My Aliah

Aliah is just totally amazing! She's so smart, and goofy, and sweet. (And throws great tantrums when she feels like it.) It's like she's always performing. She's full of fake laughs and fake cries. And she says the greatest things like "hug-a my Leah" when she wants you to hold her. She groups things together too. For example, all drinks are "juke" (juice) and all blankets, pillows, beds, etc. are "naps." All food is "cheetah." We have no idea where that came from, but we say it all the time now. When dinner is ready she'll yell down the hall, "cheetah daddy." That means come to the table. It's so cool because we can totally have a conversation now.

This morning I couldn't stand to leave for school because she was being so adorable, so I just skipped it and stayed home to play. She's just getting so big so fast!

(Patiently waiting in line for her turn on the obstacle course.)

She's really creative too. She'll make up songs and dances. And when she dances her movements will change depending on the type of song. If it's up beat she'll smile and dance crazy, and if it's a slow song she'll put on her serious face and make smooth long movements. It's so great watching her change moods. We were telling stories the other day and it was her turn. She totally made up a whole story about a how this princess was sad because she didn't have her blankey. It was so cool!

(This video is dark because we're in a fort that we built, and this isn't her best story telling, but the story she told all by herelf was too long and blogger wouldn't upload it. But you'll get the idea of how cute it is.)

She LOVES to help. She's always, always helping. "I help" means two things. Either I want to help you, or I want to do it myself. She's getting very independent.

(Helping dad paint her art table.)

(Helping dad fix his bike.)

(Helping mom make chocolate cake.)

This last couple of weeks I've felt my greatest joys and deepest sadness as a parent. The sadness came the other day at the store. Aliah walked up and said hi to a group of kids and no one said hi back. She just watched them walk away, the smile melted off her face. She put her head down and slumped her shoulders as she slowly walked back over to our cart. I lost it right there in the Home Depot. I gave her a big hug and just started crying. I couldn't believe the sadness she felt. That I felt! I'm so afraid of not being able to protect her from the cruelty of the world. But she's so strong; she totally rebounded and within a minute was back to her happy self.

She's so sensitive to peoples feelings. If anyone seems sad she gives them a big hug and asks "okay?" Or she'll do a fake cry to try to empathize and give them her blankey. (That's a REALLY big deal.) It's really super sweet and it makes it impossible to keep feeling upset.

Then my greatest joy happened when Aliah and Inara were playing in their room. I walked by the door and Aliah was reading her scripture book to Inara. she kept saying, "three egg diaper." (Those are the words she says every time she reads or counts.) And then she'd show Inara the picture and point and say, "Jesus." When I walked back by a second later Aliah was folding her arms, and with her head down was saying a prayer with Inara. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to walk by at the right time so that I saw that sweetest of all moments. Spencer and I decided our job was done. Our job is to have kids and teach them the gospel right?! Well it looks like Aliah's got it, so I think we're all set.

Honesty Aliah's greatness has nothing to do with us; we are just so blessed to have her as our daughter. I love her so much more then I could ever put into words. My mom once said in her journal that she was looking in on her sleeping son and thinking about how fiercely she loved him. Then she thought, if I love him this much I can't imagine how fiercely Heavenly Father loves me. Isn't that a beautiful thought?

I'm so happy to be a mother. It truly is my greatest joy.