It’s been almost three months since baby Elisabeth Ellis ended her harrowing battle with a rare brain tumor and finally returned home from the hospital. Now the Ellis family is celebrating the inspiring little girl’s second birthday, along with the news that her first two post-chemotherapy MRIs came back tumor-free.

On Nov. 1, family and friends came together at baby Elisabeth’s unicorn-themed birthday party with the toddler sporting a bright pink tutu, a milestone event after her February diagnosis.

Baby Elisabeth Ellis with her parents, Cardon and Brittany, at her 2nd birthday party.

Since her release from the hospital on Sept. 8, Elisabeth has been adjusting to life at home, steadily getting her strength and energy back after six brutal rounds of chemo and two brain surgeries.

“She’s definitely making up for lost time — it’s like we’re back to having a newborn,” said Cardon Ellis, Elisabeth’s dad.

Related: Baby Elisabeth Ellis & Family Celebrate End Of Chemo, Homecoming

For instance, because chemotherapy usually has a drastic effect on the taste buds — making most food and drinks have a metallic-like taste for about a year afterward — baby Elisabeth has given Cardon and her mom, Brittany, the challenging task of figuring out what she likes, which changes from week to week.

“It it weren’t so exhausting it would actually be really humorous,” Cardon said. “There was one week where the only thing she would drink was root beer — I’m not kidding you. We would be putting root beer in her bottle.”

Elisabeth’s bones are also incredibly fragile after everything she’s been through, and so the little girl wound up fracturing her ankle after taking a tumble simply trying to stand up.

Baby Elisabeth Ellis with her dad, Cardon, wearing the only hat he says she likes: a Viking hat.

While the recovery process has brought with it some unique challenges, Cardon added that it’s still a dramatic improvement from the heartwrenching months he and his wife spent watching their daughter fight for her life.

Related: End In Sight For Baby Elisabeth Ellis’ 6-Month-Long Battle With Brain Cancer

“It’s so much better emotionally because you don’t have this dark specter of death hanging over you,” he said. “You’re in recovery mode, which is at least emotionally a much better place to be in.”

As part of her recovery, Elisabeth has at least one different therapy session a day, ranging from speech therapy to physical therapy to occupational therapy.

“She lost almost a year of development in the hospital,” Cardon explained. “They all meet with her once a week to make sure that she’s catching up and making up for lost time… All of them say she’s doing really well and she’s showing progress.”

Elisabeth’s next MRI is scheduled for Dec. 27, and she’ll continue to get them every three months for a year to make sure the cancer isn’t coming back, and then every six months for the next three years after that. Then after five years of being considered “NED,” or having no evidence of disease, Elisabeth will need an MRI once a year until she’s 17 years old.

Baby Elisabeth Ellis.

“(Is it) relief of the old tension? Yes. Introduction of the new tension? Yeah,” Cardon said. “But it’s a lot closer to just the regular tensions of parenting than we’ve been in a long, long time, so it’s good… It is still exhausting, but it is a lot better.”

Related: Surgery To Remove Baby Elisabeth Ellis’ Brain Tumor A Success, Three Rounds Of Chemo To Go

Over the last nine months, the Santa Clarita community has come together to raise more than $78,500 on a GoFundMe page to help pay for Elisabeth’s medical expenses, and Cardon is even anticipating having some funds left over that he hopes to put toward a good cause.

“We think that God smiled upon our family and there will be a small surplus that we’re able to give back,” Cardon said, noting that he and Brittany are planning to donate any extra money to the Michael Hoefflin Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping children diagnosed with cancer and their families.

Cardon continued, “We love our city and everybody that’s helped us out, and we’re super grateful.”