Two Months

As Heather observed, the most asked question when you are pregnant is "Is it a boy or a girl?," followed by "Have you picked out any names?" After the baby is born, though, there is one question that is asked more than any other. And that is "Who does she look like?"

Jeff had barely finished cutting Kyla's cord and the nurses were still wiping her with warm towels, yet my mom and I were gazing expectantly at her, wondering who she looked like. "She's got Allie's nose," my mom said, "and Damon's chin. But where did she get that fair skin?" Of course, in a matter of minutes, her skin was no longer so pale and in fact, she didn't look all that much like the baby I remembered holding before. Now she is two months old, and only slightly resembles the baby we brought home from the hospital.

Here is the two month photo of her and Bexley. You can tell that she is getting bigger, and you can also tell that Bexley is in serious need of a trip to the washing machine. All the medicine Allie has rubbed on her has left its mark.

And the post wouldn't be complete without a picture of her huge grin. She may not be the most photogenic child you ever saw, but can you really help but smile when you see something like this?

And one minute later she wasn't quite so happy. Is she trying to flip me the bird?

We heard her first giggle the other night, too. I was making silly faces at her and we were rewarded with a slightly awkward laugh, as well as various cooing noises. Amazing what gets me excited these days.

One more thing. I will leave you with something I heard Damon saying to Allie yesterday.
"When you grow up, you will have breasts. Right now you only have nipples."
It really makes me wonder what else was going on in there...

One Arm Wonder

I learned when Allie was a baby that I could find a way to do most things in life with only one arm. Allie loved to be held (and didn't love much else) and I had to find ways to adapt. So far, Kyla has not been as high maintenance as Allie was, but she has her moments, and I have been reminded that while some things are manageable if you only have one arm free, other things are extremely difficult. For example:

Manageable: Eating a peach.
Difficult: Opening a can of peaches.

Manageable: Brushing my teeth.
Difficult: Flossing my teeth.

Manageable: Doing sit-ups.
Difficult: Doing push-ups.

Manageable: Putting bread into the toaster.
Difficult: Buttering a slice of toast.

Manageable: Going to the bathroom.
Difficult: Pulling my pants back up.

Manageable: Checking other people's blogs.
Difficult: Writing on my own blog.

I am, however, still trying to find ways to keep posting, even though I may be typing with only one hand (right now Kyla is enjoying the memory foam on my bed, so gratefully, I have two hands for this job).

I was tempted to photoshop an extra set of arms on a picture of my body (yes, I just used "photoshop" as a verb) and send it to Santa labeled "My Wish List." I don't necessarily want to be an octopus, but I sure wouldn't mind having four arms. Go Go Gadget Arms!

Just Trying Something New

My sister, Heather, is always changing her template and I thought I might be ready for a change. I'm not sure how much I love it, but we'll give it a go. If you're interested in seeing something new, click here to see some new templates.

Take your pick

Here is a little quiz for my devoted readers. Which of the following did NOT happen in the past 24 hours?

1. Allie switched the library's Music and Lyrics dvd for Ammon, Missionary to the Lamanites and I returned it to the library.

2. On our weekly trip to the beach I got stung by a jellyfish.

3. Kyla slept from 10:30 pm to 7:45 am, giving her mommy quite a scare (not to mention a very full chest).

Okay, I guess that was a trick question, because all of those things happened. Allie has been really interested in taking cds and dvds out of their cases and "putting them away," although we have found that that usually means she puts them into different cases. Today, she started again with the Book of Mormon dvds and I saw that she had replaced Ammon with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Either she really wanted to keep Music and Lyrics or she was trying to do a little missionary work by getting Ammon into the library system (which seems to have worked, by the way, because when I called to inform a librarian, she told me that no one had caught it, and the movie had been checked back in). Either way, I'm sure my mom would rather have the animated Book of Mormon story when I return them to her.

