Happy 3rd Birthday Leda Joy!

We can't believe our daughter is three today! We love her so much we can hardly stand it. She's such a blessing to us and so much fun. She was the worlds easiest baby, always happy, always mellow...she's making up for that now of course (hee hee) but we love her anyway ;) She brings a different dynamic to the family, and we love to see her personality develop as she grows.

Right now at three, she likes princesses, any princess movie, coloring, play dough, playing "Mom" with her dolls and putting them to bed (she can do this for hours), playing outside on her bike, throwing fits when she doesn't get her way, teasing Chase relentlessly, taking things away from Chase to make him mad, and shrieking at any given moment for any given reason. Never a dull moment with Leda around and we like it that way. We love you pretty! And yes, pretty is her nickname. I hope that it doesn't go to her head, and perhaps someday I might have to change it, lol... but it started when I first saw her eyes---and I immediately fell into calling her pretty because those eyes captivated me, and still do.

For those of you who might not know the story behind her name, Leda Joy was named after her grandmothers on my side of the family. My Grandma Leda was one of my best friends, taught me about unconditional love and was one of my biggest fans. My cousins might argue, but I'm pretty sure I was her favorite grandchild-lol ;) The reason I say this is because we all felt that we were her favorite-she had that capability-one of the reasons she was so amazing. Our choosing to name a daugher after her had something to do with a special conversation I had with my Grandma a few days before she passed away. I miss my Grandma Leda terribly and know that she would have loved to see my kids---but she passed before I was even pregnant with Spencer. Leda's middle name Joy is after my Grandma Joy who you'll see in the pics below. Other than the fact that Joy is a happy name, it's also a special name because all the gals in my family have the middle name of Joy. My mom, sister, one cousin and I, and now Leda all have the middle name of Joy and I think that is kinda special! So there you have the history behind her name!

Warning: picture overload, but how do you fit three years of cuteness into one blog entry? ;)

May 29, 2005 10:53 am 8 pounds 10 ounces 21 inches---Her first gift to me was coming 2 weeks early when my water broke, only making me be in labor 4 hours from start to finish with 2 pushes! Hooray she came early, or she'd been ginormous!


At five days old she was hospitalized for five days for her first (of many, sigh) UTIs, but how cute does she look here?


I just love Spencer's face here. He missed his sister and came to visit in the hospital


Blessing day


Birth announcement shot


4 months old. For some reason I had to cancel her professional picture appointment I'd had this week and I was bummed, so one morning I dressed her up, plopped her on her rocking chair and snapped away. I was so excited to capture this smile!



Leda with her great grandparents. This one is for my cousins. Isn't it a great shot of grandma and grandpa?


6 months old


First Christmas


7 months old. Her eyes were this blue until her first birthday. Now they are a beautiful green, but I'll admit at times I miss this blue!


First birthday party


15 months here. This is the day Chase came home from the hospital. She put his hospital onesie on top of her head all by herself, and Aaron finished dressing her up with his socks. Her first official dress up picture. lol


16 months in her favorite spot in the kitchen


Leda at 19 months with a major case of bedhead


Second birthday


2.5 years old


Three year portraits



Yes, a banana. It was the only reward she wanted for completing the photo session. lol...the photgrapher thought it so funny that she wanted a banana instead of the candy offered to her, so she snapped a few shots of her eating it. This makes us laugh.