The Family *roll

Eleanor turned 1 yesterday. We have been doing what it seems is the done thing on such an occassion: reminisicing about this time last year and comparing the small, small baby that we met on June 2nd 2009 to the much larger, personality-filled person we have today. We are having a party this weekend for Eleanor, but we (Emily, Dorothy and I) had a small celebration yesterday involving cake and what I know will be my favorite birthday ritual for the next 30 years: opening up the cards we had people write for Eleanor’s first through thirtieth birthdays at our baby shower last April. We opened up the first one yesterday, which was written by our dear friends T & J. Here is what they wrote (remember: no one knew at that point that we were having a girl, let alone an Eleanor):

“Dear Groll-Carroll baby,

By now, you will be somewhat accustomed to the way of the world, & in particular, the ways of Dan & Emily. We wish you lots of healthy growing & gurgling & laughing & learning, restful nights & days full of new colours, shapes and sounds.

With all our love,

T & J L.”

What a beautiful note for a first birthday.

The central part of yesterday’s celebration was Eleanor’s inaugural experience with chocolate cake. You can peruse the whole series yourself. But here is how things looked at the start:

And then here is how things looked about 20 minutes later:

Happy Birthday Eleanor!