For Ella's third birthday, we celebrated with a rainbow colored Care Bear party. It was a hot, sunny day and the backyard was filled with lots of little friends. Ashley came to town complete with DIY Care Bear yard games and everyone worked together to help me put the rest of the colorful details in place. I was especially thankful for everyone's help this year!
rainbow wand party favors
rainbow jello layers
rainbow fruit and veggie trays
the birthday girl!
Ashley's selfie stick took birthday party picture taking to a whole new level!
Wonderheart Rainbow Toss
Carter, Makena, Isabel and Abby
ball toss
Belly Badge Toss
Abby and Raina
baby Hannah's first birthday party appearance
Abby, Raina, Taryn and Alessa
Levi
birthday dance moves
Brinley
time for cake
practicing with the selfie stick
sugar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5lfoMKCm4U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb0-u3qSJw0
After the party, Ella opened gifts. We didn't get the best videos, but a few of the short clips Cory captured show how sweet it was to watch her. She opened every card with care and "read" what each one said. Hearing her read aloud the made up messages in each card was the best part. :)
I loved seeing Ella's heart on display as she opened her gifts.
"Abby, I will share my fan with you if I get a fan because I know you've been wishing for a fan."
"This isn't exactly what I wanted, but I'm so thankful!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlaRvHq814
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glIsmp6mKmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzSKlAGY95U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxA3yAupEuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-JPm00Oi8
Before bedtime, Uncle Tommy and G-Diddy arrived for some post party birthday celebrating. The girls had lots of fun playing with Uncle Tommy and enjoying Ella's gift from Uncle Tommy and Tori. I think we could have some natural softball players around here!
When Abby turned three, Papa gave her a Leappad for her birthday. Ella had been waiting patiently for this right of passage into her preschool years. So, you can imagine how grown up she felt when she opened her Leappad from Papa. It took her a while to put it down!
You light up every room and bring joy to everyone you meet. You are the first to make others feel welcomed with a hug or a cold drink and freely give the biggest hugs and kisses when it's time to say goodbye.
Everything you feel, you feel deeply and express it in big ways. If you are happy, your laughter is loud and your sweet spirit is contagious. If you are frustrated that things aren't going your way, the whole neighborhood knows because your tantrums bring down the house. You feel compassion for others on such a deep level that if you hear someone is hurt, it shakes you to the core and you can't stop talking/thinking about it until you know the person is okay or you learn more about the situation. When someone is sick, you take care of them. When someone is sad you try to make the situation better for them in anyway you can and try to bring peace to the situation. You are a natural caretaker and love to serve others.
You weigh 30.6 pounds and are 3 feet and 2 inches tall.
I never want to forget the way you say words. Especially words that begin with the letter "s". If the letter "s" is paired with another consonant, you simply make the "s" silent and start with the next letter. So, when we walk through a candle store you always ask to "mell" it and you really love "nuggles". Your baby doll is "pecial" and one of your favorite treats is "mores". Hearing you say these words in your little voice is the best and always makes me smile (or "mile").
This summer has been one of big milestone moments and transitions for you. You are officially potty trained even through the night. You no longer have your "pa-pa" (pacifier) and have just transitioned into the big sister room with a brand new big girl bed.
Saying goodbye to your pa-pa was quite the traumatic event. As your third birthday and a new baby approached, we knew it was time, but it never seems like the right time to disrupt sleep and comfort. Though you only used your pa-pa to go to sleep at night, it was your special snuggly and we knew it was going to be a hard goodbye. On one hand, I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision about when we were going to pull the plug (see what I did there?), because circumstances created more of a "ripping the band aid off" type of scenario. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't have picked the day before your third birthday when we had family staying with us and lots of festivities planned to create such a traumatic event.
Sweet girl, the night before your third birthday, as we were getting ready for bed, we realized that your pa-pa was missing. There were no spares. It was the only one we had left and we searched high and low to find it, but it was no where to be found. At this point, there was no going to buy you another one. It was time. So, we told you a story about being a big girl and the new babies at the hospital who needed the pacifiers. In our desperation, we even told you a story about a special fairy who would come in the night to pick them up for the babies and leave you a special big girl present in it's place. You were all in for the first five minutes, until you laid down and counted the cost of not having your favorite form of bedtime comfort. My heart broke for you. It wasn't just a tantrum, it was real grieving. You cried and cried and I sat by your side trying to comfort you the best way I could until you fell asleep. For about three nights, you woke up in the night screaming and begging me for your pa-pa. The only thing I could liken it to is an addict being weaned from their drug. I wanted so badly to make it all better for you, but knew I couldn't give in, so I held you as you thrashed around half awake in the middle of the night until you fell back to sleep. It took about five days for you to accept your new reality and stop asking for your pa-pa. It is really making me reconsider ever introducing one to your new baby sister! We will see if our need for sleep in the early years beat out the traumatic memory of having to take yours away. The good news is you are doing great without it now. We are just trying to find a new normal bedtime routine that work best for two big sisters in the same room! So many changes!
