Celebrating Ellie's 7th Birthday

It was a party celebrating Ellie's birthday.



On her birthday it was a fun day complete with me visiting her classroom to read one of her favorite books, Katie and the Spanish Princess, to her class. Then, we headed out to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants which was Ellie's choice for her birthday dinner. And then she asked us to tell them it was her birthday. Of course, once the big pink sombrero was put on her head, everyone started singing, and people in the restaurant turned to watch her, she regretted her decision. Fortunately the sombrero was huge and she was able to adequately hide from everything under it. Well, lesson learned.


We came home for cake and presents. She was so happy with all the gifts and after spending the rest of her birthday evening putting Playmobil together, she got up early and put her Lego Frozen castle together to play with it.







After music theory class and Calvin's nap, we headed out to get Ellie's big birthday present. Since she knew they existed (about age 2) she has been asking for an American Girl doll. We told her way back when she started asking that she had to be able to read the books by herself before she could get one. Well, starting just after Christmas she asked to go to the library to check out some American Girl books. And just like that she read 3 books, completely by herself. She did some research in store and in the catalogs and decided that she wanted the BeForever American Girl Doll, Julie. So she finally got her own American Girl doll, and thanks to some birthday cash from Aunt Susie, she also got Julie's pet rabbit.



Ellie's birthday party was scheduled for February 27 at Kidds Jewelry Heist, a jewelry making studio in South Pasadena. We had never visited the studio to make anything, but we had walked past and through it several times and everytime we always thought it was cute and looked like fun. And when I told Ellie that they host parties there, she was sold! So Saturday afternoon, Ellie and 7 of her friends gathered to make jewelry.



It was one of the best parties I have ever hosted, let alone attended. For two hours the staff had Ellie and her friends happily occupied. First they chose beads and charms for bracelets, then a necklace, then they picked out chains for their necklaces. And the beads and charms were all so unique and special. There were charms that were pretty, there were charms that represented extracurricular activities (soccer, gymnastics, music), all sorts of fun stuff. Every kid was excited and engaged as they went treasure hunting and put together their jewelry. It was fun to watch as each kid designed their jewelry; some were very designed, symmetric, and coordinated while others were a cacophony of color and various sized beads. I feel like I learned quite a bit about each and every kid who attended the party.






After cupcakes (and I will forever apologize to E that I didn't read the candle package and mistakenly purchased trick candles which made her frustrated) was the nicest part of the party. The jewelry studio staff asked each party guest to pick out a bead that they thought represented Ellie and then as they presented the bead to Ellie they told her why they picked it. I really wish I had written everything down as it was so sweet. One friend gave Ellie a big pink bead because they knew Ellie really liked the color pink; a heart was picked and the friend said Ellie was her best friend; a bead that was full of glitter and was sparkly was selected because it made her friend happy, just like Ellie always makes her. There were other comments such as Ellie was a good helper in the classroom. It was really sweet. Then, using the beads picked by friends and then a super special charm that Ellie picked, the staff made Ellie a super special necklace.

I think 7 is gonna be a good year!

Happy 7th Birthday Ellie!

Happy 7th Birthday Ellen! 

I think Nick said it the best when he said, "seven years of sweetness and silliness from this little smartypants". Ellie is an amazing, talented, empathetic, silly little girl and this past year has been quite a ride with her. 

Between the piano recitals and the ballet recitals and school concerts...

...there was homework, school projects, camps, and day to day life with friends. She completed kindergarten and started 1st Grade. 

But there was also trips to Chicago to see baseball games, a cruise to Mexico, a trip to see the giant sequoias, and of course, Disneyland. 

She is the best big sister, ever. She is protective of her brother and is always there to help when I need it. And with all the ups and downs with Calvin's health the past year she has been his rock and is always able to cheer him up when needed. 

She has become an independent reader of chapter books. She has progressed so quickly and well with piano, despite the frustrations of the learning curve. She has developed into a little ballerina. She is popular at school, but has strong relationships with a handful of friends. She helped design a couple bathrooms and was such a trooper during the renovations. She saw her first musical, Newsies, and has been singing and tap dancing ever since. She makes me laugh and always throws us a curveball to keep us on our toes. 

She may not have lost a tooth this year (she is the last of her friends to lose a tooth) but it still was an incredible year. And while today was awesome...its only the beginning of the birthday celebrations! 

Calvin had surgery...again

Last Friday (February 12, 2016) Calvin underwent his second surgery. This was a bit more complicated than when his tubes went in, but it was still outpatient surgery. Calvin's communicating hydrocele was repaired (go ahead and google it, I'm not going to explain it here).

Calvin and I headed to the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and arrived at 6:15am. Nick met us there after his show. Apparently there was a scheduling mishap and so we ended up with a long wait time as Calvin wasn't called for pre-op until after 10:30am. Fortunately there was a playroom and toys for Calvin. And he was pretty good about not asking for food or drink, given that he couldn't have anything...


Once we got called for pre-op he started to get unhappy. As soon as he saw the hospital jammies he got upset and started to cry. But he quickly got over it once some volunteers arrived with Valentines and balloons for the kids.








He received versid before he went into surgery and seeing him under the influence of "happy juice" was one of the worst things that day. He was a danger to himself as he tried to climb the walls and wanted to launch himself off the bed.

I went with him into the operating room (just as I did with the tubes). I stayed until he was asleep with the gas and i took his pacifier (which he now calls "Blue") and Hobbes. I joined Nick in the waiting room. For almost exactly an hour we waited until we got called into recovery.

Given that his surgery ended during his normal nap time we knew the little dude was going to take a while to come out from the anesthesia. The doctor came and visited us and said everything went smoothly and the surgery was as good as could be expected.



He has a small incision in his groin. But the surgery didn't seem to slow him down. That evening Calvin enjoyed a feast of normal food and rested on the couch with me and Grandma Pam. On Saturday he woke up and acted almost as normal as he was before surgery, although we had been warned that he would be in pain and sluggish and even were given a prescription pain medicine. Calvin only needed Tylenol for a day and a half and he was back to running, jumping, throwing ball, and irritating his sister. He went back to daycare on Wednesday with the only restriction that he can't use ride-on toys or things that he would straddle (see-saw for example).

Calvin is such a tough kid and I can't believe how fast he bounced back from surgery. Even the day of he was such a trooper and amazing. Hopefully he won't need another surgery for a long-long time.


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