4th of July

July 4th will always be such a special day for Jose and I, as it was the day I went into labor with our sweet girl. Knowing your birthday is the day after the 4th is going to be such a fun and exciting thing for Ella as she gets older! She already says how awesome it is that every birthday eve she gets fireworks!! Who could ask for anything more!

This year we continued our tradition and headed over to our friends Kirsten and Brian's to celebrate! We ate, drank, and watched the girls play the night away. Kirsten even set up a sweet birthday celebration for Ell, with presents, balloons, and a cake. Doesn't get much better. 

Happy Birthday America! 

Ella is FOUR!

Four? How can it be? 

Our sweet girl turned four on July 5th. I still can't believe we have a 4 year old. Time has flown by so quickly, and our little be is turning into the sweetest little girl. 

On her birthday, we decided to meet some friends and family at Corvette Diner. My parents use to take me as a child, but I hadn't been in years. Ell had the best time playing games in the arcade, watching the shows put on by the waiters, and spending time with her sweet friend Emily and her cousins. It was such a fun night!

Our Dearest Ella Catherine,

       

              You have brought your Daddy and I so much joy these past four years. You have the sweetest, most sensitive heart. A HUGE sense of humor. The brightest smile. The friendliest hugs. You are kind, loving, respectful, determined, courageous, and the best little helper. What would we do without you? Thank you for making every day brighter, and making every moment better than the last. We love you sweet girl.

 Te amo,

                              Daddy and Mama

Legoland

A few weeks before Ell's birthday we headed to Legoland! I think this may be our birthday tradition, as it seems to be her desired place to go to celebrate each year. 

Ell could not wait to go, and what made it even sweeter was having her bestie Donovan join us. My Mom came too(which she LOVED), and we had the BEST day together. We were there as soon as it opened, and almost made it until closing. They were exhausted!

Ell LOVES Lego Friends, so you can imagine how excited she was to visit Heartlake City. The girls were there too, so seeing them in real life was such a treat. She couldn't get enough.

This year was much better than last. They were able to go on most rides, and because of the heat, most people were at the water park. Win, win.

These two together are just the sweetest!! 

I still can't believe our girl is four. How does that even happen?

Thanks for the best day Mom and Donovan. Let's go again soon!

Princess Ella Catherine

Ell's sweet little friend Lexi had a super fun Frozen birthday party last weekend. Lexi's Mom told us to dress in any princess attire we'd like, and I have to admit, I panicked a bit! Ell's not into playing dress up at all, and we only have two dresses that would really work. So . . .  we went with this sweet pink, sequence number we got from our favorite cancer warrior, Lilly Bumpus. Lilly's mama, Trish, sells these amazing clothes in support of her daughter. We were so excited to finally have a place to where it! It is beautiful.

I love how sweet she looks.  Not technically a princess dress, but it worked! 

When Queen Elsa and Princess Ana came, she was so excited!

They each got to come up, and Ell loved it. She gave a little twirl, and was as happy as could be!

They even got to do a fun little dance with Elsa and Ana.

Such a cute idea to have them come, and Ella was surprisingly really excited about it.

Happy 4th birthday Lexi! Thanks for such a fun party.

Halloween Week

Happy Halloween!

Our week leading up to Halloween was super busy and filled with fun.

On Monday, Ell's school had a Harvest Day. All the kids got to dress up in their cutest western attire. Our little cow girl was SO excited to go to school and join in on all the fun!

They had a pumpkin hunt, and ponies even came to visit. 

My Mom went so she could snap some pics and take Ell home after(Mondays aren't a normal school day for her). Here she is with her class. I love seeing her with all her buddies. So cute.

This was right before the pony rides. I can't wait to see how the pictures turned out. Hopefully we get a good one of her actually looking at the camera. We'll see them on Monday!

My Beautiful Mama and Ell!

Then, this happened! Ell had been complaining about ear pain, and seemed to be getting a cold, so I got her into the Dr. right away and had her checked out. She was fine! Her tubes just seem to be bothering her. They are still on their way out. We both got a flu shot so that was a plus!

She was congested the rest of the week, but her normal, happy self!

We carved pumpkins on Wednesday, but unfortunately she was a naked butt(I wasn't thinking) and the pics are a bit too revealing for the blog! 

I spy an Ella be. . . . . 

Here she is right before school on Halloween. Had to snap a pic before we left!

When she got home from school, we were in full blown rush mode to get over to her besties for some trick or treating fun! I had this sitting out when she got home. A few goodies for our girl.

This year, Ell was a bumblebee. We traded costumes with her friend Madeline, so all I had to get was a leotard, tights, and some shoes. So easy and she looked so cute!

She couldn't wait to see Donovan . . . . . .

(Ella bee and Mike Trout)

and Emmers too! Such a cute, little Angels cheerleader.

Getting ready to head out!

The three amigos. Such a fun night with these three. Ell and Dono's friend Jordan also joined in on the fun. So sad I didn't get a picture with all of them.

We tried to get a rare family pic of the three of us! It's the best we could do folks!

We visited SO many houses, and Megs neighborhood was so fun. 

Every house we went to, Ell was so polite with her "Happy Halloween" or "Trick or Treat" greeting, and after EVERY house she would say, "We go to the NEXT one?" It was so sweet. She was in heaven, and it was so fun to watch her. 

When we were done, Ell and Dono went through all their candy, and we all sat on the floor chatting about our fun night and ate some treats. It was the perfect ending to a super fun night. 

Once we got home, she was still on a sugar high and had a hard time letting go of her pumpkin. We finally managed and got the little bee to bed without any tears.

 And, that's a wrap! Time for bed.

Now, on to Thanksgiving! By the look of the red holiday Starbucks cup, the holiday season is here. 

Lots of fun to be had in the next few months, and I can't wait!