Chloe's Third Birthday

We had a party in a meeting room at the hotel Eric and I work(ed) at. 

This was back at the end of September, the Sunday before her birthday. 

My sister and cousin came, along with my cousin's son. 

Eric's two sisters came, along with his nephew. 

My friend Sarah came. 

Madi was there. 

Overall, I think Chloe had a blast. 

It was a Frozen-themed party. 

There was a big sparkly #3 that I made. Cupcakes with blue frosting. Frozen cookies. 

For her birthday she got:

- Baby Anna Doll

- Fairy dress-up outfit

- Coloring book and crayons

- Bubble Guppies floor puzzle

- Frozen movies

- A back pack

- Snow White Dwarf house

- And a pack of all the dwarfs! 

Plus some other odds an ends I'm probably forgetting. 

Lots of fun. I'm already looking forward to her next party. 

Chloe's Second Birthday Party

Birthday girl!

I almost skipped blogging today, because I wasn't feeling it, but it's too important of a day to skip. 

Today my special princess turns 2. I can't believe it. 

Two years since I went into labor while watching The Lion King 3D in theatres with my friend Sarah. Two years since my c-section. Two years since life changed completely. 

Let's talk about her birthday party first. 

Some friends came up early, and helped me get ready when Chloe went down for her nap. She woke up from her nap when almost everyone was already there. She was so excited to see all the Dora the Explorer stuff everywhere. Girl is obsessed. 

We socialized, we snacked, and then we opened presents. 

Some of her presents included: some adorable clothes of course, two small Dora the Explorer dolls, a play tent, a Dora coloring book, a Cabbage Patch doll (from me, my favorite), some doll furniture and doll accessories, a LeapFrog Violet, and so much more. Spoiled little girl. 

We took some pictures, played with the toys, and ripped open the pinata. All in all, a pretty great day. 

Now today is the day of her actual birth. The poor girl is stuck in daycare while I'm at work. I'm hoping to leave early to have more time at home tonight with the girls. 

And some even more special news, this morning just after 3am, one of my closest friends gave birth to her baby boy three weeks early, so he shares his birthday with Chloe. Congrats to their entire family! And Happy Birthday to my little miss Chloe! 

Madi and Scott on a stick giving kisses

Dora pinata that my wonderful bosses got for Chloe, candy included! 

Chloe with one of my best friends, Ashley

Kisses for cousin Braden

Mom, me, nephew Braden, Grandfather, and Birthday Girl

Typical bad family photo

Lots of toys and clothes! 

Chloe's Birthday is Coming

Chloe's second birthday party is coming up and I couldn't be more excited. This year we've gone with a Dora the Explorer theme, because let's face it, she's obsessed! 

The supplies were easy enough to buy - they had Dora themed stuff at one (only one!) store in town. I didn't go crazy with Dora stuff, but I got the tablecloth and decorations, then got the plates etc in Dora colors instead of the official Dora plates. 

I'm not big on themed food, so I'm still thinking of snacks. We'll probably just do simple hot dogs on the BBQ as the main dish. Keepin' it classy. 

I started a DIY project last night with Eric - a big number two to hang up. I found the tutorial on Pinterest and just made a two instead. I'll post official details and pictures after the party. I'm hoping it'll hold up and not fall apart through the park. We've only done the stem part of the 2 so far. 

The presents have all been purchased, and she is one spoiled little girl. I was lucky, and had some extra money to spend since my friend Scott shipped over some money for me to pick a present on his behalf. My friends are so good to my little girl. All of them. 

Normally I'd just post about the party after the fact, but I'm too excited to wait. 

Does anyone have any fun ideas for a snack to put out? I'd like to do something a little different than usual. 

Toy Shopping for a 2 Year Old is Hard to Do

I cannot believe it's that time again. It's almost Chloe's birthday. It seems like just yesterday that it was her first birthday party. I think I'm more excited for this year's party since she'll be walking and eating and aware of the people and presents. And I think she'll be excited because the theme is Dora the Explorer and my little girl is obsessed with her. 

The toughest part of this birthday stuff, is figuring out what to get her. I got two presents picked out and purchased, but a friend sent me money to buy a gift on his behalf so I'm still browsing around for something perfect. 

With her love of dolls, I wanted to get a really nice doll, but the selection in town isn't great. 

I thought of getting her art supplies and Play D'oh. 

I thought of getting her something to do with Dora. 

I thought of getting her food and dishes for her kitchen. 

So many options, and when I'm at the toy stores, nothing stands out. 

The dolls are all either too boring, or too advanced for her age. We have enough play food for now. We can get art supplies for both girls for Christmas, and they'll be a little older then so they might not eat it all. 

I'm at a loss for great ideas. It's hard to buy for the kid that already has so much. 

What toys do your 2 year olds love?

Chloe Smashes a Cake

It's no secret that my child is a little odd. She hates to eat. She hates the beach. 

And now...

She hates cake. 

She had her cake smash photo session the week after her birthday. The cake was a cute little Elmo cake. She wore her colorful circus tutu. The pictures were going to be adorable. 

I half counted on this being her reaction, but still hoped we'd get some good shots. 

Like this one...

This is a good shot. I think it's the only one where she looks happy. And that's because she hasn't touched cake yet. 

