Little E is Number 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our sassy, stubborn, but all at the same time our cuddly, very loving, sweet little girl.

Today on Elsie's birthday we of course had our birthday pancakes, played outside, did a little dancing, enjoyed a visit from great-granny Ollie and cousin Carter, got lots of phone calls from cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, she got excited when she checked the mail and had birthday cards for her, went to Mamaw Di and Papaw Fred's for some birthday cake, she went to Bible School at Mabel Methodist Church with Jackson and Ansley, and then we went to Sweet Frog because that is the only thing she told me she wanted to do on her birthday! :)

Birthday pancakes and playing outside with her siblings.

Swinging in the swing and singing and dancing:

Birthday cards in the mail and birthday cake:

A trip to Sweet Frog:

At three years old Elsie loves, loves, LOVES playing with all her toys, but especially her little princess dolls, barbies, and any smaller doll (think polly pocket size) that she can carry around with her all day long. She loves to sing, and has the most adorable little voice. After hearing a song only a couple of times (or sometimes even once), she can sing along right with the song. She loves being outside and I honestly think that the child could sit on a swing for hours. Out of our three oldest, she is the one that likes to go the most, and often when we pull into our road she will immediately start in, "No mommy! I don't want to go home!" She even tries, at times, to sneak off with people when they stop by to visit us. She is "everybody's girl" as she says so often, and she has a way of putting a smile on your face when she runs to you and gives you a hug and kiss right when she sees you. All throughout the day she randomly says, "Hey Mommy. I loves you," which of course melts my heart each and every time (even if at times she already has one hand on the hip and looking much older than she should).  She still is pretty insistent that when she grows up she is either going to be a princess or a mermaid. What fun career choices! ;)

We are so thankful that God chose us as your mommy and daddy, and we love and are so proud of you, baby girl!

First, Second and Third Birthdays:

One

1 year.
Remember when you were a kid and one year seemed like such a long time? I can remember laying in bed on Christmas night being so sad that I had to wait an entire year before the excitement of Christmas Day again. How is it that with each passing year they seem to go by quicker and quicker?
One year ago today, on July 9, 2010, our precious little (well, not too little weighing in at 8 lbs.6 oz.) Elsie Miles joined our family to make it a family of 5. From the moment she decided to finally kick things up and enter this wonderful world (only seven days late... our poor children inherited my wait to the last minute to do things before they were even born!) she has been easy. She only put me through a couple of hours of labor, five minutes or less of pushing, nursed like a champ from the moment she arrived, and when she slept through the night at less than a week old, I woke up in a panic that something was wrong with our newborn girl.

I think of how fast this past year has gone by and how much she has grown and learned in a year, and it is definitely a bittersweet moment. A child's first year is a year filled with "firsts". First cry. First hug. First bath. First smile. First laugh. First time rolling over. First foods. First time sitting up. First words. First crawl, and for some, their first steps. Every accomplishment is a moment to celebrate and cherish. It has been so fun watching how excited not only Elsie gets when she accomplishes a difficult new tasks, but in this house with Jackson and Ansley cheering her on, it is usually an all out celebration which involves lots of clapping and usually some dancing. Today, there was lots of celebrating. Celebrating our youngest blessing that God has given us, and for the one year that she has brought so much joy in our lives! When eric and I were trying to decide what to do to help Elsie have a wonderful day, we thought... what exactly should you do to help celebrate her first birthday. With Elsie, it's simple. Just let her eat because there is nothing in this world that she loves more than eating! :) (Although you would never know since she finally hit 16 pounds this week!)

Happy birthday to our beautiful, sweet, giggly, cuddly, tiny lil' blue eyed girl!  We love you to the moon and back, and then some more!