Happy 11th birthday, Elise!

 

Happy happy birthday to my sweet and wonderful Elise Marianna!

You are JOY and giggles and fun.  

I love how you find the simple joys in life.  Since you were born, you have always walked to the beat of your own drum and you do it with laughter and joy and humility and wonder.  You look at the world around you with such curiosity, and I love that about you.  You are always helping to slow me down so that I can take in the simple beauty of things right in front of me. 

When you are cranky or sad, it can be difficult to cut through your anxiety, but when we find your spark of joy, it sure expands and fills the space that once held fear and uncertainty. 

You were in 5th grade this year and you made us so proud.  You work so so hard and are so respectful to your teachers and so kind to your friends.  You are such a pure and sweet little angel.  Learning can be difficult in many ways for you and you get anxious quickly about things that you think you "aren't good at".  In reality, you are much smarter than you believe yourself to be and you simply need to have the confidence in your own abilities that your parents and your teachers have in you.  

For your birthday, you got to choose the Christmas movie that we watched in the month of March and you chose....Elf.  One of your favorites.  You are always quoting funny lines to me which I love because I , too, am a movie quoteer.  I love that you have my brand of humor and that you pick up on some of the movie lines I say and laugh along with me. 

You LOVE animals. 

It's no surprise that you asked for a pet for your birthday.  

You and Ava both wanted guinea pigs.  She got her gift early because we found some wonderful people looking for a new home for their sweet little guinea pigs, Marigold and Rosie.  

Your sweet face when I told you you were getting a guinea pig was everything. 

The whole family was pretty excited really. 

Elise, you are so tender and caring.  When I am having a hard day, you are there with a hug or a kind word.  When your siblings are upset, you are upset too.  You can read the room and respond to it.  

You are such a beautiful, quirky, wonderful girl.  Thank you for being such an amazing daughter.  

We love you so very much and are so blessed by your joy and your vibrance and your silliness.  Thank you for making our lives so full of love and excitement.  

Keep filling the world with all that love and joy, Elise.