Our adventures to bring home "Baby Kaz"

School days....3 year old class here we come!

2011-08-24T11:11:00.007-04:00

I have been horrid about Leeza's blog. With facebook, it's hard to make time for both, but I need to get better and at least include the highlights.

School started and Leeza , after being in the 2 year old classroom for 2 years due to her birthday being 4 days after the cutoff, has moved up to the 3 year old classroom. All her buddies from last year moved up too, and most of them also turn 4 in September so it's really perfect. I adore her new teacher as well, and I have known her for a few years as she's also a past running buddy.

I have made the pledge that we will not be late, Leeza is not going to sleep in, we will be there at 9. She is going to go 3 mornings a week, and stay for lunch bunch. Next year is VPK and she will go 5 days, so I still selfishly want to spend time with her the other 2 days of the week where we can explore the children's museum, and perhaps take gymnastics or kung fu or do something else that interests us. I really do cherish this time with her, even though sometimes it's very trying on my nerves. :)

I adore her lil preschool class. Leeza really is a smart lil girl and incredibly social, and school is very good for her. She needs to learn that if you are mean to your friends, they won't want to play with you and you can't act like a brat if you want people to like you. Those are what I hope she takes away from preschool anyway. :)

The funniest story ever happened when driving Sean's new carpool home from middle school. I am driving a new carpool this year for Sean. There are 2 8th grade boys (besides Sean) and McKenzie is in 6th grade. We went to meet her Sunday, she seemed really nice. Leeza, ever so social, asked if she wanted to play and they went into McKenzie's impeccably neat room and when it was time to go (like 10 minutes later) Leeza cried like she was losing her best friend. It was hilarious.
McKenzie gavae her a stuffed animal squirrel and talked about how cute Leeza was.However, fast forward to Monday afternoon-when I pick up the kids.
They were all talking at once, and Leeza is so excited-my lord this child is a social being.
She yells LOUDLY...everyone SHUTUP, YOU'RE ALL TALKING AT ONCE AND I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I said of course, HEY HEY HEY, we don't use that word, not a nice word, we don't say that to which she responds that SHE CANNOT HEAR IF EVERYONE TALKS AT ONCE.
so McKenzie is sitting in the seat next to her and shuts her eyes. Leeza is like HEY MOM, WHAT IS THAT GURLS NAME THAT GAVE ME THE SQUUL? (She can't say her r's)
i said, McKenzie.
she goes MCKENZIE, HELLOOOOO WHAT ARE YAOU DOING???
MCKENZIE says...chilling.
Leeza says WHAT'S THAT? WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING? IT'S DAYTIME! PLAY WTIH ME!!
TO WHICH McKenzie responds..."doesn't she have a pacifier or SOMETHING?"
Chad, who I adore and is a great kid (who Leeza also has a huge crush on) says NO, she's almost 4.
Oh my, it may be a long year for McKenzie. :)

One more funny story I want to remember. We were at Target getting school supplies for Sean and ran into someone from his old school. I stopped to talk to the mother, to see her her daughter liked her new school. She asked SEan how he liked his school, and Leeza clears her throat and says "excuse me". Leeza said "ask me the questions you asked Seanie", so the lady said, "Oh, ok, did you start school today too?" Leeza said "yes", and then says "ask me my name" then starts to tell the lady ALL ABOUT HER DAY. Oh Leeza-a wallflower, you are NOT. :)

Summer...it turns me inside out!!!

2011-07-22T11:07:00.009-04:00

Oh MY, I have been a "momma blogger slacker"...I have not updated poor Leeza's blog since spring break!!!!! Summer is here-in fact, we only have a month and a few days before SCHOOL STARS AGAIN!!! However-my lack of blogging does not mean I have nothing to report. We have had a WONDERFUL summer and I've been busy with the kids, and we're all having a really good time. In fact, as I type this, my darling Leeza is still sound asleep, at 11:14 am. :) This is our first week without any planned activities (no camp, out of town trips, etc) and so we've been staying up late swimming, watching movies, etc. I slept until 9, and Leeza still sleeps on. :)

Let me start with our first big fun event of the summer...Kazapoolza! It was held at the Tradewinds resort..only 30 minutes from our house! It was an amazing time....Leeza had a BLAST, and was in the pool the entire time. We stayed over on Sunday to hang with Kristan and her family. It's always so wonderful to be surrounded my such Kazakh beauty-inside and out. We met new friends and got to see old ones. It was a great time. Sean even had fun. :)

oh my i did this post on 7/22 and never finished and now summer is over. I will have to update later, cuz I need to post first day of school pictures.

Cruisin to Cozumel

2011-03-30T08:37:00.004-04:00

Leeza went on her first cruise last week. I really wanted a lil get away for Sean's spring break, but Joe has too much going on a work right now and we really don't like to leave Papa for very long. I ended up with a cruise out of Tampa (super convenient) on Royal Carribean. We took Sean out of school a couple days early and sailed on Thursday and came home on Monday (the first day of his spring break). It just cruised to Cozumel and back. It was really fun! Leeza was fascinated with everything and got her bearings very quickly. "No mommy-THIS WAY to the kids pool.". Now I realize that BOTH of my children are WAAAY smarter than their mother. :)

Sadly, my camera had a collision with water and it died our first full day at sea. I have a couple pictures though that I can post. Joe and I went on the Princess cruise for our honeymoon and loved it, and we took Sean on the Disney cruise when he was 5. I have to say, Disney is my all time favorite. While I thought the kids pool on the Royal Carribean Radiance of the Seas was "lame", Leeza sure didn't. I couldn't get her out of it. She had a blast-and seeing her thru her eyes-I can't really complain about a thing-except maybe all the weight I gained. :)

Update on May 5th...wow, I never finished this post. What a slacker! Life has been busy. The cruise was fun, we got to "swim" with dolphins, and it was great. I have pics, but if i never post this, I will never move on, so I'm posting. :)

Trike a thon CUTENESS!!

2011-03-23T10:23:00.007-04:00

Today was the Trike-a-thon at Leeza's school. Last year, we didn't go to school on Wednesday's and she was not interested in a trike or bike at all.

This year, I've tried to get her to ride a bike. She gets too frustrated and it's a losing battle. I'm sad because I have seen her swim, and run, and she has some crazy endurance for a 3 year old, and I think she would be an amazing triathlete. But, you gotta learn to ride a bike for that. I volunteered at their trikathon hoping for the best, but really didn't think it would go well.

I guess I need to go find her a bike now.....and a helmet.
We borrowed the helmet from one teacher and the bike from another. I love her teachers.She was not down with putting the helmet on at all. Finally..she agreed and I PINCHED HER CHIN! Poor kid. With a mommy like me in your corner, it's rough. Despite mommy, she did great. :)

Cooking with Leeza

2011-03-22T08:13:00.005-04:00

I have been such a slacker on cooking lately...so I knew I needed to fix it. I figured if I involve my sidekick, it might make it more fun. Little did I know...I was so right!! I felt like one of those really good homeschool mom's who do crafts and cook with their kids everyday. Leeza loved it! It was an educational and bonding experience. I may have to do it again. Tomorrow night-she can pour the cheerios. :)

She was so excited to help-and we counted out how many we should make and how many is in our family and when she heard Joe's car in the driveway she RAN out and told Joe SHE made dinner and how she put chicken then sauce, then peppers and onions and we put it in the oven for 35 minutes. Even Sean made a HUGE DEAL about how good it was and how it was SO MUCH BETTER THEN WHEN MOMMY MADE IT. Leeza even ATE IT!

wow, I'm such a good mom.

Lucky girls!!

2011-03-17T20:39:00.004-04:00

Happy St. Patricks Day! I think this is the first "St Patty's day" shirt I've ever owned. I do wear green, but really never thought an outfit was necessary. Of course, until I had a daughter. I found these "Lucky girl" shirts in the Target girls department..for 4 bucks each. They say Lucky Girl and they have sparkly shamrocks and rainbows and a picture of a girl. I mean..PERFECT. Leeza and I wore them today to Jungle Boogie , the mall, and out to dinner. Sean and Joe wore green, but they didn't match. Leeza asked Seanie if he was sad that he didn't have a shirt like ours. :)

We got lots of smiles and compliments, even though I am sure they were all for Leeza. She's pretty cute. :)

I was also told by a lady at Jungle boogie that "Leeza and I look so much alike" and that "she has my eyes". I wish I had Leeza's eyes, and I can honestly say, her beauty has NOTHING to do with me...she is just a blessing from God...a beautiful child with a BIG ATTITUDE. :)

Babysitting Adventures with Tyler

2011-03-14T13:35:00.005-04:00

Karen-one of my bestest friends, had a photography seminar thingy today and asked us if we could watch Tyler! OF COURSE WE CAN!! Ryan was in school and Leeza skipped to school because she slept until 10:30 (day light savings time is a bear) AND she wanted to play with Tyler. He is such a sweet sweet baby. I was surpised to see how loving and caring Leeza was with him, and not as jealous I expected. She is a mini mommy and very helfpul. I put him down and she went to go read to him and found him toys. It was really cute. She also thought he would like Sesame Street.

She also gives GREAT tips like "Mommy, don't put Tyler in the oven, you will burn him"

She was dying to "drink him" so I let her give him a bottle. so sweet...
I really have ZERO desire for another baby, in fact, if there is NEGATIVE desire, I have that. However, if i ever changed my mind, we'll take Tyler. He's adorable.

He is the best baby. He fell asleep after getting his drink on so he's in Leeza's bed. :) Once she realized he had elephant and scooby, she removed them. She is sweet, but not THAT generous. She also think he's lame for sleeping in the day cuz it's daytime..NOT FOR SLEEPING.

