ellory turns 2!

the tea set that gran and pawpaw sent ellory for her birthday.

i'm collecting pictures of messy marin for a future blog. after a certain point in the meal, her hands start spreading food all over her face and on top of her head. it's funny. but a pain to clean up. :)
"i'm two!!"



today, 3-28-2009, you turned 2 years old! we have been asking you for the past few weeks how old you are and how old you will be on your birthday. i think you have it down. you definitely say, "2" although you hold up 5 fingers. :) it's hard to make that peace sign at first.
your day-you opened up a few presents from grandparents and aunt susu. gran and pawpaw sent you an old children's tea set. unfortunately, it's not one to play with. we put it straight in the china cabinet. aunt susu sent you a cabbage patch doll with a bottle. you have been feeding that baby all day. we went to duffey roll cafe for breakfast and then to rei. daddy got some clothes and we bought you a cool pair of black keen shoes. you'll look a bit like a tomboy. hope that's ok. after dinner tonight we had cupcakes and sang happy birthday. i didn't have any candles so i put 2 matches in your cupcake and lit them. daddy and i were so surprised when you immediately put your entire hand on top of the burning matches! we both screamed and you snatched your hand back. no damage done but i realized we need to have a talk about fire.
i was looking at pictures of your first birthday and am so amazed at how you have changed! not only in looks-your chubby face has thinned out a bit and your hair has grown a ton. but there weren't any pictures of you smiling last year. and now you can be quite a ham in front of the camera. you couldn't walk last year and now you can. you use lots of words now and it's so fun to watch you and townsend having conversations. i can't always tell what either of you are saying but you both seem to be able to understand each other. you can be very motherly with your dolls-putting diapers on them, feeding them. you love putting on shoes by yourself. both yours and other people's. you eat and sleep like a champ. we can't believe how you sleep through marin's crying in the middle of the night. and you love to take off your shirt and dance in the living room. you can be a bit of a drama queen-bursting into tears when you don't get your way. we're working on that. :) and you are a bit clingy to mommy which makes daddy a little sad.
we are so grateful that you are our daughter. you have truly blossomed this past year and we can't wait to continue watching you learn and grow. we love you ell bell.