Six Years Ago

Today we're celebrating the sixth anniversary of Chloe's birth.

Not that "we" had a choice. I'm learning that six-year-olds think birthdays are pretty special and the requests for cupcakes can start before 8 AM. The girl is ready to party! It's impossible to look into those excited green eyes or witness that little happy dance without feeling festive. We have a lot to celebrate, after all. Chloe has gone from this:

Chloe in the first 24 hours of life

To this:

Chloe on Saturday, blowing out the candles at her birthday party, which took place at her personal Shangri-La, Chuck E. Cheese's. Funny how one person's Shangri-La can be another person's third circle of hell.

In just six short years, no less! I can't believe that little baby in the picture is now the little girl that regularly turns out crayoned masterpieces and sits in the corner by the heater trying to count to 1,000. (She made it to 334 yesterday. I don't think I have the patience to count that high!) She never ceases to amaze me and I can't imagine life without her. Bring on those cupcakes!

Because she is my first baby, January 13th can't pass without me celebrating a transformation that Chloe's birth ushered in. Six years ago I woke up in the morning as a woman in labor and went to sleep that night as a mom. A mom. Six years ago, I started to discover new things. For the first time, I found out what love at first sight feels like (before that evening, I would have claimed to have experienced a dozen times, with everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to that super cute guy on the JV soccer team. But, nope. The real first time was when the doctor placed that gooey little creature on my chest). I also found out just how delicious a hospital brownie can taste after 16 hours of labor. Over the years, I've discovered even more. Like my ability to care, desperately in fact, if somebody eats their vegetables or wears their coat out in the cold. Or that a kindergartener can try the rhetorical abilities of a college grad (I think I could definitely make any debate team in the world after living with Chloe for six years). And how it sometimes takes herculean strength to wave goodbye to a little head peeking out the school bus window (yeah, I've probably listened to ABBA's "Slipping Through My Fingers" one too many times this week). I can't believe how much my life has changed in just six years.

But this year, out of all the other years, has me celebrating another remarkable event that happened a little before Chloe's birth. Carter and I managed to select and happily agree on a name before I was even pregnant. It didn't seem like it at the time, but it was a miracle! Oh, how times have changed . . .

Happy Birthday, Chloe!