I did get stung by a jellyfish yesterday and it was extremely painful. How ironic is it that I, who have spent far less time in the ocean this summer than the rest of my family, was the one the jellyfish targeted. Damon, Allie and I were really enjoying the mild temperature of the water and the tiny waves of the ocean when all of a sudden I felt a burning sensation on my leg, just below the knee. I let out a scream, completely freaking Damon out, and dropped Allie's hand, swatting desperately at what I instantly knew was a very unfriendly jellyfish. Fortunately, Allie was wearing floaties and didn't disappear instantly under a wave. I hobbled back to the beach where Jeff was keeping an eye on Kyla and iced my wound for several minutes. Every time I took the ice off, though, the stinging would return and the pain started shooting up my leg. Three distinct sting marks appeared and turned purple and the whole thing swelled up before I found the closest lifeguard and asked if he had anything for it. He sprayed it with some alcohol/vinegar mixture and also a burn spray and it started feeling a lot better. At least I thought I might be able to make it home. To make a long story short, the pain gradually subsided and today just feels like a mild sunburn, but it was something I hope I don't have to live through again. It's enough to make me stay in the shallows, where I can see what's down there. I tried to take a picture of my injury, but it just didn't do it justice.

Kyla did sleep for over nine hours last night, and when I woke up at 7:00 to check on her, my heart started thumping as I hoped I would find her still breathing. She was. Maybe all that crying she did at the beach yesterday really wore her out, because she has been really sleepy today, too. I'm not expecting her to do that every night (she's been pretty consistent to sleep six hours at a time), but once I realized that she hadn't died, I was thrilled with her big accomplishment.

What a day! Can't wait to see what the next 24 hours hold.

Moving Out

So, two nights ago I took a big step. I moved back into my own bedroom, on the opposite side of the house from Kyla. And after forcing Jeff out of the middle of the bed, I got to sleep in memory foam heaven. For those of you who don't know (or didn't realize), I have been sleeping in Kyla's room since she came home from the hospital, while Jeff has been enjoying his own room with the big soft bed he can't stand. How very 1950's sitcom of us, you might be saying to yourself. Yes, and it was for the good of our marriage that we did it, although that might seem contradictory, so let me explain.

When Damon was born, we lived in Jeff's parents house, in a room affectionately known as "the train room." It is, in a sense, a very large studio apartment (minus the kitchen) with wood floors that actually were at one time part of a train track (or so I've been told). Jeff was working for his brothers at the time and somehow we came to the agreement that he would get up with Damon at 3:00 am (or whenever it was he woke up) and feed him a bottle (hurray for the Medela Pump in Style!) so I could get a little more sleep. It only lasted until we moved to Ohio two months later, but you would've thought he had done it every night for a year to hear him talk about how much he disliked doing it. He was always tired and any sound Damon made during the night really bothered him. He would roll over and make the most annoyed sounds, like he just couldn't sleep through all the commotion (granted, all sounds were amplified by the abundance of "train wood," but it wasn't like Damon was crying in his ear or anything). It made me crazy, but I was insistent on having a good stretch of sleep, so I encouraged him to keep it up until we moved.

Then Allie came along and I decided that she wouldn't ever sleep in our room. It was just so much easier if I took care of her and let Jeff get a good night's sleep. At least that way I wouldn't feel like he resented his child and he would be more willing to help out in other ways. And so I slept downstairs, either on the couch or in my recliner, for a couple of months until she was sleeping well enough to move her into Damon's room.

It worked out great for us. And so here in Florida, when we decided to keep the extra queen bed we inherited with this house in Kyla's room, I knew it was the perfect setup for the two of us. I could be close to her, so that I could hear her (and be sure she was breathing) without Jeff ever having to share his sleeping space with his new infant daughter. And so that's where I have been for the past 7+ weeks, and it has definitely been a good thing for our marriage, despite what you may be thinking. But Kyla has been sleeping really well lately and I decided it was time to move back into this decade and actually sleep in the same bed as my husband. The first night was perfect--Kyla slept from 10:30-5:00 and as soon as I heard her stirring via the monitor, I hopped up and quickly fed her. Last night she only slept until 3:00, but I had fed her earlier, at 9:00 pm, so it wasn't too terrible. But it's been nice to be back in my own room, even though it's much hotter sleeping in a bed with another person. We have been trying to conserve energy and it hasn't been too bad, but the last couple of nights have been a little warmer than I would like.

Anyway, this was a long way of documenting that, for the most part, Kyla is now sleeping six or seven hours at a time at night and I couldn't be happier. Most often, she will go from 10:00-5:00, and she always does better when she is swaddled (I love the Swaddle Me blanket, although I just had to buy a large and she managed to wiggle her arms out last night). So, while I don't have a sweet little newborn anymore, and that makes me infinitely sad, I do have a sweet 8 week old who is letting me get a lot more sleep, which isn't a half bad trade-off. At least I'm not saying, "My baby's all grown up and saving China" yet (what movie is that from?), although sometimes it seems like it won't be long now.