You love to cook and bake. Your new favorite movie is An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success. It is all about a girl named Grace who loves to bake and travels to Paris with her family where she grows in her love and knowledge of baking. You pretend to be Grace and rush to the kitchen to help me as soon as you hear me in the there. Grandma gave you the Grace movie with a Grace apron for your birthday. You wear your apron everyday and keep it hanging on the end of your bed. The other day as we were making dinner, you pointed to the Balsamic Vinegar and squealed with excitement because I was using the same special ingredient Grace used in the movie, "beginnagar". :)
You love to read books. Story time has become one of your favorite parts of the day, but you almost always insist on having a turn to read the books yourself (just like Abby). Either you read us the story and then we read it to you or the other way around. It is fun to watch you make up an animated story and "read" it to us...even if it means story time can sometimes take an extra hour and we often hear the same stories more than once.
After seeing the movie Inside Out, you have been talking a lot about different feelings. The conversation between you and Abby in the car the other day went like this:
Ella: Abby, you are making me jealous.
Abby: Ella, do you know what that means? That means that you are upset because I have something you don't. What are you jealous of? It doesn't even make sense.
Ella: No, Abby! It doesn't. Jealous means sad in panish (Spanish).
Your sense of smell reminds me of my own. It is especially sensitive and you are quick to let us know when you smell something that you don't like. You are especially averse to gross public bathrooms. The other day Daddy took you to the bathroom when we were out somewhere and you made him laugh with your request. "Hold my nose while I pee, Daddy. It's tinky in here!"
You love love love your new watch. When Grandma took you shopping during her last visit, you fell in love with a light up Frozen watch when no one was looking. We weren't sure if a watch would be the best purchase at your age, but you convinced Grandma it would be and promised you would take care of it. Both you and Abby each picked out a special watch and have been wearing them every day since. Every night, you make sure it is placed neatly on your vanity. It is one of your favorite things. The best is your response when we ask you what time it is because no matter what time of day it is, it is ALWAYS 89:00.
On your actual birthday, you woke up excited to celebrate. Ashley was here for the weekend, so that made it extra fun. We started the morning with birthday pancakes that spelled your name and were topped with whipped cream and sprinkles! You opened a bunch of presents and spent the morning playing with your new woodland tree house and creatures and Cinderella dress up clothes.
Later that morning, (aunt) Ashley took you shopping at Toys 'R Us to pick out your own birthday gift. Abby got to pick one too because Ashley wasn't here in January. It is super cute to see two little girls walk the aisles of a huge toy store with freedom when it is something they never do.
We stopped at P.F. Changs for a special birthday lunch.
Talk about a day filled with birthday dates. In the afternoon, you had an ice cream date with Daddy. Not only was it your special birthday date with Daddy, but a trip to your favorite ice cream shop was the Pa-pa Fairy's special reward to you for being such a big girl the night before.
Birthday fun was still far from over. That afternoon, Grammy and G-Diddy arrived to celebrate with us! You opened up some special gifts from them and then we all went out in the backyard where you modeled your new shoes for us and practiced playing catch with your new glove and ball.
Ollie wanted to get in on this game of catch!
Grammy's turn as the pitcher
Grammy and G-Diddy wanted to take us out for a special birthday dinner. It was the perfect summer night to sit on the patio. The girls had way too much fun taking selfies and other pictures while we waited for our food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M30IEHZecTA
Then, to add to all the milestones of the weekend, Abby's first tooth fell out at dinner! She was so proud and wanted to call everyone she knew to tell them her big news.
We finished off your day of birthday fun with S'mores in the backyard. Yum!
Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet little love! Love, Mommy and Daddy
Ella's 3rd Birthday Interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI2jFMxpdEk
If you look closely, you will see Ella's favorite watch and her Grace inspired Parisian big girl room and dress. :)
