Ella Is Double Digits!

My Ella Grace is 10 years old!!! 

I do not know what to think about that! 

10 years...a whole decade! 

This time last year Ella was NOT feeling well at all. Poor girl had Logan over on her actual birthday and she spent most of it laying in our bed so her and Logan could at least be together watching movies. We even ended up postponing her party. It was so sad! February is typically a hard month for our family in regards to sickness. Praise Jesus this year has not been like that at all. 

This is Ella with her tooth money right after she turned 9. This girl....teeth just fall out of her head. It's nuts really! She has even had two teeth crack and the tiny piece came out, but the bigger part stayed in. She even had an appointment with the dentist to have the other half pulled out since it was not good having food get stuck under it and sitting right up against her new adult tooth. The dentist gave her a little over a month in order to get it out herself and she did! Just in the nick of time with only 3 days to spare. Thankfully the other tooth that cracked she worked that one out in a few days. She is a great tooth pullerer. I am pretty sure she is now finished losing teeth....ahead of Jack! 

This last summer Ella was getting more and more comfortable on her bike. She was even ride up onto and off of the sidewalks. 

Cute little chipmunk teeth! We did go to the orthodontist again and he wants us to check back in a year to see if Ella's mouth will be ready for braces by then. She is very concerned about her teeny tiny grown up teeth on either side of her upper front teeth. She knows that she's going to get fake teeth and she's happy about that. Every time she talks about getting braces she always mentions the fact that she wants them to close up the gap between her two top teeth as well. That's trait that comes from both sides of the family so it's not a surprise that she has one. 

She thought this was so funny at the Pacific Science Center! 

Ella likes to try out new hairstyles, but then very rarely wears them out of the house. Her favorite hair style is wearing her hair down or in a braid.

Ella loves her Daddy so much! She also loves that he can still pick her up and he says she's light. Unlike me...I about kill myself trying to hold her up. 

Our sweet angel girl does still need more sleep than the boys, but we have noticed that she can go longer than she used to and not end up with a headache. 

This was when we were at the date party at Great Wolf Lodge and she was done...once she gets to that point there's nothing we can do except get her to bed. Thankfully she hasn't had an instance like this in months. 

I had so much fun with my sweet girl at the Sweet Treat spa at GWL. I hope there are many more girl spa days in our future. 

My pretty girl is definitely getting into make-up. She likes to wear lip gloss out of the house and she does make-up with her friends when they are playing, but she always asks if it's okay.

Ella loves her pretty cabin that Pa made especially for her! I love how he made the roof have a scalloped look which is different than that boys. Such a fun touch of femininity! 

Ella loves Awana's! Last year she struggled with memorizing the verses, but this year she has really taken off. 

Ella was such a sweet girl last spring helping Mommy in the front garden. I just love working along side her...even if she supervising from the shade drinking a Slurpee! :) 

While in the garden we decided to clean up Penelope and then Ella really wanted to paint her. I'm so glad I let her! 

She turned out so cute and we've end had neighbors stop and comment on how pretty she looks. 

My sweet girl is so picky with her clothes! I have told her that I will not buy her clothes unless she goes with me from now on. We have also had talks about how leggings are for little girls. When she starts to develop into a young lady we will be transitioning to more appropriate clothes for her body like jeans or she'll have to wear more dresses with leggings under them. 

Ella was just talking about her baptism the other day and how the water washed her sins away. We did talk about how baptism isn't what washes away our sins it's what's Jesus did for us on the cross, but that the water baptism signifies that. 

Ella Grace loves her kitty boy! 

Oh my goodness...friends!!! Ella LOVES her friends!!! She has so many and still she has room for more. She's just so fun to be around. Ella has this amazing ability to also turn "enemies" or kids not being nice to her into friends. She's done it at school numerous times. She such an example to me to not judge someone by a few actions, but to be kind and give them grace. 

She is still right in the thick of things with the boys...climbing, jumping, playing tag...you name it she's gonna play! 

Finishing up 2nd grade! 

Miss Castle was the best 2nd grade teacher!!! 

Ella loves animals! 

Dogs, cats, bunnies and horses. She was so happy that she got to feed the horses next to Miss Ruth's house during a BBQ for Papa's birthday. 

Ella braided her scarf into her hair and wanted me to take a picture and send it to Papa & Miss Ruth! 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ella. There's nothing particularly special about it...it's 4th of July and she's in her patriotic dress with booties no less! But something about it just screams...JOY! She may be holding a sparkler that shines bright, but she shines brighter! 

Mama and sissy sun bathing at Wild Waves!!! 

Speaking of bunnies...Charlie got a hold of a baby bunny and I found it huddled next to the house under where the hose is. It wasn't moving, but it was alive. Ella wanted to hold it and at first we didn't know it was injured, but then it became clear that it was dying. Ella held it and petted it until it passed away. Oh my precious girl was crushed! Big crocodile tears streaming down her face! Her and Zeke even had a hard time going to sleep that night. I told her that at least in the last moments of it's life it got to be held and comforted by her. It still breaks my heart thinking about it. 

