My 94 year old Grandma is Superwoman

This is my first blog post in 2 years and 4 months. It's pretty evident, by the outdated photo at the top and a variety of layout problems. I will deal with those later. :)

My two therapies are these: exercising and writing. The latter of those I just have not made time to do. But all I can manage to do at this moment is write and get my thoughts out before they are gone. My heart is about to explode...bear with me...

The last 3 days have been an emotionally exhausting whirlwind...beginning with a Thursday morning text that knocked the breath out of me, and ending with tears of joy near the end of a two hour car ride.

The tears began when I heard these song lyrics on the radio:

Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

I've always loved that song by Tenth Avenue North, but they hit me differently today. Let's back up a couple of days.

Thursday morning shortly after getting Ella on the bus, I got one of those "punch you in the gut" texts from Dad, saying that he and Mom were at the ER with my 94 year old Mema after she pushed her Med Alert button in the middle of the night, and they thought she had a stroke.

Let's back up again to explain 94 year old Mema. Like most people born in her generation, she is one tough cookie. She was born in 1920, endured the Great Depression, had a husband who fought in WWII (and only came home by the grace of God and a hole in a boat), lived and worked on a farm and had several trying years after her husband and my Papa suffered two massive strokes. The second stroke left him totally dependent on her as he lost his ability to walk, talk and take care of any basic needs. But that's not all - 94 year old Mema lives in her house independently, she can tell you the whereabouts and job descriptions of all of her six grandchildren and their spouses, she can tell you what grades her four great-grandchildren are in, she can tell you when all of their birthdays are and you are GUARANTEED to receive a birthday card in the mail from her on your EXACT birthday. She apparently also knows the speed at which the United States Postal Service operates. She watches the news and reads the paper daily, and can talk about current events better than I can. She remembers the name of anyone she's ever met. Though her body has not been in the best of shape the last few years, her mind literally works better than most people half her age, or even 1/3 of her age. For myself and my siblings, we never met our grandparents on our father's side of the family, and none of us remember Papa before his first stroke, so she has really been the only true grandparent we have ever known and been able to communicate with, and having a "sharp as a tack" mind like hers has been such a blessing because she can tell us stories about life in a time that is completely foreign to us.

Back to Thursday. The thought of losing her in this way literally made me sick. And then the regrets set in. The regrets of not calling her regularly, or spending more time with her, or asking her more questions about her life. The outlook was not good. We found out that she could not remember Mom or Dad's name, she could only get a few words out at a time, and those words were very negative and discouraging, she had lost the use of her right arm, and her mouth was drooping on one side, which resulted in difficulty eating. Not the news you want to hear. We spent the day praying. My prayers were all over the place. I wanted more time and didn't want to lose Mema, but I also didn't want her to suffer and have the quality of life that we watched Papa endure for nine years. And we knew she didn't want that either. We knew God had a plan for her life, including the end, and were trying to be at peace with whatever that plan was.

I struggled with what to do. After getting a lot of updates and hearing that she was somewhat stable that night, I decided that the girls and I (Ronnie had to work all weekend) would head down to see her after Ella came home from school on Friday. Friday morning we got good news, that she was much better and talking more. Then came more bad news...because of insurance reasons the hospital was afraid they were going to have to discharge her the next day. Mema was in good spirits until she heard this, and communicated to the family that she was not ready to go home. I got word that she had said several things implying that her memory was working better and she was communicating better. I was hopeful going into the room, but still scared to death that she might not know who I was. Boy was I surprised. We walked in to see a smiling Mema, who immediately started talking to me, talking to the girls, interacting with us almost as if nothing had happened. The girls started asking about her PICC line, hospital bracelet and some bandages and she moved BOTH of her arms around to show them. I couldn't help but blurt out "I thought you couldn't use your arm..." I couldn't even tell which one it was. "Well, it's getting better," she said. She moved her fingers and twisted her arm around and it looked completely normal. Then I immediately analyzed her mouth. No droop whatsoever. Every nurse who came in that evening said something along the lines of, "We can not believe how well she is doing." One nurse told dad that she had never seen anyone make such progress overnight. Most everyone there was under the impression that she would never leave the hospital, and now she was passing her tests with flying colors.