But I'm Not Tired

Allie doesn't like taking naps. She feels that by falling asleep, she will miss out on all the fun things Damon and I are doing. And so, at least half of the time she is in her room for nap time, she doesn't fall asleep. The rest of the time I find her like this (at least she's in her bed).

That could mean that she is ready to give up naps altogether, but I get the feeling that she isn't quite ready for that yet. Let me know if you disagree...

One day she fell asleep on my lap as I was typing and didn't wake up when I placed her on the chair.

One day she fell asleep on a small chair as I was getting dinner ready...

In two different positions.

And finally, we have last night. She completely melted down around 5:00, but refused to admit she was tired. I was setting the table and she was waiting patiently for dinner when I realized it had become awfully quiet. This is how I found her.

And here she is, insisting that she isn't tired. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just don't believe it.

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Party time

We had Damon's birthday party on Saturday here at our house. I debated many possibilities, including doing it at a park (eliminated because it's too hot to do anything outside that doesn't involve water), having him only invite a couple of friends and going to Chuck E Cheese (eliminated because even with only a few friends, I still didn't want to pay to go there), and not doing anything at all (eliminated because for the rest of my life I would've had to answer to him about why we didn't do anything).

And so, we had one ten-year old (our next door neighbor, who Damon thinks is his best friend), six five-year olds, one four-year old, one three-year old and Allie come to our house for a party. Here is a picture of the whole crew. I am the primary teacher to most of these kids, so they all seemed to feel right at home (both a good thing and a bad thing, I guess).



We just did the basic party things; we played a couple games, ate lunch and birthday cake, opened presesnts, had a treasure hunt and busted open a pinata. I asked Damon if there was anything else he would want to change for future parties and he said no, that it was perfect. He may disagree when he watches the clip of him whacking the pinata, then crying because he couldn't find any candy.

Ever since we did a pinata last year, he has been planning on having one again. It was the only thing that we had to have and even though I made him choose the cheapest one they had at Wal-Mart, I think it was everything he hoped it would be. Oh, and yes, Damon dressed himself and told me if he got too hot in his jeans, he would just get a drink of water. Whatever works, I guess.

As for me, I am just relieved that it is over. The kids really were very well-behaved and we didn't have any problems, but it's nice not to have to think about it anymore. At least until next year.

Transition to Three

Some of you have asked what it's been like having three kids, and while I still can't believe I actually do have three, there are many things in life that would suggest that to be the case. I have now been a mother of three for 7 weeks and here are some things that I have observed:

1. Chasing Allie around is not any easier now that I'm not pregnant anymore. I wish that weren't the case, but I still can't keep up with her. If I'm nursing, she takes full advantage of my immobility and manages to still find numerous ways of getting in trouble. For instance, twice in the past week I have found her in my bathroom trying on my mascara. I'd say she needs a little more practice (and a little more supervision).

2. The end of May is the worst possible time to have a baby. If Damon were still in school, it wouldn't be so hard to go places, but with all three kids, even the most simple errand becomes a major hassle. I had to go to the post office to pick up a package for Jeff and inevitably had to wait in a long line. I was holding Kyla, which left Allie free to roam, choosing the packing material she would most like to have, and throwing it all on the floor. All I could do was say, "Damon, please pick that up and put it back," but in my head I was thinking something a lot less nice. By the time we got out of there, I know everyone else in line was thinking that they wouldn't trade places with me for anything.

Another time, while filling out a money order for Kyla's birth certificate, Allie managed to fall on her head as she tried to climb out of the back of the shopping cart. She was more embarrassed than anything (and I had three different employees offer me ice, as though they were worried I might try to sue the store), but once I saw that there was no blood, all I could do was shake my head in disbelief.

3. Damon doesn't get nearly as much attention as he deserves. At least, that's what his behavior would suggest. He has always been a bit of a worrier (as you saw in the spaceship clip), but lately he has been more anxious than usual, and I think it must have something to do with the baby. He started crying when we couldn't find Jeff in Circuit City (although I repeatedly tried to assure him that he hadn't left the store), he started crying when our van wouldn't start, and he started crying when he had to go to primary without me, as I was still nursing in the mother's lounge. It's frustrating, but I'm trying to be understanding. He doesn't get as much one-on-one time, and even when he does, Kyla is usually only seconds away from crying. I try to read with him every day while Allie is napping (in other words, locked in her room), and at least half the time Kyla does more vocalizing than Damon does. He doesn't take any of his frustrations out on her, thankfully, but I think he still has them.

