Ella turns 7

We celebrated Ella's seventh birthday a few days ago. Is she really already seven? Months ago Ella decided she wanted to have a "family members only" ice skating party to celebrate her birthday. I don't know if it was the fact that I kept saying, "Really? Are you sure that's what you want to do?" that made her change her mind at the last minute, but she did. Thank goodness!

After several initial ideas, she finally decided she wanted to invite two of her friends to Color Me Mine to paint pottery. She knew exactly which two friends she wanted, and it ended up being absolutely perfect. What a fun "party!"

Since it was just the five girls (Brooklyn and Kendall included), I let them chose whatever they wanted from the pottery shelves. Ella and her new school friend, Erin, chose horse-head piggy banks; Ava, her friend from church, chose a Little Mermaid figurine; Brooklyn chose a ceramic iPhone; and Kendall chose a plate. We ate soft pretzels from Aunt Annie's Pretzels while we painted.

When they were done, we walked over to the food court where the girls could pick whatever they wanted for dinner - we had McDonalds, Sbarro Pizza, and Subway. After dinner we stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. It's disgusting what kids choose to put in their ice cream! =-) Yuck!

The night was so fun and simple. I loved it and I think Ella's friends had a great time, too. As gifts, Ella got some new Friends Legos, craft kits, and painting supplies. As tradition, we took her to Olive Garden (her choice) for her birthday dinner the following night.

At Ella's doctor's appointment she:
Weighed 52 pounds (58%)
Measured 48.5 inches (62%)

Ella and her two friends Erin and Ava getting started. These three girls were so sweet.

Kendall enjoyed slapping loads of paint on her plate.

Brooklyn has been on this iPhone kick for about a week now. I let her have my old iTouch to play with, but that quickly got set aside when she found a ceramic iPhone at the pottery shop. It turned out very colorful and she hasn't broken it yet.

Ella is totally into Legos right now, especially this set called Friends. She got quite a few for her birthday and had them all put together and set up in a little village within a few days.

We were so happy that my mom and Jim stopped by for a few days on their way to Italy. The timing worked out perfect and they were able to celebrate Ella's birthday with us before leaving. As you can see, Kendall wasn't thrilled to be getting her picture taken.

Well, almost. Three out of five isn't bad.

Seven one-dollar bills from GPa Pomeroy. What a great tradition.

Ella loved this card from her Grandma and Grandpa Asay. She still has the one they gave her for her birthday last year. They both play music and she carried last year's card in her backpack all year long.

There's a happier picture of Kendall and Sugar. We can't wait for Sugar to come back to visit us soon.

A cute picture of Brooklyn and Sugar at Color Me Mine.

Dinner was hilarious. Every girl wanted something different to eat. Erin asked for McDonalds, Ava wanted pizza, and of course, Ella wanted Subway - her favorite sandwich place.

Ella is and always has been the sweetest, easiest, funnest, most lovable, helpful little girl ever. She is extremely smart and can remember just about everything you tell her or that she reads. She is also very sensitive. She can start crying at the drop of a hat if you say something wrong or mess up one of her "projects." In fact just the other night Ella and Brooklyn got ready for bed ALL by themselves, so I casually made the comment (in hopes of encouraging them to do it more often) that since they were so grown up now and could do everything so well themselves that they no longer needed me. So, I said, I'm going to retire as mom and move to a remote island and read books all day long. I didn't even finish the sentence when Ella burst into tears and threw her arms around me. Apparently she didn't think that was a good idea. I still need to get her on video tape saying that she "never ever wants to live anywhere but with her family for the rest of her life." Hmmm, I wonder how many years that is going to last?!

Ella and Brooklyn have become the best of friends the past few months, too. I love watching them play so well together and work together to get something accomplished. Ella has always been the biggest joy. She is fun and full of so much happiness. She is a rule follower and can be so driven at times, especially educationally (not so much in sports). We absolutely love her to pieces. Happy Birthday Miss Ella Bella Brown Eyes.

Favorite color? bright orange and dark dark blue (she's still a Bronco's fan, I guess)
Favorite food? cheeseburgers
Best friend? Erin, Ava, Kiera, Michael
Favorite activity? jumping rope is my first favorite, crafting is my second favorite, and bide riding is my third favorite but I still need to work on making sharp turns.
What do you want to be when you grow up? a veterinarian because I like pets and I like helping them