Saturday morning things were even better. We found out that she was going to be able to go to a rehab facility for a few days to get her strength back. Mom went to her house to get a few things for her and she specifically told Mom to get her a specific cream out of the blue bag in the bathroom cabinet, and her warm purple socks in the second drawer of her dresser. Then she told Mom that she had been thinking that she really needed to find some curtains for her kitchen so that anyone who might be outside wouldn't be able to see her china cabinet from the window. Maybe Mom could work on that while she was in the rehab facility. Seriously?! Then came the next sign that Mema was officially back. Dad bought the girls a candy bar, and mentioned something about how cheap they were when he was a kid. These were the exact words that came out of her mouth: "When I was in school at Petroleum we used to go to the store down there and we could get a coke for a nickel, and you could get a sandwich for 25 cents...either ham or bologna." She's baaaaack!!!! Two days before she couldn't form a sentence or remember her daughter's name. Now she's talking about the price of coke and sandwiches 80 years ago! Mom, Dad and I just looked at each other and laughed! We got to the rehab facility, where she seemed really at peace and comfortable, and as we were leaving to come back home, a man I didn't recognize came in. Turns out he is one of Mema's neighbors, and he wanted to come by and check on her and assure her that they would keep an eye on her house while she was away. Super sweet of him. But the funny part was when he left and Mom and Dad looked at each other and said, "Now what is his name?" "Donny," Mema said from the bed. Again, we couldn't do anything except laugh.

I realize this stroke has left the future for Mema, her health and her independence with great uncertainties. But seeing God's grace in this situation has been incredible. If He had taken her home we would have all been at peace with it, knowing she didn't suffer and live a life she wouldn't have wanted. But seeing her strength and perseverance as she overcame the "terrible Thursday" is nothing short of God's grace on her life, and giving us a little more time with this Superwoman. It's certainly made me appreciate how quickly things can change, and how important it is to take every opportunity you have with family, especially the older ones, whose stories and perspectives you can never get back. As she told my Dad on Friday, "I just lost a day." When I asked Ella what she thought about seeing Mema this weekend she said, "She looked sick yesterday, but today she just looked like normal Mema."

Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Ella's first recital!

I think it's been two months since my last post. Eeeek. Sorry about that. Right now I'm in a quiet house. Ella and Kendall are napping. Tara seems to be napping with Ella...last thing I knew she was reading to Ella and she never returned. :) Ronnie and Daniel are working on Ronnie's fish tank...which is basically half dead after some miscommunication over who was turning the lights off one night while he was at Kentucky Changers. Woops.
Today was a pretty exciting day in the Pridemore house. Ella had her first ballet recital! She started taking ballet in November after we scored a LivingSocial deal for Jennifer's Academy of Dance. We've tried to involve Ella in different activities...before ballet we did tee ball (which we are also currently in again) and soccer, but we soon realized that she was having more fun in her ballet/tap class than in the other things we have tried. So we decided to stick with it. My sister and I spent our childhood getting muddy and sweaty playing sports, so this dancey stuff was all new to me. Not gonna lie, when I first recieved the recital handbook that detailed how her hair must be fixed and how her makeup was to be applied, it kinda freaked me out a little. But now having gone through the production and seeing the final project I see the importance of making everyone uniform and, yes, I now understand why my child had to wear red lipstick...the bright lights really do wash them out!
The last couple of days Ella has seemed not-so-excited about her recital. We've had an out of the ordinary week. Ronnie has been gone to Kentucky Changers for the last week, and we spent several days back home in Scottsville. I thought she was just a little out of sorts, but Friday morning she told me she was NOT going to her recital and would NOT dance on the stage. Thankfully when she woke up from her nap she was in a better mood, and got kinda excited when I turned Doc McStuffins on the TV, sat her on a stool in front of me, and started curling her hair. When it was time for makeup she was so excited. She's been dying to wear the red lipstick since the day I bought it! When we arrived at Memorial Auditorium for the dress rehearsal she was pumped. She was able to see some of the "big girls" perform before she went back to practice the finale, and I think that helped to excite her. After perfecting the finale, her group went through their "Colored Glasses" routine and they did great! My hope for Ella was that she would just do SOMETHING. I just hoped she wouldn't stand there and do nothing. And she did fantastic! She did a great job with the routine...she sang, she was animated, and for the most part she kept up with her moves. I was so excited for her! On the way back home she kept saying, "But I want to go back to the recital! I want to dance more!" Yay!!
This morning the girls were so excited to wake up and see their Daddy. He had returned in the middle of the night while we were all asleep. Then, Aunt Tara & Uncle Daniel arrived. The girls were so excited! We all rode together to the recital and Ella couldn't wait to put her dress on. She wasn't allowed to wear her costume in the audience unless it was covered up. It was pretty warm in there so I just put a summer dress on her and would change her a few routines before hers. Their group was the very last to go, so we had awhile. Ronnie was a trooper. He's gotten very little sleep the last week and a dark auditorium made it difficult for him, but he stayed awake and I think he maybe enjoyed it more than he would let on. :) It was fun watching all the groups dance. The older and more talented girls were a lot of fun to watch, and the younger groups were just adorable! Finally I took Ella backstage to get her changed. She was so ready to have that costume and her lipstick on! It was hectic when I dropped her off backstage, and I was really worried that it might freak her out and cause her to freeze. When her group walked out on stage they were SOOO stinking cute. I'm probably biased, but I think they had the cutest costumes. :) Then it was time to dance...and they did great! I was so proud of Ella! She did even better than she did in the rehearsal, and the whole group was great! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures or video during the performance, but I got a video of the rehearsal that I will show everyone when they come over. :) Here are a few pictures taken from rehearsal and recital day...

