Elena

Today is April 17th. It is my daughter's birthday. She is two years old. I would love to tell you everything that she is; bold, beautiful, loud, independent, funny, active- but I don't have all the words. I have known her since the second she existed in this universe and have loved her everyday. Today we spent her birthday painting with friends, planting flowers and a hope for spring, and dancing to music. She had four sugar induced temper tantrums and three just because meltdowns, we had two battles over hair and one over food and one over the decision to hit a brother. She ran crying to her room twice, and climbed eight times onto my lap to snuggle. She gave me around fourteen kisses and one glare. Over fifty giggles, and about fifteen screams. And if anything is certain it's that she's two.

Today after eight children painted pots and planted flowers and had a pretty fantastic sugar crash- I was cleaning up and realized how full my heart is. Elena still takes daily anitbiotics but has had no breakthrough kidney infection- she is a healthy girl. She fights with her brothers, but water makes her laugh and so does a million other things - she is a happy girl. She looks like Joe, but she is half me and all her own and she is my girl.

Tonight I'm thinking about how much I love her and can barely breathe. And she hasn't done anything at all. All she has done is exist. I sit with this love at the kitchen table and whisper a deep prayer of gratitude that I am her mother.

Happy Birthday my Elena!

 Checking out birthday decorations. Yes. I'm aware that standing on a counter is unsafe.

Elena opening presents from her Aunt Martha and Uncle Chris in Connecticut!

 

The birthday hair (and contents of present! new dresses!)

 The paint party!

 With a dirt cake

Elena did awesome

And Guy wanted you all to see this one because he held the balloon in front of his face pretending it was his face and thought he was hysterical. Absolute hilarity erupted for a full three minutes and of course, I never gained a picture of their three faces.

Happy Birthday!