The ingredients behind the Spice

With all of Sweet's publicity lately, I feel as though Spicy has been somewhat neglected. And with all my talk of her "spicy-ness" I figured it was due time to expand on her little person hood.

Alizea Ann, you are an absolute jewel.

The more and more I see you amongst your peers and with others of varying temperaments and  personalities, the more I appreciate and love your individual characteristics and traits which make up the special, unique person you are...

*You have such a spirit of LIFE! A spirit of laughter, of showing love to all, of jumping and dancing at all times (like David dancing before the Lord), of making friends, of getting out and trying new things, of happiness, of JOY! Your eyes sparkle with this life. 

This picture sums up your personality...joyful!

(an oldie from over a year ago but since you didn't get in the family blog until you were 2 1/2, I thought it appropriate and fitting on this Veteran's Day)


*You are unselfish and take pleasure in seeing others rejoice (except, that is, when you are ripping a toy out of your sisters hands!) While this is partly due to constant instruction on sharing and the like, at the young age of 3, I realize you have a generous spirit and for that, I praise the Lord. 

*You take instruction seriously and to heart. In your classes, be it ballet, pottery or catechism, your teachers all report how impressed they are by your focus and attention. You are intense and you go 100% in whatever it is you are doing. For example, in ballet, you don't lolly gag around or get silly waving to mommy (or Mimi) like a lot of the other girls do. Oh no, you are completely immersed in your activity, focused, intense, as if you are the prima ballerina and all others are your back up dancers in the performance of the year.
(When watching you, we are assured every penny spent is well worth it).

3 going on 13! 
Even at home, you practice with such intensity

*You have a thirst for learning. You must get this from daddy but you love to understand, to gain knowledge, to be taught. Mimi is by far your most beloved instructor and as a trilingual distinguished teacher of 30 years, I'd say we have a great match!

*You have a special interest in all things "techy" but especially lately in video games which most definitely comes from daddy. You literally beg him to play his games calling out the characters: Demo Man, Engineer, Spy, etc. I think he is secretly bribing you because it just doesn't seem right. Why don't you beg to watch me blog or sew??? The other night you asked daddy to play with you and he responded that he was going to eat dinner and talk to mommy. Your response, "And don't forget to play your Batman game af(t)er!"

 *You are still so so incredibly lovable with your baby sister and so proud to be her big sister. At random times, I hear you announce "That's Genevieve, my baby sister" which melts me and it truly is hard for me to talk sternly and discipline you for smothering her with tight hugs and kisses because you still don't know your strength (& strong you are!).

*You are extremely competitive and this you must get from your Bapa. When daddy or I are racing with you (short sprints on the sidewalk) you get very upset when you lose. We are working on not becoming a "sore loser" and teaching you that to be a good sport you need to give a "good job (say person's name)" and high five to the other person. But you skim over this as quickly as possible in a monotone unemotional voice and follow it up with a "let's race again!" running even harder the next time! Daddy and I have fun talking about the possible activities in which your competitive nature would thrive.

*You are very mature when it comes to interacting with others, be it babies, older kids or adults. You are a people person and love the human spirit. You remind me a lot of your Mimi in this way. There is something special about the way you see and love others. 

 *You are so inquisitive and your little mind is always at work. Case in point. While in the car, you are constantly asking "what's that sign mean?" to which we go through a process where you explain to me what is on it, color, shape, etc. and I try and explain to you the meaning (or make my best guess). No sooner am I finishing and you fire away with the the infamous question again, and again, and again. 
The other example...Lately, I've been tuning into a classical music station, you know, thinking it would create a quiet, peaceful, soothing environment. Well, you aren't satisfied merely taking in the relaxing harmonies, you ask what instrument is playing and you don't simply want me to tell you but describe it with shape and color so you can guess! It's definitely forcing me to brush up on my ear training skills.

*You are a nature girl. You love sand, dirt, leaves, sticks, mud, using your hands. You love rolling in the dirt especially after you have just taken a bath. You also love tools and helping Bapa do anything that involves manual labor (That comes from mommy). 

*You do have a stubborn streak and a bit of a temper. I understand this may be a gene inherited from Grandma Sandra (daddy's mommy). However, you also seem to have acquired her full, beautiful, voluptuous lips so I guess that's a fair trade.

*You are becoming so independent. As I write this, you are next to me on your computer surfing around the PBS & Nick Jr. sites, stumbling upon new math & art games to try out. If we let you, you would stay there hours on end. Until midnight. And no, we don't know this from experience. (wink, wink) At the same time, you will never turn down some "play time" with anyone who is interested

* You love to help out and you are not afraid of work. Be it, putting silverware away, helping to fold little towels, clean mirrors and windows, you do it cheerfully and with a great deal of concentration (let's hope it stays this way into your teens)

* You are quite the negotiator. There are many examples daddy and I share and laugh about but here's a recent dialogue to show my point:
A: I wanna watch a movie just a little tiny bit!?

M: I don't think so. Do you remember when you threw a big fit on the floor just a little bit ago?

A: Do you remember when I was so nice to Genevieve? 

So, yes, while everything you do from give a hug to your verbosity contains some extra spice, there is clearly so much more to you that we treasure and cherish, deeper and wider than we can even imagine.

And in years to come when you stumble upon this, know that you are such an incredible blessing to your mommy & daddy & siblings & we are so in love with you and consider it a privilege and honor to teach you, to help form your character and to help you discern God's will for your life.