Ella's 1st slumber party

Ella's cousins are so good to her, and she truly loves them all for it. She loves playing with them every chance she gets. The week after Christmas, we kept my niece, Allie, overnight while she was off of school.

The evening started of with what else? The movie 'Up' and popcorn, in your jammies, of course!




When it was time to go to bed, both girls slept in Ella's room. She thought it was so cool to sleep in her sleeping bag. Both girls were pretty excited about what the next day would bring.



The next morning, as I was getting ready, the girls were having a blast using Ella's stroller to race up and down the hallway.



Ready to head out! We had given Allie a gift certificate for Christmas to use at Build-A-Bear and I had promised I would take her, so Ella could get her first one with her. So, it was gonna be a fun-filled day of animal stuffing, lunch at the food court, and, of course, the Merry-go-Round. What kid wouldn't be excited?



First stop was Build-A-bear. It took a lot of thought and contemplation on picking out the perfect animal. Allie finally decided on a dog, and Ella on a cat. Here they are waiting their turn to get stuffed. Ella's still not quite sure what's going on, at one point she was ready to run out of the store to play with her very unstuffed and flat kitty.



Ella got a lesson on getting the heart ready to put inside the kitty as it was being stuffed.

First, you pat it to get the heart pumping.....



Then, you've got to give it a big kiss to put some love in that kitty. :)




The girls gave their animals a bath, so they were ready for the real world!




They made them birth certificates and the last step was to pick out some clothes. Allie had no problem finding something for hers, but Ella was not interested in clothes. At all. She prefers all her animals and babies at home to be naked, so I wasn't pushing the issue. Why spend money on clothes when they'd be lost under her bed in no time? And she's been perfectly happy with her naked kitty.:)

While I stood in line to pay for everything, Brad took the girls outside of the store to some little rides that are in the middle of the mall. About every time we go to the mall, Ella loves to play on them. We have never paid for her to ride them, but she's perfectly content to just go from one to the other, playing around in them.



After lunch, we rode the infamous merry-go-round.....twice! Am I a nice aunt, or what? ;)



Then, because it was a special day and because Allie had some money burning a hole in her pocket, we let the girls play some games at the arcade. It was purely all for the kids, Brad and I didn't enjoy our friendly competition of air hockey at all. (For the record, I believe I won....)




After leaving the mall, we needed to stop at Sam's Club for a few things before taking Allie back. This last picture makes me laugh. The backstory: Kids get free cookies at Sam's..did you know that? Well, they do..and it's a great tactic for keeping Ella quiet for atleast half the store. :) So, they're munching on their cookies and Allie, being her sweet, thoughtful self, asks if she can buy something for her mom and dad. I'm thinking to myself, "What is she going to buy them here? An economy size package of TP or a gallon of peanut butter?" As we're walking through the produce section, she sees the watermelon and decides she would like to buy one. Ok, I decide, could be a lot worse things to spend money on. In the end, she also ends up with some flowers to take home; her parents were having a party the next day and she wanted to help decorate. Isn't she the sweetest little girl? I sure hope Ella is that thoughtful when she gets older.....she'll be the one coming home with the gallon of pb. ;)



All in all, the girls had a great time. Ella still talks about it a month later. I'm hoping she has the opportunity to make many more memories like this with her cousins in the future. Family is so important, and I hope she always stays close to them all.