Happy Birthday Elle!

Memorial Day has always held sweet memories as it's the day Elle was born. A petite, dark haired beauty who is growing up WAY too fast! I keep joking with her that I'll pay her money if she'll stop growing, to which she just smiles and shoots me that look of hers which says "No way, mom!"

There is a side of me that isn't excited to see her grow up, but it's neat to help her discover (I really just watch) her as she discovers who SHE really is and what her talents are.

- She's a complex thinker- analytical and always asking deep questions.
- Shows initiative (she'll get Hayden dressed and ready for church all on her own)
- Persistent
- She's smart - a lot smarter in a lot of ways than I was at her age.
- She knows how to recognize when she's feeling the Holy Ghost and when she's not and knows what she can do to get it back.
- She plays the piano beautifully and can memorize her pieces.
- She loves to go biking and frog hunting with her Dad
- She's a free-spirited girl
- She has a pretty voice and her Dad's favorite thing is to hear her singing at home
- She's quick to learn new things. Really quick.
- She loves to ski!!
- LOVES to be silly
- She's sensitive - more sensitive than most people realize.

For several years she has begged us to have another baby. So she was thrilled when we became pregnant with Connor. And she cried the day we told her that he had Trisomy 18 and probably would not live long. Later that same day she sat down at the piano and started playing a beautiful song. I remember her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she looked so pretty there - with tears streaming down her face as she played. She cried so much her tears fell onto the keys and several times she used the edge of her shirt to wipe them up so she could keep playing.

Spencer and I stood in the kitchen and quietly watched...and shed a few tears ourselves.

At the hospital, two or three minutes after Connor passed away, she came over and asked me if she could hold him. She gently picked him up and turned her back towards everyone in the room so she could have some privacy and she held him - and again I saw tears stream down her face. She lovingly touched his face and just cried. And I did too.

I love you elleflower! I'm so grateful that I get to be your mom.

I wish I had a scanner to share some of her baby photos, but I don't. So I'll share some of my other favorites of her:

At Bethany Beach!


Elle holding Sydney


Being patient while mom makes her photos


Being patient again, several years later!

Laying out peanuts and bread for that lazy, fat squirrel at our home in D.C.


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