It's the anniversary of my baby's birth. Five years ago I held my sweet girl for the first time.
I cried.
She didn't.
And here she is now, all 41.5 inches and 33 pounds of her.
Still stubborn and loud and independent, but also still sweet and precious and strong in so many ways.
She still makes me cry for both the good and bad, but she is my girl and I love all of her!
******************
She woke up before 7am eager to get on with birthday fun.... but Evan was still sleeping. She got dressed and ate a quick bowl of toasted oats while she waited patiently.
She was quiet and contained (when he finally did get out of bed around 7:30) but we knew the amount of excitement stored up behind her slight smile and wide eyes.
Her little chameleon (who goes everywhere with her) naturally helped open presents.
We went with dinosaurs (from her birthday wish list which is a mile long).
Three big ones. Tall and strong and fierce and powerful. Her favorites.
She headed right to the kitchen eager for a special breakfast with everyone. She requested banana muffins with chocolate chips on top (to be added in the morning).
Candles lit.... we sang -- Happy Birthday Chloe!
With dinos lined up she layered chocolates on her muffin and devoured it saving the top layer for last. I'm not sure how she did it really, but it was fun to watch.
After all our family tradition stuff, we got to spend the day with Gramma Monde and cousin Cami who came up to visit from North Carolina. What a treat! It would have been even nicer if the weather had cooperated, but the kids still had a blast inside nonetheless. These cousins haven't been together since Cami's family moved last fall so it was a really special day indeed.
******************
