Allie Karen

The pictures from Allie's baptism are currently in China with Jeff, so that post will have to wait until he gets back. In the meantime, let's talk about Allie. I do love my little girl.

It's no secret that she has suffered from some pretty severe anxiety. It comes and goes, but when she is going through a rough time, it's really rough. It was really bad when Jeff and I went on our cruise and for a month or two after that as well. She didn't even like the thought of me leaving, even if Jeff was home. She had unexplained pains every day and didn't want to go to school. It was rough. I asked her one day to make me a list of everything she was afraid of. Here is what she wrote: "I am afraid that there will be an earthquake, tornado, hurricane. I am afraid that I will have a heart attack and I could stop breathing. Carbon dioxide, break my neck, get robbed, get shot, get really hurt, die, have a stroke, and get locked in and cannot get out."

That's a pretty serious list of worries! For her birthday, I got her a workbook called What to Do When you Worry Too Much. We haven't really looked at it at all, because suddenly she is doing so much better. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I mentioned that we could talk to the pediatrician about going on some medication? I don't know. But I know that her struggles are not over, and we'll use that as a reference soon. 

Allie is such a sweet, tender girl. I had to give a talk at relief society about finding joy in the journey. She got to come, because all the girls 8 and up were invited. As part of my talk, I told the story about Chance. She was very emotional as I talked about her brother, and was visibly crying. I had to keep myself from looking at her because it made it hard for me to keep from crying. I know she was feeling a lot of love and sorrow for her brother in that moment. I hope she will always stay close to the Spirit throughout her life.

Of all my kids, she loves music the most. She ALWAYS wants to listen to music, tinker on the piano (it's time for her to start lessons in the fall), write songs and sing them on her guitar (if she thinks no one is listening. She is also rather shy). I am excited to see where music takes her.

She still isn't great with time management. She is usually running late, even if she has had plenty of time to get ready in the morning. She still HATES to have her hair brushed, and prefers ponytails most of the time. She reads like crazy and has started reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. Her goal is to read it both in Spanish and English so that she actually understands it. My mom has promised $100 to any grandchild who will read it, which is amazing motivation. 

Allie would hate me writing this, but she has very weak muscles surrounding her bladder. While she hasn't wet the bed in years, she still wets her pants often when she laughs too hard or jumps on the trampoline. The pediatrician told her about some exercises (read: Keigels) that she can do to strenghen her muscles. He said it's not something that will get better on its own, but something she is going to have to work it. Darn it, poor girl! I don't know what's going to happen to her when she grows up and has babies!

While Allie can be very social, she also needs her own space. Having her own room has been good for her. She often times is heard to say, "just leave me alone!" Kyla, on the other hand, loves and craves the company of other people and doesn't always understand why Allie would rather stay inside and play by herself than be out with friends (to be fair, Allie does both. Kyla just doesn't ever want to play alone).

I do love my sweet girl, and am so excited to watch her grow and develop! It may not be a smooth ride, but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.