It took a lot of coaxing to even get her to touch the cake a little bit. As usual, my daughter feels uneasy around things such as cake, but is super brave when it comes to barking dogs or trying to jump off the back of the couch.

Her next reaction after 'Wtf is this' was 'Okay, I touched it. I'm done now.'

I had to keep picking her up, holding her messy hands far away from me, and putting her back near the cake. She'd barely touch it. I smeared some on her face. Again, she was like 'wtf, Mom.' But at least she half smiled. 

Finally, she was had her fill of this cake and icing business and wanted out. I peeled the dirty tutu off her, hoping she'd be a little happier naked and at least take one or two more good shots. Maybe even show the photographer a real smile. 

Not a chance. She was so done. 

So done that she just wanted to cry. 

And all I can think about every time I look at this photo is that it looks like my daughter was feeling remorse after taking part in a brutal murder. Of Elmo. 

Cake smash was kind of a fail. At least we got a couple of pictures out of it. 

Drunk Birthday Photos of the Past and Back to Work

I don't do birthdays with class. 

My birthdays? Are either a drunken good time, or a night of junk food. 

24th birthday. Liquor and ice cream cake

19th birthday

23rd birthday

20th birthday - No, they're not all mine

Chloe's birthday? Reduced me to tears. 

When Chloe's birthday party was over and the guests left and Chloe was having a nap, all I could do was look around and try not to cry. The leftover decorations and new presents were just a huge reminder that the party was over. My daughter's first birthday party had come and gone. It was the last big event of my super long vacation. Not only was her party over, it also served as a bit of an 'end'. The end of my 13 months of maternity leave. 

I was only set to go back to work a week later, on October first, but knew things were a bit up in the air after going in for a job interview. As of Sunday, I had no idea if I'd be starting work that week or the next, but either way my time home with Chloe was coming to a quick end. I always knew I'd be sad when it was time to go back to work, but I thought I'd take it easily enough. I was a little sadder than anticipated. 

I got a call Monday around lunch that had me packing up Chloe with enough clothes and food to last her a week, and bringing her to my mothers. She only starts daycare on October 1st, but the phone call was asking me to start work on Wednesday (today), to start the new job that I had been interviewed for. 

This is a huge deal for me and Chloe because my old job (which I love) could only give me a couple of daytime shifts a week. Squeezing in enough shifts to make a decent pay check would've been incredibly hard, and most likely would've ended with me either working two jobs, or looking for a new job altogether. 

This new job is Monday to Friday, and the hours are within daycare hours. I don't have to worry about working anymore. This should be a huge relief, and it is, but I'm still sad to leave my daughter, and especially early. It makes me especially sad, because for her to stay with my mother (an hour away), I won't see her all week, including her birthday.

Chloe and my mother

I woke up the morning of her birthday and just lay there feeling sad about how I wasn't waking up to her pretty face. It was especially hard because she's been a bit feverish since the afternoon of her party. I hate being away from her. 

But ultimately, this is great for us so that's what I'm doing. And today, by the time you're reading this post, I should be starting my first day of training at my new job. 

I am now a conference coordinator. Doesn't that sound important? I love having a nice title. 

But I sure do miss my baby. 

Chloe's First Birthday Party

Chloe's first birthday party was Sunday. It was a great day.

A bunch of family and friends came over for food, cake and presents. We started the party at two, although most people arrived long before. The birthday girl put on her party dress and the fun started. 

She got a bunch of great presents: Some Megablocks, Elmo who plays the drums, finger painting set, a purse and accessories, a bowling set, a bunch of clothes, and a bunch of other things. She also got a blanket made out of her baby clothes from me. 

I took a million photos, so I'll share a few with you of the birthday girl. 

And a few of family and friends, including the actual birthday boy and girl in the middle, my brother and sister. 

Overall, a great day, and I was incredibly sad to see it and end have everyone leave. 

And today? It's baby girl's actual birthday. 

It's Almost Party Weekend

I'm sitting by myself in the dark, kind of. It's just after lunch on Friday. The weather is not what you'd call nice, hence the darkness. Chloe is napping, boyfriend is at work, and I'm using this time to catch up on reading blogs. 

The weekend is an important one. 

Sunday is Chloe's first birthday party. Friends and family will be coming over to help celebrate. I am beyond excited to see some of these people. It's been too long since I've seen some of them, like my grandfather. 

I bought a bunch of food, a bunch of supplies, the little present and the outfit. But I still don't feel prepared. 

There's still cleaning to do, the big present to pick up, and a few small groceries to get. A few more groceries to get, since I ate some of the party food. Oops. 

I also went a job interview yesterday. I don't want to get into details, but I'm hoping to hear back about it today, whether it's a good answer or a bad one. A lot of things depend on that answer, no matter which way it goes. 

So things are a bit all over the place here. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, and I think I just need to write out a to-do list and tackle it, then I'll feel better. 

Oh how I love lists. 

What's your weekend looking like?

Chloe's Circus Birthday Party Invitations

The invitations are finally complete. The inside of the card is simple with the what, where, when. On the inside at the top I used two elephant cut-outs to hold an 'Admit One' ticket with their trunks. 

Please excuse the horrible photo. With the loss of my computer, I also lost my photo editing software and didn't want to go out of my way to blur out my address, so I did a bad crop job. Also excuse my horrible handwriting. 

Exactly two weeks left until the big day!

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