Our little girl young lady turns six years old today!
She’s full of sass and fire, keeps us on our toes, and brings such tremendous joy and love to our lives.
She’s a passionate reader…
Kind, loving big sister and friend…
Brilliant, endlessly curious, and dedicated student…
Talented cook and able helper…
And fun, strong girl…
We love you, sweetheart.
Three cheers for the birthday girl!
xoxo,
Mama
A look back over the past year…
January:
“Daddy! Are you?!” for Daddy, where are you?
Falling over and catches herself. Says “good catch!” to herself.
All rabbits are “Peter rabbits!” and so are bats, evidently.
“The Leyba’s coconut water!” evidently means the Leyba’s are drinking coconut water
David took a sip of cider and Miss Leyba said “Good job, Dad!”
To dog: “BACK! STAY BACK!” (with hand up for ‘stop’) then she walks over to pat him and he’s thrilled. ON HER OWN TERMS, right?!
Shouting, “Surprise!” and throwing her arms up above her head. Then adding, “It’s fun!”
February:
Rocking her baby doll, saying “Shh shh shh! Time to sleep! Close your eyes!” Repeated over and over again. Sounds very familiar…
She drops something and asks us “Are you okay?” even if we are halfway across room. “Be careful!”
“One moment. I’m working!”
Takes a sip of water, shouts, “Yum, yum, yum!” It isn’t that delicious.
Quickly memorizing, singing, and adapting the songs from Mamma Mia? “Honey, honey, how I wonder!” (instead of ‘how I want you!’)
March:
What do you want for dinner? “Food! Um… Ice cream cone!”
Informed me that she wants to go to Costco tonight. “Just a quick trip, Mom!”
Our two year old performs “So Long, Farewell” from Sound of Music each night before she heads up the stairs to bed. Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night!
April:
Any type of leafy green is called “salad.” Wilted and cooked vegetables included.
A little voice from the living room: “Care, Care, come here!” (Yes, David frequently calls me Care.)
May:
(On using a clear cup) “No, thank you! I need a purple cup.” (David found a purple one) “That’s fine.”
First words out of her mouth this morning while she was still asleep: “No!!!! Penguins!!!!!” Absolutely no idea.
Do you want some avocado? “No, thank you, Dad, I’m reading.”
June:
What does a fire truck say? “Fire, please!”
Reading “Are You My Mother” with David and now referring to him as her “Daddy Mother.”
July:
“Let’s go in the car! C-R-A!” Soooo close with that spelling…
“Oh no! Oh me, oh my!” Direct quote.
“I want to wear my new bra to [get] ice cream. Wait, it’s too big.” That would be because it belongs to mom.
Toddler has been using tweezers to remove pretend splinters in her feet. “I feel better! I don’t have to walk on my tip toes anymore!” Phew!
My daughter to the big kids at the playground, “I’m almost three years old… I turn three in a month.” Yeah, more like six months! :)
August:
Calling a yard stick a “garden stick”… hey, we call the garden “the yard” all the time too!
My daughter’s imaginary friend? Winnie-the-Pooh, of course! Evidently he fits in the palm of her hand. “He’ll get bigger! He’s growing.”
“My tummy led me home! I’m not Pooh-bear! I’m [Miss Leyba]!”
September:
“Do you like honey? Good. Me too.” (She’s eating honey on toast. Our compromise when she asked for a smackerel of honey.)
“I can’t fly. I don’t have wings. I will grow some!”
“Don’t go to work, silly David. Stay home with us!”
David says, “This is hard work.” Daughter replies, “Do you want Mama to do it?”
Toddler says, “I want a cookie!” I suggest a banana instead. She replies,”Um, okay.” Can’t believe my ears. This will never happen again.
David says, “Please be careful with my (@BrandonSandrson) book.” Toddler’s response? “Okay, I’ll try not to pull out any pages.”
October:
“Namaste, Daddy! Namaste, Mommy! Namaste, Lucy!” Someone loves her yoga class.
Nonstop chatter about our Colorado Trip. Investigating her winter clothing situation, “Do you think Uncle Lee will like this hat?”
Breakfast request, “potatoes and eggs AND pizza!!”
Evidently knows what M-O-V-I-E spells. My bad.
My daughter just announced that she wants a “Moon Penguin” tattoo. Luckily, “It’s okay if it washes off!” Phew!
Toddler did not go for dinner. I guess zucchini pizza (“I love it!”) sounds way different than it tastes (“Hmm. I’m going to play!)…
November:
About her doll: “Her middle name is Emily, but her full name is Lucy.” The Little Bear phase continues.
Emphatically, “He’s my Daddy. He belongs to ME!”
