Ellie's birthday

Ellie had a great birthday party on Saturday. She was in such a great mood, which was so wonderful for our somewhat finicky little girl. She let everyone hold her and play with her and was very content. I've posted just a couple of pics of her with her cake and a picture of her kissing one of her new dolls. She received several dollies and some toys and some cute new clothes. It was a fun time for all.

Eating Cake

Here's Ellie trying out the cake at her first birthday party. I think she liked it!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Our little princess is ONE today! We can hardly believe it...the past year has gone by so fast! Mom, dad, and Micah entered her room this morning singing a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday". She cried. But after that things got better. Overall, she had a very quiet birthday and she was quite unaware of the milestone she reached today. We went to JCPenney's this morning for her one year pictures and ended up with pics of her and of Micah and of the whole family. They have a way of convincing us that we need every cute picture that they take. Both the kids did really well and enjoyed being in front of the camera. After that we grabbed a quick lunch and headed home for naptime. That was about the extent of the celebration today. Saturday will be the big family party with grandmas and grandpa and aunts and uncles and cousins. We'll let her dive into a cake then. I foresee her being very good at that as she doesn't mind getting messy! Happy Birthday Ellie! We love you!

Micah's Tuff Guy Dance

Wonderful husband

I'd like to just brag about my husband for a short bit. In case anyone doesn't know, he's really great! Last weekend he arranged, as a surprise to me and in celebration of my half birthday, to have his mom watch our two darling kids OVERNIGHT! He whisked me off to a hotel in Stillwater, took me out to dinner, and treated me to a great Shane & Shane and Bebo Norman concert. Now, I love my kids and enjoy spending lots and lots (and lots and lots) of time with them, but it was such a treat to have a quiet night with just my beloved. And quite nice to sleep in until 9am and read the paper while eating breakfast! We spent Saturday just shopping and doing our own thing before picking up the kids after naptime. They had a great time and Micah was sad that he couldn't spend another night at "Mimi's". Thanks to Mimi for taking the kids and thanks to my wonderful husband for a great night away!

Ellie eating

All of a sudden, Ellie has a strong desire to feed herself with her spoon. She starts out with the spoon and can get it into her mouth, of course, but doesn't keep too much food on it. Pretty soon this (the pictures) is what ends up happening. She "drinks" her applesauce or yogurt or whatever. And makes a mess. Today at lunch she wanted her spoon, so I gave it to her and held her bowl while she ate applesauce. She was so mad when I did not let her pick up her bowl to drink it. I am going to try to break the habit very quickly...hmmm....maybe I need to get some of those bowls with the suction cups on the bottom. Not a bad thought!