the brower hour: happy birthday, baby girl!

it's hard to believe that ellie is 10.

wasn't she just a baby?!

it took 6 solid months before she had any calm, quiet, or content moments that lasted more than 30 seconds.

but she was deliciously plump!

i'm not gonna lie and say that ellie is a piece of cake now, but she is turning into the most beautiful young woman with so many talents. she is excelling in school, is great at piano, can play just about any sport she puts her mind to, and loves to create. doesn't matter what she's creating. paintings, cakes, a decorated bedroom, or a house for her stuffed animals, she loves to create!

ellie is definitely maturing.

a few weeks ago when i picked the kids up from school ellie jumped into the front seat and said she had been waiting ALL DAY to tell me what happened at recess and that i would never be able to guess what it was. "i got asked to the valentine's day dance by a boy in mr. thomas' class!" she said she was so shocked when he asked that she laughed out loud, looked at her friend anna, laughed again and then said "wait, are you serious? oh, ummmmm, sorry, no!" and they ran off laughing.

she is her teachers right hand lady. i've watched mrs mayer ask ellie to help her out whenever she needs something. she runs errands and organizes and does whatever she is asked to do. ellie loves to feel needed and useful.

ellie also only asked for clothes this year for her birthday. (well, one thing and it was a sweatshirt). if asking for clothes instead of toys isn't proof enough that she's growing up, i dont know what is!

because her birthday fell on a sunday this year, ellie got to celebrate for two whole days! on saturday after her basketball game ellie and i picked up anna for a fun day of girl time! we went to chick fil a for some quick lunch and then went to the movies and saw peter rabbit. we laughed pretty much through the whole thing and it made us want bunnies even more than we already do! after that we went home and the girls frosted and decorated ellie's birthday cake and a few cupcakes.

10 year old girls are. so. silly.

ellie requested a chocolate layer sandwiched between two white cake layers.

you got it baby girl!

she is loving braids right now.

the sprinkles spilled on the cake... TWICE! oh the giggles!

ellie said that decorating her cake with anna was her favorite part of her birthday and she wants to do it next year too.

the next morning ellie woke up to balloons filling her room! when i asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said she wanted a sweatshirt and she couldn't wait to wake up to the balloons in her room. usually i put 12 in their room, but since she was excited about it, i had chris fill up 36 balloons on saturday night, so her room was filled!

she opened gifts first thing (even though we joked about making her wait until 6:30 that evening to open her gifts since thats what time she was born). she was even nice enough to let an eager-and-anxious-3-year-old owen open several of her cards and packages.

she loved every single card and gift from grandparents, aunts uncles, and cousins! thank you!!!

she got a new dress, two swimsuits for this summer because she's outgrown her others, a pair of dressy boots, and two shirts. oh and a nail polish in her valentine mailbox. she also received money from grandparents and aunts and uncles that she has put away. surprisingly, ellie is our best money saver out of the kids.

then we ate a special breakfast before going to stake conference.

we had homemade orange rolls, scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit.

that evening the missionaries joined us for dinner (per ellie's request!) and we had one of her favorites: cuban sandwiches with black beans and rice. followed by her delicious cake and ice cream! agian, owen was so excited about the candles that she asked him to help her blow them out when it was time. pretty cute.