Our first baby girl turned 9 at the end of August. Our kids have already made a handful of friends in SC but because of Covid, we didn’t feel comfortable inviting them over to celebrate quite yet. None-the-less we wanted to give her a birthday to remember! Anyone who knows Ellie knows she is all about sparkle and shine. I was inspired for her birthday color scheme by this gorgeous little dress from J.Crew. I had imagined taking her out to a Mexican Restaurant (she’s all about chips & guacamole) and ending the night walking somewhere for ice cream on Hilton Head Island. However, Covid again! I didn’t like the idea of going into a restaurant with the kids especially since Penny still likes to suck her thumb (GERMS!!) and with Charlotte being so little. Instead, we decided to make her birthday a weekend long celebration!
We started out by decorating the apartment Thursday night when the kids went to sleep so Ellie would feel the love as soon she woke up on her birthday morning. The balloons were so simple but made such a statement in our small living room area. Sheldon and I also worked on her cake – we’ve started a new tradition of making homemade cakes for the kids for their birthday. We research decorating idea’s and then hope for the best! Hers turned out as what some may call a Pinterest fail but she loved it! I think the kids like knowing we spent extra time and effort to make them something.
Friday morning we woke up early (Ellie is up by 6:45 am almost every morning) to beat her out into the living room. We got to see her excitement first thing and Sheldon had breakfast with her before he left for work. After that we spent the day swimming at the pool, playing card & board games and counting down the hours until Sheldon came home so she could open presents! Then it was time for pizza, cake and ice cream followed by a walk outside so she could test out her new scooter!
Saturday we went out shopping so Ellie could spend birthday money and then to the pool to cool off in this southern heat. Sunday we woke up early and went to Hilton Head Island to spend the day at the beach. This was our first time spending the day in the Atlantic Ocean as a family! We were all forced to get out of the water twice by the lifeguards- we aren’t sure why but we believe it may have been shark citing’s! The kids also found a dead jellyfish that they buried in the sand. Finally, Ellie found sand dollars that were still alive! She found a ton as a toddler in California but this was her first experience seeing them as not just a shell. We ended the day by going out for ice cream and playing video games. The kids are hooked on In Justice and love playing it with Sheldon whenever we’ll let them đŸ™‚
Overall, we had a great birthday weekend with our 9 year old baby girl! I cannot believe next year she will be into the double digits!
Happy Birthday Balloons: Here
Number Balloons: Here
Dress: Here
melissalynnking 