Five years have passed too quickly. As joyous as birthdays are in this house, this one was particularly melancholy because Chloe is the baby. When the baby turns five, she's no longer a baby. It was another wonderful day at the Arboretum, as is our tradition. From year to year, the flowers are her gift from God, bringing beauty to the world around her. We never know if we will be enjoying this beauty in 50 degree weather or 80 degree weather - but its always a beautiful sight to behold and a tradition we hold dear.
Four was fun. But something I noticed about my baby was that she didn't want to be the baby - she wanted to be big like her brothers. She's always acted older than her age. I sadly realized that I expected her to act older and didn't cut her enough slack to just be four. Four year old girls like to whine, giggle and cry at the drop of a hat in any random order all through-out the day I've learned. I'm always learning with Chloe. Since she's my first and only girl, we learn as we go. Isn't that life?
Three....sweet, sweet, three. This has always been my favorite age with each of the kids. I love how they talk and their wonder at the world around them. Chloe has always been a girly-girl, but this was the year that she wanted to always be, act, dress and talk, just like me. What an honor. But how often I forget little eyes are watching, little ears are listening. She keeps me on my knees before God. I have learned more about grace and mercy through this precious little life. It is an honor to be her mommy.
We just watched the video of two year old Chloe tonight and laughed with the recollection of the sound of her voice and her little mannerisms. She was an obstinate two year old, always wanting to do the opposite of what we wanted. She was also very serious while taking in the world around her. She spoke little, watched alot, and adored her brothers. And her hair...it was a riot. She finally started getting hair at two. I've always loved her hair...or the lack of it.
Can you get happier or balder than this? I think not. Even though a one year old is a lot of work, they are equally as much joy. We would laugh so much over her new discoveries with this world and the words or sounds she came up with for each new, learned thing. She was fascinated with shoes at this age. She loved wearing my high heels and flip flops and she could hold her own in those little, fake, plastic high heels. We would have no way of knowing that this fascination would reach epidemic proportions by the time she turned five.
She was treated like a princess from the very start. Bennett could not wait for his little "Zozee" to arrive. He adored her and lavished affection on her. Gavin took great pride in being able to carry her to me or feed her. She changed our whole family for the better. Daddy was on a six week sabatical when she arrived and had the time to bond with her at home unlike the boys. We didn't miss a beat after she was born. She fit into our crazy lifestyle perfectly. We were out and about within days of her birth.Thank you God, for the gift of Chloe.
