Ella Kate's Birthday

We had a fabulous birthday weekend for Ella Kate last weekend. Her Neena and Papa came to visit and ended up being here for 4 days, which is really special. We had so much fun with them. On Saturday, we had a big birthday bash at JumpZone. She had the BEST day!! Thank you to everyone that came to help us celebrate!!

Opening presents from Neena and Papa.

A polka dot tea set...so much fun!!

And a Roby bouncy horse...glad Neena thought ahead and bought a second one so we didn't have super-duper meltdown...because....the twins happen to love it too....can you tell???

Such a big girl. Can't believe she is 3 yrs old!!

And of course, the cake. Barney was a must. I ordered a Barney cake topper off of Etsy, and failed to read all of the fine print, like the fact that it would be shipping from Italy...and could take a month to get here. Well, it didn't make it (still haven't received it). So, I created my own cake topper similar to the one I purchased with modeling clay from Hobby Lobby. It passed as Barney, so major catastrophe prevented.
ADORABLE cookies made by my friend Robin...check out her other amazing creations here.

Jumping...jumping...and more jumping!!

Ruby going down the slide! I was so proud of her. She is definitely the adventurous twin. Molly didn't want to have ANYTHING to do with jumping or sliding.

Ella went down the big slide all by herself!! I went with her a few times and Wes did too, and then she tried herself...after that...she was all about the big slides.

All of the kiddos. I was so glad so many could come. Ella had SO much fun!!

Blowing out the candles...we've practiced this MANY times!! She couldn't wait!

Now down to business!! She is her Mother's daughter for sure...loves her some cake!!

I had to show these Barney themed favor bags. I bought them from Jettabees on Etsy. They turned out SOOO cute!!

I worked on a slide show of the last 3 years to post on my blog, and I can't get it to work. Ella and I have watched it MANY times over the last few days. Ella told me on the way home from school today that she wanted to watch her "movie"...I got so tickled. I added music to the slide show, and she said, "Momma, this is our song??".

Ella, you are 3 yrs old. Just saying that is amazing to me. You are HAPPINESS and JOY for your Dad and I. You are a gift to us each day. We constantly ask ourselves what we did to deserve such a beautiful, precious, little girl. We know that having and holding you is just a glimpse of God's goodness and love. I can't express to you the excitement we felt in our hearts the night we drove to the hospital, knowing we would be meeting you soon. Our lives changed in a split second. It was instantly full because of you.

I say this to you all the time. "You are the apple of my eye, and the spring in my step"

We love you SOOOOO much, Ella girl!!!