Eliana's Seventh Birthday Bash

 Look at this beautiful girl!  She's getting so grown up.  She thought it would be fun to have a beach themed party in the middle of winter.  I agreed.

Here she is in full costume:

 A picture of the whole gang:

 Here's the amazing invite my sister Lauren made.  She whipped this up in 30 minutes or less.

 Are neighbors are from Samoa and lived in Hawaii for a number of years before moving here.  They kindly agreed to come and teach the girls a dance.  This was the highlight of the party.

Eliana, my dear, you are sugar and spice for sure.  I am so glad you are in our family.  I know it can be hard to be the oldest child sometimes.  You get to be the guinea pig for our parenting strategies.  We're still trying to figure out who we are as parents.

I love how passionate you are about things.  You are very creative, and amaze me with your ability to come up with projects and activities for you and your friends to do.  You have so many talents: playing the piano, singing, dancing, writing stories, drawing, and learning.  You also have the ability to know how to make someone feel better when they are sad.

I have so enjoyed watching you grow and develop into who you are today, and I look forward to watching you grow over the years.

You are my Dear One.

Love,

Mom