Leeza is getting really good at treading water

I am so impressed with Leeza's swim teacher, and so impressed with Leeza. I think swimming may be "her sport". Of course, she is only 3, so who knows, but Emilie said she's never had success with teaching a child as young as Leeza to tread water.

We are doing gymnastics, and ballet, and trying our hand at everything, but she seems most at ease, and confident, in the water. Plus, swim team is way better for your body than gymnastics, or ballet, and it wears you out. That's what my sweet Leeza Grace needs. :)

Leeza's first "Mani Pedi"

Since Leeza turned 3, she is getting to do ALL kinds of new fun big girl things...from gymnastics class WITHOUT MOMMY, to ballet, to swimming by herself, and thanks to her big sister...HER FIRST MANI PEDI!

I have not painted her nails because I honestly didn't think she'd sit still, and I am not very good at it. However, she sits very still everyday and lets me braid her hair, so I GUESS I could do it. :) However, I didn't have to because her big sister did the honors. Gigi was over and told Leeza since she was 3 now, she could be a big girl and get her nails painted. OH MY GOSH, it was the cutest thing ever.

Leeza wanted to get her toes done too, then she said "Look, I'm just like MOMMY!" She was so proud and sat so still. Then, she didn't want to get in the bathtub later cuz she didn't want her "toenails to fall off"...aka, her polish. :)

We were going to Disney on Ice and I told her to go get her pink shoes and she said "Mommy, I need to wear my sandals so my pretty toes show". Oh my gosh, I love having such a girly girl. All this girly stuff is just so much fun to me. She is so fun to dress up and braid and polish and read princess stuff too. I am having the time of my life...which I suppose makes up for the excessive mood swings that come with it.

My Tempermental Ballerina

I enrolled Leeza in "Creative Movement"....a class designed for girls 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 to help "get them ready" for a "real" ballet class. I was glad we found it because I know my lil Leeza, and she would not conform to a strict kind of ballet class.

Her first class was actually the same day as her birthday party (September 4th) and she woke up late, and "off we rushed" to ballet. She actually did fairly well, considering it was her first time and we were rushed. Way to go mom..overshedule your not even turned 3 year old yet. :) But, hey-it's how we roll and Leeza is a the kind of child who does like to be kept busy and needs to be kept active.

She wore her darling personalized birthday leotard she got from Sadie. :) She was, however, the only kid not wearing tights, or a little ballerina skirt. No worries, we fixed that for the next class. She does really HATE wearing tights though, which was a bit of a battle.







So, we skipped one week because we had Disney on Ice to go see, so we went this past Saturday. I had her all dolled up looking the part, even with a darling ballerina clippy. My lord she looked gorgeous. :)








However, "pretty is, as pretty does" and even though she was all excited...she walked in with an attitude bigger than herself and GROWLED at everyone. I was HORRIFIED. I pulled her out and we had a chat...NO SPRINKLE COOKIE, AND GIGI is NOT going to paint your nails and your toes cuz that's NOT how a princess acts. She insisted on going back in. I could only watch for 5 minutes because she was still doing the arms crossed attitude thing. All the other lil girls were being adorable.

I had to stop watching and go hide in the corner of shame. I felt sure we'd be kicked out. I was sad, because I think it would be fun to have a lil ballerina daughter. I mean, doesn't she know, this is ME living vicariously thru her? I SUCKED at ballet..had zero coordination, didn't know my right foot from my left, and BEGGED MY MOM TO LET ME QUIT!

Another dad was watching and came back to tell me that she was doing fine and having fun. I still had my doubts. Class ended (it's only an agonizing 30 minutes, thank God!) and Ms. Stephanie told me "she turned it around.".

Based on what I know about Leeza, is she DOES take a few times to "warm up" to a new routine and a new thing. I get that, I really do, but it's really hard to watch your princess daughter that you cherish and love SO MUCH act like a real lil biotch and growl at other children. Oh well, I guess that this is the price I must pay for all the joy I get from dressing her up and braiding her hair. I have to say Sean was WAY easier as a toddler. :) and I expect he's just a way easier kid in general, but he doesn't look as cute in a ballerina skirt. :)




After dance, we had to run to Publix. There was a VERY long line and when we finally get up to check out, Leeza is helping me get the groceries out and the cashier commented "Wow, you've got a very well behaved and polite lil girl there".

I about busted a gut. :)

Oh Tempermental ballerina...I love you so much. If you're like this at 3, how are we going to survive when you're 12 and we get hit with hormones? :)

The dichtomy of moods of a princess...

I love this picture. It is so "Leeza". and then, 5 seconds later....here she is...happy without a care in the world. It's very hard to get used to the moods of Leeza. I have had so many tell me this is "a girl thing" but I don't know...she seems WAAAY moodier than the other lil girls we hang with. She will have to learn that "pretty is, as pretty does" and it doesn't matter how gorgeous you are on the outside, princess who growl at people do not make friends and influence people. :)

Princess Day

One of Leeza's VERY FAVORITE birthday gifts was an adorable lil trunk of dress up clothes-3 dresses, with matching shoes, necklaces, and crowns and tiaras. I had no idea she'd enjoy dressing up so much as she hadn't shown an interest yet in dressing up in tutu's or really in anything princessesy yet.

Well, that has ALL CHANGED. In part of my 4 huge boxes of books I got from the Wellington garage sale, were several brand new princess books (That tell a moral..patience, being a good sport, etc) plus TONS of Disney stories. Well-that was that and she loves them. Plus, we were invited to a very special birthday party in December AT THE CASTLE at Disney so she needed a princess dress.