Sean's confirmation at church

2011-03-13T23:10:00.007-04:00

We joined our church when Sean was 3 (Leeza's age) because I really wanted him to be part of a church with an awesome youth group. I can't believe it, cuz here we are..and Sean has been going to Sunday school and now youth group and started confirmation classes January 9th, and it concluded tonight with the beach ceremony where they made their decisions to live their lives as Christian's. I am so glad he loves youth group and that our church is a fun place to be. I thinkSean has a good moral compass, and I know that middle school and high school is a time that compass can become confused.

The beach ceremony was beautiful and it was a lot of fun to see Sean and his buddies. Leeza was a lil miffed she could not swim, or play with sand toys. Sometimes, Leeza, it's really NOT all about you. But, i did get this killer pic of her and Sean. :)

Fun day at the Pow Wow

2011-03-12T18:28:00.005-05:00

Today was a GORGEOUS DAY. It was 67 or so, so "kinda chilly" but sunny and the pow wow is a "mini fair" with lots of fun rides for the wee ones and they sell beer. Can you even beat that? I think not.

Karen and I took the kids, and we had a really good time. Even though Karen is the professional photographer, I have to admit I got some really great pics. Of course, Leeza and Ryan are really pretty cute, photogenic kids ANYWAY, but still. I love all the kid friendly stuff there is to do in this area. I know this time is short when she will want to do stuff with me. Sean doesn't want to so much anymore. sniff sniff...

Ryan really wanted to go on the ferris wheel so Karen took the 2 kids and I stayed behind with Tyler. It was just like the ferris wheel in Kostanai that we used to go on. awww! Here is a cool shot Karen took at the top, that's me on the bottom holding Tyler. He is such a sweetie pie.

Karen IS the professional photographer and captured these great shots on the ferris wheel. What a fun day. :)

Leeza got a letter, Leeza got a letter...

2011-03-12T11:53:00.004-05:00

Leeza got a LETTER with a present in it...a necklace from her friend Sadie K. How sweet is that. She was so excited. :)

My Beautiful Disaster

2011-03-11T17:33:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness, my sometimes SO SWEET Leeza Grace Serra. She can be so utterly delightful, charming, sweet, and well mannered one minute...then...the next minute...the charming angelic blond haired blue eyed pixie turns manac. It's so exhausting. I am learning to be a tough mama and if she acts up, we leave immediately and she doesn't get the rewards I've promised for sweet girls (lunch at Chick Fil A, getting to watch a movie in the swagger wagon, etc). It does remind me of that show Jaws...."just when you think it's safe to go back in the water"

My last post was singing the praises of our latest milestone of 3 1/2. The "fits" were less, the tantrums few and far between. I relaxed a little bit, and thought , maybe, just maybe, I'm NOT such a horrible parent after all. That's where I failed.....I got a lil bit too confident and things had just been going Leeza's way. When she doesn't get her way somedays, YOU BETTER DUCK AND COVER CUZ IT'S NOT PRETTY. Just ask the people in Publix who had to listen to death defying screams because I told her she could no longer sit where the groceries go cuz I was running out of room, or when it was time to leave Sean's football practice and she didn't want to sit in her car seat....Eeee gads!

But, in her defense, she is also one tough cookie. As a last minute thing, Joe had a conference and was staying at the Dolphin hotel in Orlando. I took Sean and Leeza out of school for a day and we drove up, and spent the night at the hotel with Joe and then did Disney the next day. Poor Leeza-the first HOUR was spent outside the park in the bathrooms cuz my girl was constipated. I am not kidding-it took an HOUR. Finally...we are on the monorail and she says she has to go potty AGAIN. I am annoyed-why couldn't you go when you spent an hour in the bathroom? Only to discover my poor daughter ALSO had an UTI. Poor kid-I have never had one but it burns to go potty AND it feels like you have to go every 5 minutes and its super uncomfortable. Leeza braved it out and we actually ended up having a wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom, and she got to ride Splash Mountain for the first time and LOVED IT. She said it made her boo boo all better. Sean was scared to death of Splash Mountain at age 5...and Leeza at 3 1/2 loves it, as well as all the scary rides...Pirates of the Carribean, Snow White, Haunted Mansion, roller coasters, you name it, she loves it.

We were at Jungle Boogie yesterday (super cute program at a nature center) where we read a book, then do a craft, then do a nature walk. She was really good for the book and the craft, but on the nature walk she picked a flower. Jamie, the teacher, explained that we don't pick flowers, because what grows in nature, stays in nature. The butterflies and bees need the flowers. Leeza says "but I wanted to pick one and i want to pick another one for Angie". She huffed and crossed her arms and got an attitude. I told her if she can't be nice, we have to leave. Well, she got uglier, so we left. Then, it got REALLY UGLY. Oh my lord, she was thrashing like a child possessed when I tried to put her in the car seat. I was scared. After about 10 minutes of screaming at the top of her lungs, she calmed down so we could have a rational discussion. She really is smart and she does get it, and I gueess she just has to learn that decisions have consquences and Mommy is not a pushover, no matter how LOUD and OBNOXIOUS she is. It's EXHAUSTING THOUGH. Sean was never like this. He was so easy. :)

Today dawned and it's Freestyle Friday. It's a day we don't have ANY PLANS and it's Leeza's choice. It was chilly, so not beach weather so we went to the Children's Museum in Tampa. It was so much fun, as always. There were even 3 field trips there with wild hellions all over but Leeza held her own just fine. We had SO MUCH FUN. We stayed 2 and 1/2 hours and it was time to go get Sean. She did NOT WANT TO LEAVE. However, she threw no fit, and was just sweet. We are walking outside and she lets out a big sigh and tells me "Mommy, I don't want to leave. You're ruining my world" I said, "oH, L am so sorry I am ruining your world. We can come back another time, but we have to get Seanie from school" She said "it's ok mommy, i love you, you are not ruining my world. I'm just kidding"

I love her...and it's so much fun when she's so good. But I know I better not exhale or the devil will get me!!

Look who's 3 1/2!!

2011-03-06T10:54:00.006-05:00

Here are are...at 3 1/2 years old already. Where is that baby girl I brought home from Kazakhstan over 2 years ago? That sweet lil girl who was the light of my life?
Oh, she's still the light of my life alright, the bane of my mere existance, and often a source of strong willed arguments and defiance (just a little)

As the day dawned, I told Leeza it was her half birthday, while her brother rolled his eyes and told her "not to get excited, she doesn't get a party or presents". That's my 12 3/4 year old..."always keepin it real". We had a busy day planned, which started going to the park to ride the train, then off to watch big brother play 2 scrimmages in his spring tackle football league.

At 3 1/2, here is a brief bio of her world:
Favorite color: Green
Favorites movies and shows: Sesame Street, Word World, Super Why , and old time Scooby Doo movies, anything Disney (big into princesses)
Favorite food: cereal and cliff organic z bars, chocolate, and appple juice
Favorite activities: school, jungle boogie (story, craft,and nature walk at a nature center), gymnastics, beach,art projects, coloring, painting, books, Busch Gardens, Kindermusik, Disney, and going to the park, and MOST DEFINTELY, meeting other kids. Leeza is so great at making new friends and meeting stranger. Oh, to be 3 1/2 again. :)
Best friends: Ryan Harrison, Alana (from school)
Best qualities: hilarious sense of humor, incredible imagination, strong sense of self,emerging confidence and independence, amazing wardrobe :)
Qualities needing improvement: patience, sassy talk, ability and desire to stay in circle time, and bad talkin her mama.

I love our "Leeza's pick Friday's". We have actitivies planned everyday (Monday-Wednesday is preschool, and Thursday's is gymnastics and jungle boogie. Friday is unplanned and I let Leeza pick what she wants to do. We have done the children's museum, Busch Gardens, and the beach. It's always fun, and I enjoy our time together. This past friday was the beach. :) We had a blast, and as always, Leeza met so many new friends. She was in the FREEZING cold water, up to her neck, playing with these boys. She is like her mama, and likes her "Older men" as these boys were 6 1/2 and 9. She comes running of the water and asks me "Mommy, what is my first name?" I said "Leeza" and she ran running back in the water and told them "My first name is Eeza". She always tells eveyone her name is "Eeza Grace Serra" but she says it fast and forget about trying to understand "eeza" though she can say lollipop and the "L" sound, she doesn't say Leeza. I guess the boys couldn't understand her super fast "Eeza Grace Serra" so they asked her for her FIRST NAME but no one had ever asked her that before. :) Hilarious. She met 8 kids at the beach on Friday....such a friendly social lil thang. :)

Funny story of the day:

We got back from being gone all day yesterday and I said to Leeza "Ok, the house is a disaster. How bout I unload the dishwasher and you pick up toys".

Leeza-"No thanks"

After unloading the diswasher, I start picking up and ask her to help. Sassy girl tells me "NO, I DON'T WANT TO".

Mom gets MAD. Mom tells sassy child that if she doesn't, Mommy will throw it all away.

SAssy girls says I don't care.

Mommy proceeds to start throwing things and toys in trash. Sassy girl stares incredulously...and then I threw elephant away (new trash bag in the trash can)

I tell her if she doesn't start to help, the rest will go.

Sassy girl still says no.

I start taking toys outside to outside trash cans. Sassy girl follows me.

Finally, defiant one tells me she will help me , and if she helps, can she take her toys OUT OF THE TRASH.

I said, YES, BUT ONLY IF YOU HELP.

She picks up a few things, starts to play again.

I sternly say NO, LEEZA, NO PLAYING, OR I STOP PICKING UP AND THROW MORE AWAY.

Leeza responds...OK FINE YOUR HIGHNESS.

HA HA

The toys got picked up, and the trash was recovered.

And so goes a day of Mommy/Leeza "wars". :) The first of many I am sure.

You are unique!

2011-03-03T07:42:00.004-05:00

Leeza is truly unique..a princess lovin girl who also loves to touch taruntula's and ride motorcycles!!

