FAST forward 7 years....and she's still my sweet little Chloebear! 
The story of my Chloebear starts on a Sunday afternoon. We were at our pastor's house for lunch after church. I was still a week before my due date but feeling like I couldn't go another day! My pastor's wife told me I should try castor oil. I had heard of women using castor oil to start labor...but I didn't really know what it was or how exactly it started the labor. After a few questions were answered we decided that I would try it that night. After we put Abigail and Joshua to bed I mixed the dreaded oil with orange juice and drank it. YUCK!!! It was terrible and what came next wasn't too fabulous either. After 4 hours of unpleasantries I realized I was having contractions. YIPPIE. At 1 am I woke Bob up and asked him if he was ready to meet his daughter. Our neighbor came right over and we were off to the hospital. When we got there they checked me out and even though I was dilated to 5cm and having contractions they told us to go walk around the hospital and come back in a few hours to see if I was really in labor. We walked down every hallway in that place and looked at what seemed to be thousands of inspirational posters. Finally we went back upstairs and they checked me again. Big surprise...they informed me I was indeed in labor. Hello!
I had done the labor thing twice with no drugs and thought it might be fun to see what the epidural was all about. So I got one. I was totally bummed when I could still feel my contractions on one side. Right at the end they gave me more drugs and it finally kicked in but it was a complete disappointment. When Chloe finally arrived the morning of Monday January 12 the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and it was too short for them to just unwrap. Chloe was a bit purple and they had to cut the cord right away. She didn't cry for what seemed to be forever...but it was probably just a minute. Bob had a worried look on his face and he started praying. Chloe started breathing and was totally fine. She was the smallest Baby Beek weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz and she continues to be the smallest Beek (comparatively). Josiah is just about as tall as she is and weighs more already. Yep...Chloe is going to be the littlest Beek, but that's okay, we know that good things come in small packages. :) In the past year Chloe's personal sense of style has really started to emerge. She likes things to be fancy. She enjoys wearing scarves, especially the ones with a little sparkle, and she really loves earrings and jewelry. She always has a purse or bag on her arm, which usually is holding some sort of stuffed animal. She's a girl with stuff! Abigail says that Chloe is so "lipstick" and also complains that she is too messy (I think my own big sister could identify with Abigail on this issue). She may be a little on the messy side but she makes up for that with sweetness. Chloe is the snuggliest girl and endears herself with everyone she meets! She loves to sing and does it with all her heart and she is so excited to start taking piano lessons. It's so fun to watch her blossom and change and develop into her own special person.
Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet Chloebear!!! I love you tons and tons!
