Ella did great at her checkup this week. Her emotional meltdowns are normal for the age. Luckily they don’t happen too often. She did have to get 3 shots in preparation for kindergarten. Poor Ella! But she did get 2 stickers instead of just 1 for her pain.
Height – 43″ – 62%
Weight – 42.5lbs – 67%
* loves art projects, she makes several drawings a day
* still likes Barbies and horses/ponies
* likes to play her Leappad Santa got her for Christmas
* knows all her letters (most of the time)
* starting to sound out words
* remembers things you told her weeks ago but cannot remember that you asked her to pick up her room.
* asks what new words mean
* loves her sister and likes to “mother” her and younger cousins
* Occasionally throws a tantrum that makes mommy and daddy fear for the teenage years if this is what she is like at 5. 
* Seems to have grown quite a bit this year but we will see at her doctor’s appointment later this month.
My baby is 5!! *sniff*
We started the day by going to Target right after they opened to exchange the Rapunzel game Abby and I had gotten Ella earlier in the week. In my hurry I accidentally got leapster instead of the leappad version. Whoops! Ella had preschool this morning where she got to be the helper. The helper does the calendar and weather wheel and helps pass out snack (we made funfetti cookies). After preschool she came home and played her new game while Abby napped. We went to the mall when Abby woke up to pick out an outfit for the girls’ Build-A-Bear bears. Daddy had taken them to get the bears last weekend for their birthdays because he was going to be gone for work training this week. We had dinner, rode the carousel and went home to bed. Here are Ella and Abby on their horses.
The girls and I had some fun in the snow yesterday. We have had such a warm winter that this is only the second day we have had enough snow to play in.
We braved the kids museum on a day all the schools were off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We got there right after they opened so it wasn’t too bad in the morning. But it was definitely busier by lunch time so we ate and headed home for rest time.
Here are some pics from the fun.
Ella brought home her first progress report last friday. She got 4 D’s for developing a skill and 36 I’s for being independent/proficient in that skill. Yeah Ella!! Her teacher commented “Ella seems to have adjusted well to the preschool setting. She seems to enjoy school and has made great progress in all areas. She is a VERY bright little girl and an absolute joy to have in class. Ella brings a lot of knowledge to class discussions.” We think that last sentence might mean she likes to share a lot. 
She is always saying how she is going to tell Mrs. Morrill this or Ms. Patty that. And she will tell anyone she meets that is 4 years old and goes to preschool and sunday school. Ella definitely doesn’t get that from her mother!
Here are some (belated) photos of Ella and Abby showing off their Christmas presents from Jeremy’s family. More pictures in the photo gallery.
Chistmas day afternoon we headed over to Mark and Robyn’s for dinner and presents. Mark and Robyn put on a great spread, we had turducken, vegetables, and homemade cranberry sauce. Grandma Mindy brought the lefse and Sarah had the hard task of making Jello and bringing wine! And here are some shots of the cute kids – we know that is who you are interested in seeing!
Cousin Anya:
Abby:
Ella:
All the pics from Christmas with Sarah’s side of the family are here in the photo gallery.
And then things just got silly …
Ella’s school celebrated the holidays today by staying in their pajamas, watching holiday videos, and making reindeer food.
Here they are enjoying story time.
Santa visited as well!!