My E is One

My little Elizabeth is one. It is hard to believe. She is such a delight. I find celebrating the birthdays of my kids to be the most fun thing. I love to think about all either JT or Elizabeth has done in the past year. I love to think about what I have learned as a mother. It is such a fun day for me.
Yesterday when I went in to wake E up, I said, "Good morning, birthday girl!" and she literally started laughing. It was like she knew that this was her day. I grew up doing a morning present to start off my birthday so of course, we started E's day off with a present. She had no idea what was going on, but was definitely curious since JT was so excited. Once I took the farm girl (She loves to play with our Little People farm, but we had no farm girl.) and the cows out of the packaging, she tried to put them back in the packaging. That is Elizabeth- everything has its place.

JT loved the day as well because he got to open all the presents, so it was a win-win for all. As the day went on Elizabeth seemed to understand that this day was all about her and these things were new toys for her. Below she is playing with a toy my sister got her, which she loved because it was a place to put things. The girl loves to organize.

Every month on the 24th, I have taken a picture of Elizabeth in this chair. This month I could not get her to sit still. There are little cubbies underneath the arm rests to hide the remote controls and once she found those, she would not sit still. So here is the only picture I got of her looking at me. Oh well, she is a curious little thing that loves to find little hidden spaces so it is perfect.

We had my in-laws and our friends, the Schmidts, over to celebrate. You cannot see little Sam in the picture, but after we sang to Elizabeth, Evan and JT blew and blew over and over again all over the top of the cake trying to get that one little candle out. Finally Brian blew out the candle and said that he would be eating from the bottom half of the cake. It was so sweet to see all four little friends enjoying this moment.

Elizabeth does not like carbs. She loves veggies, fruits, and dairy, but doesn't like carbs. However, last night she did find a carbohydrate she likes- frosting. Typical to all things Elizabeth, she approached the cake with timidity and caution, but once she tasted that simple refined sugar, she was hooked.

Elizabeth's cake was a sugar plum because she is a sweet as they come. She is such a happy baby. She was born sweet natured with a sense of calm about her. To say that I am overwhelmingly grateful God gave her to Brian and I is an understatement. I was telling my sister recently that I feel like JT and Elizabeth have always been a part of my life. They are just a part of who am I. Yesterday, while we were singing "Happy Birthday" to Elizabeth, I was overcome with emotions thinking of how totally blessed I am.