Happy 6th Birthday, Leah!!

At 8:29am, Leah Nicole entered our world weighing in at 6lbs 14oz!! What a tiny! How in the world did she weigh only 6lbs, when I gained 40?! How does that work?! Anyway, she was so beautiful and so perfect!! We loved her instantly- not that we didn't love her in the womb, but now she was here and we were ecstatic! Welcome, little Leah!

Look at all that black hair! It didn't last, this is her at 4 months- one of my ultimate favorite pictures. Dana's mom made her that blanket, and I just had to use it in a picture- we still have it and use it daily!

Leah was always a photogenic baby- as you can see, I took many, many pictures of her, and had a hard time choosing ones for this post, so I just used them all- these are from her original scrapbook- She is just edible at this stage, and I loved taking them- since she seemed to love the camera, too! She was such a happy little girl! Here she is on her 1st birthday!! Even cuter, I think!
In September of 2003, Leah fell off the dining room chair and broke her left arm! How, again, did you say?! Well, I was feeding Alex and her dinner, when she threw some pasta across the room- nice...I went to clean it up, and I turned around to see her falling off the chair onto the carpeted floor- she cried, but not that hard, so I didn't think too much about it- until the next day, when she was holding her arm and whining. I took her to Children's Urgent Care, where they said it was broke in 2 places!! What?! No way, I hardly believed them, and they hardly believed my story, so fair enough...she got a cast and we made it red, since it was football season! Check out how cute she was- this was actually the day she got it on. She had to wear it for about 5 weeks- thankfully she doesn't remember it now! Here are some of my favorite pics of her from the summer of 2003.
Leah just keeps growing and growing, and here she is at 2 years...still so cute! Again, just too many to choose from, so I chose them all- check out the blonde curly hair!

This was from November 2004, and it is still one of my favorite shots of her.
In May of 2005, we had these taken for Dana for Father's Day, and they are adorable- she just loves the camera, and it loves her. This was totally impromptu...love that his dimples shine too!
On to age 4- how has she changed?! Well, we had her hair cut in January of 2005, and we just keep cutting shorter and shorter, but it is her signature cut, and now I can hardly remember, except through pictures, her hair any different way! Remember my cake skills?! Well, she said she wanted a mermaid cake, and this seemed like it would work- my vision, and her help in placing the fish and viola! She just loved it!
We took her to a fun water park for her birthday, and she loved it! On to age 5- her first big party with girlfriends....she wanted it at the park and with girls only- so, that is what she got! What fun! She invited all girls and we played fun games, made water bracelets, and ate yummy cupcakes- per her request- oh and that icing is cool whip, in case you thought it was too much!
Leah loves stuffed animals, and drawing, so she was very happy to get this doodle bear!
All of her friends, with a banner that Alex drew for her as a surprise!! Now, Leah is 6! I am still tearing up- that is so hard for me to believe, since she was just born the other day- seriously, it is hard for me- she is still so sweet and cute, and wonderful, and smart, and fantastic, and talented, and loving, and adorable, and strong, and outspoken, and determined, and tender, and adoring, and kissable, and grateful, and caring, and huggable, full of promise and full of all the wonderful qualities you could ever ask for in a child. I love her with all of my heart, and am so grateful she is here in our family- I couldn't ask for more (well, maybe less attitude sometimes, but that is to be expected...she is my daughter, after all!)

Here she is today, full of life and happy to be 6!!

I made this cake for her, a cherry chip cake with cream cheese icing, in a L shape, with fresh flowers from our yard- she loves flowers, and takes very good care of them- she loved it!

Typical Leah, posing for the camera- see, some things never change!
This was last night, after blowing out the 6 candles!

Her new birthday dress (a given, each year, I am dress freak for my girls), and it doesn't tie in the back!! Whoo Hoo- she loved it!

We love you, Leah!! Happy, Happy Birthday!!