United States & Barbie Birthday

What do a giant, framed United States map and a groovy Ken doll have in common? They were both gifts that Ellany received for her 10th birthday. She is double digits now! On her big day, I took rainbow cupcakes to her 3rd grade class. It was great to see how well she fit into the class, and I took some cute pics while I was there. This is Ellany's friend, Rosa. Ellany talks about her quite often, and they play together at recess. Rosa made several birthday cards that said Ellany was her best friend. :0)

This is Kylee. She gave Ellany the cute little orange bear.

Her posed picture "smile"

Ellany knows a plethora of United States facts and loves them! So the theme for her birthday party was the USA,
and this is the cake I made for her.

Her favorite book is "The Scrambled States of America" by Laurie Keller. One of her gifts was the follow-up book, "The Scrambled States of America Talent Show". (Now I can return the library copy that we have had for several months!) Ellany's favorite part of these books is when Nevada and Mississippi fall in love! So Brynn drew her a picture of them...isn't it cute?

Grandma Carol made Ellany a quilt with a United States map on it. The other side is rainbow stripes, another Ellany favorite.

We watched the Scrambled States DVD...

 

And Brynn made a USA puzzle for Ellany to put back together.

Our other two cuties!

 

The gift that Ellany REALLY wanted for her birthday (and asked me for every day) was a Ken doll...specifically, the Ken doll from Toy Story 3. This gift was really hard for me to buy, because I hate Barbie! That's right, I'm a Barbie hater. I don't like her impossible proportions, immodest clothing or focus on appearance. I have tried hard to keep our home a "Barbie-free" zone. But last month, Ellany had her first play date with two little girls who have lots of Barbie dolls. She really loved the Barbie from Toy Story 3, so these sweet girls gave her one as a gift. I knew Ellany loved her Barbie doll simply because it was from one of her favorite movies. So, I found THE Ken doll online. This made our little girl very happy...

I also found this huge Barbie house for just $20 on craigslist! It is so big, we had to take one of the bookcases out of Ellany's room to fit it in. The Barbie VW Beetle is a gift from Brynn's slug bug collection.

 

We are now working on furnishing the dream house and finding Barbie a swimsuit. Ellany requested a bunk bed, which Adam made, and Brynn sewed some mattresses and pillows. Barbie also has a pink piano. I am hoping to contain Ellany's Barbie craze to these 2 dolls...fingers crossed! :0}