Happy 1st Birthday Ellie Kate!!!

I can hardly believe my sweet baby girl is already one! This year has gone by way too fast. It seems like just yesterday we were praying that God would give us a baby girl. I am still in awe that my Heavenly Father cares enough to give me the desires of my heart or at least tune my desires to HIS will! Ellie Kate is such a sweet and happy baby. What a blessing she has been to our family! I have so much I could say about this little girl, but I think her Daddy did the best job with the sweet e-mail he sent us this morning...

Happy Birthday Ellie Kate! I hope you have a fun and special day on your first birthday. I am sorry that I will miss it, but am so glad that we were able to celebrate it a couple of weeks ago before I left. You have grown so much over the last year – it is unbelievable. From a little baby that just ate and cried to a toddler that walks everywhere, is a bundle of energy, so cute, has a great laugh, and has your Mommy and Daddy wrapped around your little finger already! I thank God everyday for the gift of you.

Love, Daddy

We celebrated her birthday early, so Daddy could be part of the celebration. With everything going on in our lives right now, we decided that a small family party would be best.

She really didn't know what to do with her stack of presents, so she just kept looking at them.

She already knows that the little boxes are filled with the best gifts! This one was her sweet little pearl bracelet with a script E.

The boys had fun helping her open her presents.

She got a new tea set from her brothers. They came up with the idea and picked it out!

Then we had cake out in the yard.

The bright sunlight made picture taking a bit challenging!

We gave Ellie Kate the top layer and let her dig in!

She started off with tiny bits of icing...

....and then kept going!

She loved her cake! Especially the raspberry filling!

When she had enough cake, she went in for the monogram!

We have made so many fun memories this year, I could add thousands of pictures to this post! I took a picture of her each month to watch her grow... although you will see I don't have the twelve month one done yet, but here is a glimpse of this little girl's first year!

Newborn - leaving the hospital at 16 hours

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

What an amazing year it has been! We are so thankful for the blessings God has showered us with! Happy Birthday Elizabeth Katherine Loesch! You are loved more than you will ever know!