Juice Box vs. Milk

Every time we go out to eat Elie always orders the same thing as Faith.  She waits to hear what Faith is going to say and then orders the exact same thing.  If for some reason she has said another option first and then hears Faith saying something different, her order changes.  All that changed today.

"Okay girls, juice box or milk?"
I love our little girl date times during the day while the boys are away at school.  The three of us all immensely enjoy some good Chic-fil-a.  And it sounded so good after we had pounded out seven miles running together.
Faith decided right away she wanted a juice box.
Elie thought about it, "Hmmmm. (She looked at me, looked at Faith, looked back at me)  Milk. Chocolate."

And there came that silly lump in my throat that makes my eyes start to water.  Not sure why except that it was the first time that she didn't order exactly the same thing as Faith.  She knows enough language now to order what she really wants.  She knows that she can have chocolate milk even though I never said the word chocolate.  But I think it is more than the language development that struck me.  She is confident enough in our family that she doesn't have to just copy her siblings. She can be her own person.

It was something small really, but still so significant.