Treasure.

Ellie Sue is a blessed combination of sweet and sassy, timid and confident, fragile and strong, feminine and tomboyish, dramatic and hilarious.

Her package is beautiful if not a little sticky and disheveled.

She keeps us laughing, melts our hearts, tests our patience, and challenges our boundaries. But she does it with such flair and the perfect accessory, daring you to just try and be mad at her for more than a minute. (We can't.)

She seems so little most days, and yet my baby girl is quickly approaching her 3rd birthday...

Below: she said she needed a helmet...

She has such a tender heart. Her innocence and wonder and genuine spirit are a blessing to me every day. She cannot help but be who she is, and all that she is cannot be held inside that tiny body! She wears her heart (and 2 year old emotions, have mercy) on her sleeve.

Some say, just like her momma. (Ahem, Rob! ...Ok, he is right.)

She is our resident animal lover, always spotting dogs and making quick friends with them at the park or on the sidewalk. She has accumulated such a collection of stuffed animals, many of which are puppies, that when she asks for her doggie at night, I throw the nearest one in her direction and pray she's not thinking of one of them specifically (which she inevitably is, and of course it's the one down in the playroom buried beneath other toys!).

She loves flashy accessories right now. Sunglasses, a backpack, the baby's headbands... whatever.

But also has quiet moments of discovery and fascination with things like rain puddles and ants that make her unpredictable and endearing.

Oh Ellie Sue, your big eyes and soft curls are beautiful, but your unique spirit is the real treasure! I'm so glad you're mine.