Chloe insisted long ago that she wanted to be a princess. Of course she picked that - those are her favorite movies to watch and we tell her that she is our princess all the time! It was fun getting her all beautied up for the night. She picked out this little dress and matching crown. That afternoon, she took her nap in sponge rollers, although it didn't quite work as good as we wanted, so we had to go back over her hair with the curling iron. It is fun to play dress up with my little girl!!! She loves to have her hair fixed. She just sits on the bathroom counter talking to me while I try to make it look cute everyday. Here is our princess!!
And next is our studdly cowboy! I thought he looked great!!! I got his costume done with about 5 hours to spare! He decided about 2-3 weeks ago what he wanted to be. He couldn't figure it out for a while, so then it was a dash to see if we could get it pulled together. We couldn't find any boots that fit him (that weren't $50 either!), so he improvised and wore his dad's!!! It was pretty cute. He shoved a bunch of toilet paper in the toes of it and clopped around all night in those! 
Here is the group! Cowboy Zach, Princess Chloe, Pirate Evan, and Cinderella Nissa! 
And let's not forget adorbale little Pumpkin Boden!! Such a doll baby and so sweet!!
Hope everyone out there in blogland had a very Happy Halloween!!!
I can hardly believe she would be that old! It is just weird to think of her at that age because kids grow so much from 2 years old to 6 years old. She has been back in heaven longer than she was here on the earth. But yet, at times, it seems like we just had her here. Then at other times, it feels longer than what it really has been.
I have really done a lot better with this anniversary than I usually do. Sure, I have had my moments, and as painful as they are - this time I didn't stop them from coming. But usually it is for about an entire week before that is really hard. Maybe it is because there is a lot going on, or maybe it is because time is healing some of my open wounds. Last night I let myself really break down. I let the tears fall freely. I let myself be consumed in thoughts about my daughter. I prayed that I would feel her near. I prayed that I would have peace and comfort.
One that I clearly remember was when I was making dinner one night. In our Colorado house, we had one of those big long island/bar counters that attach to the wall. (hopefully you can picture that). Anyway, I had put Karleigh in her wheelchair so that she could watch me make dinner and feel included. She always needed to know that I was right there with her and she loved to be a part of everything and loved to have a conversation with you (in her own little special way). I put her on the other side of the counter (bar stool side) while I was on the opposite side. I got kind of involved in what I was making and kind of didn't pay attention to her for a minute. She squirmed the same way she always did when she wanted some attention. As I looked up at her, I remember this sly little look on her face. She was VERY good at teasing and completely knew what she was doing when she did it!! She had this look on her face telling me...."I bet you wouldn't dare come over here and tickle me!" It was so funny and so magnetic that I obviously had to then do the...."I'm gonna get you, I'm gonna get you" as I walked slowly over to her with my hands in tickle position! And then I guess you can imagine what happened next. Shear laughter and fun as I went and tickled her overly-ticklish body! Every time I would go back to the other side of the counter, she would give me that sly look again to tell me to come get her! We did that back and forth for a little while, having an absolute blast. Her laugh was SO incredibally full and addicting! Finally, I had to stop or we wouldn't be eating that night! So I stood on the other side of the counter and just did "Boo" over and over and over while I made dinner so that we could keep the laughing going. That was such a fun night! I will always remember how her eyes and smile were that evening.
Now before I tell the rest of the story, I have to give this little background. For those that never knew Karleigh, you have to understand a little about her muscle tone. She was diagnosed later in her life with CP (cerebral palsy). Sometimes she would be very "floppy" and other times her muscles would be so rigid you couldn't move her. She had a very hard time controlling her muscles and getting her arms and hands to do what she wanted. It took a lot of concentration and diligence to get them right where she wanted them. To keep them in that spot was another very difficult thing for her to do. Ok - back to the story....
I later talked with my mom and my sister, Marci. I truly have been blessed with the most wonderful family! They let me cry a bit and then told me of a poem that Marci had written for today. It is down below. They were taking treats to their friends and passing on Karleigh's love. I cried as my mom read it to me and decided that the kids and I were going to do the same thing. Thank you, Marci for doing this and inspiring us to do the same.
Flowers remind us of Karleigh and the neat thing is, they bloom around the same time that she passed away. It kind of helps to put things into perspective and help us to remember that there is still beauty, despite the pain and grief and longing.
Who's that handsome guy on the bridge? 
We then went down to a cute little town named, Nashville and walked around and window shopped. They just have all kinds of cute stuff there. On our way home, we stopped by our local apple orchard, Anderson Orchards to pick some apples and let Zach climb the trees. 
He was a little bummed that they weren't as big as he remembered them being last year. I guess that is what you get from growing....things aren't quite as big as they used to be! 
I got her dressed and then she disappeared into her room for a bit. I just went and started to get ready. She then brought me some hair ties and said excitedly, "Look mom, these are cool ones!!" I then put her hair in pigtails, but then she ran right back in her room over and over and brought me more "cool ones."
After we did her hair, she went and asked for her jewelry (pretty fancy and expensive, I know!) and her purse. Thanks Grandma Clay for the purse!! She keeps her little tiny baby doll in her purse. After she had all that on, I went back to my bathroom to finish getting ready. When I was putting my makeup on, she also wanted to wear my lip gloss.
It was totally fun having her get all dolled up! Such fun to have a girl! She ended up wearing everything - including the pinchy clip-on earrings for about 2 1/2 hours! She drew a lot of attention to herself....but hey - I guess that is what happens when you are a princess for a day!!
(I couldn't decide on which picture I liked best....)