I took Ms. Leeza to Chick Fil A for lunch Kindermusik class, as is our "usual" routine. We got a cd that said "you are unique" and Leeza asked me what that meant. I told her it means "you are not like anyone else" and Leeza, said "ooh no one likes me?" I said, NO honey, unique means you are special, God made you special like NO ONE ELSE, like your friend Alana, you are not like her, you are Leeza. Her take "oh Alana doesn't like me?" Yeah, THANKS SEAN, who often tells her "she has no friends" and no one likes her. Seriously..thankfully she is a very confident lil girl. Whenever she is being annoying, Sean tells her "she has no friends" and "no one likes you". He can be such a jerk sometimes.

At Kindermusik, our "homework" was to write a story. Of course, I am rushing Leeza Wednesday morning before preschool to get it done. I gave her paper and crayons and said ok, we're writing a story. You tell me what to say, and you draw pictures.

Here is her story.

There was a princess named Eeza Grace.

insert scribbles here

And an evil witch came

insert more scribbles..angry ones.

But the prince came.

nice scribbles

And he kissed her and they got married.

nice scribbles again.

She insisted on bringing a prince figurine and then she told the story at music, the prince kissed the scribbles.

Leeza ...you are unique. You love the princess fairy tale like us all, yet you can take the heat from your big brother, touch spiders, and ride motorcycles. You are my kinda girl. :)

The perfect Chick Fil A spokesperson

2011-02-28T20:19:00.005-05:00

I saw this lil dress on facebook and thought it was PRECIOUS and PERFECT for one lil girl who frequents Chick Fil A once a week. Today was the day that Chick Fil A was debuting their "Banana Pudding Milkshake", which I had for lunch today and IT WAS FABULOUS.
I took the family for dinner there tonight, where Sean had one for dessert.
Everyone there loved her outfit.
Her big brother, however, said, and I quote "Why would you get her a dress with cows on it?" "It's so stupid" I told him NO IT'S NOT and she is a Chick Fil A girl, to which he responded "Why does she need a differnet dress for everything anyway?"

Clearly, he knows NOTHING.

Fun at the Fire Department

2011-02-27T08:04:00.007-05:00

There are so many family friendly things to do in our area with lil kids. I wish I was 3...but I'm not, but lucky for me, I love to find things for Leeza to do . Karen and I took Ryan and Leeza and Baby Tyler to the fire dept where they got to ride on a real fire truck, have hot dogs, popcorn, see a Bayflight helicopter land, and just be outside on a beautiful Saturday. Afterwards, we went to the park and let the wild animals roam for a couple hours. I have never seen Leeza so filthy dirty. I made her stop in the laundry room, put her clothes immediately in the washing machine, and take a bath. The true sign of a fun day is how dirty you get, right?

Ryan and Leeza are two peas in a pod. Karen and I are both reading "The Spirited Child" on our kindles and call each other to discuss. Ryan and Leeza both have similiar temperments, and even look alike. They can be a handful but I have to say, life with them is NEVER BORING...and some days are more frustrating than others. However, we often talk about how we are SURE their traits will make them super successful adults. :)

Here is an example of our crazy children....playing with Karen's Moby wrap while I was holding Tyler. :)

I have also determined that if I had a baby to hold and tend to with Leeza, I would most likely to cerfiably insane. She thoroughly enjoyed running from me and acting up when she KNEW I couldn't do much cuz I was holding Tyler. Kudos to Karen!! She is younger and freakishly strong. I am weak-and old-and DONE with kiddo's. :) I love the ones I have, but I do not feel it would be advantageous to anyone if I were to have anymore.....good thing cuz Joe is defintely done...WELL DONE. :)

So pretty....so grown up!

2011-02-26T13:40:00.003-05:00

Just enjoying a beautiful Saturday. Leeza has been a total and absolute joy today. The day is young...

Who's that sleeping in MY bed?

2011-02-26T10:15:00.003-05:00

I put lil Ms. Thang to bed IN HER OWN BED, IN HER OWN ROOM about 9:15 last night, and then went to watch "What would you do" followed by a very disturbing 20/20 that I am still upset about and did not sleep well either. It was about this family, they had 8 kids, including 3 darling adopted girls from the Ukraine. Anyway, the dad started tanning, working out, etc, and the mom suspected something. He encouraged her to get a facelift, and he drugged her up during her healing process, and killed her. The two older girls suspected their father, because the mother told the one daughter that if she died, to please see if their dad did it. It got worse-he was having this affair with this woman named Gypsy and she moved in as "the nanny" and THEY SENT ONE OF THE GIRLS BACK TO THE UKRAINE to "visit" her sister and left her a year, until another family member went to get her, and the creepy fiancee asssumed her identity. Anyway, I did not sleep well and I am still very disturbed.

ANYWAY, I go to bed at 11 and LOOK HOW I FIND! Sneaky lil Leeza Grace snuck out of her room with her favorite quilt (made my my Aunt Jane) and her elephant and was sacked out in our bed. Good thing she's so cute. :)

Leeza and her Kindermusik orchestra

2011-02-24T19:51:00.002-05:00

I can't stand the cuteness. Ignore that sassy child in the middle with the attitude.

Rapunzel Rapunzel..let down your hair!!

2011-02-23T11:27:00.002-05:00

Leeza loved the movie "Tangled" and one of the talented ladies I "met" on facebook had this darling fabric so I HAD TO GET LEEZA AN OUTFIT. I mean, seriously?? how cute is this?????? I love it. She loved it. And the world is made a better place...one cute outfit at a time. :)

My teenager--or wait..she's only 3 year- who sleeps late

2011-02-23T09:06:00.004-05:00

How sweet is this child? Seriously..this is why we are always late for preschool. I took this photo at 8:55...school starts at 9. She did wake up at about 9:10 so we made it to school before 10, which is good because she got their in time for playground time which is her favorite.

She was in bed and asleep by 9 last night too! My girl is just a sleeper. I remember when we first brought her home from Kazakhstan, almost 2 1/2 years ago, and she would sleep until 10 every single morning. I wonder what it would be like if she HAD to get up and go to school because I had to be at work by 9 like Sean used to? I guess I'm just grateful that for now, we don't have to know. I do hope that she gets better though because while she has wonderful teachers at preschool-we can't go waltzing in late when she's in "real school".

Lookin so grown up and ROCKIN her Kaz colors

2011-02-23T07:56:00.002-05:00

.We were taking Miles for a walk and she had to "grab her princess" purse . She completely cracks me up lately. She is FUNNYOh, I love dressing up my real live "Baby Alive" doll. I mean, can you blame me? There is a whole new world that's been opened up me in the world of toddler fashion. Ruffle pants, mongrammed shirts, boutique clothing, pillowcase dresses, knot dresses, customs, resells...it's insane.

I bought this outfit for Leeza on facebook-from a designer that I've "liked" and she running a sale (watch out..here comes "Sucker Susan") and I loved the colors. Yeah, I think i bought it 6 or more months ago, and this is the FIRST TIME she's worn it. However, in my defense, the pants are huge. I had to roll them up. She will defintely get some longetivity out of them. That's how I sell myself on these homemade darling outfits. "Oh, but she can wear them for a long time" but, of course, then something else catches my eye, another "great deal" and I'm hooked in AGAIN...but oh well. How cute does she look? Very cute, and she garners so many compliments from people, and brings me such great joy, so, such is the price of having an fashion addicted mother.

When we were getting dressed yesterday, she was putting on her silver sparkly shoes. She told me "these are my princess shoes and I am Cinderella" These are perfect for the prince." She then asks for her coach. I told her the swagger wagon is her coach. She vehemently insisted that THE SWAGGER WAGON IS NOT A COACH". Then, she said "bippety boppety boo" oh LISTEN MOMMY, THERE IS MY FAIRY GODMOTHER. and now I will have my coach.
I LOVE HER!!

We had to get this amazing big bow from Anne-it's HUGE and heavy, so we had to put it on our hat. It's a Kaz bow...super cute right? I never thought I'd be into these huge bows. Yeah, well, I was wrong. They're super fun. :)

Such fun at Chick Fil A

2011-02-20T08:16:00.004-05:00

I think Leeza needs to be a spokesperson for Chick Fil A. It's the only face food place we frequent, and we are regulars there, at least once a week. The food is good, the atmopsphere is awesome (they even play Christian music), the play area is fun, and the prizes wit the kids meals are books. I mean, seriously....it's a mommy paradise as well.

We made the mistake once of stopping at a McDonald's on the way home from Orlando to go potty, and Leeza was hungry. I got her chicken nuggets in a happy meal and she took one bite and said "Oooh mommy, this is NOT Chick Fil A, this is yucky" and in the trash they went. No more straying!! Although, I did try the oatmeal from McDonald's and it was good!

Anyway, after our big day at the fair, Mommy was starving because I did not partake in fair food, (besides my $6 bud light and eating the rest of Leeza's ice cream), because I was too broke after paying for the 2 rides the kids went on and my 6 buck beer.. So, off to Chick fil A we went. It was not the one we frequent because we were not near home, but my handy dandy Swagger Wagon navigation system just allows me to type CHICK FIL A and up come my options. I LOVE THIS CAR! Anyway-I digrees. We ate, and Leeza of course went to play. She met these twin 3 year old boys and they were so hysterical and loud and cute. I had a great time talking to their mom and dad and their mom took such cute pictures and she even followed up and emailed me them! I love meeting new friends too!!! I really love these candid shots she got.