So pretty!

Heading to rehearsal

Getting ready to practice their dance!

Exiting the stage in style!

Practicing the finale

Such a poser!

Heading backstage!

So proud of my girl!



With Tara & Daniel...thanks for the flowers and frog!

We're all so proud of her!

I'm back!! March update...

Hi. My name is Kelly. I love to write about my fun family, but for some reason have taken a two month hiatus. For anyone who enjoys reading the blog I promise to never go that long without a post again! For the entire month of March I've decided to just do a catch up
On March 3rd my Dad celebrated his 50th birthday. Yay!! But I'll be honest, he doesn't look a day over 40! I remember when I was younger I would sometimes be embarrased when just the two of us would be out together. Sometimes when I was in college he would meet me in Bowling Green for lunch, and I always felt like we got weird looks. He looked too old to be my date, but not old enough to be my dad! My mom also looks young...I hope I have those genes!
Mom organized a great surprise for his birthday. We made up a lie and told him that we wouldn't be able to come to Scottsville his birthday weekend and that we would celebrate in Louisville the weekend after his birthday. Mom had to do that part, because I'm the worst liar in the entire world. No joke, worst in the world. I'm terrible. Don't ever ask me to lie for you, it's not gonna happen, even if it's for a good cause like a surprise birthday party. It's a combination of me having an incredibly guilty conscience and also a problem of bursting into hysterical giggles when saying anything that isn't true. I think overall it's a good thing?? Mom rented a cabin at the Barren River State Park and our crew, Travis and Jamie went the night before the party to get settled and decorate. The next day mom told dad they were going to eat lunch at the Lodge at the State Park, then took a detour and took him to the cabin. He was surprised to see us, along with Laura, Tim, Charlie, Peyton, Mema and Ma. Though he admitted that he wondered if something was up when mom wanted to take him to the Lodge...the food's good but it's not "special birthday lunch" good. Laura and her crew had picked up some barbeque from a place in Glasgow and I had brought a cookie cake (because my dad is half human/half cookie monster). We had a great time and mom surprised him with really special photo book she had made. It warmed up enough for us to take the kids to play at the park and then we spent another night in the cabin. It was a great weekend to celebrate a great man!
The week of March 10-17, Ronnie went on his first medical mission trip. He spent a week in Haiti working with the Haitian Christian Outreach. In the few days before his trip he was like a little kid anticipating Christmas. This was the reason he went into medicine - to travel to underserved countries and help people both physically and spiritually. He went with a great group of people, including our good friends Jason and Susan, and had an amazing experience. Ronnie has a few days off this week and my goal for him is to do his own post on the blog about his trip. We'll post pictures at that time.
We also traded in our Honda Pilot in March. It was a day of mixed emotions. I adored the Pilot...absolutely adored it and thought it was the best vehicle ever. But, it wouldn't pull the boat. So we got a Nissan Armada. Don't get me wrong, the Armada is nice and it's much roomier, but it took me a week or so to adjust. And it's not a Honda, which was hard to part with. But the extra room is definitely nice. Someone can now comfortably fit between the girls carseats instead of sitting sideways with no seatbelt. And I can sorta park it now. Most of the time.
I guess those were the most exciting things we experienced in March. We were super excited to go see The Hunger Games when it came to the theatres and thought the movie was excellent. We both read the entire book series last summer (it took us both about a week to read all three books!). I ran the Papa John's 10 miler on the last day of March. It was a great run with my good friend Toni...personal bests for both of us. I beat last year's time by 38 seconds so I was happy with that! Kendall became potty trained the week Ronnie was in Haiti. She's a rockstar! She'd been doing well with the potty, but I literally stuck her in panties one day and that was the end of diapers. People keep telling me how awesome it is that I potty trained her before she turned 2, but I seriously didn't do anything. She potty trained herself...had to do everything big sis Ella did! Ella is still loving her ballet/tap class. Also during the week Ronnie was in Haiti, they had a special "parents get to watch" week during her ballet class. It was so fun to get to see her dance! I got tons of video and pictures.
For some reason my camera's memory card and my computer don't want to cooperate today, so I will have pics to go with this post tomorrow hopefully!

