Lovesick Mama

Leeza and I got our haircuts yesterday and Amber (our sweet hairdresser and friend) was trying to get a picture..but Leeza would not cooperate. She did capture this picture, and I laughed cuz the expression on my face reminds me of a lovesick school girl or something. I do love my kiddo's so much..and feel so blessed to call Leeza my daughter, and Sean my son. :)

The question is....will they ever feel the same way about me? Maybe..when they're adults and understand why mommies have to be tough too.:)

I love this picture of Leeza looking at the window...I wonder what's she's thinking about? Maybe she's thinking...I wish my mom would stop with the camera already. How many pictures does she need of me each day? :)



I love this video...today we got our first "cold front" and it's a full 10 degrees cooler this morning. It's SO fabulous out. I am so excited Leeza can wear her new fall outfit and JEANS to Kindermusic this morning. :) As you can see, Leeza is pretty darn excited too...mostly about the flower shoes. :)

Swimming progress!!

I'm trying to document Leeza's swimming progress and it's getting really fun now to watch her as she has more and more "good days" and less "bad days". I am so grateful for her loving, patient, teacher Emilie. It's clear Leeza trusts her and is able to get over her fear and swim, swim, swim! I have much better peace of mind that Leeza could get to the side if she were to ever jump the pool fence and get in the pool!

Here is she taking 3 BREATHS! This is a very big deal for her. :)




Here she is learning to swim swim swim, then turn over and float.
She used to scream and cry and have a hissy cow when floating. BIG TIME PROGRESS!




I love how Emilie is teaching her to lift her head..she just pulls on her swim suit a tiny bit, and Leeza will left up. Really impressive for me to watch her progress.



I love watching her move thru the water. She reminds me of a lil tadpole. :)

Our sweet lil punkin!!

ahhh fall is here! Well, according to the calendar fall is here, but Florida doesn't get the memo until around December.:) However...there is suposedly a cold front comin on Wednesday (tomorrow!!) that will have the humidity at 55% and a low of 65 and high of 83! I hope so! It's been 98 but it feels even hotter since the humidity is not lettin up! I am waitin to put Leeza in her new fall clothes that we've purchased! I let her try her new jeans on (she can wear a 2t now!!) and they're soooo cute..but NO WAY can she wear them outside yet..way to hot!!

So, instead of cute tights and long sleeves, we are still spending a lot of time in the pool-but hey-her swimming keeps improving!! :) Practice and persistence pays!





I LOVE Halloween! I am having so much fun teaching Leeza about punkins,and ghosts, and all the fun stuff. She already has too many Halloween outfits.:) Last year, we were just home a week before Halloween! She was a pink poodle and had no idea WHAT was going on. This year she is gonna think it ROCKS!

We made a cool spider web drawing in art class yesterday. At first, she was so not interested cuz she is a neat freak and you had to drag the string thru white paint and make a spider web on black construction paper. However, after she saw me having fun, she wanted to try it!

I can't believe Saturday, October 3rd is GOTCHA DAY! One year that we've been Leeza's "legal" parents. :)

Preschool Picture Day!!

Today was preschool picture day, so, OF COURSE, Ms. Leeza has to have a "school themed" dress, and I found a PRECIOUS one on ebay for like $7.95, and it matches her Elmo shoes perfectly, AND, she just happened to have an apple lil hair clippy. She looked SO adorable!! I was so bummed when I realized that my camera battery was DEAD (from constantly videoing her swimming lessons) so THANK GOODNESS the iphone takes a decent photo!

We got to school, and Leeza gallops in the door, in Leeza Pixie Fairy elf fashion, dragging her Elmo backpack behind her. She was so excited to get in her class, she just left me standing there! I am glad she is now so excited to come to school!
The teachers said I could go down with her for pictures, so she seemed a lil bummed when I asked her to come with me. I got a look like "um, Mom, I'm at school now, you can go walking".

