What a birthday for Ellie! She took some cookies to school to share with her friends and was so excited that they sang Happy Birthday and they liked the cookies she brought. She said it made her happy to share on her birthday. I picked her up a little early for a little party at home with Aunt Susie (before she had to leave to hop on a plane back to Boston). When she came home, she found the dining room full of balloons, presents, and a special cake decorated by Susie (Ellie requested a rainbow cake).
Ellie had lots of presents and didn't want to wait to start opening them! She got so many fun presents that she couldn't want to play with. She loved her new zoo with baby animals she received from Grandma and Grandpa Harrer and couldn't wait to open it and play with it. Nick and I got her the rest of the collection to go with Sleeping Beauty including a change of clothes, a set of fairies, and even Malificient! We also got her a big girl nightgown and a new princess water bottle. Aunt Susie got her a new Rapunzel princess dress which immediately got put on over her clothes.
Once cake was eaten the big birthday present we got her was revealed. She has been asking for a bike since she turned 3 and got a scooter. When Santa didn't bring a bike she started asking when her birthday was to get a bike. So, she was pretty happy to finally see that she had a bike of her own. And its pink!!
She climbed on the bike in her princess dress. When she got it, it was dark and a little rainy outside, so we will have to wait for better weather to take it out. We aren't sure how much she knows about riding a bike and pushing pedals, but with a little practice, we bet she will be riding her bike to the playground without any trouble.
Its definitely been quite a year and she has grown up quite a bit. Yes, we moved cross country and she changed schools but she really is becoming a big girl. She no longer has tubes in her ears and can write her own name. She is growing to be independent from brushing teeth to putting on her own shoes to taking showers! She is starting to learn to read and sound out words and can count to over 30. She is drawing people with hair, faces, feet, arms and fingers in settings and in different sizes to represent ages. She even will customize hair (short, long, or curly!). Like most girls her age is completely in love with princesses but will spend quality time with little Playmobil people and a dollhouse. She has learned that she can be stubborn and what to do to get her own way; mommy and daddy will no longer decide her Halloween costume for her. She is headstrong and very observant. Her teachers have told us that as long as she is in charge, she is happy. She was confident enough to go to zoo camp all by herself where she didn't know anyone and thrived. We think we have finally figured out bed time and she will sleep in her own new big girl bed through the night. She loves swimming and has gone from needing to be held in the pool to learning actual swimming strokes and diving to the bottom of the pool to pick up rings. She is hilarious and has a great sense of humor. Her creativity is starting to really shine. She sings constantly and listening to music makes her very happy. She is developing her own taste from clothing (she does not like having to wear pants) to food (favorite food...pizza with black olives...yep she's her mother's daughte). She went to the dentist and got her first haircut this year. She has matured from a little girl who wants to go on Its a Small World to see the babies to a kid who loves a good roller coaster or thrill ride and keeps asking if she is tall enough to go on Space Mountain. She went to bed tonight in her big girl nightgown with Baby Sister and her red blanket in a crib next to her bed. Red Blanket now sleeps with Baby Sister in a crib...not in her bed. As I write this she still is 3, but as her mom, maybe I'm the only one who wants to wait a couple more hours until 11:31pm to celebrate her birthday when she will become a 4 year old.
Happy Birthday Ellen!!
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