Ellen turns three

Ellen turns three today. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday, and, despite the fact that she looks a little sad in some of the pictures, she had a good day. Ellen’s cousin Marie also has a birthday in February (she turned 16 on the 9th), so there was plenty to celebrate.

This was the first birthday where she understood the concept. She talked about it for weeks in advance. She knew she was going from two to three, and she knew that gifts were going to be part of the deal.

She also understood (due to the diligent repetition by her parents) that three is when a girl has to give up her pacifiers. She agreed to this condition beforehand, but was also very careful to point out that, since her birthday had not arrived yet, she could continue to use her beloved pacifiers.

And so, before leaving for Vejle, Lisbeth and Ellen boxed up the pacifiers, and upon arrival they presented them to grandpa and grandma Hansen, who expressed great enthusiasm over this gift. And that night, much to her parents amazement, Ellen slept all night without a pacifier. (And yes, this is the sort of thing that fills parents with pride, and baffles people without kids.)

The party itself was a big success, but all the excitement clearly wore the birthday girl down a bit. By the time she finished opening gifts she was starting to look like she was ready for a nap. However there was no way she was going to take a break from her own party.

And so, by the time we finished eating heart-shaped waffles with marmalade and got to the face painting… well, you can see in that she was dragging.

None of this phased Ellen’s little sister, however, who treated Ellen’s birthday the same as any other day — a chance to eat, sleep, and occasionally try out her her freshly discovered smiles.

After all the waffles, cake, ice cream, and chocolate, we went out to the pond and got some fresh air. (I really don’t understand why Danes aren’t obese, as their passion for cake in particular is astonishing.)