She sat on a table, with book props and a globe. She kept calling the globe a ball and she accidentally knocked it over on the floor. :) She was not really cooperating looking up at the camera (she is a real pita to take pictures of) UNTIL the magic photographer lady brought out ELMO! God love Elmo!! She says she got some cute shots, all with Elmo on Leeza's lap. BUT HEY-he matched her dress, and her shoes...and having Elmo in the picture makes perfect sense for her preschool photo so we'll ALWAYS remember Leeza's first love!

It's pretty funny because I guess my 2 years working in the Boutique at Steinmart are coming into play as I take on the serious position of Leeza's "toddler stylist".
Her teachers told me they are always excited to see what cute ensemble Leeza has on each day, and her Kindermusic teacher since last year (we just started up again) ALWAYS comments on Leeza's outfits and how she never wears a thing twice. SO YIKES..THE PRESSURE IS ON! Truth be told, I do have a lot of fun dressing Leeza, and I am very well aware that I should cherish this time while she will let me dress her in whatever I want. I look back at sweet pictures of lil Sean with his cords and sweater vests , and while I am saying "ooh you were so sweet" he is saying 'MOM-YOU USED TO DRESS ME SO GAY!! Sean is now seen in shorts and oversized t-shirts-not the best look for his fashion forwarded minded mom..but hey..I HAVE MY LEEZA!










While preschool has been wonderful for Leeza, I am using the 3 hours to train for the breast cancer 3 day walk..7 weeks from tomorrow! It is still SO HOT..98 degrees today...and even though I am really wanting to do other things, I'm proud to say I'm still getting my walk on. God love my iphone..I talk and do facebook and the 3 hours fly by! I know I bitch about the heat a lot (I just get really ready for fall in September and we still have summer temps), I do love Florida, just check out the view! It's nice to be able to look at the water, and nicer still that Leeza can still swim everyday in our unheated pool, but I would still love a cooler day!

a day in the life of my lil Pixie Fairy Elf

Lately, as Leeza's hair is growing and her lil 2 year old personality is shining thru, she reminds me so much of a lil pixie fairy elf. She runs around on her tip toes, giggling and laughing a lot of the time. She really makes me smile (except for when the pixie elf disappears and the scary 2 year old ogre who is pissed off emerges!)

Despite the occasional tantrum, and even the new throwing and hitting that comes from being pissed off and frustrated, I forgot how much I love 2 year olds. I love their bright eyed curiosity, and I love how Leeza is so "organized" and puts her toys "away", her shoes "away" and puts her clothes in the hamper. I love how she wipes her face and hands after every bite eating, and LOVES to help me clean. I love how she refused to finger paint at art class, insisting on using a brush,then exclaiming "mess mess" when she got a tad of paint on her hand or on her paint shirt. I even love her as she's galloping around, tip toes and all, at story time at the library when all other children are quietly sitting. Of course, at the time, I was embarrassed to have to keep getting her from climbing on the stage behind the library lady, and just let her run off to the side of room behind the chairs. Just when I think "oh my, she has zero attention span", she comes home and will play in her room by herself reading her books, tending to her babies, or even play with playdough at her table. I am just going to assume she felt story time was boring. She did engage in the hokey pokey, itsy bitsy spider song, and the head shoulder knees and toe song AFTER the story.

At her preschool open house last night, her teachers told me that she is doing great, she is very busy, and engages just fine, but doesn't want to sit for circle time but they don't make her. Both the teachers have sons in 7th grade (to Sean's 6th grade) and 2nd grade daughters. We laughed talking about middle schoolers and the vast differences between boys and girls. They commented on Leeza's "girly girlness" and how she is drawn to the "babies" and the kitchen,and how in art she is NOT interested in the messy stuff.:) She also DOES NOT like bugs (but at Gymboree delighed in carrying around these huge fake roaches..maybe cuz she knew they weren't real? )

After teaching Sunday School for 4 years, I just don't want her to be "one of those kids" who runs around like a wild banshee. :) I am already seeing that she loves to be outside, loves to run and kick the ball, and she is shaping up to be a pretty impressive swimmer. I think the key to keeping Leeza engaged is going to be playing LOTS of sports. :) I think I put Sean in almost every sport when he was little until he got older and we narrowed it down to what he really liked. Sean has done gymnastics, kung fu, soccer, swim team, basketball, triathlon team, baseball, and football. I am sad that he is done with soccer. I think Kung Fu would be GREAT for Leeza as it teaches focus. Sean tried it for a year when he was 4. He tested for a couple belts then wanted to quit because "his teacher yelled too much" and he was such a sensitive lil soul. :)

Oh Lil Leeza...as much as you can be frustrating (running from mommy at bed time, throwing my phone, hitting your brother), I still really like you MOST OF THE TIME! :)

can't sit still at circle time but i can swim!

