Ella is 5!

I've had a 5-year-old for a week and I still can't believe it.

Although we've now had conversations like this…

Ella: You aren't my best friend unless you help clean my room.

Me: Well, that's okay because I'm your mom.

Ella: *stomps out of the room*

And although we've had that attitude, she has started earning commission and helping out around the house more. Thankfully, she has had a cheerful attitude about her chore everyday this past week… hopefully that sticks around for awhile.

Anyways, last Sunday she woke up scared because I thought it'd be fun to hang streamers from the top of her bedroom doorway. Oops. That was definitely not what I thought her reaction would be! Other than that, she woke up to cinnamon rolls, snow on the ground, a Barbie house, and a brand new purse.

Every 5-year-old girls dream.

I'm not sure why Mattie felt the urge to pose with the Barbie house lamp. Ha!

Later that afternoon, we headed over to the church gym and partied. How do kids have so much energy? I was exhausted after it was over and I wasn't the one who ran around for 1.5 hours!

Blowing out her candles!

Barbie & Ken made a special appearance. (Bless these sweet college students!!) They played limbo with the kids. It was hilarious… and a bigger hit than I had imagined!

Group picture with Barbie & Ken.

We tried out a pull string piñata instead of the traditional hit-it-with-a-stick-until-it-breaks piñata. Unfortunately, it didn't work the way it was supposed to...

But the kids didn't seem to mind because they still got candy!

Ella's birthday buddy Jace! (He turned 2 on the same day!) So glad he got to come party it up with us!

Saying thanks to everybody after she opened her gifts.

And of course, she had to get a picture with Barbie & Ken!

At the age of 5, Ella is still the social butterfly that she has always been. She has a few shy moments, but if there are people around, she naturally gets energized and excited! Ella loves to play make believe with all of the little dolls and figurines that we have. She spends majority of her days playing with those toys, but still loves projects, writing, playing tag, and watching movies.

Ella thinks she is bigger than she is. She wants to carry a purse like mommy (with her own chapstick, hand lotion, etc) and has been asking lately to go to bed when mommy & daddy go to bed.

Thankfully her fights with sleep have seemed to be resolved. There are many nights that she's asleep before little sister! If she takes a nap, she'll be up really late… otherwise she goes to bed without any problems. No matter when she goes to bed, Ella is still an early riser. (Or early compared to me!) She wakes up on her own between 7-7:30 most mornings, and loves to come cuddle until I rush us out of bed to start the day.

She loves school and loves to learn. Ella will frequently ask me to give her homework and is eager to work on her writing. She is also VERY excited to start playing soccer this spring. Daddy will practice with her often, and she soaks up every single second of it. She really doesn't ever get bored from the drills they do! It'll be fun to watch her play the real deal before long.

Ella is 44 inches tall (80%) and weights 44 pounds (76%).