Chloe's Big Day

This post is primarily for posterity.  And because Jenny took such excellent pictures for me :)

Chloe got baptized on February 5, 2011.  It happened here:

The highlight of the program before the actual baptism was the musical number Carter's family did.  The lady who was organizing this Stake baptism called me exactly four days in advance to ask if I could get one together.  She called the right family!  Tom, Carter's dad, arranged a special Teach Me to Walk in the Light that he, Becky, Lisa, Laura, Josh, and Carter sang acappella.  Here they are at their first and only rehearsal 15 minutes before (these guys are so amazingly talented that it proved to be more than enough):

Chloe was very calm beforehand (even though she spent most of the day asking me how much longer she had to wait--she was very excited!).  She posed for lots of pictures:

Chloe was confirmed right after the baptism.  She was excited to wear the special baptism dress.  This Christmas, I presented it to all four girls (it belongs to them all equally even though Chloe got to wear it first).  It's nice to know we'll get a lot of use out of it.  I'm glad I invested now and didn't repeat my blessing dress mistake (as in, not ever buying one!):

Kylie (Chloe's BFF) and Chloe

After all of that, we headed over to Tom and Becky's house for a fantastic party.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of support Chloe had from our friends and family.  Everything was purple, of course, because that's her favorite. 

 Carter with the Witnesses (my brothers, Taylor and Barrett)

 Aunt Allie and Uncle Barrett

 Wendy, one of my very best friends in the whole world, just happened to be in town that day. I'm so glad she was able to make it!

 Chloe with her grandmother

Sadie, with her spit-out Jelly Bellies (I think she got a popcorn one--she hates those!)

I think the highlight of the night were the cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy.  My grandfather was so sweet to get them for us.  He wanted Chloe to have special treats on her special day.  These babies are her favorite thing in the whole world:

Carter's cousin, Molly, baked and decorated a gorgeous cake just for Chloe.  So good!

It was such a great party!  We're so thankful to everyone who came.  They were so excited for Chloe.  They brought gifts and flowers and congratulated her like crazy.  So wonderful!

The next day, Chloe was welcomed as the newest member of our ward at church.  She was terribly poised as the counselor conducting read her introduction (for me, the highlight of that was when she said that her goal for the coming year was to finish the second grade!).  And, of course, she was lovely in her gleaming white dress:

 Chloe with her brand new set of scriptures.  You can get a free copy of the Book of Mormon here!

 I still can't get over the fact we have an eight-year-old at our house!  I'm so proud of Chloe and the example she is for her older sisters.  I hope the gospel will bring her as much happiness as it has for me and that she will always remember the way she felt on this very special day.