Birthday Girl

Ella just celebrated her first birthday! It was a happy and sad day all rolled into one. We celebrated with a cookout out our house. Aunt Kate was here to celebrate and we invited several of our friends as well. I made banana cupcakes per Grandma Shearhart's recipe for Ella's first birthday cake. I am told that it was a favorite of Ben's as a child I am sure that what I made was not as good as Grandma's recipe, but it was pretty delicious.

Untitled from Ben Neely on Vimeo.

Eating Her Cake from Ben Neely on Vimeo.

Ella is growing so fast now! She is still much smaller than other children her age. I am not sure about percentiles because she hasn't been to the doctor for awhile. She goes on Friday and I will fill you in then. She can sign "eat" (and says ee while signing it), "more", and "all done". She says "hi" and waves. She also puts a phone to her ear and says "Hi"? She waves "bye-bye" and blows kisses. She also gives very sweet kisses when asked and sometimes on her own. She isn't walking yet and doesn't seems very interested in it. She is able to stand on her own and I have seen her stand alone, clap, and grab back on to the table. I have also seen her take a drink while standing on her own. However, if you attempt to practice standing and she catches on, she will slowly lower herself to the ground and refuse to put any weight on her legs if you stand her back up.

My friend Erin took tons of pictures at the birthday party. She's a professional and they will be MUCH better than what I took. I will post a few on Friday along with Ella's height and weight.