Over the weekend Ellie was in her second horseshow. She was so confident and this mama was beaming with pride. She was in two classes and came away with a first and second. She rode better than I have ever seen her do before. She looked like a little pro. She simply amazes me. Sweet Ellie is already awaiting her next show.
*pics taken with iPhone. Bad mom/photographer moment. Ha
Sometimes I look at sweet Ellie and almost don't recognize her. She is becoming quite the lady with tons of ideas, creativity, and spirit so kind it baffles even me. She loves Jesus with all her heart, she exudes a patience that puts me into check, and is quite the beauty if I say so myself. She still rides horses, but has also taken up ballet. The other day she started showing me some of her new found moves so I grabbed the camera and shot away. This is Ellie...
AN UPDATE: Some of you may remember this post about our struggles with Ellie and school. I thought a little update would be in order since so many of you were absolutely heart warming and encouraging while I was in a hard place. We decided to hold her back for one year. She is repeating 1st grade and it is the best decision we could have made for her. She has flourished to say the least. She has great friendships and her best friend from last year still remains that way even though they are in different grades now. She has done better academically in some areas yet still struggles in things like spelling. She finally came of age, you have to be seven, to have her tested for dyslexia. She does have a mild case so with some work we shall overcome. Her phonological Processing scored well below average, but her Cognitive/Problem solving scored in the 99th percentile. She is part genius! The Doctor expressed that my Ellie is one of the most brilliant children she has ever met. I may have cried, a lot. I kind of got used to people telling me she is sweet, but it's always followed up with concerns. Honestly it has been a hard process for myself emotionally. I had/have dyslexia and it is something you never want to pass down to your children. To this day I can't repeat a phone number back if spoken to me, my time frame is completely out of sync with reality, ect, yet I can read just fine and I can write. Not always without error of course, but well enough. The Doctor giving her the test showed me the exact test she gave Ellie. I failed in most areas still. I did not get even a fraction of what Ellie could see within the Cognitive Problem Solving. I was at a loss and slightly embarrased to say the least. My high now is knowing how we can help her and simply move forward. This will not define her.
This may be the longest post ever done on Two Ellie, but 7th birthdays are a big deal. Ha. Ellie knew what she wanted for this years party, lots of colors, sparkle, pinata bashing and a touch of fairies. Of course I wanted to deliver. We had the party later in the evening and made it an ice cream social with cake. Really what is a birthday party without cake? I will post links to goods at the end of the post. These are the invites I came up with to usher in her color loving ways...
Of course Ellie's ribbons she won from her horse show earlier in the day had to be displayed.
The day before Ellie and KJ decided they wanted to make some of the decor so they colored a bunch of elephant portraits. The garland I made and the flowers were from daddy.
The gold number balloon has quickly become a staple for all our parties and the glow sticks were perfect once the sun went down.
During parties I try to keep everyone entertained with arts and crafts and such so toys don't end up everywhere.
I still have this room set up. Tried to convince the Mr to let me keep it up till my birthday on the 22nd. I have a feeling though that they will be coming down sooner than later though.
How I incorporated the fairies into the party...
Some of the toppings for the ice cream which ended up being a huge hit.
The mandatory funny face pic with my girl...
Piñata time was tons of fun. The Mr decided he would hold it up. A daring choice it was...
Alas this was one tough piñata so a few of the adults got a go. The Mr knows my athletic skills and I believe he was quite nervous that I would miss and miss I did not. I also did not bust it. That honor went to long time friend Chris, the guitarist from Act of Congress. Have you heard their new Album. It is FABULOUS!!!
I love her and was happy to make her party day dreams come true...
The Details:
- For the gold tassels I used this tutorial and my own version for the longer ones. I bought the mylar sheets here. They are not easy to make. The mylar slides. It was most definitely worth it though. They have been used in two parties thus far. I am sure using tissue paper would be much easier.
- The ruffle streamers, ice cream cups, wooden spoons, straws, lanterns, and candles were all purchased from Shop Sweet Lulu.
- Big gold seven, piñata + stick, and candy apple peppermint sticks are from our local Party City.
- Glow sticks, napkins, and paper plates were purchased at Target. The confetti table cloth is from there too, but it was bought back in March.
- Art & craft supplies are all from Michael's
- Gold votives bought here.
- The grass for under the cake was purchased for another party and I was able to use it again. It was purchased from Save on Crafts.
- Cake from Edgars as always.
