How I "Lah Yee"...let me count the ways

Dearest Meseret--  I thought I'd take some time to tell you some of the things I lah about yee.  I will not get to all of them, because they are beyond recalling all at once.

I lah the way you give Daddy and me unsolicited hugs.

I lah when you wave your hand and say "Ciao" at night after I say "See you in the morning."

When you hear the harmonica in a song, I lah the way you put your hand to your mouth and start audibly exhaling as if you are playing too.

I lah how you want to clean the floor after you eat.

When you wake up in the morning, I lah to listen to you tell your own stories as you look through your books.

I lah how you randomly wave and say "Hi Dahdee, hi Mama...mmuuaahhh."

I lah how determined you are, even when that determination is a challenge to me.

I lah the way you dance and sing to "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha."

When you help us take groceries out of the bags, I lah the way you say "brrrrr" when you get to the pint of Ben & Jerry's that seems to always make it into the bag somehow.

I lah when you ask to look through the picture books we made for you, of family here and of your friends and family in and from Ethiopia.

I lah to hear you say "yellow!" with such enthusiasm and animation.

I lah how you say goodnight to the crows and to the trees each night when we close your shades.

I lah how you stand in front of our wood stove and extend your arms out to warm your hands.

When Daddy comes home after being at work all day, I lah how you express your excitement when he walks in the door.

I lah how you are starting to (sometimes) say "No thank you," rather than just "no" (and a push of our hands) when we offer you something that you are not interested in at that time.

I lah the way you sing Michael Franti's song "Say Hey (I Love You)" throughout the day, when the song is not even on.  "I lah yee, I lah yee, I lah yee."

I lah that you love to be outside, whatever the weather, even when it is so cold that Mama does not want to go out.  (I dress you much better than I dress myself when we go out)

I lah that you are willing to try anything when we go out to eat:  Indian, Korean BBQ, Polish, Thai, etc. (I am trying to lah that you have become the most finicky eater I know when we are at home, however.)

I lah that at least a few times a day you crawl up on the couch to reach for the shelf that has some of your books and you sit and flip through page after page.

Well, my sweet girl, it is 52 minutes into the year 2014 and this Mama is tired.  I have only just begun to capture in words what I lah about yee.  I will write more soon.

Much Lah to You,
Mama

Court Trip_April 2013
I lah that we have been a family for 6 months...

Marcellus Park_November 2013
and I feel like you are growing so fast.