Eliana at 7

On July 19th, Eliana turned 7. We were on an airplane when it happened. I am having trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that she is growing up so quickly! Sometimes I look at her and almost don't recognize the girl she has become. Not a baby, not a toddler, not even a little girl. She is a girl, and it's interesting to see that change. She'll be in 2nd grade this year and she's full of spunk. I love this girl!!

Here are a few facts about Eliana, the 7 year old...

Her favorite colors are ("I have a lot of them, Mom, so I'll just list them.) green, turquoise, purple, pink, maroon, and light blue.

Her favorite animals are cheetahs and zebras.

Her favorite things to do? (deep breath, no pauses...) play with friends, eat candy, eat cake, have a birthday party, and go to the park.

When she grows up she wants to be a dentist who owns a horse and likes to sketch.

Her best friends are Josie and Tjabe.

The most exciting thing about being 7 is that she has caught up in age with everyone in her class and she can wear earrings.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Eliana!

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party!!

Well, It's a month late, but better late than never, right?? For Eliana's 7th birthday she had a Dr. Seuss themed party. It was crazy, wacky, and a lot of fun! Here are pictures for you!

We started with lunch... Green Eggs and Ham Sandwiches, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Goldfish, and Pink Ink to Drink!!

Then we had some photo booth fun!!

After the pictures we had a topsy turvy Dr. Seuss cake...

Then some gift opening...

... And we finished with games!!

The party was loads of Seussical fun!! Happy Birthday, Eliana!

New York, New York!

In June we took our first family vacation in a long time... to New York City!! We had a LOT of fun there!

Waiting in the airport to get on our way!!

The first day we strolled down 5th avenue from our hotel to Central Park!

Radio City Music Hall (where they held the Tony awards while we were in town!)

Rockefeller Plaza

The Lego Store, with its Lego model of NY!

Atlas

And finally Central Park!!

While in Central Park we visited the zoo. It was a really neat zoo to find in the park!

Eliana loved watching the sea lions!

After the zoo we took a break to relax and eat lunch in the park before walking the full length of it to the Gugenheim for the evening. Central Park is BIG!

The next day we walked down to Times Square before taking our first NYC subway ride.

The subway took us to the Staten Island Ferry, where we rode past the Statue of Liberty. It was Leif and Eliana's first time seeing her!

After the ferry, we chose to walk for a while, heading past Battery Park to see Wall Street and the 9/11 Memorial.

This is the site on which George Washington was sworn in as first president of the United States!

The new World Trade Center building

Then we took a subway to the High Line, an elevated rail road track that has been converted to a hiking path through the city. 

The next day we headed to the Natural Museum of History. We could have spent a lot more time there!!

At the conclusion of our family vacation, Leif had a work conference in NYC to attend, so Eliana and I hopped on a train and headed up to Rhode Island to visit friends! Eliana was very excited to get to see a "real beach" for the first time. We had a great 3 days relaxing and visiting while Leif attended the conference. The last day we took a train back to NYC where Leif picked us up at the station and we took a bus to the airport before flying back home to MT! It was a bit of a whirlwind, but it was very fun!