Happy Birthday, Ellie!

At 9:25 on a Monday morning, Ellie made her entrance to the world. It had been a very long and painful night after an extraordinarily itchy pregnancy. She was the only one actually delivered by an O.B. and he stood there and watched M*A*S*H will I pushed. (Needless to say, I went back to using a midwife for Griffin!) Both of her sets of grandparents were serving missions--one in Mongolia and one in Sweden--and yet within minutes we had pictures up on the internet so she could be seen by all.

And then, two days after her birth, she was admitted to Primary Children's Hospital for not eating. She was diagnosed with ASD/VSD--big names for holes through the upper and lower chambers of her heart--and was in there for over a week. Each day, John and I would head over to the hospital to spend a little time with her and try to send our good health vibes her way.

A few years ago, John noticed that her name was spelled wrong. He had always thought that her name was spelled Elinor, after the flower in the Lord of the Rings series. I, having never read the book, spelled it the traditional way and after my mom's good friend, Eleanor Carney and my dad's sister, Lenore. Isn't it funny that we never actually talked about the spelling of her name, just what it was? Her name means light or compassion. Any who know her see that she was perfectly named. Sunshine seems to follow her wherever she goes. She lights up a room and yet has a knack for finding the person who seems to need a little lift. The most common compliment I receive on her behalf is how much people enjoy having her around, that she makes them laugh and smile.

We spent the evening enjoying her favorite meal--chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, and baby carrots. We then went off to Nickelcade for an hour or so (scoring almost 3,000 tickets!).

Then came the cake and presents. Ellie wanted a drizzle cake in the shape of a star (I wasn't sure if it would hold so I took pictures throughout the process in case it collapsed and I could then prove to Ellie that I had tried). After the blowing out of the cool black and white candles, we brought out the presents (which she'd been trying to get her hands on since breakfast)!

It was a "Littlest Pet Shop" bounty of presents along with some Granny Smith apples (she never gets them because I don't like them, so I don't buy them).

With one year left until she enters young women, I don't have much time left with my little girl. Happy birthday, Ellie!