Ella is Five

Ella turned 5 last week.  Wow.

This is her 5 years ago...

My beautiful first daughter.  She won our hearts and wrapped us around her dainty little fingers right from the beginning.

She is feisty.  She ALWAYS has something to say.  She makes us laugh. all. the. time.  She is opinionated and always knows exactly what she wants.  She is a force to be reckoned with.

But, she is also sensitive.  She hates to disappoint.  She cares deeply about her family and always wants to be surrounded by them.  

She loves animals.  Really loves animals.  It's all she talks about.  Most of the time, she is pretending to BE an animal.  It is always a hybrid of some sort.  Her favorites are the chipmunk-squirrel, the chicken-duck, the flamingo-penguin, and the horse-unicorn.  

She is a scrappy wrestler.  She fights like a little spider monkey.  If Mark and Aidan are wrestling, she will fling herself at them from across the room and tackle them with arms and legs flailing wildly.  

She is a great little sister.  She adores Aidan and wants to be with him all the time.  She takes an interest in what interests him.

She is also a great 2nd mommy big sister to Anna.  She watches out for her, teaches her things, helps take care of her and plays with her constantly.  

She is beautiful.  With wild blonde hair and big blue eyes, she has taken our breath away right from the beginning.  And with a big personality, and an even bigger heart, we could not be prouder of our first born daughter.  I can't believe she is already five years old. 

My Ella:

My precious 5 year old.

She is such a ham

Ella on her 5th birthday