Elle in the Nutcracker

Elle changed to a different dance school this year that focuses more on Ballet and technique and she absolutely LOVES it! Ballet has always been her favorite over jazz and tap. She loves to dance and she loves to perform so she was thrilled to find out that she would get to be in their production of the Nutcracker before Christmas. This has been a dream of hers ever since she saw the Barbie movie "The Nutcracker" and I told her there was a ballet of the whole story. Of course, she really wants to be "Clara" someday but for now she got to be a soldier and a chinese dancer and did a great job!


Elle is third from the left. Isn't she a cute little soldier?






She really liked the Chinese dance and practiced all the time. She even asked us to download the Nutcracker music to her iPod. She really wanted to do her best!






Grand Pas de Deux



Don and I were both impressed with the whole production. It was really well done with some amazing back drops and costumes and the dancing was pretty impressive too. I'm not a dancer so I have no idea how they dance up on their toes like that. Of course, our favorite part was seeing our little dancer on stage doing what she loves. There were three performances--Friday night, Saturday matinee and Saturday night so Don's parents, my mom, Aunt Tami, Uncle Glenn and Lindsay all got to come. We even took Easton and Jayne to the Saturday afternoon show and they did great! (Jayne clapped and was twirling in front of her seat.) Don and I planned on going to all three but I had to stay home with Easton Saturday night because he wasn't feeling well so Don took her. (Don is a trooper to sit through three showings of the same ballet but I know he would do anything for his little girl.) We loved it and have all the music memorized. What a great way to start off the Christmas season!

Great to be Eight!

Elle was so excited to turn eight years old so she could...


Get her ears pierced!

But when the time came, she was really nervous. I kept telling her that she didn't need to get them pierced, but she wanted to. She must have asked me a hundred times how much it would hurt and what it would feel like and what they would use to pierce them. She was scared but she was determined to do it. We went to glamorous "Icing" in the mall, picked out some cute diamond earrings and she did it! Quick and pretty painless. She was so happy and couldn't stop smiling!



And more importantly...

Elle was SO happy she could finally be BAPTIZED!

The week leading up to her baptism, I could tell she was trying really hard to be extra good. She was so helpful and happy all the time and when she would say her prayers at night, she kept asking that her baptism day would come sooner. It was really cute! She was very excited!



Don was really happy that he got to baptize her and confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those that helped with the confirmation were Grandpa Don, Uncle Ken, Uncle Glenn, cousin Nate and Bishop Witwer. I gave the talk on Baptism and Grandma Diane gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Elle chose the song "When I am Baptized" for us to sing because it reminds her of her first best friend, Ashley, that passed away a couple of years ago. Everything went great!

Elle looked so beautiful in her white dress! She said she felt warm and happy after being baptized. It made it really special to have so many of our family and close friends there--Foxes, Fletchers, Hanks, Hansens and two of Elle's sweet babysitters (Claire and Melissa) even came to be there on her Baptism day.






Elle with Grandma and Grandpa Adamson and with Grandma Irene



Me and my little girl in her pretty white dress that she couldn't wait to wear!



Elle was so happy to have her cute cousins (Nate & Lindsay), Aunt Tami, Uncle Glenn and Grandparents there



We had a small luncheon at our house after--BBQ pork sandwiches, fruit, salad, and lots of yummy treats!!! (Huge thanks to Tanna and Jill for leaving early to set it all out so it was ready when we got there.)



Elle had fun with her friends, Hadlie and Ellie, and all the kids enjoyed the backyard.



She got some fun little gifts for her Baptism--new scriptures from us, a neat book and white bracelet from Grandma and Grandpa Adamson, a CTR necklace from Tami & Glenn and a ring from Grandma Irene

It was a special day for Elle. We are so proud of her and the choice she made to be baptized!!!

Happy Birthday Elle!

Our little girl is eight! How crazy is that? Elle has grown up so much in the past year and is such a good girl. Elle loves anything American Girl Doll, Star Wars, ballet, arts and crafts, playing on the monkey bars, swimming, playing house or dogs with Easton and Jayne and playing with friends.

My favorite things about Elle:
-She is so helpful and is a great big sister to Easton and Jayne.
-She is so creative! She loves to write stories, make books, do crafts and hand stitch things for her dolls with scrap material.
-She is kind. She likes to make people happy with little notes and homemade gifts. She will often ask if she can do "secret service" for people. She likes to sweep all the driveways on our street and even helped clean out our neighbors garbage can. Yuck!
-She is strong willed and determined and wants to do her very best (Sometimes she can be a little hard on herself though.)
-She is our little entrepreneur. She is always trying to "sell" something--from setting up "Etastic" (she and Easton's store) in her bedroom selling little treasures, to setting up a table outside for doing the neighbor girls' dolls hair, to the Super Duper summertime sale she did with her friend, Sadie.
-She always tries to do what is right and is a happy girl!

Elle's birthday didn't turn out quite like we planned but I think she still had a fun day! Jayne was still in the hospital with HMPV, and even though she was doing a lot better, her oxygen levels were still too low to send her home. I was there with her and Don was home with Elle and Easton. I wanted to be there with Jayne but I felt so bad not being there for Elle when she woke up on her birthday. Thankfully, that afternoon, Diane and Tami came to the hospital to stay with Jayne so I could go with Elle to her party we planned at the Lion House.



LION HOUSE PARTY

Elle was so excited for her party and couldn't wait to see her friends. They got a tour of the Lion House, played some games pioneer kids used to play, and pulled their own taffy. They had cute little sandwiches and lemonade and then opened presents and had cake. Elle was really excited that she got to pick a doll to take home too. It was a cute party!






They got to wear cute pioneer bonnets while on the tour of the Lion House



Playing "Button, button, where is the button"


Elle with her birthday cake and doll that she got to bring home



Elle with her cute friends


After her party, we came back to our house and Elle got to open her presents from us before I went back to the hospital.


Easton had wrapped up some of his own little things to give Elle



A new ballet outfit her her American Girl Doll and the book "Libby Boom"



She was definitely most excited for her new wardrobe for all her American Girl doll clothes and couldn't wait to fill it



Elle with her doll, "Hannah" and new doll wardrobe

We love you, Elle! Happy Birthday!

Elle's Spring Sing

Elle had her school "Spring Sing" last week. It was so cute! All the 2nd graders performed a few songs together and then each of the three classes had their own numbers. Elle was so excited for us to come!


They sang a song by Ben Harper about Recycling and "My Own Two Hands"



Elle's class did an Italian song and she was pretty excited to tell me they were going to wear funny moustaches



They finished off with Miley Cyrus' "Pumpin' up the Party." It was pretty cute seeing them all dance and sing their little hearts out!



Elle and her cute friend, Macy



Elle was really sweet and gave Easton her moustache when she was done. He was pretty excited because his new found love/obsession is Super Mario Bros and he thinks it looks just like Mario. He is such a funny kid!

Riding a Bike!

Elle has been really nervous to ride her bike without training wheels but she finally decided she wanted to learn. Don helped her get the feel of it by holding the seat while she rode up and down our street a few times and then...

She got it! Elle learned to ride her bike!

Now she wants to ride all the time! We are so proud of her.

Spring Soccer

Elle had a lot of fun playing soccer this spring. She learned a lot more about the game and the different positions and got to play with one of her best friends, Ellie. She isn't very aggressive on the field but has fun and she looked so cute running around the field with her little pig tails and toothless grin.

Kicking the ball

Elle and her trophy at the end of the season