Happy Birthday beautiful girl

Happy birthday my sweet Elyse! You are 10 today! I can't believe how time has flown. I remember so well the day you were born. Can and I were SO young when we had you and we didn't know a lot about raising a baby but we fell in love with you immediately! You were such a good baby, happy and smiley! You started talking right at 18 months and you were just the cutest thing! You always wanted to wear dresses, no pants for this girl! You have loved school from the start and always make friends so easily. You still have the greatest gift to walk into a room or a playground and make friends with anybody, I love that about you! When we first moved to NYC you were 3. You loved sitting next to strangers on the bus or subway and striking up the following conversation :

Elyse: "do you like to play?"

Stranger: "yes"

Elyse: "What do you like to play?"

Stranger: "I don't know...."

Elyse: "Do you want to play I spy"

Stranger: "um...sure"

It was so fun (and definitely at times uncomfortable) to watch you interact with ANYONE!!

You are growing up so fast! It is sad but also exciting to see you becoming a young woman! You have so much faith in God and a testimony or the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You are beautiful and I am so proud to be your mom!

10 years old

Enjoy a few pictures from your past and present :) 

Upper left: You love to dance! You will always dress up when given the opportunity...even now ;) Upper right: I was about 7 months pregnant with you. Even though we were young we were beyond excited to welcome you into the family. I was never stressed about becoming a mother. You made it SO easy to be a mom in those first months! Bottom: I just love how cute you were in this picture. I remember that day perfectly, I had worked really hard to do your hair with the curling iron and bobby pins and by the time sacrament was over so was your cute hair do! You have always hated having your hair done...until this past week when we got your new cute hairstyle. You actually let me blow it out...you look so stylish!

Upper left: You love your dad so much! You guys have always been best friends and I love to see you together! Upper right: You always loved the hand me down/homemade costumes that we would make...until this year. That's how I know you're growing up...sad! Bottom: Can and I would stare at your for hours when you were little. You were beautiful and every smile and sound just delighted us to no end! Can you believe we had a whole room just for a baby! It seems silly now that we've lived in our tiny apartment for so long! Don't I look young? Well I was. Please don't stress me out and do what I did! (unless of course you meet a man as good as Can) Reach your goals of school, mission and temple marriage.

These are just dang cute pictures of you that I have always loved!

Here you were 2 1/2 and were so cute and chubby and scrumptious! It was a few months before this picture that you started calling us Kass and Can and since we were so young we loved it and never dreamed it would stick...but it did!

This picture is from right after we moved here. You were 3 and thought you were so cool to be riding on a bus!

4 years old

5 Years old one of my favorites, it just shows your silly personality!

6 years old. 

7 years old. 

8 years old again I love how silly you are! (you are pretending to talk on the phone)

9 years old

10 things we love about you miss E: (in no particular order)

1. You are fearless

2. You are an amazing missionary. You are not afraid to let people know your beliefs.

3. You love to read 

4. You LOVE movies (like me) and quoting them 

5. You are funny and Very silly!

6. You love to learn

7. You helped me birth your two brothers

8. You have goals and aspirations and I LOVE that about you. When I was 10 I was just interested in riding bikes and playing with friends. I never thought about my future. You are smart for thinking ahead!

9. You are a leader. Whenever we go somewhere and there are other kids around, in no time you have wrangled together a group and are leading a game of some sort!

10. You are so caring. You feel for people and because you care you are willing to help them out. You always give money to homeless people when you have it!

11. (for good measure) You are your own person, you aren't afraid to be different or have different opinions from others. You, my dear, are an individual and for that I am SO thankful!

Elyse we are SO glad you are in our family! 

Love,

Kass and Can