Enjoyed an afternoon and evening in Columbia for Ellen's seventh birthday party. It was a large event -- a dozen or so kiddos from babies to seven-year-olds, and most of their parents. Jen laid out a wonderful buffet of ingredients for a great burrito meal, then her always-delicious vegan chocolate cake with white icing.
I gave Ellen my present before the crowd arrived. It was sort of awkward to wrap so she had to hide her eyes while I brought it into the room:
The longed-for horsie -- plastic, but a horsie nonetheless.
Arianna had gotten a similar horse for a previous birthday. Instead of a horse, Jay got white designer contacts to throw off intruders -- you can't really tell if he's looking at you or not:
Jen has now done 12 of these (7 + 5) and is darn good at it:
Blowing out the candles. Check out Ruby, the little crumb-cruncher over Ellen's right shoulder. She'd as soon give you a hug as not -- a true party favor:
Seven is a happy age, at least for Ellen. (Actually, all her years have been happy ones.):
Arianna and her BFF:
Proud to be seven (especially when you get a great burrito supper). I sat down to read a story to the girls before the party and it suddenly dawned on me that Ellen could probably read it to me since they've been working on reading in homeschool. She took the story and began reading as if she was 12! I was blown away. If she came to an unfamiliar word (not often) she sounded it out almost without breaking rhythm and proceeded on. Arianna read some as well and did amazing for age 5 -- sounding out every word phonetically whether she knew what it was or not. This is not just grandfather talk. I know the difference between struggling reading and comfortable reading and Ellen was amazingly comfortable, line after line. Daniel and Jen have spent untold hours reading to the girls since they were little, and it shows -- books that are way beyond their "grade level." (They're currently starting The Chronicles of Narnia series for the second time, having just finished a couple volumes of the fairy tales of George MacDonald.) Their "ears" have become so accustomed to hearing what words sound like that they can repeat the sounds effortlessly in their own reading. Good job, girls! (And Dad and Mom.)
A great party! I failed to get a shot of Daniel on his new (pre-owned) Honda Shadow cycle that he got to replace the stolen scooter. It's a great looking bike -- black and shiny!
I gave Ellen my present before the crowd arrived. It was sort of awkward to wrap so she had to hide her eyes while I brought it into the room:
The longed-for horsie -- plastic, but a horsie nonetheless.
Arianna had gotten a similar horse for a previous birthday. Instead of a horse, Jay got white designer contacts to throw off intruders -- you can't really tell if he's looking at you or not:
Jen has now done 12 of these (7 + 5) and is darn good at it:
Blowing out the candles. Check out Ruby, the little crumb-cruncher over Ellen's right shoulder. She'd as soon give you a hug as not -- a true party favor:
Seven is a happy age, at least for Ellen. (Actually, all her years have been happy ones.):
Arianna and her BFF:
Proud to be seven (especially when you get a great burrito supper). I sat down to read a story to the girls before the party and it suddenly dawned on me that Ellen could probably read it to me since they've been working on reading in homeschool. She took the story and began reading as if she was 12! I was blown away. If she came to an unfamiliar word (not often) she sounded it out almost without breaking rhythm and proceeded on. Arianna read some as well and did amazing for age 5 -- sounding out every word phonetically whether she knew what it was or not. This is not just grandfather talk. I know the difference between struggling reading and comfortable reading and Ellen was amazingly comfortable, line after line. Daniel and Jen have spent untold hours reading to the girls since they were little, and it shows -- books that are way beyond their "grade level." (They're currently starting The Chronicles of Narnia series for the second time, having just finished a couple volumes of the fairy tales of George MacDonald.) Their "ears" have become so accustomed to hearing what words sound like that they can repeat the sounds effortlessly in their own reading. Good job, girls! (And Dad and Mom.)
A great party! I failed to get a shot of Daniel on his new (pre-owned) Honda Shadow cycle that he got to replace the stolen scooter. It's a great looking bike -- black and shiny!
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Hey there, Grandad...
ReplyDeleteWonderful birthday photos...I love seeing all those beautiful little faces. H-mmm, think I may need that chocolate cake recipe...it looks awesome!
Thanks for sharing...Blessings, Priscilla