4. Kyla, unfortunately, often gets ignored. Why is that she always seems to be fussy when I need to get dinner on the table? It's one of life's mysteries and my solution has been to let her cry. Maybe that makes me a bad mom, but I am trying to find a way to juggle it all, and I am yet to accomplish it. And so, if I can't get to her (and Damon isn't feeling like holding her for me), she sits somewhere comfortable and cries. One day I placed her on a wadded up blanket on the floor, positive I was going to come right back and get her when I finished what I was working on, only to find that fifteen minutes later, she had fallen asleep right where I had left her. This is highly unusual, as she doesn't generally sleep all that much during the day, but I know that part of being the third child that you have to be a little more patient with mom.

5. I have very little quiet time to myself. I am really looking forward to being able to establish a routine again once school starts. As a kid, I couldn't understand why my mom seemed to hate summer so much--there was nothing better than swimming every day, staying up late, and eating lots and lots of popsicles. Now, though, I realize why she was always so happy to see us go back to school; she could get back to doing the things she wanted to do, without having to worry about everyone else first.

For me, my daily shower is often the best part of my day. I can lock the door, and by so doing, lock out the rest of the world. I can't hear the kids crying and whining (or I can pretend that I don't hear them) and I can just close my eyes and imagine that I am alone. I never thought that one of my greatest desires would be to be by myself, but sometimes it is.

I don't know if all kids are as touchy-feely as mine, but if I am sitting on the couch holding the baby, it won't be long before all three of the kids are practically sitting on me. This picture of the kids and me is so typical; Damon laying on my shoulder, Kyla on my lap and Allie trying to make sure I haven't forgotten about her. Oh how I love my three kids, and I know I'll look back and wonder how I could ever have been annoyed by their constant presence, but for now, that is my reality.

To sum up, life with three kids is harder than ever, but it's also better than ever. We really do have a lot of fun and watching Damon and Allie light up when Kyla is smiling at them is priceless. I am anxious for the summer to be over, but I'm trying to keep in mind that the grass won't necessarily be greener (literally, as well as figuratively) at the end of August. I'm sure there will be many new challenges we'll have to deal with (potty training comes to mind), so for now I will just try to enjoy every moment we have this summer. And even though swimming every day isn't a possibility, and staying up late doesn't hold the same excitement it once did, I can still eat lots and lots of popsicles. And that's a pretty darn good thing.

Musings

"Heavenly Father and Jesus will never run out of power!"
-yelled to me by Damon, who was sitting on the toilet.

Not exactly somewhere I'd expect him to be thinking about God, but I suppose we do promise that we'll always remember him.

My Dad

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and I wanted to write up a little tribute for him. Happy Birthday Dad!

You may have heard me say (or read where I have written) that my personality is the complete opposite of my mom's, and that is true. So I guess it goes without saying that I am much more like my dad.

One of my favorite memories of my childhood is reading with my dad. He would come into our rooms at night and read books to us, skimming parts he thought would be too boring. Over and over we would chant, "don't stop!," sure that we would be able to understand every word out of his mouth. We read many books this way, but none stand out in my mind more than Summer of the Monkeys. It instantly became one of our favorite books, probably because it was already one of my dad's favorites. I remember him getting choked up at the end, when the brother decides to use the monkey money to get his sister's leg fixed, and all I could think was this has got to be the best story ever written!

I am sure that my love of reading can be traced back to those nights we spent together, and I can think of nothing else I would like for my own children than to have some of their grandpa's passion for books trickle down to them. I also blame/attribute my love of sports to him, as he was (and still is) an amazing athlete.

My dad was (and I hope still is) one of my biggest fans. While my mom didn't know what a pick and roll was (still doesn't in fact, although my sister and I have tried to teach her), my dad always knew more than my basketball coach (especially if you ask him). And for being such a mild-mannered man, his voice always carried louder than anyone else in the stands. I have two vivid memories of him from this time in my life. One was after a particularly disappointing game , when I came home feeling completely dissatisfied with my performance. My mom greeted me at the door with, "what happened?," genuinely spoken in love, but NOT what I wanted to hear. After brushing her off, hoping she would get the message that I wasn't in the mood to discuss it, I found my dad in the kitchen, making french fries. Maybe it's because I'm a lot like him, but he seemed to instantly realize how I was feeling and what I needed. He looked at me for a moment, and asked, "You hungry?" I nodded, and he lowered some sliced potatoes into the hot grease. He didn't say any more, but somehow that was exactly what I needed. Those fries may not have been magic fries, but they must have been pretty special, since I remember them ten years later.