First beach trip this year and my FAIR lady :)

2011-02-19T23:22:00.003-05:00

The weather has changed dramatically and it's now HOT and BEACH WEATHER! I found Leeza the CUTEST suit at Target in the BIG GIRLS SECTION! She's now an extra small and she looks EXTRA ADORABLE if you ask her very non biased mom. :)

I am a fan on the tankini with the adjustable top and the cute lil add on skirt coverup. :) The water was FREEZING but Leeza still played in it, and made 2 new friends. She cracks me up-she loves to meet new kids and is always making friends. She's very social..wonder where she learned that? :) She was playing with this lil girl she met and she brought a few of her lil princess figurines. The girl tried to grab some and Leeza got them out of her reach, and pointed to a sign on the beach and told her "That sign says NO SHARING YOUR PRINCESSES". While I found this hyserterical and quite witty (cuz I will tell her that signs say "this says lil girls can't touch , only mommy's, etc), but I told her NO, actually, the sign said that if you don't share you beach toys with your new friends, your mommy takes them away" so, she shared. :)

I can't believe how much sun we got at the beach. No more beach trips without hats!

Another "first" was a trip to the fair. Heck, I don't think I have been to a fair since maybe middle school-when we got "fair days". It was pretty fun I guess, a pretty day-just really expensive and I like Busch Gardens or Disney better. However, we were nice mommies and got the kids $20 worth of tickets that got them a whole 2 rides, some sky ride thing, and bumper boats. Leeza had a corn dog, a bite of ice cream (she is all about the sweets then only takes a bite or two so Mommy HAS TO FINISH IT) and then I wonder why I can't lose any weight....
I was happy to have my $6 can of bud light. For the fair, one must have a beer. It tasted so good, it was worth the price of a 6 pack. :)

Funny Leeza

2011-02-15T08:10:00.004-05:00

Looking so grown up isn't she?

I am trying to do better about writing down all the funny things Leeza does so I can remember them and go back and read when she's driving me insane. :)She has changed SO MUCH in the last few weeks-her mind is exploding and she is SO DAD GUM HILARIOUS! (AND YES, AT TIMES, BEYOND INFURIATING) BUT i'm not going to digress...

We were at dinner Saturday night at a mexican joint with Karen, and Ryan and Tyler, joined by Joe and Sean. A dude who was dressed just like Colonial Sanders (from KFC) came over and sat in our booth. He was doing balloon animals and magic tricks and such. He sits down next to Leeza, and she looks him over and says "You can't eat our food, there's not enough for you.". I love how my girl is NO PUSHOVER, particulary when it comes to her chips and salsa and margerita on the rocks, with salt (OH WAIT, that was my drink). Anyway, he tells her he's not going to eat her food, but he wants to show her a magic trick. She tells him "well, my friend Ryan is going potty right now but he'll be right back". I loved it that she was looking out for her buddy. He did a magic trick anyway and said he'd be back, and made her a swan ballooon. She looks at it with mild irration and said "WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE ANYWAY?"

Oh Leeza..next on our agenda is a lil diplomacy my friend. :)
Even the most well dressed girl, can turn ugly without the accompanying beauty on the INSIDE!!

Leeza opens her Valentines :)

2011-02-14T14:39:00.001-05:00

Not so much on big butts..but we like big bows!!

2011-02-14T11:59:00.001-05:00

i like big bows and I can not lie
You other mama's can't deny
That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty bow
And it barely even shows
It's just not very FUN
...You know you need a BIG ONE
You gotta be bold with accessories
the bigger the better if you please
Cuz you notice if you see a bow that's BOLD
before you know it that thang is SOLD!!
but you know she rocks that outfit she's wearing
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
so onto etsy i go..
to get my girl on the toddler and tiara's show

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-14T10:51:00.004-05:00

I love Valentines day!! I love getting valentines day apparel (for me and Leeza-the boys won't wear it) and getting everyone lil tokens of my love. :)

My smallest valentine finally woke up at 10 am this morning-but her party at school doesn't start until 10:45 and so she didn't miss out. My older Valentine is out of school today, and had a lock in at church last night. He came home at 8 am, got his valentines gifts, and promptly went to bed!!

Joe doesn't do Valentines day, and says it's a Hallmark holiday. I don't care-he still gets a sweet card, and a present, and I bought myself something from him. This year it was new running shoes and a running outfit. THANKS HONEY!!!

Leeza didn't have time to open her present, so when she comes home from school jacked up on sugar, she will get to open hers.

Please, won't you be, my valentine!! :)

Happy Leeza

2011-02-12T10:06:00.003-05:00

Oh my gosh, I love this girl. We went thru such an awful behavioral phase with sleep issues a few weeks ago, and I was so distraught. However, I think a lot of that was due to a massive growth spurt because lately (and I am not delusional, I know she's not perfect), she has been so sweet and perceptive and just downright adorable. I am amazed at her conversational skills and her memory and her vocabulary. She is not always sweet, but she has a fun quirky lil personality and she's just FUN to be around. Yesterday at Busch Gardens, she was running and GROWLING like a lion. She scared this lil boy who looked at her like she was a freak while he held tight onto his mom's hand. :) That's ok Leeza-your mom isn't what others call normal either. :)

One example of the growth I've noticed. The other night, she wanted an english muffin, and ate the whole thing. Then she ate a bunch of triscuits and laughing cow cheese, and asked for another English muffin. I made it for her and 20 minutes went by and she's eating more triscuits with laughing cow and no english muffin. I took a bite and she got MAD and told me "Mommy, do not eat my dinner or I will get VERY ANGRY WITH YOU". I apolgized and told her that she wasn't eating it, so I took a bite and I was sorry. Fifteen more minutes, more triscuits, so yeah, MAYBE Mommy is a pig and took a few more bites, and the next thing I knew half of the english muffin was GONE. Clearly, Mommy has no food boundaries and no manners either. Leeza noticed and said 'MOMMY, I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO GET ANGRY IF YOU ATE MY ENLIGH MUFFIN". I said, "yes, i know, but you weren't eating it and it was getting cold". Then she totally changes her angry voice and says "Well, ACTUALLY, MOMMY, I think you were probably very hungry, and that is why you ate it. I am not angry anymore and i hope you are not hungry anymore. I will share with you!"

I mean, seriously, I'm a horrid mom for eating her food, when she asked me not too, yet she forgives me and shares, though she had every right to be "angry". I love how she was in touch with her feelings. It will no doubt help her in therapy later.

Growl away Leeza-scare off those boys. :)
Here are a couple pics from our really fun day at Busch Gardens. No stroller either-she walked a LONG way. It's my new "wear the kid out" strategy. :)

Hey Leeza-HOW DO YOU FEEL?

2011-02-11T16:51:00.003-05:00

Nature Vs. Nuture? Um, CLEARLY, Nuture is huge. Leeza is so much like her spazzy mommy it's frightening.
I came home from my Ava Anderson sales conference singing this lil cheer that my dear friend Deb Gist taught me. She learned it at a Women's march in DC and you can modify the words to suit your situation. Deb is the educational commissioner in Rhode Island and we have been friends A LONG TIME (before Sean was born) and we met her for dinner. I was telling her I need an Ava cheer-and she taught me this. By the end of our sales meeting, EVERYONE knew it. And, now Leeza does too. :) GOD I LOVE HER!!

I'm just glad that at just 3 years old, she knows the safest products to use. NO HARMFUL CHEMICALS FOR HER!!! WE LOVE AVA ANDERSON!!

We also love Freestyle Friday's. We don't have anything planned-it's our fun day. Today, Leeza chose a water park. I told her it's too cold for a water park, so we went to Busch Gardens instead. We had so much fun! I love that we can leave the house by 9, be in the park at 10, and leave at 1:30 to pick up Sean at school by 3 and have a great time. Those season passes have paid for themselves several times over. We just renewed Leeza's preschool pass so she's free! HURRAY! I so value our special time together. :) We left the stroller at home she walked a TON and slept all the way to get Sean. :)

When Mommy's away...

2011-02-09T07:36:00.002-05:00

Oh the things that Leeza gets away with when Mom goes out of town.
CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THIS CALAMATY OF AN OUTFIT?
Plaid shoes (with tan, black, and red-very Burberry-esque), with striped pants (with none of the Burberry colors, may I add), RED SHIRT (again-no color that matches the pants) with a ligh pink jacket that also matches NOTHING..and the HAIR? Don't even get me started ON HER HAIR. Joe said she had a PURPLE BOW (which, um, no purple on her) but she took it out. OH MY LORD.

Leeza certainly has her stubborn moments, but one of them is NOT about what she wears. She is great about wearing the fabulous creations I get for her, and thanks me for "buying her so much pretty clothes". However, when I am gone, I can't believe the stuff her and her dad come up with.

But, that's ok..cuz once Mommy comes home, we can dress like this...

The family that runs together...

2011-01-27T17:43:00.006-05:00

Sean wanted to get in shape and lose some weight before football starts (practice starts Sunday 1/30. For about 3 weeks, Sean and I (and Leeza, in the BOB stroller) have been running for 15 minutes every day after school. Sean HATES to run. I told him it would get easier, but the first couple of weeks were tough. He was not what I'd call a "happy runner" and he didn't talk at all. Leeza and I would talk, but Sean would only "grunt" responses. One day last week, we changed our route a little bit and I didn't tell Sean our time. We ran for 16:40. He wasn't a grumpy runner, but i would not move him to the happy category either. However, I could tell it was getting easier and he was proud when I told him he ran 1:40 longer than he'd been running. We took a couple days off this week due to inclimate weather and Sean's splitting headache, but the last 2 days, we've gone. Yesterday, Sean ran 16 minutes and was pretty happy. Today-he TALKED and LAUGHED with me the whole time, and his breathing was very controlled. I was SO PROUD OF HIM! We ran for 16:40 and I would venture to say it was "fairly" effortless. Sean seemed to enjoy it.

Leeza is our little cheerleader telling us "Sean, you're almost done" and when we're done, she says "Way to Sean, good job running"

Then today, when we got home, Leeza said she wanted to go running. I get the dog, and off we go. She is running down the street with her crocs and her jeans and she ran for 14 minutes! I was seriously impressed with her endurance. She talked the whole time. Toward the end, she talked about how starving she was and how I didn't feed her lunch (and I reminded her she had 2 waffles) and then she said she wanted hot cocoa. She only stopped a couple times to look at some footprints in the concrete sidewalk and got really mad if Miles tried to keep pace with her and yelled that SHE WAS THE LINE LEADER.

