Happy Birthday, Ella!

Too excited to get her picture taken

Yesterday, Ella turned three years old! This year was so fun, because she's old enough to get excited about it. Starting about three days before, she kept going around saying how excited she was for her birthday. And on her birthday, she was basically giddy the whole day. It was so cute.

This year, we did a princess theme. This girl loves princesses and all things girly (thankfully, she loves other things too). But, recently, she has developed a love for the movie Ponyo. It's really cute. She has watched this movie so many times(on the nights Craig does his pizza delivery job), and went on for about two months. It's been a few weeks since she's watched it. She knows the movie so well, she quotes it and eve acts it out. So cute! Anyway, I had a hard time deciding which theme to go with. Princess or Ponyo? I asked what she wanted and she chose princess. It turned out perfectly because I later realized I couldn't make a Ponyo cake.

This year, I actually didn't put things off until the day before. Go me! I got started planning the cake about a week before. I found a cake I wanted to copy, and even had enough time to borrow cakes decorating stuff from my mom. All I have are rectangular cake pans, but this cake is round. And I decided to make and use fondant instead of frosting. I'm no cake decorator, but I am pleased with how the cake turned out. And more importantly, Ella loved it!

Please excuse the crooked border on top

We spent a lot of the day getting ready for her party that evening, but Ella was able to get in some swim time that she asked for. She also asked to eat her cake all day. Silly girl.

The time finally came for her party and she got even more excited! My parents were only ones that could come, but we still had a good time. It was so cute seeing Ella react to her presents. She unwrapped each present slowly, and when she saw what they were, she gave a little gasp like it was the best gift ever!










We have been talking up about her being a big girl since she is turning three. It has been working well. In fact, she was finally able to give up her pacifier by herself yesterday. She hasn't been using it since she was almost two except during naptime and bedtime. By the way, whoever said that if you cut a hole in the pacifier it will make the kid not like it anymore, and therefore not use it, was wrong. Ella chewed three holes in hers and still coveted it. But, then again, Ella didn't suck on hers. Just either held it in her mouth or her hand.

Because Ella is now a big girl, Craig and I decided to plan a big surprise for her that we knew she would love. We just didn't know she would love it as much as she did! She got a big girl bed. She's been in a toddler bed, but we decided to get her in a twin. Plus, we inherited a bed that Craig used, and passed through his family (I think only a nephew used it, but not sure). We spiffed it up by spraying a fresh coat of paint on it, and it almost looks brand new. I found a really cute bedding set on sale at Target and wrapped it up for Ella to open. After she did that, we took a trip to the garage, and when she saw that bed,her expression was just priceless. She put her hands on her cheeks and gasped with joy! Then she proceeded to get on it and jump. I sure wish I was able to get her reaction, but I think it's something that will be engrained in my head the rest of my life.






Ella is such a wonderful little "big" girl. She is very stubborn, but that can be good as she grows up in this scary world. Despite her stubbornness, she is such a joy. Always happy, and she really doesn't have many tantrums. And she is a very good and loving big sister. She love Caleb so much. She plays with him, shares with him, and loves to hug and kiss him. They still fight, and she's been experimenting with pushing,(which we are working on) but those times are atually rare. We love her so much and it's sad, but so exciting that she's growing up and becoming her own person.