What I love about....Ella!

What I love about Ella....where do I even begin....

Her Smile, the funny faces she makes, that she'll eat anything (even books), her baby belly, how she tries to navigate while I drive, the way she calls Corben, "Menmen",
	her creativity, lack of fear, zest for life, fashion sense, love of nature, that nothing slows her down (rain or shine, cold or hot, she's as happy as can be),
the little flip at the end of her hair, that her first word was Jesus and she can point him out in any picture, her love of the wind, and the sun, and the moon, the way she loves to count and name the color of everything,
	her love of life, that she'll try anything at least once, her love of rocks, how she's says, "Bleck!", how she hates to be sticky or have her hands dirty but loves to role in the mud,
her beautiful, thin, dandelion hair, that she loves to pose, that she's always smiling (even when she's being bad), how she says goodnight to everything in her room before bed,
	how she giggles, how much she loves her sleep, that she'll say she's sorry, how smart she is, her love of shoes,
her dance moves, that a kiss fixes all her boo boo's, that she loves to brush her teeth, how much she loves to be read to, her animal impressions (especially monkey), her contagious laugh, how ticklish she is,
	that she runs to greet me, she gives the most heart felt hugs, how she loves a good pair of sunglasses,
she can't take a bad photo, the beautiful color of her hair, how she worries that her bunny is cold and needs a coat,
	her bracelets, that she loves to dress up in her fairy wings and "fly", how she likes to pretend she's leading the music at church, that she loves to sing,
that she's a ball of sunshine, that she loves Cinderella, how she charms everyone she meets (and even some she hasn't),
	how angelic she is, that she's "that kid", that no one can keep up with her exuberance, that she tries to walk down the slide or go head first,
her joyful grasp of every moment, the glisten in her eye, how much she loves Sylvie, her sweet little voice,
	her big blue eyes, that she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger (her brothers too), how she looks like Ryan's sister, Amy,
her intensity, how much she loves her family, her pigtails (when she leaves them in), that I have her in my life,
	her strength, her pure joy, that she never stops, her baby toes, her mischievous ways, that she can smile through anything (even a busted lip), that I get to spend Eternity with her!!

Ella has recently started talking. I think much of that is attributed to Sylvie's early talking and Ella's refusal to get left behind. It's been so fun, as she learns to express herself, to learn of everything she's known all this time and just couldn't say. She learned to say her numbers and in the same day counted to 10. She learned the names of the colors and the same day could name the color of most everything she saw. She's so excited that she can talk and spends most of her time making up for lost talking time. The most amazing part of it all is that most of what she says is expressing her love of something. She is a child so full of love. She hugs her rabbit that she takes with her everywhere and insists it wear a jacket when it's cold and that it get's kisses and hugs at night. She hugs her toys and the van, her shoes, and her fork. Everything is so exciting to her. She's started drawing and loves to sit and draw the members of her family and laughs as she shows them to each of us. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Two weeks ago, she and I were laying on the couch pretending to sleep. I said, "Goodnight, Ella, I love you." and she looked at me, smiled and said, "luv you too". I laid there soaking in the moment. It was the first time she'd said the word love. A moment later, she rolled over and smiling, said, "I love you." I looked right back at her, and meaning it with my whole heart, said, "I love you, too, Ella." I really, really do.