I also remember my dad and Ross, the father of another girl on our team, at the state basketball tournament. Unlike most of the parents, they weren't satisfied sitting a respectable distance away, but chose to sit right in the middle of the student section. I remember looking up at them during the boys game (which, unfortunately, always seems to draw a much larger crowd than any game I ever played in), and being amazed at what I saw. Not only were they surrounded by dozens of students from the other school, who were taunting them relentlessly, they were standing up, yelling right back at them and pointing at the scoreboard. I got the feeling that somehow they had been transported back to their own "glory days," which we were always being reminded of, and I just shook my head, hoping that they would make it out of there without inciting a riot.

There are so many other things I could tell you about him, but I think this picture says it better than I could hope to. He loves his grandkids, maybe more so than his own children even, and I can't think of any place more inviting to fall asleep than on grandpa's lap in the middle of a crowded mall at Christmas time. Especially if he was looking at me with such love in his eyes. Yep, Allie is one lucky girl. And so am I. I love you dad!

Burping and Milk

Allie and Kyla are both sleeping and so I thought I'd steal a few minutes to try to post, although Damon is trying to ask me a question every second so this may not last, but since I have nothing really of interest to post anyway, that might be a good thing.

There is nothing more satsifying than getting a nice, spit-up-less burp out of a baby. Wouldn't you agree? I forgot how great that feels. Especially the times when you know something is bothering your little one; they cry when you think they should be nursing and when you sit them up and give them a couple solid thumps on the back, you are rewarded with a loud belch, mixed in a sort of "thank you cry", and nothing could be more exciting.

The other night I was doing my best to get dinner on the table (explaining yet again to Damon my desire to have more than two arms so I could do things a little faster), and Kyla was screaming, letting me know that she was hungry, too. When we sat down to eat, I decided I wasn't in the mood to eat alone and so I did what any hungry mother would do--I nursed her at the table. At this point, I'm sure you're not gasping in shock, but hopefully nodding in agreement--it's not always fun to eat alone, especially when you're the one preparing the food and not getting to enjoy it while it's warm. Kyla didn't mind, and when I sat her up after she finished one side, I tried to put some more food on my plate with my free hand. Instantly, and without any help whatsoever from me, she burped loudly, as though she had been enjoying her meal, too. That was when I realized that all those times I felt so good about myself for coaxing those troublesome air bubbles out of her probably had a lot more to do with gravity than anything I was really doing. By patting her on the back, was I really doing anything but making myself feel good? I get the feeling that that question had already been answered by my somewhat neglected third child, who was perfectly happy burping herself. What a shame to have that bubble burst (my self-congratulating, not the bubbles Kyla is working on).

Alright. Now that Damon is entertaining himself by pushing dimes around the computer desk (right next to me, of course, but at least no longer asking me questions), I think I have time for one more subject. Is anyone else losing sleep at night wondering what in the world happened to the price of milk? At Wal-Mart the other day, a gallon was over $4.00! Sheesh! I heard that things weren't great with dairy farmers, but honestly, it's getting way out of control. Long gone are the days of Kroger's 10 half gallons for 10 dollars. Jeff keeps saying that we're going to have to either start drinking powdered milk or stop eating cereal. I don't find either of those options very attractive and hope it never actually comes to that.

Here in Jacksonville, I started buying milk at CVS because it is always cheaper. Their regular price for a gallon is $3.59, which still seems awfully steep, but it's less than Wal-Mart. They do, however, have sales fairly often, where a gallon costs $2.49. Much more reasonable. You can only buy two gallons at a time, and so I'll stop by every few days and stock up. My mom taught us that you can freeze milk (although make sure it has thawed completely before you drink it, or you may get a chunk of ice in your mouth when you aren't expecting it...yuck), and I did do that once. Walgreen's also has sales ($2.89 a gallon) and that helps out, too. Now, though, I am just wondering if the price is going to ever come back down or if it is just going to plateau for the foreseeable future. Basically, I'm wondering if I need to look into buying a cow so that we can be sure to have milk without complaining too much about it (or, heaven forbid, drinking powdered milk). And if so, does anyone want to share it with me?