We went to the library for story time today since Leeza is so "challenged" at preschool with circle time. Well, as indicated by the only child there who was galloping and doing laps in the back of the room, she is challenged by story time too. :) She kept trying to climb on the stage behind the story time lady. I think she found the story boring. I was a lil frustrated, but we get home and Leeza swims solid for 40 minutes. She amazes me..she can swim almost the entire length of the pool without taking a breath, and she is doing so great at staying on top of the water. I LOVE watching her swim. I think swim team may very well be the ticket for this high energy, obviously somewhat athletic lil girl. She is learning to pull her her head up for a breath too. I took 21 small videos because now all of her lessons have her SWIMMING and doing great things. I am SO so glad I have stuck with it-Swimming is HER thing PLUS it wears her OUT!

Leeza's gettin so STRONG!

As I continue to lament our 90 degree days as the rest of the nation wears cute long sleeve dresses and tights, I try to focus on the positives...one of which that Leeza can still swim everyday in our unheated pool. She is getting so confident and strong, and is now learning to pull her head up to breathe, but can also hold her breath for a VERY LONG TIME! I'm really proud of how far she's come! We're gonna keep on swimmin as long as we can! Plus, it wears her out! :)

Another Leezapooloza with Kazakh friends!

We feel SOOOOOOOOOO lucky to keep having the incredible opportunity to meet all these adorable girls born in Kazakhstan! Not ONLY is it amazing for Leeza, I LOVE it too, cuz now only do I really enjoy meeting these PRECIOUS children,but they have some COOL mommies too!!

Christy, from Minnesota, and her brilliant daughter, Zahria, came down to visit Sandi and Sandi drove up our way to visit her friend Julie, and see US too! I had followed Christy's blog since before she traveled for Zahria,and it was so SPECIAL to meet her "in real life". Of course, Zahria is even more beautiful than pictures can convey. She is a SUPER SMART 2 1/2 year old lil girl with an amazing disposition. Christy is such a calm, warm, loving influence and I LOVED getttig to know her!

Sandi and I keep in touch almost daily anyway,especially now that she joined our KazMama team for the 3 day walk. Finley gets more beautiful everyday! She just takes your breath away! I met the girls at the beach on Saturday, then they came over for dinner at Leeza's house last night. Finley was too tired so Julie sweetly offered to stay home with Finley. We missed her, but the girls had fun eating dinner and playing together while the Mama's enjoyed lasanga, salad,and wine. :)

At one point, Zahria asked to play with the playdough, but her mom asked her to please find another toy. Well, Zahria, being a smart cookie, went and found Sean, so Sean played playdough with the girls. It was so cute!

While the girls were eating, Leeza kept taking bites of Zahria's food, so Zahria kept taking bites of Leeza's food. Zahria was wearing Leeza's Abbey Cadabby bib and Leeza kept pointing to it saying "Abby" and Zahria kept saying "No, Me Zahria"
It was hysterical!

I feel so incredibly blessed to be able top meet all these amazing, beautiful and intelligent children from Kazakhstan. Their mom's sure ROCK TOO! :)

I said, NO WHIP!

Hello daaaahling...I want a non caf, soy mocha, NO WHIP please!
My stylist spends an inordinate amount of time on my wardrobe,and we "summer" in Florida. :)

Ryan comes over to play

Ryan's amazing mother, Karen Harrison, of Karen Harrison Photography, had to shoot a wedding and Ryan's daddy, and Karen's hubby, is serving in Afghnanistan right now. Leeza and Ryan had fun together (they are a lil over 4 months apart) and were really quite cute and quite good, after a few episodes of "learning to share", which is never easy, no matter what your age. :)

Leeza and the water table

It'seasier to see why Leeza's preschool teacher asked me if she ever sat down after watchig her in action...LOL

Does she ever sit down or is she always on the go?