I love my kids. :)

Holy Moly Growth Spurt!

2011-01-27T06:58:00.006-05:00

I knew that Leeza was growing because it seemed like 'all of a sudden' her pants were too short, and clothes that fit 2 weeks ago didn't fit anymore. Granted, she was still able to wear almost all the clothes she wore last year too, but some of those 2t jeans, in addition to being capri's now, also won't button!

Another indicator was that we started having some real issues with Leeza's sleep patterns. She is a girl who NEEDS her sleep-and while she is much more of a "night owl", since she no longer naps, I was having a hard time getting her to sleep before 11 each night, and she was sleeping until past 10! Some mornings she's wake up uncharacterically early, and on those days....her mood was just not sunshiney! We had more melt downs, public fits, and ugly days than I care to remember. I was at my wit's end, and asked for some advice on facebook. I got over 48 comments-and some very useful advice that included GROWTH SPURTS, and her diet. Leeza was past due for her 3 year old check up and I took the opportunity to change pediatricians. While I liked her pediatricians, I just felt they were a little 'old school" when it came to my spirted lil girl and I really wanted some out of the box thinking because Leeza does NOT fit into any kind of box I've ever wrapped. :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her new doctor. I actually met him 3 years ago as he helped us with our physical paperwork for Leeza's adoption. We needed a physical and my dr was out of town and he did the exam, paperwork, and even called a notary in for us. When we got home, I was unable to get an appt with him in a timely fashion (we already had to wait 3 months for her insurance card) so I found someone else. In the meantime, I sent Jillian to see him, plus numerous friends. I was so happy when one of my friends told me he was accepting new patients. He has 3 adopted kids of his own and I just love his style and his bed side manner. When I told him about our recent sleep issues and the resulting horrid behavior issues, He confirmed what I was already thinking. I was suprised to see that Ms. Leeza has INDEED had a huge growth spurt...she went from 36 inches to 39 inches (74% on "the charts") and gained 4 lbs, from 29 lbs to 33 lbs! Plus, she has made huge cognitive leaps too...her reasoning, vocabulary, etc blows us away every day. She has not been interested in writing her name, or really drawing much besides scribbling. Then, out of the blue, we were doing sidewalk chalk in the driveway and she does an L e e z a and draws a lil stick man with head, hair, arms, legs, eyes, nose and mouth. Huh? Of course, I asked her to replicate for her daddy and she just mad scribbled instead. :) But, lots of stuff going on her that brain of hers so I can see why it might be hard to get to sleep. :) She also asked me the other day...."where were YOU born?" I said, Georgia, and she asked where Daddy and Seanie were born, and then said "i was born in Kazadon". I love how she says Kazakhstan. :) She also talks about her "kazadon disney friends" and how Nina painted her nails blue then we went on the Peter Pan ride. Her recollection on things blows me away. I love watching kids learn. :)

I started trying to figure out "what was different" in her diet too that could possible cause her new inability to settle her spunky ass down at night. There was ONE THING that was new-I let her pick out some new "gogurt" and it was Scooby Doo. One of the ingredients is RED DYE 40. Red Dye 40 is evil and can cause all kinds of issues. I am not sure if that attributed to our "days of evil" but I can guarantee I won't buy that ever again!

I am happy to report that we seem to be back on track (for now) and that for the last couple of nights Leeza has sletp from 9:15 ish to 9:15 am and our days have been much cheerier.

She is soooooooooooo funny and despite the power struggles, for the MOST part, we really enjoy her. The other morning, Sean was wetting his hair down for school (he wakes up with bed head) and Leeza asked him if "mommy was going to do a braid for school" because I wet her hair to braid it. HA!! Whenever Sean gets annoyed with her and tells her "she has no friends" she tells me "MOmmy-Seanie is saying bad words to me". One of her best freinds at school, Alana, has a new baby sister just born the other day. I asked Leeza if Alana had a baby brother or sister. Leeza told me matter of factly "She has a baby brother and his name is Jesus". Umm, whatever...she has a sister named Jaden. :)

Sean is on the 7th Harry Potter book and has been reading the series. Leeza asks him if he wants Harry Potter figurines (cuz she loves her Disney figurines) and if he wants to get some Harry Potter jammies. :) He doesn't. :) She was all about getting some matching ones but oddly Sean doesn't like to match like we do. Whatever. :)

We have been running every day for 15 minutes with Sean, as he is trying to get in shape and lose some weight before football season. He HATES RUNNING and I am REALLY proud of him for his efforts and persistence. He is a trooper and I am so impressed with his healthy eating habits and dedication. He's lost 4 lbs and he is looking good and breathing a lot easier. He is not really what I'd call a "happy runner" and doesn't like to talk much. Leeza, riding in the stroller, is a "happy rider" and likes to "be the line leader" and entertains us with saying "she is winning" and we are "losing" then she likes to ask Sean questions. Although the first week he just got annoyed and grunted, now he actually can answer her and actually laughs some. I think we've made progress. Yesterday, we ran for 16 minutes and 20 seconds. When we got close to home, my lil cheerleader said "Seanie, we're ALMOST HOME!! You are doing a good job!" Then, we got home and she tells us "Good running Seanie and Mommy, I'm so proud of you". Then she wants to go running, and she takes off down the sidewalk as I struggle to keep up. Love her enthusiasm, and I hope it keeps up because she has the endurance and energy to be a strong lil triathlete. :)

Leeza's Christmas concert at school 12/17

2011-01-25T15:46:00.003-05:00

I am finally able to start catching up on Ms. Leeza's 'digital scrapbook'. She had missed 3 weeks of school due to a horrid cough that turned into an eye and ear infection etc, so she missed a lot of "practice" for her lil preschool's concert. However, she did pretty well and knew most of the words. I was a proud mommy. I love her lil preschool. It's such a cute lil school and her teachers are awesome. Ms. Kara and Ms. Cindy are so sweet and this is their 2nd year to have Leeza and I love that they "get her" and don't get mad I let her sleep and we often come to school an hour late. :)

She came home singing "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel, I made it out of playdough" which made us crack up. Yesterday, one of her lil friends' Alana's mom had a baby. I asked her if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a boy and his name was Jesus. HA!

Leeza wants to have a "toxic party"

2011-01-25T14:16:00.006-05:00

Two weeks ago, I had a girls night out and Leeza stayed home with Daddy. When I left, she was rather engrossed in Scooby Doo and didn't really realize I was leaving. At bath time, she got mad and wanted to know why I wasn't back. Joe told her I had a "ladies night" and she was VERY upset that she was not included because as she told her daddy "MOmmy is a girl, and I am a girl" and I should be at the ladies party. I love her so much. She can be a real pain in the butt, but man, can she be cute!!!

So, the next night, she packed up her suitcase and told me were were going to have a girls night and our own "toxic party". I started working for a fabulous new company in September called Ava Anderson NOn toxic. All her products score a "zero" on the cosmetic database and we threw out all our previous toxic products-including shampoo and chapstick. Leeza recognizes the Ava Anderson logo but she calls it "toxic". I need to get to to add the NON to that part. :)

Leeza's version of the Scooby Doo song

2011-01-25T14:10:00.001-05:00

oh my.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-17T08:39:00.027-05:00

Ahhh I am so behind on getting this blog updated, but today is ONLY January 17th, 3 weeks after Christmas, and while we have a very stormy Martin Luther King day today, and no school, and both kids are sleeping, I am trying to get caught up because this is my digital scrapbook. It also makes me realize that though I have days that I feel VERY UNACCOMPLISHED, I am reminded that I do place a lot of effort on activities and fun for Leeza (and Sean) and it makes me feel less unproductive. :)

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was sad too, because it was our first Christmas without Nana, Joe's mom. She passed away in September of this year. However, her grandkids really stepped it up to make sure her traditions were honored. Jillian made the calarami, and zaplas, and smelts on Christmas Eve, and Sean learned this year to make Papa's famous Christmas cookies. He spent many days at Papa's rolling dough and making cookies. Leeza and Joey and I went over to Papa's for a couple days too and learned how. Sean taught me..I had never made "homemade cookies" where you roll the dough out, use cookie cutters, and decorate cookies before. It was actually really fun, and very special to have Sean so invested in helping Papa, as he hurt is back and was unable to make them. Leeza even got in on the action by decorating them with sprinkles. :) I am really really proud the way my children (and of course my amazing husband) stepped up and helped Papa thru his first Christmas in 56+ years without his wife and how we all came together. That's what Christmas is all about--that is dressing Leeza up in gay apparel and celebrating Christ's birth! :)

I love decking the halls and donning gay apparel. I have several Christmas shirts and a Christmas sweater myself, but of course, the queen of gay apparel is Ms. Leeza Grace herself. LOVE LOVE LOVE dressing her up...and with her attitude, I totally deserve the joy that I get in dressing her up. That is the one thing she never fights me on...she loves to look cute and tells me "thanks for buying me SO MUCH FUN CLOTHES MOMMY". The gay apparel brigage begins the day after Thanksgiving and continues until Dec 25th. Last year, I went NUTS on ebay and got too many things-but all homemade items at great prices. I did buy a couple things this year, but I controlled myself much better and she was able to wear almost everything from last year too!!! She spread so much Christmas cheer everywhere we went. :)

Christmas Eve, we went to our church's family service. It was nice, and we got our picture taken by the tree, as is tradition.:)

Christmas eve was awesome. Jillian made Nana's calamari (squid) a few weeks prior, and froze it, and I had it in the crockpot all day. It's Nana's tradition and Jillian has been her apprentice for the last couple of years. After church, Papa and Paul came over and Jillian and Papa coooked the zaplas (fried dough-another Italian tradition). It did Papa good to be involved. :)

Another Nana tradition is "smelts". I have never really cared for them, but I tried one. They weren't bad! Paul proudly mixed them in the flour while Jilly Bean "fried em up".

