This is her big cake that I got from Sam's. Ella LOVES animals so it was perfect for her. Plus it matched the color theme I had going-lavender and pink. (This pic makes the writing look blue but it really is a light purple)

Okay, this is where the picture in my head turned out WAY different than real life. I wanted to make Ella a little 'smash cake' all her own that matched her big cake. So I bought these mini cake pans to make her own 3 layer cake. The cake itself turned out great! It was just a polka dot cake mix, but it looked all yummy and moist.

The look of the cake, on the other hand, didn't turn out quite how I imagined it. But, my sister Kari was able to turn it into a decent looking cake. (No offense to Kari, because this was not her fault at all! She did great for what she had to work with, if it'd have been me I'd have thrown it at the wall in frustration) She is really good at decorating cakes, I wish I had pics of the masterpieces she has made for her kids. The problem was mine-my frosting was terrible! It kept melting everywhere! We tried cooling it in the fridge to no avail. We stacked the layers of cake on each other and got the coat around the cake smooth, but slowly the frosting between the layers started seeping out and making the cake sag and tip. The hearts that she had put on the sides started sliding down the cake and the borders that she piped around the top and bottom spread and kind of melted together. I was imagining a pure white base-with pastel pink hearts and lavender edging. Well it's not quite what I ended up with. I still put the purple Elephant on top(fitting right?!) which was cute. Looking at it makes me laugh; I wish you could see the idea in my head and compare it to the real thing, if you could you'd laugh too.

After destruction, she was cool with chewing on the elephant

After a quick bath, she hung out with her cousin Kaytlyn. That pretty much rounds out her party. It was so much fun. It was great to watch her open presents, flip the cake around, ya know the whole thing! I'm glad that everything didn't turn out as planned because it makes it more fun that way. The most important thing is Ella; my sweet baby girl is one! I love her so much and I am so thankful for her!

After everyone had gone home, we were hanging out a little longer and Ella found these little cups my mom had.

We put them on her hands and she looked so confused like "Hey, where are my hands?!"

"Eh, no biggie, this works, I can still eat it this way!"

I can't believe the last year went by so fast! My little baby isn't a baby anymore! As sad as that is for me, it's really exciting too, because each day she gets cuter and smarter and does things that just melt my heart! Ella's birthday was quite the celebration! We went to Utah to celebrate her birthday with all the fam. I had all of these big dreams and plans of how I wanted her party to be, just ask Dan, I was dreaming this event up for weeks! But, because we weren't going to do it at our home, I couldn't do a lot of the organizing until we got to Utah. So the party turned into a mad rush to get everything completed, which resulted in many things not turning out how I had planned them in my head. But as mad as it was to get last minute details and how awful some of my ideas turned out, it was still a blast! Ella looked like she really enjoyed herself! So here goes the birthday:

Ella spent most of the day with her Daddy, they went to lunch with Grandma T., then they went to Aunt Tricia's to play. Once, they were back at Grandma V's it was hurry and get ready for the party!

I love all the tutu's that I've seen around, so back when I was pregnant and found out it was a girl, I started planning putting her in a tutu for her 1st birthday. So I scoured the internet for ideas and made her this sweet little tutu. I love it!! Ribbons, purple, pink & girlie, of course! She has been my little princess from the beginning so I made her princess shirt to match. I really wanted a special little party hat for her, so I made her little clippy party hat to match. One of my favorite things that you can't really see in the pictures is her piggy tails! I lOvE pig tails on little girls! Although, at the start of her party she seemed a little grumpy. We finally figured out that those sweet piggy tails were pulling her hair, so sadly then had to come out :( Oh well, she was still adorable and it made her personality match. Once they were out, she was a bright, cheery little girl again!

The Princess and Grandpa Vaughn

Ella and Aunt Jana-I don't know if she's giving hugs or trying to escape from the flashes of the camera, hehe!

When the girls found out Ella had a tutu, they all decided to wear theirs too! (I think there might have been some demanding their Moms go home and bring them!!! ;)

I think they are all sooo cute!

(By the way, don't you love the retro party hats Ella's cousins are wearing?! I found them in my Mom's basement, I think they are from a party when Jana was like 7, cool huh!)

She had the drill down pat, see look how intent she is on getting that paper off to see what is inside. (sorry these pics are a little blurry, my camera had some issues)

Feb 6th

From sweet blue eyes

to Bedhead

Feb 7th

If ya don't know Ella she does this thing where she balls up her fists, scrunches her face, and goes "Ugghhh!!" Then she laughs at herself because she knows she being funny. Well this is what it looks like:

She also likes to stick her finger up her nose for the same reason-for a laugh. She has the best manners :)

Popsicles-"Oh boy that's cold!"

"Here Dad you have some too!"

"This is so fun!"