We had an awesome birthday party - Ellia's Big Top Carnival! We had carnival games & food & treats throughout the backyard. And we had Gidget the pony show up for clippity-clop pony rides. It was a fun, fun day & just the right amount of sun and breeze. Can't believe my little birdie is already 4... more photos soon!
Ellia had a great summer. She spent A LOT of time in the water in various places.
This was a game that Ellia and I went to just-the-two-of-us. We had a really great time hanging out together + we had some shaved ice cones & watched our tongues turn different colors. Ellia knows most of the names of the Angel's players, the entire "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song, loves watching the little kid do the 3rd base race & knows it was a good game if we saw fireworks cuz that means there was a homerun.
Ellia is drawing more & more. I take opportunities to talk creatively with her whenever I can. And when she draws something I write down her exact verbal description of what she drew.
I'm dreading the update when I have to say that Claira's squishy double chin is gone. Her big round belly is already starting to fade away...
Here is my chubby girl in a rare moment of stillness and hand-holding. She continues to be super active, super emotional and super giggly.
Ahh, The Claira Bob. Hairstyles will be fun with her because she already loves hair clips. Claira has recently had an amazing burst of independence and determination. I thought she was strong-willed before! She now insists on putting her pants on, buckling her seat belt, putting her shoes on, zipping her jacket... As long as I'm not in a hurry, I sit and let her put both legs through the same leg hole (over & over) She is not stubborn, per se, because she doesn't get frustrated if she can't do it. She gets frustrated if someone tries to do it for her. I say: "Claira do it" a lot nowadays! She also has gone from adorable silent to adorable talking - she has so many new words that I can't keep track of them fast enough!
I've started to do some fun little things with both the girls. I did a lot of potting plants these last few months. We took lots of trips to the nursery & they helped me pick out the plants Auntie Carissa recommended. Above is the little Tomato Plant Ellia picked out. It's now as tall as Ellia! We have yet to eat 1 tomato from it!
Grandma gave us a Butterfly Hatchery & surprisingly I was able to keep every single one of them alive to meet their metamorphosis! To this day when Ellia sees an orange butterfly she exclaims: "It's one of mine!"
I wish I had written down the way Ellia pronounces Knott's Berry Farm, cuz it sounds nothing like it. We lucked out on the weather & picked the perfect day to go! Ellia got to meet the real Snoopy, which she loved. And both girls got to ride bigger kids rides.