As I picked up Leeza from her 2nd day of preschool today, (after a very sweaty 3 hour training walk..GO MOM GO!) she was "galloping" at the door with her Elmo backpack, full of energy and smiles. It was really quite cute to see her so excited! I love her enthusiasm about LIFE!

She was in a really good mood this morning, and seemed very excited about going to school. I'm so glad we practiced wearing shoes and socks, cuz this morning, she was all excited to put on her new shoes and socks. I had my shoes and socks on to, for my walk, and she exclaimed SO EXCITED "Leeza socks, mommy socks, Leeza shoes,Mommy shoes"! I love this age!! They are so freakin cute!!

I told her again how she would go play with her friends, while Mommy walked, and then I'd come get her and then she could go swimming. With Emilie, and Elmo..she added. :) I asked her where she goes pee pee, "in the potty" she says.

I dropped her off and she went straight to the babies, picked one up, and sat in the chair to give it a bottle and kissed me good-bye. I left with a spring in my step because she seemed so happy to be there. In fact, I think I even walked 2 extra miles in the same time frame cuz I was so happy!

After my 3 hour long sweaty walk (with sunscreen this time, I got FRIED yesterday), and I went to get my galloping daughter, her teacher asked me "Does she ever sit down or is she always running around?" I laughed and said, she sits down for Sesame Street. She seemed encouraged by that answer and said she will sit down for snack (yeah, that's my girl..we like to eat!!) but circle time is not a big hit with her at all. I am not surprised cuz at Gymboree and at Kindermusic she is not the stellar student at just sitting-she prefers to stand and run around. :) However,that is another reason she's in preschool...gotta learn a lil self control!

The teacher was trying to help her on the playground and Leeza wasn't understanding what she wanted her to do, so the teacher picked her up and Leeza had a bit of spaz attack, I guess she didn't like it. She also had a fit cuz she didn't want to sit on the potty today either. However-we had no accidents and she went when she got home. I am happy about this because FINALLY she is not peeing like every 5 minutes...she's been potty trained for 4 months and I was hoping she'd learn bladder control eventually! YAY!

She got her report card for the week (well,the 2 days)

This week my mood was mostly happy, and really missing Mom/Dad
During playtime, I chose to play mostly by myself (parallel play)
During storytime, I showed interest but had a hard time listening/sitting quietly

During circle time I..did not sit for circle. :)

During craft time, I partially completed crafts

When playing with my friends this week, I mostly did a good job sharing toys/playing nicely.
This week I mostly responded well to teacher rules and directions.

The teacher comments were: Leeza is adjusting well :), with some tears on and off throughout the day.
So, I give Leeza a B for her first week of school! Not bad sweetie, not bad!

In addition to bladder control, Leeza has some serious iron lungs apparently. She has swimming lessons right after school and she will swim from Emilie to the wall,th en turn around, and back to Emilie. We want her to GRAB the wall and she will sometimes, but man, she likes to swim a long time. Today, over and over, she pulled her entire head OUT OF THE WATER to take a breath. She is getting SO STRONG! I am seriously amazed how far she's come in swimming this summer! She is so close to being able to flip over on her back for a breath too. She used to scream bloody hell, even a a couple weeks ago,during the back float so this is a huge accomplishment.

Ooh Leeza..my strong willed, never sit down lil girl. Sean, as a toddler, was TOTALLY CHILL. I took him to a movie at 18 months (The Tigger movie) and he sat thru it like a champ. I think Leeza will love Elmo Live in October,but I am not sure about a movie yet. She will sit thru an entire Sesame Street episode, under her blanket on the couch, but that is only because she LOVES THAT SHOW!

I love your spirit and enthusiasm for life and your determination Ms. Leeza Grace! We just gotta work on circle time and your fiercly independent streak to let your teachers help you at school!! You still make me so proud--my always on the girl girl!! I love you!!!