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....happy birthday chloe... auntie loves you so much thanks for all your help over the years...i love your unique friendship with zach and all the love and attention you give my little rae rae...

..i've spent so much time thinking about all my nieces and nephews trying to come up with things they would all like and at the same time not just more useless junk that gets played with one time.... an it's very time consuming... consciously, because they are all very different personalities.... not to mention age ranges... although maddie and chloe probably could agree on one brand they love...juicy of course.... and lets just say there are some smokin' deals around here to be found.... i can't just lump the ages together and buy the same thing that's just two lazy.... and with the edition of my sisters 2 daughters the last 3 years it has leveled out the christmas shopping experience... many christmas season's it seems as if we only hit one section... 'boys r us'.... and i've even managed to come up with some ideas for the dreaded pre-teens and teenager on my list.... and i never complain about buying for the kids one year i watched my baby sister 9 months pregnant joyfully buy for 8 nephews and 1 niece... that's right 9 kids and later i noticed hardly anyone if anyone shopped for her new baby.... i guess since she wasn't here nobody thought it mattered.... so insensitive... (remember the unborn babies this year!!)forget the fact that my tiny sis was carrying that day a giant 8lb. 1 oz. moose....i've never forgotten that christmas... after we ate dinner at my mom's christmas night, preggo leaned back in her chair with her tiny little hands on her huge belly and said "I'M DONE!" and it was clear she didn't mean with dinner.... apparently God heard her desperation.. because seriously 2 minutes later a frantic 1st time mom screamed, "Heather!!!" 26 gruelling hours later Hannah made her grand entrance and finally i bore witness to what i was missing and couldn't go a lifetime without.... we won't talk about the fact that the tiny pink fuzzy hat i crocheted her was too small... at least the matching fuzzy pink blanket was big enough! ...And then there is my other sister's daughter...turning 10 today! She made her debut way early (over a month) and when my sister called me early one morning to ask me to come sit with her kids because she thought she was in labor well my reply was something like, "no you're not. go sit on the couch and rest..." click. yes i know a whole new level of insensitivity... so one hour later a barely able to talk sis calls me saying get over here now... i'm going to the hospital! ummm... 30 minutes later Chloe was born and my sis has yet to forgive me that she missed her epidural... seriously I'm soooooooo sorry!!!! (my thin defense: i was barely 21 and never had a baby??? my advice should not have been listened to.) She looked so cute in her first outfit a pink and white tiny penguin cotton dress from baby gap... and tiny cotton pink socks! love you baby!!!!.....Merry Christmas everyone hope this year brings lasting memories for your families!!!