Ivory Gets 10 out of 10!

Wow, talk about a blogging hiatus. With Battle of the Books this past week, I haven't gotten anything done. Luckily, my good friends, guilt and laundry, are always waiting for me after I've taken a break.

Ivory finally hit double digits, and although she is the size of a second grader, she is still full of all the wit, emotion, and wisdom of a ten year old. She never fails to make me laugh one moment and be furious the next. She has the kindest heart but sometimes forgets to use it. Ivory is super flexible and still our little gymnast. I love to watch her train and improve.

I'm sad to say this wasn't the most exciting birthday for her this year. It was supposed to be a family party, but Pearl came down with the flu and we didn't do much. But I still think she had a good day before and after.

There is always lunch with Dad which is a beloved tradition.

The breadstick alone almost did Ivory in. I got most of her lunch when she came home.

Ivory received her bouquet of balloons at school. Can you guess her favorite color??

I attached them to a rock candy. They were almost balanced in weight, so the balloons could float without really falling or escaping.

A haircut was requested from Ives, so Tyler took her over. (I stayed with sick Pearl.) He did a lot of video instead of pictures and he grabbed some stills for me. Overall, I think I would rather take stills Extracting pictures from video is not a talent I have yet, and I have to wait extra time for my tech guy to get back to me. (I started this blog post over a week ago.)

Here is sassy Ivory with longer hair. (Not for long.) She is trying to show you how she wants side bangs.

Doesn't take long to chop off years of growth.

Here is the same sassy Ivory, new do...from the back.

She did get to go to a friend's birthday party, so she got plenty of sugar even before we had her "cake," which was brownies.

Daisy had the idea to frost them with Nutella. We only did half, just in case people wanted the normal kind. (I actually prefer my brownies sans frosting.)

Ivory got to choose her piece. The one in the middle looked the best to her. And why not? When you are the birthday girl, you deserve whichever piece you'd like.

This year we opted to get Ivory one NICE gift. (i.e. expensive.) We got her a floor balance beam, and luckily Tyler took some video, because I forgot to get pictures. (Okay, so the video isn't all bad.) She seems to really like it. She can do cartwheels and handstands.

Ivory's birthday even lasted a few extra days as presents trickled in. Grandma Dargan's gift was well received, loved, and already much used.

Grandma Cazier was going to bring hers in person, but decided to avoid the house of plague. (I don't blame her.) We'll have to get a picture of Grandma and Ivory later to put in the cute frame.

And of course, the measuring. I mentioned that Ivory is fun size. But she sure packs a wallop.

Happy Birthday Ivory. You are such a delight to have in our family. Your giggles are contagious. You are such a smartie pants. I sure love you just the way you are.