time flies now that I am an adult. I cannot believe that Chloe is 18 months or 1 1/2 years old now. I still think of her as my little baby, but in so many ways she is becoming independent now. It's a good thing, but I do wish time would slow down just a little. This next Sunday Chloe will be starting Nursery at church. I'm so nervous that she will be one of those kids that cries and cries, but I honestly would be really surprised if she did this. Like I said really independent. It will be a nice change not to have to worry about keeping her entertained for 3 hours without disturbing others. So I'll just do an update about Chloe and then write a little bit about what's been going on with Brian and I.

Things Chloe Likes Right Now:
Tinkerbell
Blueberries & Bananas
Going Outside (constantly)
Bubbles
Coloring
Dancing
Petting/Chasing River
Reading Books
Taking naps on mom after nursing
Giving hugs and kisses
Saying "Hi" to everyone
Finding lizards and bugs/flowers/leaves
Her dolly and stuffed animals
Bathtime

Things Chloe Doesn't Like Right Now:
Vegetables (except tomatoes)
Playing inside for long periods of time
Diaper changes
Getting her face and hands cleaned up after meals
Sitting in the grocery cart

Chloe's Favorite Words:
Hi
Book
Ball
Please (she signs this too)
Elmo
Bubble
Purple
Car
Kitty
Color
Chase
Grandma or Grandpa (they both sound the same)
Dada
Cheese
She signs for "more", "all done", "please", "mama milk", "outside", "down", and "eat"

Kisses on the nose 

I can't get over how photogenic she is sometimes.

This summer has been lots of fun. Brian has had "off" school since the middle of May and won't start again until the beginning of September. Although he is not officially in school he's still been really busy writing papers for publication, doing research, working on his master's thesis, and teaching an online Psych class at BYU-Idaho. While doing all this he still makes the time to play with Chloe. We've made it a habit to go on a walk every night and I hope this continues once he's in school again because it's a nice time to chat and see how the other is doing. I have been mostly busy keeping up with Chloe. She never wants to stay still, and this is a good thing. During this past year I was the secretary for the primary and that keep me busy on Sundays. In the beginning of this month I was released from the calling and asked to be the 1st Counselor in Young Womens. It is different working with a bunch of teenage girls over kids ages 3-12, but so far I have really enjoyed it. I also have had more interaction with adults besides Brian and I must say it's nice to extend my circle of who I interact with on a weekly basis. I just recently submitted all the paperwork to get the Emergency 30 Day Substitute Permit, and so once that goes through I will be applying to school districts in the area and can hopefully start substitute teaching on the days that Brian does not have class.

Brian has only one more year of coursework left at CGU and so once that is complete we will not be tied to living in California anymore while he finishes his dissertation. I have loved living in California, but I feel anxious for a change. It just costs way too much to continue living here, so unless he gets a teaching position in one of the nearby schools after his coursework is done we are planning on moving to Utah at this point. It will be nice to be closer to extended family. I am looking forward to a lot of things in the coming year. Next up our 6 year anniversary date, we will be going to the Huntington Library.