The Carlos Family

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Happy 4th Birthday sweet Chloe Grace!

Happy 4th birthday to our sweet Chloe Grace. What a little love she is. We knew exactly what Chloe would want for her special birthday date, so we took her to Ariel's Grotto at California Adventure to have a princess dinner. It was quite the ordeal getting there on time, but we made it. Chloe opened up a special present on the way there, which was an Elsa dress. These dresses are few and far between and go for tons of money online. The week of her date I randomly went down the princess aisle at Target and there were three Elsa dresses! Chloe was so excited. Her eyes absolutely glowed. Chloe first met Ariel and took several pictures with her. We then sat down on the patio, which was surrounded by a lake. It was so pretty. The food was delicious and ambience perfect for our little princess. After about 20 minutes a sining pauper arrived to announce the first princess. This continued for each princess. Chloe met Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Belle. She was in Heaven!! After a four course meal we explored the park, just the three of us. Ryan and I found ourselves attempting to "rush" Chloe, but quickly fell into her relaxed and happy groove as she danced down Main Street. It was such a special day for us. On her actual birthday, May 5, she woke up to her door decorated with balloons and streamers, a house full of presents (princess pop-up tent, Lalaloopsy doll, bathing suit and sunglasses, and a Pinkalicious book), and a birthday breakfast of princess pancakes. The rest of the day was a normal Monday until dinner where we met the family at Farrell's for a super entertaining dinner and dessert. Chloe had a blast and loved being spoiled by all the people she loves most. Chloe got a new Pottery Barn chair (PJ & N), scooter, "Miss Beauty" dress, and adorable homemade apron (PL & G), a cute dress and purse (K, L, & J), and money for her college account (G).

How do you describe Chloe:

Girly girl to the max
Loves to dance and sing
Sassy and independent when she wants to be
Beautiful and sweet
Loves to give kisses and impromptu "I Love You's"
Dramatic
Princess-obsessed
Loves to dress up in princess dresses and change multiple times a day
Pink is her color and sometimes she'll consider purple
Enjoys coloring, painting, doing puzzles, collecting things in bags, and swinging
Loves fine foods...goat cheese, pasta, yogurt with honey and granola, hummus, and just about everything else but tomatoes!
Smart, curious, and creative
Daddy's girl and Mommy's baby
Chloe is 37 (70%) pounds and 40 1/2 (61%) inches tall

Sweet baby girl is getting so big...

April Showers...Yah right!

April was full of fun festivities for us. The most emotional and exciting news was that our genetic daughter, Hannah Faith was born on April 12 to her two amazing parents. She was a little one too: 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 19 inches long. I am so grateful that her parents and us are connected through Instagram. I absolutely love seeing updated pictures of sweet Hannah. I feel total and complete joy every time I see a new picture. She is such a blessing to them and us. At first I didn't see much of either of my children in her, but lately her pictures are identical to Clayton's baby pictures at the same age. I think she has Chloe's eyes and head shape, but everything else is Clayton! We are eternally grateful for baby Hannah and her parents. Easter was a special day as the blending of families came together to celebrate. We went to church in the morning and then swimming and dinner at Papa Jim and Nonnie's house in the afternoon. Ryan's parents and Lindsay's were there too, which made the day that much sweeter. The next weekend we had a birthday party for our trio at Eastside Park. It was simple and fun, so, therefore, absolutely perfect! I still incorporated my plethora of homemade decorations, but kept the entertainment easy with the natural environment of the park and a last minute pinanta (filled with everything but candy!) to keep the babes happy. Several of Clayton and Chloe's new preschool friends came to play. It was so wonderful watching them play with their adorable little friends. The last big news is that Easton started speech therapy and he is rocking it! We are so proud of him and grateful for the opportunity provided for us through Orange County Regional Services Center. It has been a painless process from the get go and Easton's speech is already thriving. He's been diagnosed with classic speech delay and nothing more. Thank goodness! There's no reason for the delay other than maturity, being a younger sibling, and/or just being plain not ready to express himself with words and sentences. Easton has his receptive language, it is just the expressive we are working on. Every day brings new words and new sounds and most importantly he is frustrated when you don't understand him and excited when he does say something. That was the missing piece...he didn't care a month ago and now he does! Oh and to top off the business, we decided to renovate our three bathrooms and put new windows in the entire house. Can you say "crazy!!" We are 3.5 weeks into the reno and so done! Next update will be filled with pictures.

Here's some pictures from our April celebrations...

This kid!