And the celebration continues.....

For birthdays, we like to celebrate big in our family! It's a chance for family and friends to get together and have fun. I guess I also struggle with the fact that Chloe's birthday is so close to Christmas. I want her to have a very distinct day and feel like the special girl that she is. Chloe had her friend/family birthday party today and it was so much fun! This is the only time I wish that I had a huge house with a formal dining room that seats twenty, but everyone packed in and didn't seem to mind sitting on the floor to eat. Corey's mom, grandma, aunt, uncle, sister, brother-in-law, and our two nieces and two nephews came from his side of the family. My dad, sister, aunt, uncle, and my dad's first cousin and her husband came from my side for the festivities. Tracy, Mike, Gavin, Maggie and Molly also joined in on the fun! (We consider you guys family too--thanks so much for coming!)

And, yes, I still have the Christmas decorations up. I usually leave them up until after Chloe's birthday party. (Although one year I recall a picture of Taya when she was little in front of the Christmas tree the middle of February. EEK!) Chloe had a cake with a dancer on that was pink and green so we had the red and green of Christmas with a little pink thrown in. Seemed to work though! Chloe got so many nice, thoughtful gifts. I swear it takes me a month to rearrange the house to fit in all the x-mas and birthday presents from December and January. The weather was gorgeous in the high 30's. Not bad for the middle of January!!! The only snafu of the evening was when Corey and Jason (Corey's sister's husband) were putting together a baby changing station for Chloe that Corey and I had gotten her and a piece was broken and it wouldn't go together. After a bit of frustration and several muttered comments from Corey about why I buy things that require assembly, we decided to take it back and exchange it for a new one. Luckily, I still had the receipt so that went smoothly. Our nieces, Bailey and Rylee, are spending the night and we're heading "up north" for our nephew's birthday party in the morning. Party on Wayne!! Party on Garth!! Remember Wayne's World:) Ok! You don't have to say it! I'm a nerd!