Even though Charlie murders things she still loves him! 

Ella loves her brothers, but as you can imagine they do fight. I will say that she gets along probably the best with Zeke just because he will still play with her, but she also loves to play outside with Jack. Owen and her argue the most...probably because they are a lot alike and they are each others buddy. 

The picture of Jack and Ella above was taken the day we found out that we all had lice. Good times! Thank the Lord for Lice Clinic of America and a great health benefits savings account! :) 

Chilling with my girly in my hammock! 

In August last year we got to go visit Logan for a few days. I just love how the girls pick right back up where they left off. I do hope they continue to be that way as they get older. 

Finishing out the summer at Wild Waves with friends was epic! I'm so glad we got season passes again! 

3rd grade...Ella's coming for you! 

Ella loves to help me and I just love having her company. She did such a good job helping me paint the playroom. 

On a nature hike with Daddy and boys! 

She was a pretty savage pirate for Halloween! 

I tried to make Ella's hair look like Rey from Star Wars. 

Getting crafty is something that Ella really enjoys. She does like it to be in smaller increments. If it's something with a lot of steps and takes multiple days she can lose interest. 

Cold shoulder shirts are all the rage and she can't wait to get more of them. I did find one the other day at JCPenney's, but she decided she wanted a new dress instead. 

I love love love that Ella still enjoys playing with her dolls and make believe play. Childhood goes by so fast and I just want her to stay young as long as she can. A couple days ago she was telling me that she wants to stay a kid for a long time since being an adult is hard. Word girlfriend...hold on to it for dear life! 

She has the best reactions! 

Doing crafts with my girl! 

Going on a date to see Frozen 2! 

Loving on her Daddy was the perfect way to ring in the New Year! 

One night while we were watching TV she asked me to find her scar from her brain surgery. 

On Valentine's Day we went to her Neurologist to have her checked out. She hasn't been in to see him for 2 years. He was just amazed by her. She is doing so great! He even said that some of the balance and coordination things he was having her do were beyond what a 10 year should normally be doing. I wondered if it has to do with her being in gymnastics. It was also nice to hear that her shunt is functioning properly and she doesn't really have any signs of ever having a problem. Her head shape is also almost completely normal...her knobbies as we lovingly called them are almost gone!!! God is so good! 

This is what Ella is saving her money up to get....a One Generation Classroom for her two dolls. It's the cutest thing really....little desks, a while board, a clock, cubbies for students and so much more. Ella is still saying she's going to be a teacher at her school one day. 

We got just a little bit of snow this year. Since the yard was barely covered Ella chose to make a snow angel on the deck instead. 

Ella has one eye that needs a little help to see better. She mainly just wears her glasses at school though. 

Loving on Phoebe right before getting her 10 year old birthday pictures taken. 

The dress she found after getting her pictures taken...it sort of matches Phoebe's outfit and she just fell in love with it. She's going to wear it to The Secret Garden Tea House for her birthday. 

Ella is quite the artist and her love of whiteboards and dry eraser markers has not waned one bit. She showed me this drawing the other day that she traced from I believe her hand and Zeke's....either that or she traced her had twice. No matter I still thought it was quite fitting since she's turning 10 years old! 

Ella Beanie....You are so special. You are a light that shines in the darkness. I know that you've had a tough class this year with lots of hardships and a few kids that have struggled to make good choices, but I really admire you for not letting it get you down. You focus on what you need to do and you in turn are a great example for others to follow. Your teachers all love you and your work ethic. You try so hard to do the best you can at everything. You never give up! Your favorite subject is Math and you told me it's your favorite because it challenges you. What a great attitude to have! 

Speaking of challenge...for the last month or so you have been challenging yourself in a new way. You've been reintroducing food dye into you diet. You really wanted to try and see if you could eat it without getting a headache and throwing up. I told you it was your body so you could make the decision and so far so good! I don't know if you've just grown out of it, but no matter it's been awesome for you to be able to enjoy all the same things your brothers get to. 

Ella Grace...My sweet sweet girl! I love you so much and I know I say this every year, but I'm so thankful that God knew I needed a little girl in my life. From the moment I saw you on the screen at the doctor's office and it was confirmed that you were a girl...I was hooked! You are truly a gift from God! It always makes me sentimental writing these posts talking about another year of your life because I know it's just getting me one day closer to you being all grown up. At the same time I love looking back at these birthday posts and reading a snapshot of your life at a certain age. You have brought such joy to our lives at each age and I know that the joy you have now will only increase as you grow up. 

Ella...God has made you shine and I don't ever want you to let someone tell you that you can't shine. You are beautiful, you are smart, you are kind and you are perfect just the way you are! Mama loves you so much precious! 

Happy 10th Birthday Ella!