Happy Birthday Chloe!

Despite my best efforts, I can't keep these kids from growing and Chloe celebrated another birthday on the 10th of this month. Joe and I have often said that we would like to get our kids to the point where they can walk, talk, eat, and wipe their own bums and then freeze them. Getting past those points takes away a lot about what makes new babies hard, and freezing them means that we can keep them in the cute fun, make you laugh with how sweet and great they are stage forever. I know there are plenty of things that I will enjoy as my kids get older, I just also really want to cherish the years we have with our young kiddos.

To me the years continue to pass faster and faster. Six years ago I looked like this:and Chloe came out looking like this.
Now that beautiful little newborn is a beautiful big girl.

I love so many things about this child of mine it would be impossible to list them all. She is one of the most caring, forgiving, funny people I know. She loves to make people smile and LOVES being a big sister to her two little brothers. She is a complete joy and I am so glad I get to call her mine.



Being in kindergarten she has definitely started to learn more about friendships and about how people are all different - I didn't think those types of things would affect her so soon. Another thing I thought I had a few years to worry about is her interest in boys. This is definitely a product of kindergarten and Disney movies. She already worries about what it means if one of the boys call her "babe" or if she gets a Valentine that says "I like you" We've tried to explain that we don't need boyfriends at this age, just boys that are friends. Nevertheless, this is something that she has become aware of and is thinking about these days.



Chloe wishes she could be the mom. In fact, she asked me the other day why she can't be the boss and tell me what to do. Independence is something she is trying to figure out. While this is a good thing in many ways - like when she cleans her room all by herself without being asked or gets in and out of the shower and ready alone, it also has it's down side. I hear the word "NO" from her a lot more often than I have followed by "I don't want to." She definitely is testing boundries.



Chloe has quite an imagination. This year has marked a change in bed time habits for her. In the past once, prayers, bathroom, and books were done, she would grab her favorite stuffed animal and be asleep within minutes of being tucked in. Now I will go upstairs, sometimes even an hour past her bedtime, and find her sitting up reading a book, drawing, or playing with her dolls. She loves to create scenarios for her and Noah to play in and has a larger attention span for her toys when she sits down with them. She loves her miniature princess polly pocket like dolls, and she can spend hours in front of her dollhouse. Several times a day Chloe will ask to color and can sit forever coloring, cutting, and creating. One of her favorite coloring activities is to draw and color food items and "cook" meals with them for us. Her favorite ingredients are garlic and sugar.



Speaking of food, Chloe is a great eater. I love cereal, and Chloe would be happy if we never had it again, preferring pancakes, hashbrowns, and BACON daily if we were willing. She loves "everything" sandwhiches, which include mayonaise, mustard, any and all meats we have in the house, cheese, and lettuce. Her dinner favorites are navajo tacos, creamy chicken pasta, and after I just tried this pinterest recipe, Chicken Spiedini, has also been declared the best thing you ever made. Chloe is like her mom and loves chocolate. She also loves starbursts and bubble gum, apples and yogurt, cookie dough and cookie dough ice cream.



Chloe is becoming more aware of the things that happen outside the bubble of her existence. When Joe was involved in the recent shooting in Ogden, Chloe had a lot of questions about what had happened. Her prayers started including the safety of her dad a lot more. Just last night she prayed "Please help dad to come home safely tonight and if not, help Jesus to take care of him." I'm not sure what to do with her growing awareness. I know she doesn't display a lot of fears about Joe's job, but it also obvious to me she's thinking about it more than I know. Another thing she is paying more attention to is the gospel. From asking to teach family home evening lessons, to memorizing the first article of faith she is beome more active in her questions and participation with some of the activities in our home. I LOVE it.



Chloe is still afraid to try some new things. There are clothes that if they don't fit just right the moment she puts them on, she wants to get them off as fast as possible. Those same items when given five minutes to get used to, often become favorites. She is scared about learning how to ride a bike on her own, but promises she'll be ready to learn this summer. She gets nervous when we are reading and come to a word I know she knows, sometimes she will freeze and starting guessing for fear of taking time to think, sound out, and remember the word. I volunteer in her kindergarten class every week and she is so eager to please her teacher and reports from Mrs. LeFevre have been really good about how she is doing.



I am sure there is a lot more about her that I am forgetting. Oh, like I just remembered - you can't make any comment or noise about or related to body functions without her bursting into fits of giggles (thanks for that Joe) and you can't turn on music without her dancing around. After asking her a couple of times she has just said she would be interested in starting dance classes, but I have no idea where to start with that. We shall see. Chloe is a character. She brings so much life to our family and it would not be the same without her as part of it. Happy Birthday Chloe and although I wish they came a little slower I can't wait to celebrate many more!