Today is my Ellie’s fifth birthday!
She’s named after my dear sweet grandma
I loved my grandma so much growing up, maybe more than what’s considered normal.
When I was first pregnant with Ella, my grandmother was 102 years old but she was slowly slipping away.
I know we shouldn’t have been shocked to see her slipping at age 102 but she was so full of life all of her life that when she wasn’t anymore, it was, well, shocking.
So when I was early in my pregnancy, Gramma Ella or “Great” as Annie called her, got sick started going downhill.
The last time I saw her alive, she touched my belly and said: “I think it’s a girl”.
She also knew that if it were a girl, she was to be named after her.
She passed away two months before I found out that she was indeed a girl.
She has the best sense of humor
At age 5.
She is a comedian and has been since she was a toddler.
She loves to make everyone laugh in our house.
I have no idea where she got that from.
She wants a pet in the worst way and loves animals of all kinds
She has a pretend dog and cat and even gives them water and food.
I will come into the kitchen and there will be two bowls on the floor.
One with water and one with cheese nips because cheese nips are “what doggies like best”.
Lord help the pet we someday get. 🙂
She does amazing in school
The teachers love her and she cracks jokes to them all the time.
She should be hitting the Vegas circuit any day now.
She is one tough cookie
Yet at the same time, very sensitive if that makes any sense.
She fell hard off of her bike this summer and didn’t even shed a tiny tear.
But if you don’t include her?
She will walk away and cry alone.
She is my little homebody
Ella would literally stay in the house forever if she had her way.
I have to bribe her, BRIBE HER, to go to the store or the mall.
She is one Hoarders episode away from worrying me.
But she loves to snuggle on the couch, play intently with her toys and color and read.
Non.Stop.
And she isn’t just like this in the cold months.
Summer?
Pool, park, home.
Those are the only places she would love to be.
So I guess the positive spin is that I am making it a place she loves to be?
I will go with that.
Family is so important to her
She loves her grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncle so much and talks about them non-stop.
When am I gonna see Mamie and Papa? When do we go to visit them? Can I talk to Mamie on the phone?
Which makes me so happy because our blood family lives so far away.
Yet she has this strong connection with all of them as well as our Illinois/extended family.
Her sister is her world
They fight, they hit each other, they yell at each other but the first thing Ellie says when I pick her up at school is always, “Is Annie at home/in the car?”
Without fail.
And the first thing Annie says when she gets in the door after school is, “where is Ellie?”
They might be 7.5 years apart but they are tight.
They even call each other Ramona and Beezus at home when no one is listening.
And that makes my heart sing.
Happy Birthday, sweet Ella Grace.
We love you so very much.
happy birthday to your little girl. she is adorable!
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Happy birthday to ella!!! raising kids is a tough job! Often I have had difficulties and wondered.. what did I do wrong? The truth is nothing. there is no perfect parent , we do what we think is best at the time. For many years my sweet 21 year old suffered from eating disorders. ( I never blogged about it) it was a tough time for me as a mother wanting to help and fix her. I could only give her support , prayers and love . anyway… we all question how we are as parents but I believe that as long as we keep our kids safe, healthy , protected and loved that we are doing a good job. : )BTW.. Michelle is doing great. she has switched her college major from art to nutritionist . we are super proud of get accomplishments!! Have a great weekend.
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That was so beautiful – totally crying into my ears right now! Happy birthday to Ellie- and happy 5 years of survival 😉 I'm SO happy things are changing!! Beautiful, beautiful post.
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Probably good she was your second kid, otherwise… you might have only one kiddo. ;)I'm glad she's finally coming into herself (or out of herself?). Watch… you're going to be the best of friends in her teenage years. You know, when most girls start to have issues with their moms (well, at least I did).Happy Birthday, E!
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Happy birthday, Ella! She honors gramma well.
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