I just tucked Ellie into bed and realized she’s going to sleep for the last time as a 1 year old.  She’ll wake up tomorrow as a 2 year old “big girl”!  I’m sitting here wondering where the last year has gone!  It seems like just yesterday we were blowing out the candles on her first birthday cake.  The real yesterday consisted of her blowing out the #2 candle at her birthday party on the cupcake that she then devoured with the help from her friend, Aislyn.

I’m sure each and every birthday will be like this.  I’ll tuck her into bed and wonder how the last year flew by so quickly.  I’m a bit sad while being so happy at the same time.  My baby has grown into a little girl so quickly, and although I miss that little baby I love my little girl so much  more!

Even though we celebrated Ellie’s birthday Saturday with family and friends the festivities aren’t over yet.  After she falls asleep I’m going to blow up some balloons and decorate her room with the balloons and leftover party decorations so it’s the first thing she sees when she wakes up.  In the morning we’ll have birthday breakfast with Daddy, and at 12:11pm (her actual birth time) we’ll blow out the candle once again on a birthday cupcake.  Ben will be home tomorrow, so that’s when she’ll get to open the present we got her, a toddler desk that we put together last night and hid in our room.

At 5:30pm we’ll be going to my Grandparent’s house for another small party with my family.  My mom bought a birthday cake for the party Saturday, but since my sis-in-law and I baked close to 100 cupcakes for the party I decided to stick the cake in the fridge to enjoy with our family tomorrow.  She’ll blow out her princess candles to end the day, and I’m sure at some point I’ll have my camera in my hand and tears in my eyes as I watch my little girl celebrate her big day.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!  2 years ago you surprised us with an early entrance into our world, and you’ve brightened our lives so much.  I can’t imagine life without you in it, and I look forward to many years of birthdays to come, growing and learning with you as we go.  I love you more than words can express!