Ella's 3rd Birthday

Ella turned three on Thursday and we celebrated on Saturday night with a family dinner party.  She was so excited to have a party.  We always do special things with our kids on their birthdays, but this was her first party.  She chose to do a pink princess theme, no surprise there.  She also chose a mermaid cake.

For dinner, we had pizza, salad, fruit, and crackers with dip.  We also served pink lemonade in recycled Starbuck's bottles.

On the dessert table, I set up the cake and lots of pink candy.  The candy was later divided up and sent home as favors with the kids.

The guests:

The Gifts:

We didn't plan any activities for the kids, but since it was a night party, we did give them all glo sticks and glo stick masks/hats.

Thank you everyone that helped make Ella's birthday so special :)

Almost Three!

Ella will be three years old in just a couple of days.  Tonight, we celebrated by taking her to Toys-R-Us, where she was given a crown and a balloon (they were out of their normal birthday club balloons).  Toys-R-Us's birthday club is something that we learned about last year and both of the girls look forward to going there on/near their birthdays.

Next, we headed to the mall for Chick-Fil-A's monthly birthday celebration.  The girls both had their faces painted and both were given a cupcake and a cookie. Ella was given a stuffed cow and a balloon and she was able to pick a birthday surprise - she chose a Tinkerbell Notebook :)

Because they didn't have quite enough sugar at Chick-Fil-A (*sigh*), we took them home to roast marshmallows, which I was lazy (*ahem*) and didn't take any pictures of this event.

On an unrelated sidenote, baby number three is being super stubborn.  I am 41 weeks pregnant now and having a hard time being patient for her arrival.  I am wondering if she is waiting to show up on her sister's birthday??

Ella's Haircut

So it's not super easy to see in pictures, but this is the reason I do not like my little kids to use scissors.  They always seem to think it's a great idea to cut their hair!  This time, Ella thinned out the top of her hair and chopped up her bangs here and there.  Eek! 

Before Bed Snack

 Yummy, juicy, drippy, messy, sweet peaches!

We have been enjoying an abundance of fresh summer produce!

Ella's First People Drawing

As part of the girls' school (if you missed it, click here to see our new homeschool blog), I have been having them send cards to their grandparents (the set that doesn't live near us) once a week.  Arin writes "Dear Grandma and Papa" and "Love, Arin" and then she dictates what she wants the letter to say and I write it for her.  Ella dictates her whole letter, then scribbles a little on the inside of the card.  Both girls draw a picture on the outside of their cards. 

Today, Ella asked me to help her make a flower on her card.  She had already drawn the stem and I held her hand to draw the flower's petals.  Then, I got busy organizing our next project and wasn't paying too much attention to her.  When she was done drawing on the front of her card, she said, "I drew Grandma and Papa!".  I was amazed!  This was the first people (or really anything recognizable) that Ella has drawn. 
I really hated to send her first people drawing away, but I know that it'll make Grandma and Papa happy!

1, 2, 3...

This video was taken about two weeks ago.  I've since tried to get a better quality video (this was taken on my phone), but Ella hasn't been too cooperative with performing for the camera!

New Do

Ella's hair is finally getting long enough to put accessories in.  She loves for me to fix her hair, though she never keeps anything in it for very long.  Tonight, we played around with a new silly hair do!

Happy Birthday, Ella!

Tomorrow, my sweet baby Ella will turn two years old!  We celebrated today because Daddy and Uncle Todd had the day off.

Ella started the day with presents, which her sister so generously offered to help her open.

Then, she had a little dress-up fun.

And a pony ride.

Next, we went to Toys-R-Us.  They give kids a birthday hat, sticker and balloon on (or near) their birthday.

After lunch, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese.  Ella enjoyed many rides...

and several games...

and she helped her Daddy win his games too!

We finished Ella's celebration with cupcakes!

Kiwi Berries

Am I the last person to know about these?  We were introduced to them during a recent trip to Sam's Club.  Andrew and Ella love kiwi, so I was so excited to discover these little gems.  They are about the size of a grape.  They have tender, fuzzless (bonus!) skin, so they do not need to be peeled before eaten.  The inside has the same look and taste as their larger cousin.

Arin still won't try them, but Ella loves them!