I consider Pea to be a very complex little girl. On the one hand, she’s all girl. Wants to have her toenails painted bright red. Always has to have a dab of my lip-gloss when she catches me putting it on. Loves to wear dresses and ballet shoes and hair bows. But she is tough as nails. She climbs stone fences barefoot and is always covered with scrapes and bruises and loves to be outside. I’ve even overheard my father-in-law telling my 5-year old nephew that he could learn a thing or two about being tough from my little girl. And so shopping for her birthday is always a lesson in contrasts. I buy her something that speaks to her soft, girly side. And another something that speaks to her athletic side. And then one more thing that is just for pure comfort, because she is, above all else, our baby girl.

And this year I actually managed to stay within our budget of $100! Yay, me!

Here is what I bought her:

For her girlish glamour-puss side,

I bought her these shoes;

for her tough-as-nails-wants-to-live-in-a-tent-outside-side,

I bought her this hat;

and for her purely lovable side,

I bought her one of these adorable little knit stuffed creatures.

Now let’s just see if I can actually wait until her birthday to surprise her!