This little girl had a birthday

I can't believe Ellie is already two.  And on the other hand, I can't believe she is only two.

It is hard to recognize how fast the time goes with these little girls, but Ellie is so independent and adventurous, that in my mind, she has been 2 for a while now.  We had a fun day with her for her birthday.  Charles took the day off work so that we could have some fun as a family.  Abigail was so excited for Ellie.  She went in to Ellie's room first thing and woke her up singing Happy Birthday.  By the time me and Charles got in the room, Ellie was asking for birthday cake for breakfast.  I had to laugh... I actually hadn't planned on doing a cake, because I didn't think anyone would eat it, and thought we would do some other treat instead.  And of course I thought, Ellie wouldn't know the difference.  Well, she proved me wrong, asking for it before she was dressed for the day.

We opened presents first, which she was really excited about.  I didn't get many pictures because she was too quick for me.

After presents we made crepes for breakfast, a family favorite.  Then we got dressed and the girls went outside to ride bikes for a while.  I had to head to the doctor for a quick checkup, so Charles took the girls to their favorite place, The Big Bounce.  They love jumping around in the bounce houses, ESPECIALLY if Daddy is there to play with them.  When they got back, I had redeemed myself and had a cake ready, so we had lunch and then birthday cake, followed by a long nap :)

For dinner we got Ellie's favorite- Beef and Broccoli.  This girl LOVES broccoli.  In fact, the girls were fighting over the last of it.

We always say she is crazy- not in a bad way, she is just so extreme about everything.  She isn't afraid of much, very unlike her sister.  She is hilarious.  She makes us laugh all the time, and loves doing it. She is obsessed with shoes.  She loves them. She also loves purses and chapstick. She is such a good eater. She eats a ton, but she eats really well, she will totally sit and eat raw veggies and hummus all day long. It is one of her favorite snacks.  She loves cows.  That is a serious understatement.  See video to know the extremes we are talking about. She is very strong willed.  She has a hot temper, and fast growing fingernails- I have a few scars to prove both to be true. She is slowly getting a softer side, that loves to snuggle, give hugs and kisses, and tell me she loves me.  Today she has been particularly sweet and I just want to gobble her up. I particularly love when she comes and give my belly a big hug and kiss for the baby.

Ellie, How old are you?

This is a video, one of many like it, of Ellie seeing cows while we were driving.  She seriously does this any time we see cows, and living out in the country, is pretty much any time we leave the house.  This time, she was getting fussy because we were driving to my parent's house, and had been in traffic for a long time.  Abigail chimes in here too, not to let Ellie have the spotlight, but you get the idea of how she goes from tears to joy.

  We love our Ellie, and can't imagine life without her.