Elleigh

Elleigh is my 6 year old queen of the world. She has so much confidence and attitude. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she can talk anyone into just about anything. She feels things deeply. She loves her family and friends with a passion and can be heartbroken by the slightest wrong to or from these people. She can be my biggest helper and is the first person to try and make you feel better. She is a caretaker at heart. Thank goodness Sophie is patient and lets Elleigh "mother" her quite a bit.

Elleigh loves individual attention from us. Matt and I decided to take the girls on individual dates one weekend and Elleigh was beyond excited to have one on one time with us. I wonder if she remembers what it was like before little sister was born and she had all the attention.
Another time, she went to the store with daddy all by herself. As they were walking out, holding hands, she turned and said, "well this is romantic." We laughed about that one for awhile.

She loves to write and illustrate her own stories. They are all very creative and she really spends a lot of time making them a nice piece of work. Then she loves to read it to everyone in the family over and over again. Her best audience member is her sister Sophie who is very attentive when her big sister wants to read anything to her. Her latest story, and one of my favorites, is called "The Cat and Dog Hate Each Other."

Elleigh likes to make up games for her and her sister or friends to play. They are very creative and she is very specific about how they must be played and will give constant instruction throughout. She is always the one to take charge and be the leader of the group. Sometimes this can be the cause of disciplinary action from her mother because it can turn into extreme bossiness. Most of the time it is just a good characteristic to have and everyone enjoys the ideas she comes up with. She can really create a fun atmosphere.

Elleigh likes to feed people and make sure they are taken care of. If anyone isn't feeling well she will find them something to eat or drink and usually get them a wet wash cloth for their forehead. She will stroke your arm and love on you so that you can feel better. I love this about her.

She is very good at coming up with "excuses" as to why something was not her fault. This might sound like a negative thing and sometimes it is but usually it is amazing what this little girl can come up with! The other day she was upset at me because she had ended up in her room after a tiff with her friend and she explained to me that I just don't understand a kid's life and this is why she was in trouble. She felt the need to enlighten me on what had really occurred. Apparently the fight that I heard her start was all a misunderstanding that adults wouldn't get. I love it! I have a 16 year old already.

Elleigh makes friends with everyone! She is the first person to walk up to the other children and introduce herself and her sister. They are immediately best friends. Her friends at school are very important to her and one of my favorite things is to hear all the goings on in her 1st grade world. Who her boyfriend is this week and why (currently it's Eli.) Who said what to her today that made her happy or sad and who she helped today. She also loves to please her teachers and will report to me what they said to her every day.

Elleigh is a very talented dancer. We moved to Mississippi and found a dance studio we liked but we had missed auditions for the upcoming year. They told me that they would put her on something called pre-company and see how she did. Within a few lessons they pulled me aside and told me how talented she was and that they wanted to put her up on a 6-7 year old team. They said how well she listened and picked up so quickly and how flexible she is. They made her feel very important and I was very proud. She is so poised for a 6 year old and takes it very seriously. It will be fun to see what she does with it. She loves to make up her own dances as well as practice the ones she is learning in class. She also loves to come home and teach them to Sophie.

Elleigh loves to pray. She says the most descriptive prayers I have ever heard. The whole thing is like a performance with the way she uses her voice to emphasize things. It can be hard not to laugh sometimes but it is always a beautiful thing to hear her talk to her Heavenly Father. My favorite thing she is asking for a lot lately is to please bless that no bugs get in here (a serious Mississippi problem) and that no bandits get in our house. I am not sure where she got the word bandit but I love it. She then thanks Him for her family with such a loving tone that it can bring me to tears. Sometimes she will even reach out and touch that person as she mentions their name in the prayer. It is the sweetest thing. Her prayers are so innocent and lovely and I know her Heavenly Father loves her and her sweet prayers dearly.

Elleigh you are my first born and you have changed my life forever. I love your spirit and what you bring to our family. What would we do without our Elleigh bug?