Ella's 7

It is absolutely amazing how fast these kids are growing up! Ella is turning into such a beautiful young girl! Seven years ago I headed to the hospital and after a little drama brought home a 6 lbs. 2 oz. little girl on Christmas Eve. She was born 4 weeks early and struggled a little in the beginning to gain some weight, get over a little jaundice, and keep her blood sugar and body temperature up. But all of us who know Ella, know what a fiesty spirit she has and she was a regular chunk in no time! I guess Ella was just giving us a little taste of who she would become right from the beginning!

This year I allowed Ella to have a friend birthday party on the Friday before her birthday. She chose to go roller skating at the Fun Park. She ended up having 10 of her friends come. A lot of the little girls had never been roller skating and so it was funny to see them all hanging on to the wall for dear life! Robert put on skates and tried to help out a little. I used to be a really good skater but I didn't dare risk breaking something!


Heather, Jason and Ethan brought my mom down early on Friday. They were able to be there for the party. We enjoyed being able to have them there.


On Saturday, my mom and I took Ella to dance and then surprised her by heading to Salt Lake City afterwards for a girls day. She has been talking about going to back to Cheesecake factory for lunch ever since we got to go in May. She knew she wanted a club sandwich and insisted on one of her very own. The plate was a big as she was. She had leftovers that she enjoyed later for dinner! We then headed over to Build-a-Bear. She picked out a kitty and then spent FOREVER trying to decide on an outfit and some accessories. She was definitely overwhelmed! We then did a little shopping (or a lot) and headed home where we topped of the night by watching Enchanted.


We celebrated with the family on Sunday since both Robert and my mom would be gone on Tuesday. She picked her favorite dinner, Hawaiian Haystacks, and we had real birthday cake. She opened a cake bakery and accessories from my mom and a sweater and her dance clothes from Ben and her sisters.


On Tuesday, Nancy had Ella skip school in the morning and she took her to get her hair and nails done. They then went to lunch before Nancy dropped her off at school so she didn't miss her class Christmas party. I had also taken cupcakes in on Monday for her class so she had 5 days of birthday. Wow! What a lucky girl...I'm now thinking that was not a great habit to start!

I'm so grateful to have Ella as part of our family. She is beautiful, smart and talented. She never ceases to amaze me with her witty comments and her amazing ability to catch on to things quickly. She is also so kind to others and considerate of their feelings. In the last month, I have had 2 moms tell me on seperate occassions how kind she has been to their girls who have been being shy and struggling. She keeps us all on our toes and there is never a dull moment with her around. We love her so much! Happy Birthday Roo!