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Old video clip

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting This is a video from April when we visited the Kennedy Space Center. Jeff was trying to show how big the back of the space craft is compared to Allie (these are the five engines she is standing under), but the reason I wanted to post it is because of what Damon says toward the end. I had gone to the bathroom and when he saw the cleaning crew put up a wet floor sign, he started worrying that I wouldn't be able to get out. In typical Damon fashion, he freaked out about something that was really not a big deal at all. Enjoy.

Our Fourth

We had a fun Fourth of July, although the rain kept us from enjoying ourselves too much. We had plans to meet up with a bunch of friends at Jacksonville Beach to play and watch the fireworks, but after a morning filled with constant drizzle, we were worried that we might have to change our plans so we could stay dry. Fortunately, the rain cleared out and by late afternoon we were on our way to a big whoopdeedoo (I've never actually seen that word in print, so who knows how to spell it). We asked Kyla what she thought about everything and here she is pondering it all.


The waves, although they look fairly tame in this picture, were pretty big and we couldn't just let the kids go out by themselves. Fortunately, they found other ways to entertain themselves. Here's Damon and Romy playing in the sand.

Allie decided to cover her body in sand from head to toe. She did a fairly thorough job and doesn't seem too dissatisfied with the results.

April organized the whole event, inviting families both from our ward and her new ward. She even invited a girl she met at the library, so we had quite the group! Here are most of the ladies (some were busy watching the kids and didn't make it into the shot). Me, Noel, Daisy, Lindsey, Mariah, Lindsay, April and Heather, as well as a few of the kiddies.

We posed for a family shot as the sun was getting ready to go down. If you look closely, you can see a tiny grin on Kyla's face.

As it got dark, and we were waiting for the fireworks to start, Damon mooched a sparkler off of someone. Even though the sign said "No Fireworks on the Beach," he wasn't the only one celebrating his independence with some fireworks of his own.

When it was dark enough, the fireworks show began. Damon thought Kyla would enjoy them more from his lap. I'm not sure what kind of expression that is on her face, but she doesn't seem to disagree entirely.

I know you can barely tell, but there is actually a firework in the background. They were shot off from the pier so we had a great view from the beach.

It was getting late, and Allie was tired from covering herself with sand. She nearly fell asleep on Jeff's lap, but somehow managed to stay awake. Damon thought that Jeff's other knee might be a comfortable place to watch the show, or at least somewhere with a better view of Allie's tired eyes.

Just before the fireworks ended, we posed for one more family picture. We were sandy, wet, and tired, but happy. Of course, the kids fell asleep on the way home and got to sleep in their clothes, as tiny piles of sand covered nearly every inch of their beds. Neither one complained, though. Isn't it great to be young? We had a great Fourth and Allie is already asking when we can go back for more fireworks. Hope you all had a great time, too!

Filet O' Fish

Well, you know that we don't watch a lot of commercials, thanks to our fabulous DVR, but one night we came across this gem from McDonald's. I can't say that I've ever been impressed with McDonald's commercials before (how can a company that generates so much money do so little to create good ads?), but this one is pretty good. Jeff and I sat watching for the first half of the commercial when suddenly it became funny. I don't know why, but we just started laughing. Now it has become a family joke, and at the beach yesterday, when Dave Ferguson told Allie that she is a little fish, she responded, "Filet of fish." And she's never even seen the commercial. I think I'll go get her right now and let her watch. Enjoy!

Birthday Boy

Damon turned five on Monday. Sunday night he was so excited to go to bed, because in the morning it would be his birthday. Don't you remember wen you were younger and, besides Christmas, your birthday was the most anticipated day of the year? I tried to make his day special, even though we aren't going to have his party until next week (it took several attempts to explain to him the difference between his actual birthday and his birthday party, but I think he finally understands).

When he woke up (before 7:00 am, I might add), he asked if he could opened his presents, but I made him wait until Jeff woke up. He was appropriately excited and grateful for the few things we got for him, which was enough to make me happy. Then we made pancakes for breakfast. He had been dreaming about that (literally) and had his heart set on it. After our breakfast, we went to Toys R Us. As a part of Geoffrey's Birthday Club, he got a $3 coupon for anything he wanted, as well as a crown and balloon for visiting the store. He also had $10 from his grandparents and had a fantastic time trying to decide the best way to spend it. He ended up with a jumbo box of sidewalk chalk and ten Hot Wheels cars for his collection.

He was excited to try out the chalk, but wasn't thrilled when he had to clean it up as the rain came pouring down from the sky.

