You're Up There, Daddy! - Jan 25

So when a kid turns 3 it's like all of the sudden they don't need you anymore. LOL. Chloe has still been doing swim lessons every Saturday and a couple weeks ago she actually had her first class where Heather was not in the pool with her. We were both pretty worried about how that would go..for what I would think are obvious reasons. If you are in the water with her, you KNOW she's safe. Not that she isn't safe with the instructors, but it's a helpless feeling being outside the glass as well as just watching her to make sure she isn't misbehaving. The first class was rough. She was splashing, and she kept jumping into the water when she wasn't supposed to. We were standing outside on the bleachers clenching our teeth and trying not to run out there. They assured us after the class that everything was fine and pretty much what they are used to dealing with and the 2nd week went much better. Much to our surprise, she didn't question for 1 second why Heather wasn't in the pool with her after like 6 months of that being the case. It's an adjustment, and in a way I know it's a sad for Heather because I know she enjoyed swimming WITH Chloe.

So Heather has Chloe in her swim class and I have been taking Chloe to Gymnastics for..I forget how long and apparently now that she's 3 she's able to go in to the class where she's by herself. Up until now, I had been doing the "parent participation" class which I too have enjoyed. For several of the parents in the class it's apparently the perfect time for them to text their friends and check their email while half watching their kid but for me, I was all in. Well, just like swim lessons, last week was our first week of Chloe doing class alone and I had to go upstairs and watch. It went fine as I somewhat suspected it would..mostly because she adores the teacher (Miss Patty) and she generally will do whatever she asks. I'm tempted while being upstairs to check my phone and space out but I much prefer to watch what's happening and I like it when Chloe looks up to find me watching her. She smiles and points. She's growing up! What the heck?

Have a great weekend, folks~

B

I'm Having A Cars Party! - Jan 18

A long time ago Heather asked Chloe what she wanted to have for her birthday party. She gave her several choices and Chloe without hesitation said she wanted a "Cars" party. It's interesting how absolute and decisive Chloe is when you give her a choice between things. Some might say "Cars" is a boy theme for a party but let's not start the stereotypes this early ladies and gentlemen. I say if she likes cars, nothing wrong with that. ;-) Her mother by the way drove a 1965 Mustang in high school, not your typical "girl" car. Not your typical girls. =)

This last Sunday we had her party. We had it at the same place as last year which again worked out really well. The kids basically have the run of the place and Chloe who has been going to gymnastics there for several months had fun running the place like it was a course set up in one of her classes. It was pretty funny but you I know she had a ton of fun with everybody there. We sang happy birthday and unveiled Chloe's "surprise gift" which if you don't know by now..you'll see when you scroll down. I always knew we would end up with one of these things, I just never knew it would be THIS one. I love it, Chloe loves it, I can't wait for the weather to be nicer so we can cruise around more.

Just a few pics from the party, have a great weekend!
-B











































She's hugging McQueen, lol

Three - Jan 11

You probably know by now but this past Tuesday was Chloe's 3rd birthday! It stinks when your birthday lands in the middle of the week, and it stinks when you are sick on your birthday and this year Chloe got to experience both of those things! The good news is she should be in tip top shape for her party this weekend, lol. Heather took the day off and we had to flip a coin between staying home or doing something fun so we went where all the germs go during the week, Chuck E Cheese! LOL. Chloe had fun and there were only a few other kids there(it was Tuesday morning after all) but it was kind of fun to just have our own little birthday party, if you will. A pretty low key day but we spent it together and that was the important part. =)

It goes without saying that we can't believe she is 3 years old. Neither of us can get over how big she is, how smart she is, how amazing, awesome and beautiful she is. I imagine this is how every parent feels but it's still amazing to think that she is our daughter. It has been an amazing experience to watch her grow up. Have a great weekend, folks~

-B =)















And the single most amazing photo I have ever taken of Chloe. The current background on my phone that I'm pretty sure I will never change...

Goodbye To Two - Jan 4

Happy New Year! In just a few short days Chloe will be 3 years old. I don't know about you but to me it still feels like we just came home from the hospital with Chloe. It really is a trip to think how much has changed and to think that was almost THREE YEARS AGO is insane. That also means that I have been posting stuff on this blog every Friday for the last 3 years. Also pretty insane. It's been fun for me and now that a few years have gone by it's really fun every once in a while just to surf backwards and see how much Chloe has changed. This week I decided to go back throughout the year and pluck out some of my favorite images and mix them up....what you might call a 2012 highlight reel. LOL. It took me almost an hour just to go through each post and pick pictures but mostly because I spent so much time just admiring our beautiful Daughter and looking at how much she has changed. Chloe's birthday is on Tuesday but her party isn't until next weekend so most likely the next time you see Chloe, she'll be 3!

Have a great weekend~
-B

Santa Will Share The Cookies With Me! - Dec 28

Chloe may or may not completely grasp the concept of Santa Claus and the whole "comes into your house and leaves you presents" thing but we did our best to explain it to her. We told Chloe she should leave out some cookies for Santa and she insisted that Santa would want to eat only one cookie and share the other with her. LOL. Sure. This year, Santa did not bring any outwardly obvious gifts such as the tricycle she received last year rather, he wrapped one special present and left a few toys around the tree ready to be played with.

Chloe was suffering from a pretty nasty cold but all things considered she was in good spirits and extremely excited to see everyone as we made the rounds between our families. She was very well behaved while opening presents and to my shock she was completely content with waiting her turn while making/helping other people take their turn to open gifts. Once again she received a ton of awesome gifts from all of our family and we got her a bunch of stuff as well. Oh yeah, Santa, too. She is one lucky kid that's for sure. =)

I thought I would just share some photos from our Christmas morning at home which was of course only a small piece of our Christmas excitement. I hope you had a nice Christmas as well and I guess we'll see you back again...next year!

-Brian, Heather, & Chloe