Target's Dr. Seuss Storytime

The girls and I had a nice little surprise at Target today. We were out of the house this morning to take Jamie to work, then I had decided to take the girls to Saturday morning storytime at Barnes & Noble. This isn't something we've ever done before, but I was trying to think of a different activity for us to do and thought this would be fun.

We had about an hour to waste, so I debated between taking the girls to breakfast at Panera Bread (I was craving a cinnamon crunch bagel) and going to Target. I left it up to Ella, who ultimately decided on Target. Why, you ask? Because she knows that Target has Starbucks, and she wanted a rice krispy treat. So to Target we went. I enjoyed a hot chocolate and the girls split a rice krispy treat. So we walked around for a little while, and made it over to the book section. I saw in the weekly ad that Target had Dr. Seuss books on sale and I wanted to get a copy of The Lorax for us to read before the movie comes to theatres next weekend. We were walking past the toy section towards the outdoorsy section when I could see a bunch of chairs set up and it looked like some type of storytime was about to begin. Turns out they were having Dr. Seuss Storytime and participating in Read Across America. What was the featured book? The Lorax! Both of the girls received adorable Lorax bags that contained a coloring page, crayons, stickers, fruit snacks, animal crackers and a Lorax mustache. It was great! They read two books before reading The Lorax...Green Eggs & Ham and Go, Dog, Go. Unfortunately, Kendall's attention span isn't quite long enough for Dr. Seuss books, so she was pretty much done before they started The Lorax. She and I walked off to the side to not disrupt the other listeners, and Ella stayed in her chair to hear the Lorax.

We ended up not making it to Barnes & Noble, but this worked out even better! As if I needed another reason to love Target!


