So much excitement!

So...this has been quite the week.

Thursday, the 28th, Chloe and I celebrated her Giving and Receiving Ceremony anniversary. Most of you know, but for those of you who don't, that was the date Chloe officially become part of our family. Or at least legally. I considered her officially part of our family long before that! ;)

We had a nice low key celebration at our neighborhood Fazoli's. Classy, huh??? But it was good and Chloe loved it. She's such a fan of Italian food and I felt like I could bring her in there and not have to worry about her getting out of control. And it's a good thing, because boy, did she make a scene. She COULD NOT leave her bunny at home. Now, this isn't just any bunny. It's one of those Easter bunnies that play the ridiculously annoying banjo type music. But she loves it. And dances like a crazy child to it. ALL THE TIME. This dinner was no exception, much to the enjoyment of other diners!

But we had a good time and nice little celebration!



In a little not so exciting news, remember this past January when I got a new car? Possibly not, since I probably didn't blog about it. Well, no worries, as it is no more.

Friday morning Chloe and I left to drop her off at my mom's before work. Now, we're driving down a BUSY two lane road. We're driving along, when out of nowhere, a car pulls out of a housing addition right in front of us. I slammed on my brakes, but there was nothing I could do but hit him.

Luckily, nobody was hurt other than some minor scrapes and bruises. Chloe's neck has a huge seat belt burn around it, my knee and hand is bruised, I have a seat belt burn across my chest, a small scrape of my head, and other random soreness all over. But nothing serious. The guy who pulled out in front of us was completely fine.

The cars, not so much. I'm going to post some pictures, which don't look too bad. But apparently when an airbag explodes, they usually end of totaling the car, as the air bag itself is a $5,000 repair. Or at least that's what the insurance adjuster is claiming.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty impressed with the lady handling the claim. It was the other guy's fault, so we are going through his insurance, but they have been great. I was in a rental car by Friday evening and they have already made plans to total the car and purchase a new car seat for Chloe.

In all seriousness, I have a few points I would like to make:

1)Seat belts. An absolute must! We always were ours, and so do most of the people I know, but I'm just sayin'...

2)Air bags. Awesome. I've always heard how horrible airbags are. How the explosion can do more damage than just not having them. At least for me, that absolutely was NOT the case. It all happened so fast, but I remember instantly being grateful for it being there. And it did not hurt me at all. I can't imagine if I had slammed into the steering wheel without the air bag.

3)Car seats. Having Chloe in the car with me was probably one of the scariest moments in my life. Right after it happens, all is quiet in the car. I jump out and open the back seat, and when I look in the car, I can't see Chloe. The car seat is literally tilted forward against the driver seat, so all I can see is the back of it. I push it back, not knowing what I was going to find. Thankfully, she seemed fine and I got her out of the car. It still makes me sick to my stomach to think about. We had the seat installed correctly AND it was tethered in with the clip to the car. But 1)The back seat belt didn't lock. 2)The part of the seat that adjusts the length of the tether strap didn't hold. Not sure where the blame belongs, the car seat installer, the car, or the car seat itself. Either way, it has convinced me not to scrimp on a car seat. It could have been very bad. It's definitely made me more aware of whether car seats have been crash tested, what the rating it, etc.

So we went out and got a Britax Marathon. But sure if the insurance will cover it all, but spending the extra money was worth it to me to have peace of mind.

Ok...end of my public service announcement.

Funny story: We get out of the car and Chloe is HYSTERICAL. Understandable. She's attached herself to me and will not let go. Doesn't want the paramedic to check her or I out. But then the firetruck came. And instantly, her hysterical crying turned into screams of excitement and laughter. And she was excited the rest of the time! That girl...

I wish I would have had enough sense to take pictures at the actual scene, but I was a little shaken up and not thinking to clearly. But these pictures were taken Friday night when I went down to get the rest of my stuff out of it. The wrecker service place had cleaned it up a lot, but I think you can get the picture...:









Anyway, so that's been our week.

Last piece of news. Before I forget, my goal is to post everyday in June. I'm severely neglected this blog recently, and that has to stop. No excuses. So you guys are here to hold me accountable. So look for a post EVERYDAY.

On to some pictures:

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there! Sorry this is a day late!

I can't believe it's been two years since I first laid eyes on Chloe in an orphanage in Vietnam. I'm not sure that there's really anything that can top Mother's Day 2007.

In the last two years, Chloe has grown into quite the remarkable little toddler. I wish I could say she's easy-going, laid-back, and well behaved. But as we all know, she's none of those things.

She's a ball of energy, strong willed, and very, shall I say, spirited. She knows what she wants and doesn't have a problem letting you know.

To say she's going through a challenging stage would be a huge understatement. But it's funny...looking back, I'm certainly not surprised by her personality. I'm sure that everyone who traveled with us will agree...you could see that little personality coming a mile away!

But even with all of her challenges, I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world! I love you baby!

Mother's Day 2007

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day 2008