A bit late on this entry, but things have been very up in the air the last few weeks. Since this is a happy post about Miss Leyla, I will not write of events that have recently passed. I'm sure I will remember always October of 2010 and what it held for my family and me.

EIEIO. Need I say more? Leyla's favorite song right now and the theme of her party. Everyone was in attendance, all Bayse girls and their families as well as all four Litchfields. We had pizza, watched football, and ate the cake. It was a bit crowded in our family room. I'm going to work on Tolga and see if we can't just knock down the east wall and expand the kitchen and family room

You know, someone asked me how I felt about Leyla turning two. If it had hit hard. You know, it hasn't. It seems right she is two. She's talking, playing, emulating, growing, all the things a two-year-old does. She's tall. Oh so tall. She measured 36" at her doctor's appointment. He's always a bit surprised when he measures her. The same happend this time too. "Wow she is tall." And she is. She's right there with the three-year-olds on the playground.

Leyla has always been a delight to be around, and is even more so now. She talks, and her little personality is shining through. She says, "I do it." (This means help me.) My turn. Sam's seat (she wants to sit in Sam's car seat when he isn't with us.) Popiclepease (Popsicle, please). I poopy. I toop (I toot). OOOh, Sam, cool. And, of course, "I two." Yes, you are.

Leyla is fearless still. Not only is she fearless, but she has a high pain tolerance, and those two together are a recipe for risk-taking. She's learned to climb up the slide in order to get on the roof of her house in the playroom. She goes down the stairs alternating feet. She stands on the arm of the couch. She climbs on the toilet and onto the sink, standing and playing in the medicine cabinet.

Since she is so big, Sam plays with her like she is his age, and she keeps up. Then she goes to school and pushes kids down and sits on them. We're working on that. She's very physical and no doubt will play sports throughout school. She is a tomboy for sure, but has that really loving girly side as well. She loves to have her nails painted. She likes to put things in her hair. She wants to pick out her shoes. She is a great mommy to her babies. Always gentle and loving with them. She feeds them, reads to them, puts them to bed, and pushed them in the stroller. When she needs a sitter, she brings them to me.

I love her joy and spirit. She is up for anything and always smiling, even when I have to wake her up. She loves people. She says hi just randomly to people out in public. I think it makes there day most of the time.  

 Leyla turned one year old today. It has been quite a year for her, all of us really. We actually "got" her on September 26th, but we saw her for the first time on the 25th. Sammie, her birthmother, sent us a picture via cell phone after she was born. We knew right away she was meant to be ours. How good God is.

Our first family photo

           LEYLA CATHARINE ERCAN

We named her Leyla because, well, we just loved the name. It is spelled the Turkish way. I think that made for some happy grandparents. Her middle name, Catharine, is after my mom. We always knew our first girl would have that middle name, but it became even more important to me after my battle with breast cancer last year. My mom went to every chemotherapy appointment with me. She sat there all day, even when I slept. She took me to breakfast while waiting for blood results; bought me my wig; took notes to record my journey for me when I was in no frame of mind to do so. My mother had never been that person to me, a rock, but she really showed that fierce motherly love when the cards were down and the hand not the most fun to play.

Baba and his new daughter

Just out of the bath

Thus, we have Leyla Catharine. Words cannot express the joy she has brought into my life. She wasn't the greatest napper the first 6 months, but always happy. Even today, she still smiles most of the time, and at anyone who will give her an inkling of attention. She is my socialite. She is also my tomboy. She falls, scrapes her knee, and gets right back up. She climbs on everything. She puts anything in her mouth. She's fearless. She's our Wayzees, and I love her.

I've decided it best to being blogging. NEVER thought I'd say that, but it is true. I find that there are many wonderful things in my life that I tend to forget. Hopefully, this will help me to remember. In addition, I will be saving trees (no journals) and space in my home. Two things I am all about! So, I begin.

This has been a big week for us. On Monday, we received a call that a birth mother had chosen us to adopt her child! Even more crazy is that she is due October 2. Yes, that is right, 5 weeks away. And...she is having a GIRL. We are so very excited...and humbled to say the least. After a tumultuous year of dealing with my breast cancer, God has shown us that he indeed has a plan for us.

The agency had just begun showing our book. It could not have been more than 2 days. Another way God showed his amazing grace is that our child is coming in October, the month we had hoped to have a child when we talked about having a second.

Another huge happening at our home is our house renovation. For the last two weeks, we have been listening to cussing workmen, banging, sawing, drilling, the smell of burnt something, dust, a port-o-potty, and little privacy to name a few. I am not complaining mind you, just explaining how this is another (temporary) life-altering event. By the end of it though, I will be able to sleep upstairs near my children, and we will have some more room to expand our family again :)

I will post pictures as Tolga has been taking them daily. I also will get some pictures up from our European adventure to Munich, Salzburg, and Paris.