Ella at 4

Ella turned 4 in January. She's now 3'4" and is adding skills at a dizzying rate.

Ella's most commonly spoken phrase these days is "my turn", which means she wants to do something herself. She rarely accepts help no matter how frustrated she might get, but she's learning a lot as she's becoming more and more capable.

She's full of ideas! Some days she has a new idea of something she wants to do or eat about every 5 minutes! At the top of her consistent "want to do" list is learning to read and help Mama cook in the kitchen.

We just started homeschooling Ella for preschool. She typically spends about 30 minutes to an hour Monday through Friday in her Montessori learning room discovering and using the learning tools while Emma naps. Of course, there's also a lot of learning going on spontaneously through the day as well.

Ella loves her dance and gym class! She practices at home all the time. In fact, it's frequently a challenge to get her to take a break from somersaults, attempted cartwheels (one handed and two handed), and dancing.

She still loves dogs, a preference she's had since she was a little baby. She also loves all things girly, such as princesses, Pinkalicious, unicorns, ponies, fairies, mermaids, and flowers.

Ella's quite the artist. She enjoys coloring, painting, and drawing on her chalkboard. Paints are her favorite right now, but she never turns down an opportunity to draw with just about anything on hand.

We love our Ella! She's very caring, intelligent, and gentle. While it's not always easy to share, she's exceptionally emphathetic and thoughtful towards her baby sister.