Ella Claire is 3! We have been so blessed by our sweet second born. She's is so smart, funny, full of life and compassionate. When somebody asked her how old she was, she replied, "I'm old enough, and I don't wear diapers." What a perfect answer. Ella is also full of surprises, just like she surprised us by being a girl. When I was pregnant with Grace, we found out what we were having, but with Ella, we decided to be surprised in the delivery room. I was convinced that she was a boy all along because my pregnancy was so different from the first time. I was very sick the whole time and couldn't have made it without Zofran to control the nausea. I thought it just had to be a boy, so after six hours of labor (that was actually much like the first time, only an hour shorter) and less than five minutes of pushing, I was shocked when Dr. Brodsky announced, "It's a girl!" While I was certainly surprised, we immediately fell in love with our second precious baby girl. She's definitely all girl, and we've had so much fun these past three years.
Ella gets told frequently that she looks just like me because we share the same big brown eyes. Her hair is exactly the same color as Grace's, and they also share the same curls. She's long and lean, which has been great because I've gotten double use out Grace's clothes and shoes. She still lets me pick out her clothes most days and is very concerned about things matching. She usually insists that her panties match her outfit, too. She wears most 2T clothes and a size 7 shoes. She still prefers her hair in pigtails, and does not like it when her hair looks "crazy" or is the least bit messed up.
Ella still naps most days and is a wonderful sleeper at night. She sleeps with Raffie (her giraffe blanket) and her blankie (a small pink and green silky blanket). Many nights, she's also accompanied by a variety of stuffed animals. She is our most adventurous eater, and we rarely have to ask her more than once to eat her meals (unlike her siblings). She loves just about anything, including fresh mozzarella, avocados, celery, broccoli, peas, salami and chili. She also calls any type of protein "chicken," regardless of whether it is actually chicken or beef, fish or pork.
One of the things we are most excited about that has changed over the past year is that Ella enjoys school. She really, really loves it. She loves her teachers, her friends and learning new things. This is huge, considering that she cried at school for most of last year. At her last parent-teacher conference, her teachers remarked that she is always happy, chatty and curious about learning. I pray that this continues and that she continues to be blessed with good teachers and has a lifelong love of learning. Ella is also enjoying ballet and tap lessons, and she absolutely cannot wait to start soccer in the spring. She's been talking about it for almost a year because she wants to do everything that Gracie does.
Ella adores Grace. They have the sweetest relationship, and it just touches my heart to see them together. If Ella cries, Grace cries too. Most recently, at their 5 and 3-year old checkups, Ella had to get blood drawn and Grace screamed bloody murder the whole time. Ella does not like to be a part from Grace, and she's always the first to ask her how she's doing. Ella also adores Sutton and claims him as her own. She says, "Sutton grew in my tummy. He's MY baby!" If Travis or I ever get after him for something, Ella tells us, "Be nice to my Sutton. Him's just a baby!" The feeling is mutual, and Sutton tolerates more from Ella than he does from Grace. With their 18-month age difference, I know that they'll always be close.
The day before Ella's birthday, we let her and Grace spend their birthday money. Their choice of store--the Dollar Store, of course. All three kids had a blast looking through (and playing with) the toys. Grace chose a small glass giraffe and chocolate coins, and Ella chose a ceramic kitty bank and peppermint patties.
Because her birthday was on a Saturday this year, we spent the day at the science museum, and then we had dinner at Babe's (to carry on the tradition). Ella really enjoyed dinner, until they put the chicken hat on her head and started singing Happy Birthday. She DID NOT like the hat and looked so mad during the whole song. We couldn't help but laugh at her pouty face, and at one point she even closed her eyes. Later, she said, "I don't want that chicken hat again!" Yes ma'am.
Ella enjoyed opening gifts, and we genuinely thrilled with everything she received. Grace was a sweet helper, and the two of them did not want to go bed that night.
Ella Bella, we are so thankful to have you in our lives. And just like you always ask me--guess what? I lub you!
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