Ella with her Lorax mustache

Kendall showing off our new reusable bags!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope that everyone had a great Valentine's Day like we did! Ours spread out over a few days, which made it twice as fun!
On Friday, our playgroup friends came over for a little Valentine's Day party complete with heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's, cupcake decorating, and valentine exchanging. The kids had a great time! Ella and I had fun making homemade valentines...the idea of course came from Pinterest. :)
On Monday night, Jamie watched the girls so Ronnie and I could go out on a date. (For those of you who didn't know, Jamie's Peace Corps service ended early and she moved in with us a couple of weeks ago...fun!!) Ronnie and I hadn't been out to dinner and a movie in a really long time, so we were really excited! And the girls were excited to have a movie night with Aunt JJ. We decided to go eat at Olive Garden. It was soooooo good. After dinner we headed to Meijer to get some movie theatre candy and then went to Tinsletown to see "Safe House" with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It was really good. If you like intense CIA-type movies then we would recommend it!
On Valentine's Day the girls, Jamie and I headed to the Kentucky Gymnastics Association for open gym. We used to go there pretty frequently but it had been awhile, so the girls, especially Ella, were so excited! It was so fun watching them play. Ella is now one of the "big kids" there, running around doing all the big stuff without assistance, and Kendall of course wants to do whatever Ella is doing so she requires pretty close supervision! Both these girls have no fear! Toni mets us at KGA with Grace and the little boy she watches, so the girls also had fun "playing" with the babies when they weren't running around crazy. After open gym we all had lunch at McAlisters...3 adults, 4 kids, lots of noise. But it was a blast! Ella and Kendall love McAlisters. Ella suggested it over Chick-Fil-A (gasp!) and as soon as we walk in the door Kendall starts yelling "Pizza!! Pizza!" She loves their cheese pita pizza. After lunch Ella insisted that Grace come over to see her new Princess Closet that she got for Christmas, so we had fun hanging out into the afternoon!
That afternoon we exchanged presents. We gave the girls books and some candy, and mom and dad had sent some candy and the movie "Horton Hears a Who". Ronnie and I decided to set a small price limit for Valentine's Day this year, since we will be the proud owners of a boat within the next couple of days. I was very excited to receive a new Willow Tree figurine...this one entitled You & Me...which is very fitting since the Lifehouse song "You & Me" is our song. I appropriately gave him a new (and super sweet) pair of swimming trunks since he will spend a lot of time on the lake this summer because of the boat.
Here are a few pics!

Going on a date! I don't think we've had an actual "Valentine's" date since the girls were born!

Ella can swing forever!

Hang on, Kendall!

Love these girls!!

Elmo ABC's for Kendall!

Fancy Nancy for Ella!

Ella and Grace

It's a Grace sandwich!

Fun with friends!