A word about his outift--yes, it is summer in Jacksonville, and while it's been cooler (only in the 80's) with all the rain we've been getting lately, it's still not quite sweat pants/long sleeve shirt weather. But he dressed himself and wasn't in the mood to change. That is, until he got drenched trying to save his chalk from disintegration. Notice that he also stopped to pick up the newspaper as he was coming inside. What dedication to a thorough job!

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, and here's what he chose: salmon, vegetables, lemonade and water. I offered to make breadsticks, too, which he thought was a good idea. I did find myself wondering how many five year olds would choose salmon for their birthday dinner. I'm not complaining, merely wondering.

He ended the night the way he ends most nights in the summer--with a popsicle. He wanted to make, and decorate, sugar cookies, but I explained that we need more time than just an evening to do that. I'm still trying to figure out when we'll do that. But I think it was a good birthday for him and he's really looking forward to his party next week. In typical mom fashion, I have to remark how amazing it is that I have a five year old. I don't feel old enough, or wise enough, to make such a claim, but I couldn't be happier that Damon is a part of our family. He's got such a good heart and he has taught me so much about being a mom. He's the perfect big brother for little sisters, and while he's not thrilled about being the only boy here at home, he's so sweet with them and they are really lucky to have him.

Three things

Before I forget...

1)Damon was trying on some swim goggles and said, "It's tickling my nose. It's because I'm so excited." Huh, I can't say I've ever been that excited.

2)We were watching The Living Scriptures movie about Ammon and at one point King Mosiah tells his sons he wants to show them something. Guessing at what it could possibly be, Allie asked, "What is it mommy, a cockroach?" What does that say about what I've been showing her lately?

3) Allie came into the bedroom the other morning wanting breakfast. Instead of asking for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops, she said, "I need some peanut butter meatballs." I love peanut butter and I love meatballs, but somehow the thought of them together just doesn't do it for me.

Blessing day

Yesterday we blessed Kyla in sacrament meeting. It's always a guessing game at how the baby will do during the actual blessing. Will they scream, making it impossible to hear what's going on? Will they sleep and not give anyone the opportunity to see what they really like look (and ooh and ahh over the adorable dress they're wearing)? Or, as was the case with Kyla, will they calmly look around and make you believe that might actually be enjoying the whole experience? Yes, thankfully she was perfect, much to my great relief, and the gentle rocking of the men in the circle seemed to be exactly what she needed.

It was a really nice blessing, and the one thing that really stands out to me is that she was blessed to have a sense of humor and a happy heart. I'd never heard that in a blessing before and I'm excited for what is to come in the years ahead as we get to experience her sense of humor. Here is a picture of the girl of the hour looking pretty pleased with the whole charade.

She's wearing the same dress Allie wore when she was blessed, and for comparison's sake, here is a picture of Allie.

Back to Kyla...here is another picture of her. She's making this funny large-mouthed smiling face, but I love it because this is a face she makes a lot.

After church we had a little potluck lunch with the other Trapnell's and the Tolman's. Here are Angie and Aaron (and Austin). Aaron is finishing ortho school this month and they will be leaving. How sad for us. Angie and I due just one day apart with our babies and it was so much fun to share our pregnancies together. She, however, had her baby three days before I did, making us the losers of the bet the boys had going on. Now we have to take them to Red Lobster (courtesy of our rewards MasterCard).

And here's Greg and Noel (and Tyson). At least we weren't completely without family on a day usually reserved for huge Esplin/Trapnell family gatherings. What would we do without them?

One last pic for today. Here's Kyla and Austin. Since he was born first, he is an older man, so maybe there will be a romantic future for these two? Who knows.

Music Outtage

About a week or two before Kyla was born, the stereo in our van shorted out, and since it was less than a year old, it was still under warranty from Panasonic. We sent it in to get fixed and it finally was returned to us earlier this week. If you are trying to do the math in your head, I'll save you the trouble and just tell you--we were without music of any kind in the van for over a month. It was strange, and not as quiet as you may think. Because there was nothing to listen to, Damon and Allie seemed to find twice (or three times) as many things to fight over. It was miserable to put it lightly, and the day the stereo was returned to us in the mail was a day of great rejoicing for all of us.

Now, though, after a month of silence, I am desperately trying to catch up with all that I missed during our music fast. I went as far as to record VH1's top 20 videos just so I could reacquaint myself with the music world. Most of the songs I skipped (maybe I'm getting old, because I just don't appreciate a lot of the popular music these days, and I can't handle most of the music videos), but there were some songs I recognized and even liked. The top two songs were Daughtry's "Home" and Elliott Yamin's "Wait for You." As a fan of American Idol, it's no surprise that I was happy to see that. Also, Kelly Clarkson ("Never Again") and Carrie Underwood ("Before He Cheats") were on the countdown, so that's not bad for the old idols.

