Happy 2nd Birthday, Ella!

Our #2 turned 2! We had so much fun celebrating Ella's 2nd birthday. We started the day with a mommy and me date at the donut shop for a delicious sugar-filled breakfast. Ella picked out her own donut with sprinkles, of course. And, the owners gave her a second sprinkle donut as a birthday treat. We added chocolate milk to that, and she was in heaven. For the 30 minutes we were there, she assumed the position of "Official Donut Shop Greeter," waving to everyone as they came in and saying, "Haaa-llo! Goo morning!" As they left, she'd wave again and tell them, "Goo bye! See lu layler (see you later)!" And, she apparently felt sorry for me because I didn't have sprinkles on my donuts, and she kept trying to give me hers.

That evening, we headed to her favorite restaurant for dinner, Babe's, for the second year in a row.

She's always loved this place, and so have we. The food is delicious, and the people couldn't be nicer. Look how happy she was!

Gracie even calls the manager "her friend," and when we sat down, she said, "I need to find my friend and tell him I'm 4 now. That will make him happy."

Sutton was happy, too, and he loved his first taste of mashed potatoes.

Ella got to participate in the Babe's birthday tradition: they let her hold the chicken while they sang "Happy Birthday," and then, she blew out the candle on her honey biscuits--yum! This is actually the second time she blew out the candle. I didn't get a picture of it the first time, so our nice waitress re-lit it and let her do it again for the camera :)

Sutton is such a little love, and I'm happy to oblige!

I mean, could Ella be any happier...

After dinner, we headed home for birthday cake and presents. This picture really doesn't do justice to the homemade (from scratch) chocolate cake. And words can't describe how yummy it was (thanks, Mom, for teaching me to love this recipe). The girls couldn't keep their fingers out of the icing.

Sutton looked longingly at the cake, but he'll have to wait another six months.

And, as if she hadn't had enough sugar, we finished the evening with the Dippin' Dots we forgot to serve at the girls' birthday party. Ella liked it so much, she wanted to drink it.

Present time! Gracie was so sweet helping Ella open her gifts and showing her how to use them.

The girls loved the Sit 'N Spin--remember those? They wanted to help Travis put it together, and when he was done, they had a blast riding on it.

One gift I don't have a picture of is the scooter Gabby gave her last week. Ella LOVED Gracie's princess scooter so much that she kept declaring, "No, it's myyyyy turn!" every time Gracie tried to ride it. To solve that problem, Gabby bought Ella a Tinkerbell scooter. She calls it her "orange one," and tells Gracie, "No, Racie. It's myyy turn! It's myyyy scooter!" (Side note, and I'm just documenting this to embarrass her later, but she leaves the "s" off the word, and it sounds rather inappropriate.)

Happy birthday, Ella Bella--the cutest 2-year-old I know!