I can still call her little because she is my itty-bitty - the most petite of my children and I'm certain she always will be. She is 8 years old and still wears a size 6 clothes. Her 4 year old brother wears almost the same shoe size as her. But what she lacks in size she more than makes up for with her larger than life personality. Oh boy, does she ever!
All the little things that tend to push my buttons or work my last nerve are the things that make me love her to pieces.
Ella is a rock star wanna-be. She pulls out her guitar (that she does not know how to play) and will strum that thing with all her heart while she belts out her original songs - smack in the middle of the living room. Cute and endearing for the first few seconds, but the longer she goes on the louder she gets and the more she tries to sound like Taylor Swift and I start to think Oh my goodness, would you please be quiet?! But when it is quiet and she is holed up in her room doing her own thing, I want to know what she is doing and I want her to come out and spend time with the rest of us.
Ella gets excited about EVERYTHING. Life in general excites her. And I don't mean a simple "Oh yea!!" kind of excited. I mean jumping around, loud, obnoxious kind of excited. It's over the top and often makes me think (and sometimes say) Seriously, you have got to calm down. But who wouldn't want that zest and love for life? To be so excited and happy about everything - what a wonderful existence! We should all be so blessed.
Ella is nosey. This leads to Ella being pokey. There is no getting anywhere fast with Ella because she always has to grab one last thing and she is always checking out everything around her and stopping to browse and touch and feel and smell. Shopping (for anything) with this child is a nightmare because 99% of the time we are in a hurry. But she is so observant and notices the small details in everything and everybody - such an amazing and wonderful trait, especially in today's fast-paced world. She will pick up on every little thing you tell her and she will notice the tiniest detail on a piece of artwork or the different colors of the morning sunrise. She just loves to take it all in.
I had heard that second grade is such a special year and I was waiting for that big moment when this became the case in our house. This past month I have started to see the change and it literally brings tears to my eyes. I have received compliments on Ella's behavior and actions from other parents and leaders in the school. I have seen her working harder in areas that she needs to simply because she wants to do better, not because we are telling her to do so. The night of her birthday we went to pray before dinner and she said she wanted to make up a prayer rather than stick with our standard that even the boys know. The words that came out of this child's mouth... I wish I had been recording it because I know I will never remember all the words, but I will never forget the way it made me feel.
I've told Brandon lately that each of our children has one "thing" that gets me every time - no matter what I am doing or what kind of mood I am in, they each have something that will make me laugh no matter what. Ella's "thing" is her infectious belly laugh. That laugh that comes out when she is caught off guard by something so fun and so wonderful and so exciting. I can hear it in my head even when she is sleeping and it still makes me smile.
So here's to another year with my crazy girl. The one who makes me want to pull my hair out and wrap my arms around her at the same time. She is such an amazing little person and I can't wait to see what she teaches me this year.
Disclaimer - The first picture above was not taken on Ella's actual birthday; it is from the Father/Daughter dance a week prior. I know she would not approve of the pictures I have from her big day serving as an "official" portrait, so being the good mom I am I chose a photo that shows her looking her most glamorous.
