11 Years- No Way!

11 years ago today, this cute little bundle joined our family.

 We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl.  I was secretly hoping for a girl, and that's exactly what I got.  Sweet little Emma Kay.  I was instantly smitten and knew that there would be many days of dress up, dolls, and drama ahead. :)

Emma has always been such a joy in our lives.  Her smile lights up the room and we love it when she makes her "pirate face".  (Unfortunately I have never been able to capture it on film.)
I did, however, find this little birthday gem.  This is footage from Emma's 3rd birthday.

Emma had the cutest little voice.  I miss that little voice.  I love how Abbie and Emma's personalities haven't changed at all though.  ;)

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Emma. It was so hard to choose, because I love every picture of this cute, happy girl!

And now, for the birthday celebrations!
Of course, we started out with presents and balloons.

If you didn't already know, Emma is a fan of elephants.  I think almost every single present had an elephant on it in one form or another.  Ellie even used Emma's collection of stuffed elephants instead of tissue paper.  She had a present for Emma and couldn't find the tissue paper, so she improvised.  :)

And a birthday would not be complete without all of the foods that you love.
For Emma those foods include:  pancakes (being 11 makes it easy for the number-shaped pancakes), roast beef and twice-baked potatoes.

And now we must introduce the cake.
Isn't it beautiful?
So pink and lemony and fluffy and yummy.
Yep, that's exactly the cake that Emma wanted for her birthday, but then she remembered her mother's bad luck streak with making birthday cakes.  I really consider myself a pretty good cook.  I can make just about everything...except birthday cakes.

(photo courtesy of cookscountry.com)

So yes, this is the cake that Emma wanted.

I got close, really close.

We did have some drama with it, of course.

First, the food coloring would not mix in, so it looked like a lemon poppy seed cake.  I really don't know how I could have messed that up.  I even used the expensive food coloring!

Then, the cake would not come out of the pan.  Oh yes, we have been down this road many times before.

So, I very carefully cut it into sections and arranged them on the plate.

Once it was slathered with yummy cream cheese frosting, you couldn't tell that it was a Frankenstein-pieced together cake

After all, who cares what it looks like.  As long as it tastes good, right?  And taste good it did.  I am glad that I didn't mess it up too badly.

All in all, it was a fantastic birthday.

Grandma H. joined us for dinner and I snapped this priceless picture.

Their birthdays are only 2 days apart.  My grandma just turned 84 this year.  We love having her so close.

Emma has reached the age where all she wanted to do was go shopping.  No toys or anything like that.  Just clothes.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  That just tells me how grown up she really is.

This is one of the outfits we found on our trip to the mall.

Emma is just a beautiful girl- inside and out.

She has an infectious smile and loves to make people happy.

She is an excellent student.  Her last report card was a 4.0.

She loves to read, crochet, ice skate, hang out with friends, and play the piano and flute.

She also has discovered the wonder of listening to audiobooks.  You can often find her tucked away in a corner somewhere crocheting and listening to a book on her Galaxy.

She is a really good friend and makes friends easily.

Some of her favorites?

Books:  The Hunger Games series, The Percy Jackson Series, and As Small As an Elephant

Food:  twice-baked potatoes, roast beef, lemonade, and anything chocolate

Color:  teal

Movies:  The Neverending Story, Little Rascals, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera

Another successful birthday at the Ogden household and another day of me saying, 

"Stop growing up so fast!"

Happy Birthday Emma!