Surprised to find my daughter completely dressed herself this morning. Today’s outfit? Leopard print pants! My girl has style.
December:
Playing freeze dance: “Mama, freeze it! Freeze it!” So much for a surprise break in the music.
Singing a heartfelt song about a rutabaga.
At the gas station: “When I grow up, I am going to get gas every night!” She LOVES watching the meters showing how much gas we’re buying.
January:
“Daddy is crazy ’cause he goes to yoga in the dark. It’s so early!”
“Mommy, you are my sweetheart!”
We’ve had a great year.
To my sweet, smart, fun, beautiful daughter,
You are two and a half years old today!
After weeks of talking about your birthday, we get to pretend it’s your birthday today! You’ve already asked for ice cream and presents. Sorry, kid! I’ll sing to you and give you lots of kisses instead.
Happy Half-Birthday to you!
Happy Half-Birthday to you!
Happy Half-Birthday, Miss Leyba!
Happy Half-Birthday to you!
And many more!
Happy Half-Birthday, sweetie!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
Dear Miss Leyba,
You are growing by leaps and bounds every day. We understand almost everything that you say now and you are learning new words every day (the other day you started saying “pirate,” as in that delicious snack Pirate’s Booty not Arrr!).
You are so happy. Hysterical gigglying is a regular sound over here in our house.
At the same time, you do have your (daily) hysterical fits… usually when we need to come in from outside (regardless of whether we’ve been outside for an hour or four) or when it’s nap time (and you’d rather sing songs or name body parts in bed). We know this is normal behavior and try to just ride the wave and give you comfort when you’re done. We hear you, sweetie, we do. We just can’t do everything your way all the time. (SHOCKER!)
95% of the time you are smiley and happy. Mama is so thankful for this. Singing and dancing together is an every day activity. Your favorite song is “Sing!” though you love your Maracas Music Together cd (plus Raffi and Sharon, Lois and Bram music too). You frequently say “more!” when you want us to repeat a song (or “all done!” when the stereo has already jumped to the next song and you want to go back). Occasionally you say “again,” which we’ve been trying to encourage. You sing along with these cds and like to harmonize with us. We have so much fun together.
You are so loving and constantly give us kisses and hugs. You love to cuddle and hold hands… especially with your friends! Hand-holding and hugs during play time and kisses goodbye are playdate staples. (Sometimes your friends reciprocate and sometimes they just aren’t game; you are so kind and patient and loving regardless of their response.)
We are very social together: going to weekly playdates at the park, mama and baby yoga classes several times a week, and making regular playdates with your girl friends (especially Sadie and Matri, your special buds).
You love pretend play, especially when it involves reading aloud to us from your books or talking to friends on the phone (or calculator or computer mouse or shoe). We have several (non-functional) cell phones that are especially for you and you like to carry them around and bring on outings.
You think driving the car is simply divine.
Watering the garden is a regular activity that you adore. Occasionally you let me hold the hose with you. Most of the time I have to direct you about which plant needs more water (or less! You are so enthusiastic!). More often than not you “faux water” the garden with the hose turned off…. (more pretend play!)
You pretend to be a train (“Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a CHOO CHOO!” with hand motions!), like giving high fives, and playing patty-cake. You walk up and down the stairs on your own. You dress yourself every day. You love to keep me company in the kitchen while I cook and helping out (tearing greens, cutting cheese with a butter knife, pulling off the stems of cherry tomatoes or grapes).
You enjoy visiting with our neighbors, patting dogs and cats (“pat pat!”), and picking blackberries from the bushes on the street. We take walks up and down the street, sometimes with your tricycle, sometimes with your push cart, sometimes with an item you have latched on to (yesterday: sunscreen container). We like to blow dandelions or watch ants or open seed pods. You know where grapes grow wild by the street and insist we stop and pick some when we walk by.
When you want to go outside, you find and put on your shoes, pick out a hat, start putting on sunscreen and wait for me by the door. Sometimes you get impatient with me and come over to grab my hand; you then lead me to the door and say “Mama! Open door!” Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We are so glad that you love being outside so much. You are our nature girl.
I could go on and on with stories about you… but I’ve written a lot and you are going to wake up from your nap any minute now (you’ve slept for over 2 hours already!).
I love you, peanut, so very much. You and Daddy are the loves of my life.
Love,
Mama
To celebrate your new teeth, we decided to treat you to a new non-mashed food: (organic, gluten-free, all natural) rice krispie cereal!
Talk about a big hit. You loved it!
Not only is cereal now all over your high chair and the dinning room floor (we have even found occasional krispies in bed!), but the cereal keeps ending up in odd places on you:
David took these shots.
Too funny.
