Ella had a wonderful 1st birthday party. A large group of family and friends came to our house to help celebrate. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day, so everyone was outside. The kids played with the sidewalk chalk (yah, some of them tried to eat it, including the birthday girl) and with bubbles. Ella loved her cupcake, eating it slowly as if she was savoring every bite. She of course was covered in frosting by the time she was done. She has a blast opening all her birthday presents, and was equally excited about the presents and the wrapping paper. The party ended with a bath and nap for Ella, but the day kept going. She woke up to find her cousins Zach and Sam still here, and was pretty excited to be outside running around with them, in her birthday suit. We had a nice dinner on the porch, then headed out to the hotel where Grandma Sharon and Aunt DeeDee were staying for some time at the swimming pool. Ella wasn't too excited about the big pool, but loved the little wading pool. And she looked pretty cute in her new swim suit that Dad picked out!
Ella was lucky enough to get 2 birthday celebrations. A week after her real birthday we traveled to Moscow, where Aunt Jennifer put on another birthday party for the Lowe side of the family. She made an adorable butterfly cake out of cupcakes, which Ella also loved!
