Emmett's 3-Year Old Photos

Emmett and I headed into the JC Penney photo studio today to have his 3-year old pictures taken.  Since I never know how my children will 'perform' in this environment, I had no clue what kind of pictures Emmett would produce.  Luckily, he was fairly responsive to the requests of the photographer and would obediently stand on the red light on the floor and smile upon demand.  The only problem we had was Emmett's smile.  His current, forced-for-pictures smile consists of this huge, cheesy grin with very squinty eyes.  So, the photographer had a bit of a difficult time trying to produce a genuine smile out of Emmett over and over again, but I think that she managed to get a few that are worthy of framing.  So, this is what she managed to get...

Ella's Gymnastics Winter Showcase

After first learning that Ella's gymnastics facility was hosting a Winter Showcase in January, Ella came running over after class with the hugest smile on her face begging me to sign her up.  After reading the flyer she had been given, we marched right over to the front desk to pay the fee and register her for the meet.  Ella then counted down the weeks for the showcase to arrive and was so excited today when she woke up.  After watching church online, I quickly fed her lunch and got her ready in her new, team uniform that we had just picked up a few days earlier.  Since Ron was recovering from a sore back from a snowboarding fall, he opted to switch places with Lia and stay home with a napping Emmett.  As a result, Lia and I drove to Sumner with Ella and spent the next two hours at her gymnasium watching her compete in the four events of floor, vault, bars, and beam.  Ella did such a great job and just had the best time.  Every time she looked over at us, she would flash us the biggest smile.  In addition, Ella was just so excited to have her best friend, Elise, there with her mother who we had invited to join us a few days prior to the event.  Overall, Ella had a great experience and couldn't stop squealing on the car ride home!   

Ella's first event was the floor.

Ella's moved on to the vault for her second event of the showcase.

Since we sat closest to the bars, I was able to get this darling picture of her while she stood in line waiting her turn.

Ella competed on the bars for her third event.

A close-up picture I took of Ella after she finished on the bars and returned to wait in line with the rest of her teammates.

Lastly, Ella performed on the beam as her fourth and final event of the showcase.

After the showcase was over, the coaches handed out beautiful medals and certificates with all of the girls' scores from their four events with ribbons attached.  Ella was so excited and proudly held them up for me when I took her picture.

Ella posing for me at the end of the event.

Ella showing off her ribbons.

Ella standing next to her dear friend, Elise, before heading home.