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Chloe Grace: 4 Years Old
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Chloe Grace

Chloe Grace: 4 Years Old

Today my big girl is officially 4 YEARS OLD! Her birthday party was this past weekend and she had the time of her life. I know every mother out there talks about how fast time flies and it’s quite possibly the most true and real thing in this world.

Year 3 was quite possibly the biggest one for Chloe as far as changes go! There were a lot of changes happening in the Gougler house, and overall Chloe did a good job adapting. It wasn’t always easy, but she proved to be a strong, independent little girl.

This last year Chloe…

  • became a big sister! She visited her baby brother in the hospital and welcomed him back to her home!
  • started preschool. No more Mother’s Day Out, this big girl became a preschooler.
  • welcomed her cousin Gabe to the world! Not only did Chloe become a big sister, but also a cousin just 9 weeks later.
  • went to Chicago at Christmas time to see our best friends, the Crowsons!
  • danced the night away when her Meens and Greg got married. This girl got her momma’s awesome wedding dance skills.
  • moved up in gymnastics from the yellow group to the blue group! Trust me, it was such a big deal for our sweet girl.
  • went on a big Easter egg hunt will all of her friends, another at school and of course one at Nonna & Poppa’s. She was sure to teach Brody & Gabe how to do it.
  • helped take care of Brody while Mommy & Daddy went on their first trip away.
  • finished preschool and spoke into the microphone to introduce her class song at the end of year performance!
  • played at lots of parks, splash pads and pools over the summer.
  • visited Schlitterbahn again and loved it even more this year!
  • had the coolest Trolls themed birthday party at gymnastics.

This girl packs quite the huge personality in her little body. She’s full of life, has a flair for drama and knows how to keep us on our toes. She’s full of funny and witty phrases that have us always laughing and wondering where she learned them from. I swear she’s a sponge and soaks up EVERYTHING she hears.

I’ll be the first to admit that 3 was a tough year for us. More specifically, 3 to 3 1/2 was incredibly hard. I don’t want anyone to get the impression that she is the most perfect toddler and life was a breeze because that wasn’t the case. Don’t get me wrong, she is amazing and magical in every way, but she’s still a toddler and I’m still her mom. We struggled a lot in the couple months leading up to Brody’s birth and continued for the remainder of 2018. The change of his arrival threw my poor girl for a loop. We had some attachment issues, problems with potty training (specifically #2) and just overall moodiness.

I’m not telling y’all this to hurt or bash on sweet Chloe, but to be real and let y’all know what we experienced. If I can let someone else know they are NOT alone, then I’m glad that I decided to share this hard time! Luckily like all tough times, this door closed and opened up the best one yet. Chloe is the happiest she’s ever been!

Chloe’s favorite things

  • Swimming. She’s still my water baby and can swim across my parents’ pool and tread water. Her confidence and ease in the water is still terrifying as a parent, but I’m so proud of her! We still do weekly indoor swim lessons to ensure water safety and to keep her learning new skills.
  • Gymnastics. When Chloe transferred from mommy and me into the preschool class, we weren’t sure she was going to like it. Luckily after a few months, she started loving it again! As her confidence without mommy or daddy grew, so did her skills. Now she can do a forward roll, handstand, cartwheel and backward roll on the wedge mat! She can walk across the big beam on her tippie toes and do a forward roll over the bar. Chloe even moved up from the yellow to blue group this year!
  • Playing pretend. House, mommy, restaurant, school, you name it, she wants to play it. She’s obsessed with playing with her baby dolls or her Little People princesses in their castle. She also loves to boss her momma around by being the teacher!
  • Going to the zoo or a park. Zoo membership for the win this year. We’ve been almost once a month this year minus the last two months. (It’s too hot!) Her favorite animals at the zoo are the cheetah and elephants. We also love going to any park we see. She’s gotten so much braver and isn’t afraid to go down any slide! This includes the playground in our backyard. She loves swinging and can pump her legs by herself now!
  • Shows. Bubble Guppies, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse, Sofia the First, TOTS, Daniel Tiger
  • Movies. Toy Story (all of them), Frozen, Tangled, Cars 3
  • Princess. Rapunzel
  • Books. How does a dinosaur say goodnight, Any Usborne lift the flap book, Disney Snuggle Time 5 minute stories (Minnie & Daisy, Monsters Inc and Toy Story are her faves), Nibbles the Book Monster

Chloe has changed so much over the last year, but even more so in the last 6 months; they’ve been amazing. She has grown and matured in so many ways. She’s the happiest, most outgoing that she’s ever been. Chloe is still shy and takes a bit of time to warm up to people, but she’s come out of her shell for sure. She radiates confidence and has shown us just how strong and independent she has become. My baby girl is no longer a baby, she’s a big girl! Only one year left before kindergarten and I’m soaking it all up.

Being her momma is one of the greatest blessings in my life. She has taught me about love, parenting, growth, change and patience. I’m so proud of the girl she is becoming! Even though she’s officially 4 years old, she still is and will always be my baby girl.

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