Happy Birthday Ellie!!!

Isn't she the cutest kid you've ever seen? Or at least one of them (my other two are pretty darn cute themselves)

Ellie was the absolute queen of birthday behavior. After our zoo adventure yesterday we had a family party. She was overjoyed to get a package in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa E. which contained not just one, but TWO! hoodies (which she had to try on right away), a pair of pants, and some socks, plus The Sword in the Stone. That kept her giggling while I struggled to decorate the cake to her specifications, so thank you very much, Grandma!

She waited to open her presents until we said it was time, and then she exclaimed with joy over each one of them, ensuring that we all felt that we'd given her exactly what she'd always dreamed of.

Grandma and Grandpa Y. got her a new stroller for her baby doll. She loves it and walked to school today to pick up the big girls, pushing her baby and conversing with me like we were both adults.
You can definitely tell that Dora the Explorer is a favorite around here. And I, who never bought into the TV show commercialism with the other two girls, got her everything Dora. (What is it about 3rd children?) She got a Dora purse and hat, a stuffed Boots, a Dora dress, and Dora playdough. And she was in heaven.

Here is the cake. She asked for a Dora cake, and this is what I came up with. It wasn't actually supposed to be in the pan, but when I tried to take it out it wouldn't budge, and I didn't want the whole thing to fall apart. Besides (I kept telling myself), she's three. I think I did a fairly decent job, considering I just had a DVD cover to go off of, although it was a bit creepy if you looked too close. But I felt infinitely better about it when Ellie saw the finished product and gasped, "Oh, it's so beautiful!"
Today we had a party with all her friends. Most of them are siblings of kids Vicki and Lexi go to school with, but Ellie loves them all. We ate peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and played "stick the flower on Dora's bracelet", "keep the balloon in the air", and "dance to the music", all of which were emergency games since I had originally planned to have her party at a park. Rain, rain, go away. The kids all had a good time, though. Seargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band seemed to be the all-around favorite to dance to, by the way.
It was a fun party and an excellent birthday! Here's to a great year being three!