Happy 10th Birthday, Ellie!

Ellie turned the 2 big handfuls this year.  And that meant she got to have her first friends party.  We scheduled it at the last minute, only a few days before we wanted to have it.  Thankfully, all but one friend was able to come.  She had big ideas for a Harry Potter escape room, but I told her I didn’t have time to plan all that and the party would need to involve only those that knew Harry Potter.  So, we postponed that idea, and she came up with other fun things.  She had pin the hat on the birthday girl game, decorating cupcakes, opening presents, and eating pizza on the party plan. 

I brought her selected 4 friends home from school on a Friday.  BUT before they came here, Madison and her after school crew came over and decorated to surprise Ellie.  Something fun for both of them!

The fourth graders had a blast.  I won’t lie.  At one point, I texted my mom and asked if I should tell them to stop screaming.  “Heavens no” she said.  I agreed, but I worked hard to find some quiet spaces while the fun went on.  They played family downstairs, did games and gift opening upstairs, had various wardrobe changes, preformed a dance, and decorated cupcakes.  It was fast-paced, loud, and pretty much what Ellie wanted.  (There was one little snafu when they actually did argue with one another about the song for the dance and then people wanted to quit playing, but we got passed it.)

             

Ellie is full of laughter, ready for fun, and loves YouTube.  She is growing up and finding her own passions.  I hope in this next year, she continues to be so open to new friendships; I have loved how each year as she is put with different groups of students, she finds things to enjoy about new kids in her class.  She has had to adapt to a bit this year with diabetes, but it has been good to see her take that on and learn to calculate carbs, receive shots, think about food, and still be a normal fourth grader.  She is a great snuggler – still.  And has a magically way with Pepper.  She will have adjustments as she gets to move up to the middle school, be on my schedule, have a locker, move around classes, and be a different age.  Until then, she can enjoy the fun at the elementary school, the extra hour of sleep, and the extra recess that gets thrown in occasionally. 

We had a birthday party with the grandparents on Ellie’s birthday.  We just ate some pizza and ice cream cake, but it was fun. 

         

Madison tacked on a bit more birthday celebration as well, since my parents hadn’t been here on her birthday.

     

Eventually, we may celebrate with the extended family, but it has been a strange year.  One bonus “gift” was that we rearranged Ellie’s room.  I think it is more spacious this way.

   

Happy 12th Birthday, Madison

I cannot believe it is 12 years for Madison.  Somehow 12 seems much older than 11 to me.  I’m not sure why.  6th grade seemed older than 5th grade, too.  I am sure 7th grade will feel ridiculously old!  Time flies. 

This year’s birthday celebration was a bit weird. Madison tested positive for COVID on the 25th, which meant she was quarantined until January 5th.  BUT then CDC changed their guidelines during that time, and she really only had to quarantine until the 31st and then wear a mask for 5 more days.  So, that was a great birthday present. 

Pre-Christmas break, her friends as school decorated her locker.  They had done this for other birthdays, but I figured with hers being over break it wouldn’t happen.  But it did, which I thought was very kind of them.  She has a good group right now.  I hope they continue to support one another and be good to each other.  Growing up a girl can get a bit tricky sometimes with friendships.

A few fun things happened on her birthday….

Ellie had me arrange for a surprise Google Meet birthday party for Madison with some of her friends.  So, I sent out the link and invited four friends.  One was not able to make it; one dropped off an actual present for her to open, which was unnecessary, but thoughtful.  Ellie had made a fun game for them to play together where she would ask a question (What is Madison’s favorite color?).  Then, each person would write their answer on their whiteboard and Madison would write her answer.  They would then reveal their answers to see who knew Madison.  I told Ellie to only start with 10 of the 20 questions she came up with because I didn't know if they would get bored, but they wanted to do all of them.  It was a fun time!

We went to the theater for the first time since before the pandemic.  It was great.  We settled in with popcorn in the reclining seats and enjoyed Sing 2.  Even Jeremy enjoyed it when he was surprised by the one character whose voice was performed by Bono, lead singer of U2 – one of his favorite bands.

For supper, she chose to have lasagna and breadsticks (a replacement for Olive Garden).  Jen and Arturo were staying with us; Arturo had tested positive for COVID as well.  So, we had them here to celebrate, and we invited Gloria over, too.  We ate a bit separated since we were unmasked just to be a little cautious. 

Then, we had Larry Mast’s angel food cake from the Thanksgiving day auction topped with spoon dip – first time I ever made it! 

    

She blew her candles out – all 12 of them – on a singular piece of cake.  It was pretty spectacular!!

She opened a gift from Grandma Y.

    

Then, everyone stayed to play Cranium and ring in the new year. 

Well, Madison got tired and read instead of played.  And Pepper just gave up. 

     

I look forward to see what this next year brings for her as she ends 6th grade and begins 7th grade.  It will open up new doors at school – sports and clubs and dances.  I pray that she will continue to stay true to what she knows is right, that she has a heart that loves others (even ones that are hard to love), that she continues to work hard, be curious, and try new things.