Joey made his killer salad!

The table was beautiful. I used my mom's china. Whoa...first Thanksgiving, now Christmas.

The stockings were hung, near the chimney with care...

In hopes that St. Nicholas..soon would be there...

Of course, Leeza is the last kid up on Christmas morning..around 9:30. She walked out and said "Mommy...WHO LEFT ALL THESE TOYS?" I said "Santa Claus came" to which she responded "Who are they for?" She cracks me up. Leeza wanted "every princess toy there is" and I think she got that. She also got a CARS ramp that she loves just as much, and a dollhouse. The talking Cinderella vanity mirror is a HOOT! We had a very nice Christmas day, cooking, playing with new toys, and chilling out. I felt very blessed indeed. :)

Sean was a trooper playing princess with Leeza.

Behold my homemade cobbler.....and Leeza in her new princess Snuggie and Sean is in his Snuggie of yesteryear....awwwww...they match!

And my favorite picture. This was Leeza at Christmas dinner. She fell asleep, bread in hand. All in all, a very very good day, indeed.

A party fit for a princess!!!

2010-12-28T07:11:00.013-05:00

Ahhh the princesses prepare for a birthday party unlike non other....because when Lori Printy plans a princess party for her girls...you bet it's OVER THE TOP PRINCESS PERFECTION!!! What better place for a princess' 4th birthday party then than Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom, complete with your princessy friends , also born in Kazakhstan, and their crazy mother's who dress them in princess gown to go to Disney? To quote Finley's mommy, Sandi, who said "I NEVER thought I'd be "one of those mom's" who brought their daughter to Disney in a princess dress". :) Frankly, I never thought about it but I have to say, I am a Disney lover myself, and have shed many happy tears watching my daughter and my son light up at the magic of the Disney. Sean and I spent many many happy days at Disney but this is my first foray into the world of princesses and it's' FUN!!

However, Leeza is more like a mean stepsister or the wicked stepmother than a sweet princess-but she can look the part WHEN SHE WANTS TOO. :) I don't see Leeza content to just wait around for her prince..she is not one to be pushed around, so, I suppose, her sassy lil defiant nature will serve her well. :)

Leeza was wearing her glass slippers, but since it was freezing cold (hence her hat), and she was running to keep up with the other Cinderella (Finley) and Sleeping Beauty (Sadie) before we even arrived at the Magic Kingdom to see Macy (Sleeping Beauty) and Nina the birthday princess (Snow White) all done up from the Bippety Boppity Boutique, we had to wear our Christmas boots instead, which I know do not match. Dart was disappointed in me, and we do have silver sparkly shoes that would have worked, but I did not think of that when I was packing, so please forgive me. :)

We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom, and BEHOLD...the Birthday princess....

and her sister, Macy Macy Smiley Facy, who wasn't so sure about this princess hoopla...

The Magic Kingdom was as crazy crowded as I'VE EVER SEEN IT! It was nuts!! We had to wait awhile to be seated at the castle, but since I was with my "besties", and our princesses could run, all was well with the world. :)

Once "summoned" into the royal castle, we got to take pictures with Cinderella. That was delightful. :)

The girls got to sit on the outside of the table for optimum princess coverage so they could get hugs and autographs as the princesses came around. We saw Belle (the nicest one), Snow White, Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty) and Ariel. The food was great and the company was even better. It was awesome seeing how excited the girls got to see the princesses.

After our yummy and special lunch, we tried to go do the park,but it was so unbelievably crowded we could barely walk, SO, we headed back to the Printy's hotel room where Nina gave all the princesses makeovers. It was hysterical. We had so much fun. :)

We decided to hit the parks with the Printy boys so we could ride some rides. We ended up staying and doing the freezing magic kingdom (Sadie, Leeza, Kristan and I) with Nolan, Keifer, Aidan, and Keifer's friend Ryan) until 1:30 am and got the girls back at our hotel at 2 am. Yeah..we're great parents aren't we? Two nights out until 2 am....but hey-I'm the kind mom who doesn't let Prime nap time spoil a good time, even if I have to deal with a tired cranky girl for days to come. :) What a wonderful time we had. I am so behind on posting the pictures but it makes me glad, once again, to have the goal to keep the blog updated for Leeza because as I go back to look at pictures and write about the fun times we had, it makes me more than ever grateful for such fun friends and great memories we're able to make with our girls!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

2010-12-27T08:31:00.015-05:00

One of the best things about Leeza is that I have made some amazing friends along the way.

Ever since last May, we have been planning a trip to Disney to meet the Printy family for Nina's 4th birthday party at Disney. Nina's birthday is on Christmas day, but her fabulous over the top mommy planned a week at Disney the week before Christmas, and invited US to attend a princess lunch at the CASTLE in honor of Nina's Bea's special day. The night before, we were all going to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We were SO excited. We all attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party 2 years ago, and we had so much fun. Sandi and Finley, who live in Orlando, joined us, and Kristan and Sadie drove all the way up from Navarre-a whole 8 hours.

Kristan and Sadie drove up Saturday and spent the night with us, and we left on Sunday for Orlando. :) I got Sadie and Leeza matching outfits so we could match Nina Bea and Macy Bel, as Lori always dresses them alike. :) Lori and I are matching Gemini twins with a penchant for "over the topness" I have to say, the girls looked "OVER THE TOP ADORABLE!!" Kristan and I are also "scarily " alike,and trying to get out out the door to Orlando with all our stuff was so comical I was laughing so hard tears were coming out of my eyes. With our keen sense of direction and "blonde moments", it's a miracle we made it. I laugh as I think of our many "Susan and Kristan" moments. :)

In true Kristan and Susan fashion, neither of us had purchased our tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party and we found out a week before, they were sold out. We were so aggravated, but once again, the "Perfect Printy's" saved the day. The day of the party, Sunday, Dart went to guest services and explained we had all planned this since May, and all the kids were adopted from Kazakhstan, and the stupid Floridians didn't get tickets in time. Due to Dart's charming personality, they sold him 4 tickets and we got in!! It was so magical, I cried several times. Just seeing the look of wonderment on Leeza's face, which frankly, matched mine, and being their with such great friends and our adopted angels that we prayed so long for, was just "perfect". It was FREEZING cold and just made the snow on Main street seem that much more real. I had packed my coat, gloves, hat, but was wearing my fit flops-so my toes were pretty much frozen, but it was so worth it.

Check out Leeza's face when she first saw the castle all lit up with lights...

Leeza resumed her love affair with Nolan. I predict they will get married, but now Leeza may have to fight Sadie for him. I told Lori that Leeza has turned fiesty since turning 3, and that Nolan will no doubt not find her as "angel-ly" as he remembers. He said that "she's still fun but she spits more". LOL!

The parade was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Seriously, it was worth standing there freezing. I am such a sucker for the Disney magic, and this was no exception. I loved the parade-it was really magical. I think I was as excited as the girls!!! Before the parade, the girls got to meet Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from Princess and the Frog. Leeza asked to see her shoes. It cracks me up that she asked each princess she met if she could see their shoes. :)

The girls are SO SO SO SO CUTE TOGETHER and their mommies are pretty fun too. :)

Ahh, the parade. Everyone loves a parade. :) Especially at the most magical place on earth at CHRISTMAS TIME!!

After the parade, we ate dinner and hung out at the park and rode rides, getting our girls back to our hotel at 2 am. Yeah, we're GREAT MOM'S aren't we? But you know what? Life is short, and this is the stuff memories are made of. They may not remember (but they have pictures and blogs and facebook to look at) but I cherish these memories with my children. We started the next day at Magic Kingdom with Nina's Birthday party at the castle with the princesses, but that is another post, for perhaps another day. Momma's got post Christmas laundry to do. :)

Breakfast with Santa on 12/11/2010

2010-12-27T07:46:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, 12/11, Leeza and I were invited to go have breakfast with Santa at the Museum of Fine Arts with our friend Ellery and her mom Corrine! We had a really nice time and it was good thing we were invited, because I had attempted to take Leeza to go see Santa at International Mall the day before, on Friday, but she decided to behave badly, so she lost her privelege to see the big man. The line was long to see Santa, so, we went to play at the play area first. Leeza met a lil boy her age and they got along so well. He gave her a car to play with. Leeza started throwing the car up in the air, and I told her to stop, because she came close to hitting 2 ladies holding a baby. I explained to her why we don't throw cars and she said she'd stop. Of course, 5 seconds later, she threw it again, so I took it away from her. After apologizing to the ladies and babies she almost nailed, and much drama and tears, she PROMISED she would not throw it again. About 10 minutes later, a really nice lady approached me and said "you may want to take the car away from your daughter, she just wacked my son in the mouth, and he's pretty tough, but he's bleeding". UM, FABULOUS LEEZA! Of course, made her apologize, look in his eyes to see the tears, put on her shoes and we left immediately, with Leeza screaming all the way, HEY!

On the way out, the See's candy lady was in the mall with a kiosk selling candy and giving away lollipops. She asked if she could give Leeza one and I replied "No, thank you, she is not behaving properly today". The lady was older, and said, "aww she can have it later". I replied "she already had one, and got mad and threw it, and she hit a lil boy in the play area'. The nice older lady replied "Oh, well he probably had it coming". WHAT?? I said, "no, he didn't.", and thinking to myself, lady, you are on my last nerve". I was buying some lollipops for Sean (his favorite) and Leeza kept trying to grab a lollipop out of the basket. I put her in time out at my feet and made her sit there. The lady said "Wow, you are tough". I said, "no, i'm really not, but she is a very precocious 3 year old and I have to keep tight reins on her". The lady replies "well, my son is 41 and i really spoiled my children, i guess i forget". I wanted to scream at her "oh honey, she is VERY SPOILED but MYOB!!"

