What a difference a year makes!

It's SO AMAZING to me how fast kids change...you blink and they're suddenly older, wiser, and doing "more tricks". The coolest thing about keeping up with this blog is that I can so easily to back to last year,at this same time, and remind myself what we were up to. In many ways, it doesn't seem that long ago. Leeza had only been home for a little over a month when December was upon us. She liked Christmas, but honestly had no clue what was going on. I think she was on total sensory overload. :) This year, she is sooooooooooooooooo cute! We are headed to Dallas this year for over a week over Christmas, so we decided to skip the real tree and make it easier and get an artificial pre-lit one. Joe and Sean were putting it up and Leeza walks out to where the tree is and says...'Ooooh pretty tree and LIGHTS!" She is SO cute with all the decorations and notices Santa everywhere we go. I suppose her many custom ebay Christmas outfits help, plus we have SO many Christmas books (gotta love that dollar section at Target!!)

We were putting the stockings out and Leeza ran over and said "Eeza's boots" and puts them on her feet. It's really so cute. I love watching her delight.







The BIGGEST change I notice in Leeza from a year ago is NOT, believe it or not, the fact that her hair is growing. :) The change that warms my heart is that she has morphed from a child that I just thought "didn't like to cuddle" and was "too active to sit in my lap for a book", into a total cuddle lovey munchkin. YES-LORD KNOWS SHE IS EVEN MORE ACTIVE...and EVERYHING IS "EEZA DO IT, EEZA TURN", but she has learned to realize how awesome it is to cuddle and give hugs. Last night, she was laying back in Joe's lap half asleep, and I said, "Ok, sweetie, time for bed" and she said "No, Eeeza with DADDY". MY DADDY...and snuggled in closer. MELT MY HEART! I lifted her up and she said "Mommy's bed"...OH NO, my lil sweet. "EEZA'S BED" is where you sleep. :)

The other night, she was in Daddy's lap and would say "MY DADDY" AND give him hugs and kisses, then go over to me and sit in my lap for hugs and kisses and say "My mommy", then go back over to Joe. This went on and on. She often will say 'Eeza, mommy, daddy, Sean, GIGI, "CHEWY" (how she says Joey). It's like she is really grasping that she has a family that she loves.

It's been such a joy to watch her shine and watch her learn to love and cuddle. I would have NEVER imagined that this is a "learned behavior" but it makes sense. From the day he was born, Sean was held and cuddled and read to. Leeza didn't have that and didn't meet us until she was almost 11 months old. I see my darling nephew, Holt, who is 7 months old now, and it makes me all teary eyed and makes my heart actually HURT because I didn't get to love Leeza when she was this age.

Although at times infuriating, like, last night, when I had to "shoo her away" cuz i was taking the VERY HOT dinner out of the oven, and in a span of 5 minutes she emptied ALL my moisturizer out and rubbed it into her arms, and legs, and into my carpet, and, when i sent her to her room for deliberately dumping a glass of water on the floor, and she got into her ointment for her boo boo and almost emptied it rubbing it into her legs,and yes, into the carpet, I am so grateful to have EVERY SINGLE MOMENT with my daughter. Even when she insists on getting into her car seat BY HERSELF, and if we don't have time, or if the car is FULL of people (at carpool) and there is no room to do so, and she stiffens up and screams BLOODY HELL, I will be grateful for her strong will and independence. I know that is how she survived almost 11 months with no mommy and daddy and family to cherish her.

Here are some cute pics of her and Sean, and Miles, who sleeps outside her door at naptime. :)







It always pays to have my camera close by. Sean and Leeza were playing in Leeza's room and this is what I find. Sean was in Leeza's bed, with her beloved elephant and "soska". At 11, Sean is still MOSTLY pretty good with Leeza. He does lose his patience sometimes, and she is also at the age where she LOVES to "irk" her brother, but she CLEARLY adores him and I know he loves it when she RUNS to greet him and give him hugs and kisses.