Life With Ella

This morning we were on our way out to Dim Sum and we bumped into the Kim/Arena clan in the garage.  Justin and Julie gave Juliet an Escalade for Christmas!  The car drives 5 mph and Juliet is an amazing little driver.  When we walked into the garage, Juliet was backing the car up.  She saw Ella, got out of the car, opened the passenger door and said, “Come on, hop in Ella”.  Ella got in and off they went (the garage door was closed so they didn’t have too far to go).  The video at the end is a short clip of their joy ride.  Of course Ella wants to drive it and maybe she will be able to in the next week or so, but for now, Juliet is in the driver’s seat – literally.  The 5 of us went to Yank Sing for brunch and it was wonderful.  Later on in the afternoon, we went to the movies to see Gulliver’s Travels.  It was pretty stupid but Ella did laugh out loud a few times.  I’m just happy that we decided to see the regular version and saved some money on an unnecessary 3-D movie.  Tonight we had a delicious dinner at home and just relaxed and enjoyed each other.  At around 8, we went over to Stella and Juliet’s house to exchange Christmas gifts.  The girls were so beautiful together…they were self sufficient, no fighting, and the adults were actually able to have meaningful conversations.  The day and night were fantastic.  Tomorrow we go to see the Nutcracker.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas or some great Chinese food and saw some good movies. Juliet taking Ella for a spin. Ella and mommy having fun while grandma is just happy. Grandma and Ella in front of the Christmas tree at Yank Sing.Grandma, Ella and papa at the movies.Helen and KJ, who really wanted to use his screwdriver on something. The girls on their cool ride.

Ella woke up with no fever this morning.  She still has a little cold but she was fever free all day – tonight, it came back a little so I guess she’s fighting an infection.  Ella and I went to Crossroads and had breakfast, then we hopped on the train and went to the Hyatt on the Embarcadero.  We checked out the lights and some very large nutcrackers and other stuff.  We also watched the people ice skating.  We came home, Ella made Stella a card for her birthday (Stella’s actual birthday is today) and then Ella tied a beautiful bow on Stella’s gift.  Brickelle taught Ella how to tie a bow last month and Ella has pretty much mastered it.  The video at the end is of Ella tying a bow.  Tonight, we went next door to celebrate Stella’s birthday with the whole family.  The kids broke up a piñata and we had delicious ice cream cake.  All of a sudden, Ella began to fade fast so we took her home and straight to bed.  Grandma and papa are coming in the afternoon.  We can’t wait to see them! Riding the train down the Embarcadero. Ella and the huge decorations. Check out these beautiful lights. A little “fall” scene in San Francisco. Piñata time! Ella found her way into this beautiful family shot. I think this is one of the first times that we have all been photographed together!  Juliet doesn’t look too happy here but she was just acting…

I had a tooth pulled today and prepped for an implant so we sent Ella to CDS camp.  She is going to go tomorrow also and then she is officially on waking up in the morning vacation.  The other night I forgot to write this really funny story.  When Emmi was sleeping over, we were joking around with them before they went to bed. The girls were laughing and having a fun time.  When Emmi and Ella were just about to fall asleep, Emmi said, “Ella – your mom and dad are kooky.”  Ella then turned to Emmi and said, “I don’t have a dad!  He’s not even dead.  I just don’t have a dad.  Do you understand me?”  That made them both laugh even more.   Ella told us that story the next morning.  Tonight, we were having dinner and Ella was stalling and stalling and finally Sunny said, “Fine, if you don’t eat your dinner, I am going to eat your rice krispie treat.”  First, Ella was like, “NOOOOO”.  Then Sunny said, “I was just saying that to get you to eat your dinner.”  Ella turned around and said, “Well that’s obvious.”  She sort of repeated the story in the video below.  Ella also gave a fact that she learned at camp today.  Well I hope she got her numbers wrong…her regular teacher Alicia is not teaching at the camp – the teachers for camp are not the lead teachers.  Ella was very sure about her new fact – you’ll see it on the video.  The last thing on the video is Ella singing a part of a song “Daydream”.  I think the second graders performed this song during the winter performance. Ella has picked up bits and pieces of the songs that were performed during the concert.  She has an amazing memory for music. Beautiful Ella. Building 3-D shapes with Bendaroos.