Anyway, enough about that. I was glad we were given another chance to see Santa the next day, and thankfully, sweet Leeza re-emerged.

She was so excitd to see him she ran and jumped...

She then proceeded to totally let me get the cutest pictures, without faces, or running, or doing all the other annoying things to prevent a cute picture that Leeza is infamous for. :)

She really looked so cute I could hardly stand it. I know she does this on purpose. When she knows I'm at my wit's end, she decides she best turn on the sweetness and get mommy back in her court. It works like a charm!

Based on the motherload of gifts Santa left for Leeza, I am guessing she won him over too. :)

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-26T23:28:00.004-05:00

The front of Christmas card 2010...

I have SO much to catch up on....from all the fun December Christmas things we got to do (Breakfast with Santa, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party at Disney, LUNCH with the princesses for Nina Bea's 4th birthday, and of course the joy of Christmas Eve and Christmas day itself) BUT, it's 11:30 the day after Christmas and this momma is tired.

I will make sure to make time to do a couple blog posts on all the fun things we got to do in December, but until then, enjoy our 2010 Christmas card...called "Keepin it Real"

The back of Christmas card 2010...

Such a show off!

2010-11-28T21:59:00.004-05:00

It was so cute tonight, Leeza comes in the kitchen, donned in her yellow rain boots and her Kazakh hat, in her angel dress she wore to church this morning. She grabbed my hand, pulled out a lil chair, and said "You have to watch my show", and I grabbed my camera, and, this is what we got. :) I love how she says "Kazadon" instead of "Kazakhstan". :)

She cracks me up!!
After the show, she was hungry so she had some corn pops for dinner-because I am ONE AMAZING MOM. Plus, she did not want the HOMEMADE turkey soup I made from the turkey carcass and I cooked my @$$ off Thanksgiving so don't think she's ALWAYS eating just cereal...but actually she loves cereal so she does it it a lot lately. :)

As she was chowing down, I was just overcome with her spunk and her beauty. She is a lil pistol for sure...but she was pretty sweet today. I taught her lil Sunday school class and when I told her I was going to be her teacher she said "But I LIKE MY OTHER TEACHER"...um, thanks sweetie. At first, she tried to bolt out of the classroom twice and meanly grabbed some playdough out of another lil girls hand. The other teacher looked "shocked" and told me Leeza never acts like that. We went to the bathroom and had a lil "Come to Jesus" meeting and I told her if she can't be nice she will go home and stay in her room ALL DAY. Miracously, she was an angel the rest of the class and the day, really. :)

Happy National Adoption Day

2010-11-22T21:33:00.005-05:00

Saturday, November 20th was National Adoption Day. As a spur of the moment decision, I took Sean and Leeza to Busch Gardens. We have our annual passes and free parking, so it was an inexpensive fun day to enjoy the day. Joe went into the office, and visted with his Dad, as he is not a big theme park kinda guy. Here is my faceboook post for the day. :)

Happy Adoption Day-what a wonderful blessing
So much joy goes into the lil girl I love dressing

I love that adoption has changed our all lives
We've met so many great Kaz kids, and husbands,and wives
...
I found my new passion-and met so many AMAZING friends I adore
It's opened my eyes making it impossible to live like before

EVERY child deserves to be loved and cherished and adored
And I am honored to serve on the 2 Hearts for Hope Board

Determined to make a difference somehow
There's so many ways you can help...ASK ME HOW!

God bless you Leeza-you were born in my heart
You're a true gift from God-a masterpiece work of art

We had a perfect day. The weather was AWESOME, it wasn't hot, and the kids were amazing together. Leeza was sweet, and rode the Grover Roller Coaster 4 times and was very brave riding all the rides that she could ALL BY HERSELF. :)
The Christmas decorations were out and the Christmas music was piped thru. It was a really fun day. :)

Don we now our Thanksgiving apparel....

2010-11-19T20:33:00.004-05:00

Believe it or not...I only bought Leeza one outfit this year for Thanksgiving-two of the ones she had from last year. Oh wait, I just remembered another one that she will wear next week that's new (but the skirt is multipurpose), and we have a turkey shirt from last year too that I didn't get a picture yet this year.

I LOVE dressing her up for the holidays. Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-Valentines

DON WE NOW ARE GAY APPAREL...falalala la, la LA LA LA

Oh, and I borrowed my dear friend Laura's glue gun and added extra ribbon to her bow holders cuz I didn't have enough room to hang the bows. I have been working on this bow collection for 2 years...and really only added the big flowers this year, plus a few that I bought as a fundraiser for 2 Hearts for Hope that Ann made, so those don't count cuz they were for our charity. :) I am embarrassed a bit...

Leeza's Thanksgiving Performance at Preschool

2010-11-19T18:05:00.004-05:00

Oh, I was really proud of Leeza this year. Last year, she refused to stand up with her friends and sing and instead ran and sat in my lap. I wasn't sure how'd she do this year cuz she's so moody-one never knows. She's a mystery! She walked down the aisle holding her best friend-Alana's-hand and they were so cute!

She started off so well...I was so proud and overcome with emotion and was wiping tears away. What an EMO! She sang, she did the motions, she was super adorable. Then..she saw me and waved HI MOMMY! then, REALLY LOUD...HI MOMMY, I LOVE YOU!! It was awfully sweet, but then she RAN from the kids and sat beside me in the pew and told me "I'm going to sit with you now". I told her no, she had to go sing with her friends and if she did, she could have chocolate. She looked at me and said 'Do you have chocolate WITH YOU?" I told her YES, and she said "is it in your purse, and what kind of chocolate" JEEZ LEEZA-JUST GO SING!

So, back to sing she went but then she came back a song later and asked "Can I have cookies instead?" :)

and here is the ONLY CHILD WHO RAN OFF THE STAGE AREA. Yeah, that's my kid.

At the Thanksgiving feast afterwards, she played with her food, stabbed the lady next to her with her fork, and tore up her paper placemat, so she didn't get to have any dessert. Yea, lucky me. I must get told at least 3 times a day "she's a handful". yes, she is. BUT I LOVE HER ANYWAY!!

Lil Miss Attitude!

2010-11-08T07:11:00.003-05:00

I love my daughter to pieces, I truly do, but man oh man, since turning 3, I have a real headstrong, high energy, doesn't take no for an answer lil diva on my hands!! She is a PIECE OF WORK! She has mad endurance and I am thinking she is going to be one heck of a future triathlete. I do work hard to keep her busy and active but nothing seems to be enough. She will sit down and focus though and read books, so I am not worried about ADHD , but she is just a high energy lil girl and she is HEADSTRONG!

I start to feel validated when people we meet always comment "wow, she is sure is busy" and "Man, she is a lot of energy" and "She has some attitude". Yes, i know she does, I know, i know, i know.

I adore this lil dress I had made for her. I wanted a Christmas dress that showed the real "reason for the season" and one of my favorite ladies (that I met on ebay last year of all places) made this and I am so thrilled with the way it turned it. It's so perfect for any time of year, and so she wore it to Sunday school yesterday. She may have attitude, but hey-she's cute , right? :)
God help me raise this child to her potential without breaking her spirit! I admire her tenacity and her will, but it's very hard sometimes to be her mommy!! She wants what she wants when she wants it and is VOCAL AND DEMANDING! I am now reallly really realizing how easy I had it (and have it) with laid back Seanie. :)

I took her to church last night too because Sean's youth group had a parent meeting. I took her to get dinner (provided at church)at set her plate down and she told me "Ok, mommy, you go now. I will be fine, I will eat my dinner and play with these girls. Give me a kiss and you go". Well, ok then missy!! :)

Trick or Treat 2010

2010-11-06T09:15:00.006-04:00

I love Halloween! It's so much fun, and our neighborhood is a blast. Everyone sits outside in their driveway and it's such a fun atmosphere. Once again, like last year, Leeza walked over 2 miles. She and I went as "pink M&M's" and Sean was Paulie D from "Jersey Shore" with this Jersey shore wig and his "Gym, Tan, Laundry" shirt. :) Jillian came over, and was a scary witch, and Joe put on his "slasher wig" to pass out candy. Fun was had by all. Leeza was all about the candy, but if it wasn't chocolate, she'd give it back. Sigh...she needs some manners. I am working on her manners but she is defintely a strong willed girl with some MAJOR ATTITUDE! I am finding I have to really change my parenting style with her.

At once house, a man answered the door with a scary mask on. Leeza points her finger, steps in their front door, and tells him 'HEY! YOU ARE SCARY!" He takes his mask off and apologizes, and she proceeds to "drill him" for 5 minutes, asking him if he was a pirate, and if so, where was his sword, then berating him for the scary skeleton hanging in his entry way and demanding to know "why the skeleteon didn't have feet". They were highly amused with the bossy Pink M&M and told me that they were pretty sure they just met the next President of the United States".

Leeza defintely doesn't know a stranger-and loves to play with kids. She walks up to kids at the park, introduces herself, and asks them to play. She loves to play with Sean and his friends, and last night, at Sean's fall festival, she was inventing games and getting kids to play with her. I have to say-as difficult as she can be-I admire her tenacity. She is the most confident child and does not have any problem with getting what she wants. I admit, it can be maddening (and very very embarassing) as her mother, but man oh man, I can only imagine she will be a force to reckoned with. If she is like at 3, what about as she gets older? YIKES!

Here are some pictures from the night. We had a blast, and Leeza has asked everynight "why it's not still Halloween, because, it's dark outside". :)

Spencer and Craig, two of Sean's buddies, were M&M's too...but I still think Leeza and I were cuter. :) My Halloween started off early..my BFF Jill and I ran a half marathon that morning-both dressed as pink M&M's. It was fun and a great way to start the candy fest with a lil 13 mile run. :)

Joe's rockin the "Slash wig"

Paulie D has an attitude!!!