Another Year, Another Checkup

Today was Ella's 4 year checkup with her pediatrician, Dr. Bindner. Last night I told Ella that she had a checkup with Dr. Bindner the next day, and of course the first thing out of her mouth was, "Do I have to get a shot?" I wasn't going to lie to her, so I told her she would have to get one. "Only one?" I'm not sure... Then Ella said, "Can I get the nose spray, instead?" I cracked up. The last time she got a "shot" at the pediatrician's office was at Kendall's 18 month checkup, and both girls received their flu shots. At the last minute I decided to let Ella have the nasal mist, so she was hoping she could get that again in place of the shot. What a memory!
So we arrived at her appointment and after a few minutes (and a trip to the bathroom, where I am certain Ella lost at least 1 lb), the nurse called Ella back. As we were walking to the scale Ella said to the nurse, "Can you tell Dr.  Bindner that I only want one shot?" The nurse cracked up and said, "I've never heard that before!" I explained that Ella was an allergy shot kid, and since March she has been getting allergy injections, one in each arm, once or twice a week. So to Ella, getting only one shot sounds fantastic! She was weighed (30.4 lbs...would have been 31.4 if she hadn't made that trip to the bathroom!) and her height was measured (40 inches), and during that whole time Ella NEVER stopped talking about the shots. We dropped our stuff off in the exam room and then went into the hall for the eye exam. I was interested to see how this went. Ronnie and I both have bad vision. Ronnie's is bad...well, it was until he got Lasik, and mine is terrible. So its only a matter of time before Ella and Kendall are rocking some super snazzy glasses. Not the huge ones I rocked back in the day. (Thanks, Mom.) The other day, Ronnie gave her an unofficial eye exam with an eye chart app on his iphone, and she did ok, but we weren't sure how accurate it was. Today they said she came out at 20/30. Dr. Bindner said anything between 20/20 and 20/40 was fine for her age. Yay!
We went back in the exam room and the shot talk continued. Anyone who has been around Ella very much knows that she talks...a lot. But this was even a lot for her. That poor nurse (who was excellent, by the way) answered probably 50 questions in the 10 minutes she spent with Ella. She mentioned that they had to do a finger prick. Sheesh. I hate those! Bring on the shots, but don't prick my finger! Ella didn't understand what this was...so by golly she started asking questions about it! "What are you going to do with that? Is it going to hurt? Is it going to bleed? What does that do? Where does that go? Why are you going to use my finger with the orange polish?" She pricked her finger (oooh I hate even watching that! It's like popping a can of crescent rolls, even though I know it's coming it makes me jump every time) and Ella had a stunned look on her face. As soon as the nurse started to squeeze blood into the little tube, Ella was mesmerized. "Can I squeeze the blood in there?" she asked. She watched in awe as the blood came out of her finger into the tube. It wasn't until the very end that she started going "oww...owww...Owwwww...OWWWWW!" She was a trooper! Then, we were back to the shot talk. "Tell Dr. Bindner I only want one shot. How many shots do I have to have? Are the shots in my arms or in my legs? I don't want to get shots today. Can I get the nose spray?" The nurse was checking things off her chart, asking me about her sleeping and eating habits. Then she laughed and said, "She definitely doesn't have trouble speaking clearly," as she marked something off on her chart. Then the nurse started asking Ella basic questions. Her answers were hilarious. Correct, intelligent, but hilarious. Do you go to school? Ella: "No, I'm only 4. I'm not 5." Ella do you know where you live? Ella: "Louisville....I mean...Kentucky." I asked her if she could tell the nurse our address and she quickly rattled it off.  Then she asked Ella if she could tell her her name. Instead of saying it, Ella spelled it, "E...L...L...A." The nurse cracked up and said, "You are definitely my best patient today...I'm not even going to ask you about colors!" And...we're back to shots.
The nurse left and as we waited for Dr. Bindner Ella immediately wanted to take the bandaid off her pricked finger and wanted to wash it off. So we washed her bloodied finger until Dr. Bindner walked in. Poor Dr. Bindner, the second Ella walked in the door she got slammed with 50 questions just like the nurse. Dr. Bindner reminded her that the shots will keep her healthy and keep her from getting sick, and Mommy and Daddy love her very much and want her to stay healthy. I just love our pediatrician! She said that Ella looked great and was very healthy. I was a little concerned since she has gained very little weight in the last 6 months (for the record, she was 27.6 lbs at her 3 year checkup, so almost a 3 lb gain...would have been more if Ella had held off on the poop!). Dr. Bindner said that her height and weight were both around 50th percentile, and that this is an age when weight gain usually slows down a lot. Ella is a great eater so I wasn't really all that concerned.
Then Dr. Bindner left and it was time to wait for the shots. Poor Ella burst into tears. With her allergy shot regimine, the poor girl is just exhausted with shots. As my aunt said today, since March she has basically been a little pin cushion. Thank goodness we are only a few shots away from beginning maintenance, where we go only once every 2 weeks. Woo hoo! I often feel guilty for putting her through this. But then I think back to my childhood, packing tissues with me everywhere, constantly having a runny nose, and if this will help ease her misery for the rest of her life then I know it will be worth it. The nurse came in and we got the shots over with as fast as we could. Every person in the office park knew Ella was getting shots. I haven't heard her scream and cry like that in a long time. It was tough! Today she got MMR, Dtap, Polio & Chickenpox. Two shots in each little thigh. :( Thankfully she calmed down pretty quickly and didn't seem too fussy or upset about them tonight. She did have a nice long nap, though. The best part of the checkup...I found out that Ella is completely finished with vaccinations until she is 11. Woo hoo!!

Ella as she helped squeeze the blood into the tube.

Ella is the big 4!

