BY Led Black (@Led_Black)

11 years ago on this very day, God once again blessed me with the ultimate gift, a beautiful little girl that we named Leila. Leila is the sweetest and most loving of my girls and just like her older sister Imani and her younger sibling Soraya, Leila has me completely and irrevocably wrapped around her finger.

Leila is the only one of my kids that was planned. The other 2 were super awesome accidents. My wife, LOOOONG time girlfriend at the time, Eileen gave me an ultimatum: either we get married or we weren’t having any more kids. So with that said, we tied the knot and Leila was conceived shortly thereafter.

Leila is artistic, funny and if you engage her she will talk your ear off and steal your heart in the process. Whether it’s the cashier lady at the supermarket, the waitress at Cheesecake Factory or the cable guy that stops by the crib to fix an issue, Leila will initiate a conversation with them and keep it going for far longer than I would like but that’s Leila.

Leila even told said waitress at Cheesecake Factory that she wanted to hug her. The poor girl was almost in tears from the gesture. Leila is a one of one. She has the loving nature of my mom, my intelligence and awesome brown complexion and the weird food tendencies of her mom. Because of my crazy wife, Leila purports to be a vegan but somehow makes an exception for chicken fingers, burgers and pork chops.

Leila has enriched my life beyond belief. Whenever I feel stressed about the daily nonsense that one has to deal with, all I need is a hug from Leila and everything is put in its proper perspective. Leila in Arabic means night beauty but to me its means unequivocal and all encompassing love.

Happy Birthday Leila – I LOVE You!

Check out:

My Heart: Happy Birthday Imani!

My Heart: Happy Birthday Soraya!

I invite you to join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, or e-mail me at ledblackNYC@gmail.com