No Outfit Complete

[Suzanne Lindley]

Chloe has been a part of our family since March 31st. I am filled with pride each morning as Katie gets her ready for the day. She wakes her with laughter in her voice and a smile on her face. She is more natural with this baby than I could have ever dreamed possible. I expected Ronnie and I to be spending a lot of time caring for her but even on the weekends she is a part of the clan....Katie's friends take turns holding her, they fuss over her, and she basks in the attention.

Many things have changed since Katie and Karlie were little. Not only do diapers no longer have pins, they don't even have tape. Velcro has taken their place. Snacks come in pre-packaged containers already cut into bite sized pieces. The three second rule no longer applies. It was great when my girls were little but doesn't seem quite so wise now that I'm older. Katie and Karlie are beginning to wonder how they learned to walk, much less ride horses. I'm more cautious now than I was way back when.

I picked Chloe up from the day care the other day. I brought her home, gave her a bath, and changed her clothes. She immediately started to scream. I rocked her, I walked her, I checked for anything that might be hurting her, tried a bottle and even resorted to the melty yogurt snacks. Nothing worked! I sat her down one more time and she walked over to the shoe bench, picked out her shoes and with tears streaming down her face handed them to me. I picked her up, put them on, and saw a smile a mile wide.

Before Chloe came to stay with us, she had never had a pair of shoes. By the end of the first week, Katie had made sure that she had a pair to match every outfit. She loves them! And quite clearly, without them no outfit is complete :)