No doubt, she loves her Razor scooter with light-up wheels. Almost as much as she loves her Momma.

“Now that girl has an edge to her.” That’s one of my favorite quotes about my daughter, from one of my dearest friends. He’s completely right, of course. My girl does have an edge to her. From her first few days out of the womb, she has always been one to let you know exactly what she wants and thinks and takes no prisoners. My husband says this is a good thing for a girl – it makes him worry less about her falling prey to unwanted advances. For me, I think it means learning how to better control my emotions and any preconceived notions of what having a daughter entails. You will find no fuzzy pink dresses, no princess crowns or ballerinas floating around our house. What you will find are tons of different costumes (knights, police officers, Harry Potter and Power Rangers to name a few), enough Legos to build a miniature Gotham, pens, Play-doh and markers and a stuffed animal population with more constituents than Brookfield Zoo. No, my girl is not a girly girl and she is tough.

I guess it’s a good thing then, that despite her hard candy coating shell, inside that baby girl is a heart as rich as any piece of fine chocolate. It’s a sweetness she reserves only for those closest to her – those whom she trusts and loves dearly. Once you’ve broken through that outer exterior, she takes great care to hint at how much she loves you and how much she thinks about you all day long. Ask her about directly and she’ll deny it (she’s the strongest contrarian I know), but when you find drawings of hearts, flowers, rainbows and expressions of her love tucked into her school folder almost every day, it’s pretty hard to draw any other conclusion.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a note like that over a pink tutu or tiara any day.