I already mentioned my "20 Questions" interview with Ella, but I've yet to talk about our celebrations for her 4th birthday party. It's been the birthday that has lasted forever! With two parties, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa, and another birthday package arriving today, it seems to be going and going!
We first celebrated her birthday at our house on Saturday, January 14 with family. We are so glad that Mammaw, Tara, Daniel, Hannah, Laura, Tim, Charlie, Peyton and Mark were able to celebrate with us. Ella had told me a long time ago that she wanted a "Tangled" birthday party, so we got a few Tangled decorations and she fittingly wore her new Tangled dress for her party. I had planned to be really creative and make a Tangled tower out of rice krispy treats (since Ella doesn't like cake), but decided that was going to be too much on top of getting the house clean and getting other food prepared for the party. I ended up ordering a cake from Wal-Mart. (Yes, my Wal-Mart boycot has ended...though I still RARELY set foot in that store.) But I have to say, it was the best cake I've ever had, and everyone at the party agreed! The whipped icing they have is amazing! I usually get cake from Sam's Club, which is of course the same company, but I have to say that this was actually better. Ella didn't really care. She preferred to much on cucumbers and bell peppers (I long to be the healthy eater she is!). Ella racked up some pretty cool presents. The Rhea's gave her the gray Fur Real cat that she has been begging for since she saw it at Kohl's the week after Christmas. Tara made her an amazing Tangled braid for her hair. Mammaw gave her a set that includes a Barbie-sized Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and Maximus the horse (LOVE Maximus!). She also received what I can only describe as a pink Barbie blackberry (her first crackberry!!) from Mark and Kendall gave her a Cinderella doll. Ella gave Kendall the coordinating Belle doll for Christmas and they have been fighting over it ever since. Problem solved. :)
The morning of her birthday I had her present from me and Ronnie set up in the living room. It is a Melissa & Doug easel. One side is dry erase, the other side is chalkboard. She was excited when she saw it and she and Kendall instantly attacked it! Ella is doing a great job at writing letters, and she's been doing more of it since getting the easel. It's more fun to draw on an easel than on paper, right?! I cooked her pigs in a blanket for breakfast...healthy, right? I decided it was no worse than bacon or sausage with biscuits. She ate a ton of them at her birthday party, and she isn't much of a breakfast eater, so it was the best thing I could think of that she would actually enjoy. We went to the Y, then let her choose where to eat lunch. Of course, she chose Chick-Fil-A. By the time we got home it was nap time. Well, Ella was too excited to sleep, and we had to wake Kendall up early to head to Ella's birthday party with her friends at Kazoing! The kids had an hour to play in the massive room full of bouncies, and they had a blast! I think Ronnie had as much fun as anyone! Thanks Gavin, Graham, Reagan, Caroline, Laken, Jayleigh, Story, Heidi, Quinn, Colby, Avery and Rafe for celebrating with Ella! We had 30 minutes to eat pizza and cake, and unfortunately by the time we all finished eating it was time to go. I purchased another, bigger, Wal-Mart Tangled cake for the party, and everyone had the same reaction. It's delicious! Seriously. I do NOT encourage Wal-Mart shopping, but the cake with whipped icing is amazing! Then came the only negative part of the party. Ella was very disappointed that she had to open her presents at home, and many of her friends were disappointed that they didn't get to watch her open her presents. Once we got home Ella was ready to tear into them. Thanks for the gifts, everyone, she loved all of them!
Friday night we decided to go shopping at the mall. Mema had sent Ella some money for her birthday. Usually money gifts go straight into her savings account, but Ella literally grew out of all of her clothes overnight, and I had some GymBucks from Gymboree, so we decided to do a little shopping. We found her some cute stuff and hopefully we can get through winter now! Thanks, Mema! My dad had emergency gallbladder surgery three days before her family birthday party, so they weren't able to come up for the party. But they spent the day with us on Saturday and we had a great time celebrating once again! Ella was especially excited to get a new pink car for her Barbies, and a new Tinkerbell costume! If we've been at home, she's been Tinkerbell! Today Ella received what I believe will be her last birthday present in the mail. The 4th birthday is coming to an end. Thanks so much, Uncle Jimmie and Aunt Judy, for the Tangled nightgown! She loves it!
Thanks so much to all of our friends and family who made my sweet girl feel special on (and around!) her birthday. We are so thankful that God placed such a sweet girl in our care and enjoyed celebrating her birthday with each of you!
I'm sorry I don't have pics up yet...I will try to add them in the next day or two! :)