Somebody's Two

May is birthday month in the Barrett home, but the parents are rightly overshadowed by Ellie. Her excitement grew with each package that arrived in the mail.
"How old are you going to be?"
      "Two!!"
"When?"
      "Next week!"
"What are you going to do?"
      "Open presents!"

And there were plenty of presents! Ellie was remarkably patient, though she did make a number of attempts at tearing packages open ahead of the appointed hour. We tried to get her to change from saying "next week" to "this week" as the date approached, but such things are pretty complicated for little folks.

   

The festivities began with balloons. Despite our best attempt to keep them hidden in Daddy's office, the exploratory Ellie was not to be fooled. Even now a week later, the balloons continue to fill our rather small house. As Crystal said, "We need a balloon popping strategy."

Grandma and Grandpa phoned in on the computer for a video chat. They had made their own birthday hats to join in on the fun.

   

Mummy and Daddy thought it good to get Ellie her own dishwashing set so she can get some good practice. And Nana surprised Ellie with her favorite Sesame Street character, who she can now enjoy in a book as well as on video.

   

Books are always a hit and Ellie coos over the baby animals in this one. She helps Daddy with some of the more difficult words.

I was excited about this gift from Tom and Doyla. To think that a two-year old can play "Concentration" fascinated me (ignore the "ages 3+" on the box...this is Ellie, after all). She's a whiz at it. You lay out the cards face-down with their pairs of pictures hidden. We let Ellie see them as we deal them out and then get her to match them up. No problem.


A party wouldn't be complete without Ellie's best friend Avi. She was there to cheer her on and only occasionally take away a present or knock her over while pulling up on her. We're looking forward to living just a few blocks away from Avi this summer, though it'll be a sad day when she moves to Vancouver in the autumn!

   

The prize for the most used gift so far must go to the Buster Brown sandals that Nana and Papa sent. Ellie will make sure that you notice the flowers on them if you don't point them out yourself. Doyla's summer dresses will come in very handy when the warm weather rolls around -- but Ellie couldn't wait to try them on.

There were many more gifts and we haven't had time yet to get pictures of all of them. It was a very special day for a very special girl. Thank you all for your love, gifts, and cards.

Finally, taking upon herself a well-known birthday-girl privilege, Ellie got the first taste of birthday cake frosting while Mummy and Daddy smiled for the camera.