The Grommersch Family: Ella turns 3

On Saturday, January 11th, we got to celebrate Ella's birthday with close friends and family @ Kid's Play in Germantown. Let me tell ya...it is the way to do a birthday party! I literally showed up w/ a Dora- themed cake, Dora cookies for party favors, and an excited birthday girl and that was it. They did all the rest. Served the pizza, cake, ice cream, drinks, arranged for Dora's arrival, etc....It was my style- stress free & I got to truly sit back and watch Ella enjoy playing w/ her friends. So, if you're thinking about somewhere really easy - go to Kid's Play and have your birthday party. Its wonderful! I highly recommend them & they absolutely get my full endorsement (not that that means much)! ;)

When a child turns 3, I have learned that their world opens up to so many opportunities. I guess b/c they are usually potty trained by then, can easily communicate w/ words and through their ever growing vocabulary, and most have a good grasp of independence. With that being said, the 3rd year of Ella's life has started off with a lot of firsts. You can read a/b them below.....

With Ella fully potty trained now (of course we sometimes have the occasional accident- she's not always perfect!) and turning 3 all within 2 weeks of one another, I can't believe my baby is getting so big. I signed her up for her 1st "school"- Pre K (5 days/week) at Faith Lutheran, which is a church right by our house in Collierville, starting in the fall. Super convenient & Tim will be able to help me then w/ pick up and drop offs. In the past, with Ella going w/ me to Molly's everyday in OB, it was all on me. So, it will be nice for Tim to be able to help some. Plus Ella loves it when her Daddy carries her to Molly's the occasional time or two his schedule allows. She's a daddy's girl! She also has her 1st gymnastics class at the Little Gym in Germantown this Saturday and is so excited to go to gym class "like Robbye does." (She loves her cousin Robbye!). And, in March we will do 8 more weeks of swim lessons with Ms. Jennifer at the Dive Shop. Last year, I got in the water w/ Ella and assisted her with all of the jumps& songs, blew bubbles, and did other exercises, but this year she gets in the water all by herself. I can't wait to see her build on all of the things she learned last spring. Ms. Jennifer does a good job of coordinating all the exercises with songs and Ella still sings them while she is in the bath tub at night! Ella also got to start WOW Choir at church on Wednesday evening (another 1st) to which Mrs. Cheryl said last night that she is participating in what they're doing. I ask Ella "How was choir? What did you sing?" She responds with "I don't know - nothing." Really?! Guess I'll have to drag info out of her all of her life- GREAT! LOL The last first we have experienced this month is the dentist. I'll have to admit I was a bit nervous about this appt., but the dental hygienist @ Children's Dental Clinic in Collierville was wonderful! Ella gave her no probs- let her count all of her teeth and brush them with complete ease. They are miracle workers in my opinion! Of course, they had cool character toothbrushes to choose from, had a t.v. on the ceiling for the kids to watch a movie while they laid the kids back in their chairs, & they got a token at the end to get a prize on their way out the door. Hmmm....adult experiences at the dentist are not near as fun!

Lots of firsts coming Ella's way lately & as sad as I am to see her growing up so quickly, it is also fun to see her spring into the next "phase" of her life and learn new things. I love seeing her mind at work and those wheels turning in her brain so to speak. She is very independent and loves to do things "all by herself" which is great, but hurts this Mama's feelings sometimes. ;) Of course, I have had to remind my mother in the past that no matter how old I am, I will ALWAYS need her. I guess I might as well start telling myself that too when it comes to my own daughter. Oh, the things children teach us.

Enjoy some picts below from Ella's birthday party. She was one happy birthday girl and crashed for about 2 hours when we got home that afternoon. I would say the party was a success!