Ella is 6!

Happy 6th birthday to Ella!  It is so hard to believe that this sweet girl is 6 already!  Such a big year this past year for her with starting kindergarten!  She has grown so much this last year and we are so proud of her and all of her accomplishments so far.  She is proving to be an awesome athlete with soccer and gymnastics-she is strong, fast and well poised-; she is having a great kindergarten year and  her teachers rave about what a great helper she is in class, a friend to all and a role model for the class, as well as on track with her learning; and she continues to be such an amazing sister-she is empathetic, caring, generous and helpful and also has the best belly laugh that you'll ever hear.  She is independent and does what she wants to do but never in a hurtful way.  There are times when I've had to talk to her about just making sure that her response to others is appropriate-she really doesn't seem to care what others think about her and just does what she wants to do but sometimes that can come across as rude because she just isn't interested...she'll be blunt about it for example if someone asks her to play and she doesn't want to do that she'll just straight out say "No" without any explanation so I've suggested maybe giving them a little bit more information.  Like I said, she doesn't seem to care though and just does her which we do hope that she never loses her sense of self and putting herself first.  She prefers playing with the boys (especially the cul de sac boys) but also loves her babies and playing family.  She is developing her own style and knows exactly what she wants to wear on a daily basis and how she wants her hair.  She gives amazing hugs and sometimes (especially before bed or when going to school) will want hug after hug after hug, which I sometimes have to remind myself that this won't last forever so I need to enjoy these moments instead of trying to hurry her off.  We just can't imagine life without her! 

She really wanted a baby boy doll for her birthday and was beyond thrilled when she opened this little guy up!! His name was Joseph for a bit but has finally settled on Baby Liam and she just adores him (we did lose his little white shoe the very first night she had him at The Nutcracker wchih was traumatic at the moment but the next day barely even noticed and he has been fine without shoes ever since.). She also received two long sleeve workout shirts with thumbholes in them which she was so excited about!! Other highlights included a fingerling momma and baby from Nonna and Pop Pop, hatchimals from Michael and John and a gift card for her first American Girl Doll from Aunt Anne Marie and family, which she combined it with other birthday money and bought Ashlyn.  

 Since her birthday fell on a Saturday this year we were able to celebrate her all day long, and although we didn't do anything super special during the day, it sure did feel special all day!  In the morning after a pancake breakfast  for her we opened gifts (a definite highlight of having your birthday on the weekend so you don't have to wait until after dinner when Daddy is home!) and then we baked cookies pretty much all day which she loved doing!  Joseph had a gingerbread making party at a friends house for a few hours in the afternoon so the girls and I just baked and played.  Julia  was still feeling a bit under the weather so it was a great day to lay low.  We had her choice of pizza for dinner and then sang to her with ice cream pies for dessert.

 After dessert, Ella and I snuck out of the house to go to Balboa Park to see The Nutcracker.  She had expressed interest in going earlier this season so I mentioned to her the idea of doing that instead of party and she loved it.  The original plan was for me to take Julia, Sydney and Ella and then have Syd spend the night but with Julia still recovering from her little bug we decided to play it safe and leave her at home and sneak out without her.  Nani took her place and it was a special night.  We were sorry to leave Julia but she probably would have fallen asleep anyways since the show didn't even start until 7:00 p.m.  Syd fell asleep after intermission and Ella finally passed out 5 minutes before it ended.  They both seemed to really like it and enjoy the experience though, despite the late night!  I'm so glad we did this!

 Ever since starting school, especially, I know she looks forward to one on one time with me (or anyone for that matter) so it was extra special to have this night with her!

 I love you so much Ella Bean.  I love your character and who you are turning into.  We can't wait to watch you grow this upcoming year and be by your side throughout it all.  Love you lots!