We had to take Sean, Joe, and Papa to the airport to attend Tommy's wedding (Joe's nephew, Sean's cousin, and Papa's grandson) so I declared it "Princess Day" and we went to Citrus Park Mall where they have a Disney Store.

OH!MY!WORD! It was the cutest thing EVER and Leeza was like STAR STRUCK by everything. She had been vascilating between wanting a "Snow White" dress or a "Belle dress" but we looked at thos, and then she saw "Cinderella" and the rest was history. :) It comes with LIGHT UP PRINCESS SHOES (CUTEST THINGS EVER!) and a really cool headband with a tiara crown thingy. DARLING!!!

We ended up spending quite a bit of time in the Disney store, and Mommy ended up spending quite a bit of cashola. :) We got a couple movies..Sleeping Beauty (cuz I've not even ever seen it) and Mickey's Road Rally, a Minnie and Mickey Leeza really wanted,Cinderella figurines, a princess ball, and some jammies. Um, yeah, so Mommy has zero will power but watching your lil girl just light up is PRICELESS and I love seeing her so joyfilled. :) Disney is so magical...even for this 44 year old "princess of yesteryear"



We got a few darling clearance items at Gymboree and Children's place, then we went to dinner at the most yummy place..Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. I had heard it was good from Emilie-our amazing swim teacher. She was right! To watch my princess figure, I just didn't eat the bun and had a Sam's Adam Octoberest beer (yum!) while Ms. Leeza had Mac and Cheese. We had a lovely time using our manners, cuz that's very important when you're a princess.

Leeza wanted to put her princess dress on after dinner, so, we did. Yeah, she got tons of "ooh's and aahh's" all over the mall, because, after all, a PRINCESS WAS IN OUR MIDST!! Since a coach was not practical, the BOB stroller was her chariot. :)



We had the sweetest waitress EVER and she darling and told me she thought I was a really special mom to make such a big deal out of having a princess day for my lil girl. It was super sweet, but what she doesn't know is I think I have more fun than Leeza. :) I'm SOMETIMES mean like the wicked stepmother though. :)

After dinner, we rode the double decker Merry Go Round in the mall 3 times. Best $5 ever..the princess has a magical evening. :)







As I was posting mobile uploads to facebook and I said how much Leeza loved Princess day, a close friend said "but isn't EVERYDAY Princess day for Leeza?" I laughed and thought to myself, "yeah, well, kind of, but this is the first time SHE FEELS LIKEA REAL PRINCESS" cuz she's got the dress!!"

It was hard to get the dress under the car seat straps, but we did it, and the princess fell asleep on the way home. :) What a fun day. :) I love your Princess Leeza Grace Serra. I thank God and your fairy Godmother EVERYDAY for the gift of your presence in our lives. :) I don't know how we got so lucky.

Leeza's 3 year old birthday EXTRAVAGANZA!

Of COURSE, to get the party started , the birthday girl must have the PERFECT OUTFIT! Since Leeza's favorite restaurant is Chick Fil A, and she is OBSESSED with the cow, we decided to have her birthday party lunch there, after a fun Kindermusik party with our beloved "Ms. Kelly" who is AMAZING with kids. So, a "cow print" shirt with her name and her age, complete with a tutu for twirlability, we were READY FOR FUN!!

The Kindermusik part was a HUGE hit. The kids all HAD A BLAST and the parents too. I just loved watching my baby girl light up. :)












I got Leeza this ADORABLE "Personalized Princess tea cd" and it has her name, and all the princesses sing songs about having a tea party, and having good manners, etc. It's a hoot. The 16th song is a "Happy Birthday Leeza" song, so we played that during her party and Kelly brought out balls for the kids to kick around. It was hilarious, but then Leeza fell, and drama ensued. Fortunately, after a quick cry fest, it was over and she was back to being the birthday princess. :)






The thing I love most about Ms. Kelly is that she is so good at keeping the kids AND the adults engaged. Leeza started going to Kindermusic at 17 months, (3 months after we got home) and she was AWFUL. She would never stay put, or sit still, and I was horrified. :) Ms. Kelly was always so encouraging and sweet and always found ways to enage Leeza. I have a hard time when I watch Leeza NOW believing she's the same kid who would never sit for circle time or story time. Preschool, and lots of mommy/daughter reading time, and maturity have all really helped that.






















After a total blast with lots of pretend play with hula hoops as surf boards, and popping "popcorn" on the parachute, we packed up and went to Chick Fil A, Ms. Leeza's FAVORITE place. I have to give EXTREME KUDOS to Richard, "our party coach". They totally exceeded my expectations. They totally took care of us, took our orders, took pictures, gave each kid a goody bag, and a special bag for the birthday girl, the kids got ice cream cones, the play area, and a special appearance from the COW! I wanted a pic of all the kids with the cow, but most of them were scared. Leeza, however, is not only NOT SCARED, she throws herself at his feet and is very generous with hugs and kisses. It's so damn cute!

The "star" cupcakes for a "Kaz" were a hit with everyone. Some of them looked a lil burned on the top, but they still tasted good. Oh well, I may NOT be the best "Suzy homemaker" there ever way, but I can plan a KICK ASS BIRTHDAY PARTY! :)









Jillian was such a super help. She took pictures during the whole party, and she PAINTED FACES at Chick fil A! She's really good at it too. :) Sean was just generally helpful and sweet. :)








Chick Fil A rocks for kids birthday parties...we eat lunch their at LEAST once a week. :)









The cow was a HUGE hit with Ms. Leeza. He was a really nice kid...his name is Dallas and he just graduated from high school.








Leeza defintely knew how to open presents this year and blow out her candle on the cake. :)






And, last, but not least, DO NOT LET YOUR BROTHER GET A HOLD OF THE FACE PAINT PENS!!