"My mom."

Well, the little empress has had a good week. On Sunday we went to Church. She was Naughty! Note the capital "N". We spent most of the day outside. On Monday she had a flu shot and a Prevnar shot. When I walked in to the hallway to wait for her shots, she was terrified. There were lots of mommies holding babies and I think she thought I was taking her back to the orphanage. She just looked up at me and I could see fear. She held on soooooo tight. I said, "Should we go see the kitties when we leave?" That grip loosened instantly and she said, "Kitties!" She knows that means we're going home next. She was so good for her shots. There were tears, but there were also Goldfish to be eaten! On Tuesday, we went to Rockford to have lunch with the cousins (2 of whom were celebrating 4th birthdays!), Grandma and Aunt Rita. She liked that a lot. Wednesday, we cleaned. Yesterday was the best day yet! We went looking for gym shoes. We didn't find any, but that's not what really mattered in the end. Note: Grab tissues here. On the way down to Yorkville, Joy is babbling away and rocking her head to the music, when suddenly she looked over at me, grabbed my hand and said, "My mom." She had the same look on her face that she has when she lays her head on Kevin's chest and says, "My dad." Sniff, sniff......I got lots of hugs, kisses and leanings yesterday. Leanings are when she stands next to me and leans against me. She also let me touch her face, back and hair. She generally isn't a cuddler. She also made me "tea" last night in her stacking cups. It was the tastiest tea ever! Made by the cutest little girl. But, I would say that. I'm her mom!