Chloe Shearer vs. the CHP (Guess who won?)

After a lengthy hiatus, I have returned to document more of my favorite daughter's escapades. This time, her thirst for adventure led her into a battle of wills with John Law (aka the California Highway Patrol). Here's a quick summary of the events leading up the fateful clash (interspersed with some pictures of Chloe, which we all know is the real reason you're here).

Abby and I were trying to catch up to the rest of the youth group at church for our annual "church at the beach" Sunday. We were quickly closing in on them compliments of a hill to the west of Simi Valley on the 118 freeway. Naturally, such a hill is a magnet for lawmen looking to fill their quota of speeding tickets. So as we flew down the hill, I noticed a motorcylce cop off on the shoulder and immediately told Abby we were getting pulled over. Sure enough, even as we passed him on the side of the road, he was getting on his bike to pull in behind us and turn on his lights.

The first words I heard as he walked up were, "I clocked you going 82, bro." I explained our predicament but didn't say anything about Chloe in the back seat, just that we were late for youth group in Port Hueneme. He took my license and went back to his bike. Apparently it was at this point that Chloe began exerting her will on the patrolman because when he returned several minutes later, he said, "I'm going to let you off with a warning on the speeding. You've got a lot going on, the new baby and all, so all I'm giving you is a fix-it ticket to get your address fixed on your license."

Needless to say I was ecstatic since I wasn't looking forward to the 17-miles-per-hour-over-the-speed-limit ticket. The rest of the drive was uneventful and we had a great day at the beach.

While there are countless pictures I could post here, several of you have requested some action footage. So without further ado, here are some videos of Chloe in a good mood and smiling and/or making cute noises.

T-town

Chloe had her first trip up to Turlock to see her Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. Here are some of the highlights:

Here is a pic of Chloe with her cousin, Gavin wearing their Game Day Red. They're little Husker fans in training. Go Big Red!

Chloe and Gavin are about 2 weeks apart. They weren't cooperating very well for the picture!

Grandpa and Grandma a.k.a. "The Paparazzi"

Andrew's dad flew down on Wednesday night (much to his mom's surprise!) to meet his new, beautiful granddaughter.


Chloe is his new favorite subject to photograph! His top-notch camera got a great workout while he was here! Here are some of grandpa's shots:

Great Grammy came to visit Chloe, too!

The only person left to meet Chloe in the immediate Shearer family is her Auntie Em. Hint, hint!

Chloe got to enjoy being spoiled by ALL her grandparents over Labor Day weekend.

Here's a pic of our baby with her greatest fans:

Chloe had her first trip to the beach on Sunday. Here she is chillin' in Grandma Slovek's shades.

She must have liked the cooler beach weather because she slept almost the entire time!

She's a pretty cute beach bum! Hopefully she'll make an even cuter snow bunny this winter in Colorado!

BOB

It's been just over two weeks since we started this blog about the newest (and cutest) member of the Shearer family. What better way to celebrate hitting the two week mark than to put a blatant plug for the world's greatest stroller?

Seriously, if you've never heard of BOB (yes, all in caps as Abby so graciously reminded me) strollers, then you are missing out on some of the finest equipment money can buy. Those of you without small children can scroll down to see some new pics of Chloe.

I could spend several paragraphs talking about the solid build, locking swivel front wheel, easy folding action, and infant car seat adapter. However, all of you are much more interested in Chloe than some stroller, so I'll instead just give you the link, should you want to find out more.

Here's one more pic of Chloe in her pimped out ride.

In other news, Chloe's Grandma Shearer has been busy taking pictures (if you can imagine that) of her new pride and joy. Here are a couple for your viewing pleasure.

And last but not least, the obligatory video. Not the most exciting clip but that's mostly because Chloe doesn't do much these days besides eat, sleep, and poop. Also, I'm not exactly sure why Grandma decided that half of this clip should be sideways, but I guess it gives it some artistic flair. Enjoy!

Grandma Shearer (aka G-Mom?) got in town today after catching the early morning flight from Seattle. We don't have a lot planned since we're working around Chloe's schedule but it's great to have her here to spend time with Chloe. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures of her time here with us; and if you know my mom, you know there'll be no shortage of pictures!




The other day Abby and I took Chloe on a short walk after dinner in her Baby Bjorn carrier. She really seemed to enjoy it and it's surprisingly comfortable to carry her in - although I don't imagine an extra ~7lbs is really going to make anyone suffer too much. We actually broke the rules of the Bjorn by taking her out. It's supposed to be for children 8lbs and up. Oops! Maybe you can tell from these pictures that she's still a little small for it. Trust me, that is Chloe in there.

Daddy's Girl

She's already got daddy wrapped around her little finger!

Hard at work

He's one proud Papa!

"I'm just so cozy!"

Mommy has the postpartum sillies!

There's a reason it's called "Labor"

"Hee, hee, who...hee, hee, who... " As promised, I am finally posting the labor story. I'll intersperse some new pictures of Chloe to break up the monologue. After all, it's really about her!


It all started out on Tuesday when I went to the doctor for a routine check-up. Out of nowhere, my blood pressure had all of a sudden skyrocketed. My condition was termed "pregnancy induced hypertension". Throughout the rest of the week, we were in and out of the doctor's office and hospital for monitoring of the baby and me. Everything looked great, except that my blood pressure continued to remain at a somewhat unsafe level. Two of the doctors tried with all their might to convince me that our best bet would be to induce and deliver as soon as possible. They wanted to give me Pitocin, but all of you out there that know me well, know that I don't "do" drugs!


After praying about all our options, Andrew and I finally agreed on Saturday to allow the doctor to break my water to see if my body would start into labor without the drugs. Very shortly after that, the contractions began and didn't stop until 11 hours later. Because of my blood pressure, my labor nurse would not let me get out of bed. I didn't realize how hard it would be to lay there on my side while the contractions came and went. I also had back labor the entire time, so that made the experience all the more fun! Andrew and my mom were there the entire time massaging my back and forcing me to look at their faces and breathe with them. They were amazing and I know for sure that I couldn't have done it without their encouragement!

Chloe is already starting to worship the sun, just like her mom.

After several hours of making very little progress dilating, I decided to cheat a little and stand up for a few contraction sequences. I was able to stand up and move around for about 20 minutes before the nurse discovered that I was out of bed. To say the least, she was NOT happy and made me get right back in bed. In retrospect, I am convinced that those precious minutes out of that hard, uncomfortable hospital bed allowed me to make significant progress. I had begun to wonder if I could continue to withstand the pain for what I thought would be several more hours. When the nurse came in to check me, I had gone from 3cm to 10cm in about 2 1/2 hours. She told me I was ready to push. That was probably the greatest news I had ever heard in my life! That was just what I needed to give me a boost to the finish line. The doctor arrived around 4 am, and I pushed for about 45 minutes. It was the most intense exercise I have ever subjected myself to! Chloe came into the world at 4:51. When the doctor put her up on my chest, Andrew and I were completely overcome with emotion. She was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen. She weighed a whopping 6lbs and 12oz and was 20 inches long. Her Apgar scores were 8 and 9.

You wouldn't think eating and pooping would be so exhausting!

We are so thankful that God answered our prayers about having a healthy baby. She truly is a miracle from Him! We brought little Chloe home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. Well, there you have it. I left out the gory details, but I'll tell you if you really want to know!