Today was the big day of Stella’s annual gingerbread house making tea party birthday party.  Stella, Juliet and KJ came over at around 8:00 this morning so that Helen and Ron could make their place fabulous for the party.  We had a great time with the kids and they were so happy and excited for the party.  The party, of course was a great hit.  This was the first year that Ella did the gingerbread house all by herself and it looked terrific.  Ella had a great time and immediately hit it off with some of Stella’s new friends from school.  I played the piano for a little bit and we had a fun sing-along.  It was really a great party.  At around 3:00, Ella and I went and picked up Ella’s friend Emmi for a sleepover.  We came back here and they went straight to the instruments.  Emmi played the drums and Ella was singing.  We left a little while later to go to see Yogi Bear.  I thought it was ok – the kids seemed to really like it.  After the movie, we came back here, and the girls really went at it with the music.  Ella changed into her Hannah Montana dress and Emmi picked a Sleeping Beauty dress.  They were jamming to Hannah Montana.  I put a little video at the end of this entry.  We had dinner, read some books, the girls giggled and giggled and now the whole house is sleeping except me.  I hope everyone sleeps through the night. Good morning beautiful people! The girls getting ready to go to Stella’s party.  Bed jumping is a very important part of getting ready. The process and the product.  Beauty. Juliet, Stella and Ron right before Stella blew out her candle. So much love.ELla and Emmi making beautiful music together.

It’s been a few days – seems like there have been so many things going on.  Friday was Ella’s last day of school until the new year.  On Friday morning, all to the parents were invited into the classroom to see “All About Me” a culminating project.  The kids sang some songs and then presented their portfolios to us.  I am going to take some pictures of Ella’s work and put it on the blog, but for now, I’ll just say that it was a great morning.  Ella was really proud to show us her work and she did a great job showing it to us.  I can’t believe how much Ella has grown up.  A little later on in the morning, the whole school had their Winter Performance.  This is always a sweet event where most of the parents cry because the kids are so cute.  The entire pre school performed “Free To Be You And Me” with a 7th grade soloist.  It was really cute – you’ll see it at the end of the blog.  Ella loved singing the song around the house and she was really excited for the performance but as you will see, she wasn’t so into it during the performance.  She said she loved it but I couldn’t tell!  She looked squished up and unfocused, but as long as she had a good time that’s cool.  On Friday night, Sunny and I helped work a faculty appreciation party at one of the parent’s house.  It was truly a beautiful evening and the teachers and administrators loved it.  Sunny and I did coat check and it was a big job!  Ella slept over at the Kim/Arenas.  Ella had a great time of course and then in the morning, we took the girls to our place.  They played really well all morning and into the afternoon.  They are really wonderful together.  At 1:00 I took Ella to a birthday party, Helen too Juliet to get a hamburger and Sunny hung out with Stella.  After the party, we picked up Sunny and then we went to TaeKnowdo.  Ella is getting it little by little ind it’s so great to watch.  With a little more time, Ella is going to be good!  After all of the activities, we came home.  Sunny and I went out to a holiday/birthday party which was great.  Got to spend some time with people we really love.  Now we’re home and getting some rest for Sunday.  First thing in the morning, we will be taking the kids from next door to our place and entertaining them until their place is ready for Stella’s 6th birthday party!!!  How exciting.  After Stella’s party, Ella’s friend Emmi is going to come over and we’re going to take then to see Yogi Bear and then Emmi will sleep over.  On Tuesday,  I am getting my tooth pulled so Ella is going to go to camp on Tues and Wed.  I’m gonna probably need some rest. Ella presenting her portfolio to us. Here are the 3 of us checking out Ella’s work.  Thanks for the pic Alicia.After lunch having ice cream and chocolate sauce. The morning after the sleepover.  Now back over at our place. Ella and her TaeKwonDo class.  What a great experience for Ella.Now for the Free ToBe You And Me movie.