Lizzie...Adorable

Yesterday afternoon, during Lizzie's gymnastics class, I was sitting next to a mom whose daughter was in the same four-and-five-year-old class that Lizzie was in.  I've never talked with the other mom before, usually because I have my hands full trying (in vain) to keep my boys relatively quiet during their hour-long wait for Lizzie's class to be done.

Suddenly the other mom turned to me and said the following, almost word for word:

"You know," she said, "I have my three kids in gymnastics classes, too, and I have to say that of all of the classes I watch, the kid I love to watch is your daughter.  I even forget sometimes that my own daughter is in this class because I'm transfixed by your girl."

A few minutes later, she added, "she is the cutest, sparkliest little thing I've seen in a long time.  She has the most emotive face, and has such a spark about her.  I'm a teacher, and I've worked with a lot of kids, and my favourite kind of kid in the classroom is a girl like her...with spark.  I'm betting she has a strong will, too."

I don't know how she knew about Lizzie's iron-clad will, but she sure got it right on all counts about my Little Bean.  She is sparkly, she has the most emotive and mobile face I've ever seen on a kid, and has so much personality that to think of her as a teenager yet is a little much for me to contemplate.

Earlier, during the boys' gymnastics class, I was holding Lizzie on my lap (because she is also the cuddliest kid I know and always wants to be in physical contact) and I said something to her that she didn't like much.  Her response?

She lowered her face and glared up at me from underneath a face-wide frown, and said, "then I no more Mommy's baby.  I'm Daddy's baby now!"  Little minx.  I pretended devastation, by burying my head in her neck and pretending to cry big sobbing cries.  She laughed and said, "Mommy, you faking it.  But I be your baby again!"

I fall in love with this girl more every day...my daughter.