It was 20 years ago today

No, I'm not talking about Sgt. Pepper teaching a band to play. I'm talking about the birth of a bouncing baby girl who has grown into a beautiful young woman--my niece, Elyse (aka Lisi).

Our little Lisi was such a sweet child. She didn't speak, per se, until she was about three. Instead she kind of hummed, like--well, try to speak with your mouth closed. Go ahead, try. You can kind of tell what you're saying, right? That's how Lisi talked. It was cute. One day while Lisi was in potty training mode and Niko was about four years old, my sister, Kate, was upstairs fighting with her precocious son about getting ready for picture day at school, and I was downstairs trying not to listen. Lisi came up behind me and hum/talked "Aunt Laurie." I turned around and there she stood holding the bowl from inside her potty filled to the brim and beaming with pride for having done it all by herself. She was also buck naked. It was the cutest thing ever, her big brown eyes looking up at me for praise. How could you not love that?

Today, I'm happy to say, she's fully house broken and still has big brown eyes that will melt your heart.
And yes, she can be a handful at times, but she's totally worth it.
Happy Birthday my sweet, goofy, snack whispering, beautiful niece. I love you so much.