The boys did a cute job with our decorations I thought. Leeza liked them. :)

Hunsader Farm Pumpkin Festival 2010

2010-10-30T19:55:00.003-04:00

This year was our 2nd visit the Pumpkin Festival in Hunsader Farms. It is about an hour away and so much fun for the kids and this year, thankfully, it was not NEARLY as hot and miserable as last year was. It was still hot in the sun, and there is limited shade and the ground is sand and dirt so you get FILTHY dirty but it's still so much fun. The day started off a little rough and I seriously considered not taking Leeza at all but we were meeting freinds and I didn't want to leave them high and dry. Leeza, my every moody daughter, was "kicked out of ballet class" on Saturday morning. Granted, she was pretty exhaused as we had been NON STOP GO action all week long, and Friday was a late night trick or treating in Safety Harbor then a rec center, and Leeza was to bed late and up early. She just kept going in and out of class and they gave her one more chance, and she blew it.

The kids had a blast at the Pumpkin Festival anyway and I was glad we went. I think we'll call ballet quits for now until she can learn how to act. :)

Feeding the goats was a huge hit with the kids!

Halloween Festivities!

2010-10-29T23:12:00.009-04:00

The Halloween fun has begun....Leeza missed her class Halloween parade on Wednesday because I have to pick her up 15 minutes early to make Kindermusik by 12:15, SO, we came back today, a non preschool day, just in time for the parade. She wanted to wear her Cinderella dress, that was not really for Halloween, but because her mommy is a sucker for a pretty princess dress in the Disney store. :) Actually, we got the dress because we are invited to a special birthday party AT THE CASTLE at Disney in December and one MUST wear a princess dress to dine with the princesses.

Anyway, Leeza was not acting very Cinderella right during her parade. She was more along the lines of Drizella or Anstasia, the bratty stepsisters. First she wouldn't pose for the class picture, then she wouldn't walk in the parade unless I held her hand. At the end of the parade, she got mad and kicked her shoes off and tried to run back into the school. Who knows why? She is soooo moody. But then 5 seconds latear, she's happy go lucky again. Weirdo!!

We took the kids to Main Street in Safety Harbor to trick or treat at the businesses, then to the rec center for games and fun. The kids had a blast! I am so lucky to have such good friends with kids the same age there-abouts as Leeza.
Ryan was the cop, and Karen was shooting a wedding, so Karen's mom took Ryan and Kari was ONE HOT COWGIRL with her Darth Vader son Mason, who just turned 4. We took the kids last year and it was SO stinkin hot , we were all drenched with sweat. Today was MUCH cooler and less humid, it was actually quite pleasant. After we hit all the businesses for candy (and Mommy got a Landshark), we headed to the rec center for more fun, slides, bouncy house things and games. It was really a lot of fun! These kids are so lucky...they never had all this stuff when we were little.
Leeza wore her "real" halloween costume...a Pink M&M. It was made by a dear friend that I met on Ebay last year and she makes precious clothing. She also made ME a pink M&M costume to run in a Halloween Half Marathon. I don't look nearly as cute as Leeza though. :)

Leeza meets her Great Grandma!!

2010-10-23T21:11:00.018-04:00

My grandma turned 90 on October 16th and we all flew into Phoenix for the big celebration! I had not seen my Grandma since we left for Kazakhstan 2 years ago. She had never met Leeza. It was such a wonderful celebration. She looks AMAZING and her memory is still sharp as a tack. I am really praying that I got some of her genes. :) It was a wonderful celebration and my aunt did a great job coordinating it all. As little girls dressed up in fancy dresses do, Leeza "stole" the show...all the ladies in Royal Oaks retirement center were "oohing and ahhing" over the lil girl dressed up like a princess. However, I was MOST proud of Sean. He sat at a differnet table from us when we arrived Friday night and went to Olive Garden with everyone, and a different table at the birthday lunch the next day. Everyone that met him came and complimented us on how friendly, adult, and conversational he was with people he didn't know. I was really proud of him. Leeza has a ways to go in that department. :)

Since we flew all the way to Arizona, we decided we should stay a couple extra days and see the sights. We drove to Sedona on Sunday night and spent Monday at the Grand Canyon, then Tuesday out and about Sedona, then back to Phoenix for a visit with the Tennens, and their daughter Rylie, another Kaz cutie who was adopted from Astana.
Taking a 3 year old to Grand Canyon and Sedona was probably not the best idea I've ever had, but it was so breathtakingly beautiful and such a wonderful change of scenery for the Floridians it was still worth it, even though Sean and Joe say they will NEVER GO ON VACATION WITH LEEZA AGAIN UNTIL SHE'S 10!

Even though Leeza was kind of a PITA (Pain In the A$$), I did love having Sean away from his school, friends, xbox, and Leeza away from her princess movies, normal routine because they played so cute together. Sean is really a sweet boy..and really good with his sister. When she wanted carried and I was like "NO, YOU CAN WALK", her big brother would always carry her. She is a lucky lil girl. Of course, he also told her she was "challenged, had no friends, and is spiteful" when she acted like a diva, and wouldn't listen. She just loves to TAKE OFF, as in, open the hotel room door and go down the hall. Lordy, she keeps us on our toes. :)

As we've now been home for 4 days, I'm already forgetting what a pain Leeza was and just remembering what a special time we had as a family. :) I am sure this is why I don't remember Sean and all the antics he pulled at 3, but I do think he was much more chill than his wild and crazy sister. :)

Sedona was BEAUTIFUL! We took a pink jeep tour, and Leeza was actually really good, confined to car seat and just seemed to chill and take in the beautiful scenery! The lil town of Sedona is beautiful and quaint, but Leeza is not very adept at "looking ONLY with her eyes". :)

The end of our trip was also a highlight--we got to visit with the Tennen family...the spunky Rylie, age 3 1/2 , born in Astana, and her mom Sara (pregnant with her brother or sister due May 1st) and her hubby Adam. The girls got a long immediately and they had a blast playing at the park, then we had a quick dinner. It was a perfect way to end our trip. :)

Busy girls on the go!

2010-10-12T21:47:00.006-04:00

Leeza and I have been having so much fun. We are never home, and Leeza is no longer napping, so I really have very little free time but it's VERY IMPORTANT to me to keep up with her blog, so I'm going to try to document everything we've been up to.

School is going great. She is doing so well in the same 2 year old class she was in last year and it is a perfect fit. She loves her teachers, and they love her. She has a BFF named Alana, and she stayed an extra hour for the first time, from 12-1 for "lunch bunch". She has a blast eating lunch and playing with her friends. This week, she stayed until one both Monday and Tuesday. That gives her 4 hours at school and gives mommy more time to get stuff done, so it's a win-win. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her school.
All the hard work putting her bows back in after she threw them out has paid off. She now keeps them in, and will even wear headbands and hats with huge flowers.
She is so much fun to dress up. I still receive the most joy ever from dressing up my lil doll. :)

Leeza is doing SO MUCH BETTER in ballet and gymnastics. The 4th time seemed to be the charm. She was a real nightmare the first few times. I was so embarrassed and I wanted to pull her out. However, Leeza is the kind of gal who takes a while to adjust, so I am glad I held out. In fact, her ballet teacher "thanked me" for not pulling her out because she said she sees so many mom's pull their kids out before they have time to adjust.
After gymnastics on Thursday's, we found a new activity called "Jungle Boogie" that one of our kindermusic mommy friends told us about. It's a hike for us, about a 45 minute drive, but it's so fun. It's at a nature park, and they have a story, a craft, than a nature walk. We met a darling lil girl named Alexsandria and her mommy Mila, from the Ukraine. They speak Russian! It's really neat talking to her.

On Friday's, we save for our "fun day". We have zero planned activities. The last 2 Friday's we have visted the brand new children's museum in Tampa. It is AMAZING! I just chase Leeza around as I watch her imagination take flight. She has a blast. They have so many fun things for the kids to do...she gets tons of excercise running a race with "animals", hopping like a frog, playing in the pretend kitchen, making a show with costumes, making Pizza in the pizzarea, playing fireman in the firetruck, sliding down a fire truck, shopping in the grocery store, etc, etc, etc. It is a total blast for her, and me. :)

I love how social and funny she is. She will jsut walk right up to kids and say "Hi, I'm Eeza Grace Serra", What's your name, wanna play?"
We are having so much fun. I love experiencing life thru a 3 year old's eyes again.
It's so funny having a 3 year old and a 12 year old. The other day, Sean said some guy was 'beast", and Leeza responds, "The beast? Were's Belle?"
so cute. :)

Ryan and Leeza sing 'Pants on the Ground"..

2010-10-03T15:44:00.000-04:00

I didn't even realize it until I realized it was October 3rd today, that TODAY is our 2 year Gotcha Day Anniversary. I remember it so well-the day we finally go to "bust Leeza free" from the baby house in Kostanai and take her back to our apartment to await her passport and visa processing. I was prepared for the worst, but her transition to being with me full time was seamless. She took her first steps the 2nd day we had her.

We spent this nice fallish day at the park, riding the train, then playing at the park with Ryan, then out to lunch for chips and salsa. We are doing Christmas card pictures at the park (formal attire) in just a lil bit.

It's hard to believe this headstrong, beautiful, smart, engaging lil girl who sometimes is infuriating was the same baby girl we met who had beautiful, but "dead" blue eyes. Her eyes, how they sparkle...and how MERRY she makes us. We sure love you to pieces Leeza Grace Serra...you and all your moods. :)

Leeza is getting really good at treading water

2010-09-24T10:21:00.001-04:00

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"

2010-09-20T10:34:00.003-04:00

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

2010-09-20T10:07:00.009-04:00

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...

2010-09-20T08:19:00.003-04:00

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

2010-09-18T08:20:00.007-04:00

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.