"Most Special Day"

Friday was a big day for Ella. She had her first gymnastics class followed by her first big girl haircut at the salon. She had been looking forward to this day for quite a while.

She was a little timid when we first got to the gym, but she warmed up pretty quickly and had so much fun. I was so proud of her! You could just see her confidence growing every time she mastered something new, and that is one of the main reasons I'm excited for her to be in this class. Now all she can talk about is going back!

Doing some stretches... The balance beam...

At the end of the class, all the kids got a turn to run and tackle this big mat. Most of the other kids just kind of jumped into it and then ran back to their place in line. Ella, on the other hand, ran as hard as she could, knocked the mat over, did two forward rolls down the ramp, ran to the other side of the gym, crashed on another mat, and turned around and said, "Ta-Da!!" Hahaha! It was pretty funny! After a quick nap, we headed off to the salon. Here's the big girl before her haircut...
She wasn't too crazy about all the clips in her hair and actually started crying! I think she was just scared and not sure what was going on.

She started to get excited once she saw her curls in the mirror...
Then she got to sit at the make-up counter for some "butterfly kisses" on her cheeks and a little lip gloss (yes, she got Daddy's permission before the make-up started! :)...Wow! What a big, pretty girl!

She was VERY proud of herself, and decided, "This is my most special day forever!" :)