Today, as we were running errands, Damon listened to, and tried to sing, Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend." I admit, it is very catchy, but some of the lyrics just made me gulp, as I thought of them coming out of my sweet little boy's mouth. It's amazing how having kids has changed the way I think about music. I regretfully admit that I now understand why my mom objected to a lot of the songs I used to listen to (the one that comes to mind is "Strawberry Wine," still one of my all time favorites). I can't decide how I feel about this, as it makes me wonder when I became such a mom. I always thought that when my kids were teenagers I would be so much cooler than my was and that I would know what music they were listening to because I would like it, too. I'm beginning to realize that the likelihood of this happening is rapidly dwindling, as I jab the buttons on the stereo in frustration, trying to find something we can all listen to comfortably.

Country music is both a little better and a little worse. Some songs are great and fairly objection free, but you also have to deal with songs that talk about checking each other for ticks and ridiculous subjects like that. I have to admit, I really miss the days of NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child and Mandy Moore. The transition from "Bye Bye Bye" and "Candy" to "Rehab" and "Buy U a Drank" (both songs on Billboard's top 10) was much too quick for me.

And so, it is with somewhat of a heavy heart, that I admit to myself, my children, and those few of you who are reading this, that I am not going to be a cool mom; I'm going to be like all parents before me, complaining about how the best days, musically and otherwise, are behind us. I figure that since I am admitting this now, while my kids are still young, I will be able to fully accept the role of "crotchety old mom who just doesn't get it" by the time Damon turns 15.

For now, though, if any of you have a favorite song right now that you think I may not have heard of (pretty good chance there), feel free to enlighten me.

Challenge

I was so spoiled during the school year while Damon was at school to have at least an hour or two of quiet time all for myself. As I sit here today, trying to write with all three kids demanding some of my attention, I find myself really missing those days. I remember my mom telling us how much she disliked summer when we were younger and I didn't understand why. Now, even though I only have three kids, I understand exactly where she was coming from. It takes so much effort and planning to get out and do something and it seems so much easier to just stay home. But when we stay home the house gets messy, the kids get restless and I feel like poking pencils in my ears so I don't have to hear all the whining. It's always much worse when Allie doesn't take a nap and I bet you can guess whether or not she took one today. :)

Kyla was awake and happy today so I grabbed the camera and had a quick photo shoot with her (and inevitably Damon and Allie, too). I really wish I knew more about taking pictures because I'm sure someone who is a professional could've gotten some really great shots. Instead, this is what we have to show for our efforts.

While the pictures are loading I am going to free write about some of the things I have been thinking about lately. This will probably be very random and hard to follow, but I don't really care. I just feel the need to purge.

So, we watched Shaq's Big Challenge the other night and I have been thinking a lot about it. If you haven't heard about the show, basically Shaquille O'Neal is trying to help some kids who have been diagnosed as being "morbidly obese," which, in essence, means that these kids are

likely to die earlier than they would otherwise because of their weight. He is going to put them through a physical boot camp to help them, and hopefully save their lives in the process. On the first episode they talked about what a problem we have in the United States with obesity, especially among children and teenagers. Out of the six kids on the show, four of them couldn't do a push up (not one) and three of them couldn't do a sit up. It made me very sad, especially when I saw each of them sitting in the doctor's office being told exactly how much trouble they were in, physically speaking. One girl, a 14 year old, was told that she has 50% fat and is over 100 pounds overweight. Amazing and heartbreaking. Another boy disclosed that he had never eaten a baby carrot. Walter, a 14 year old, admitted that he plays five hours of video games a day and never exercises. And even though I know this is becoming far more common in our country, I still found myself shaking my head wondering how it is even possible.

Now, I don't want to put all the blame on the parents, because the kids are making their own decisions and I don't know enough about their lives at home to make any judgments, but as a mom, I started wondering what more I can do to help my kids to be healthy. I'm not really worried about them being overweight (luckily, they have genetics on their side), but I do want them always to be healthy, and I know that that starts with setting a good example for them. I think we do a pretty good job most of the time, but of course, there are always things we can do better. Here are some of the things I have been thinking about. Please feel free to add any of your own suggestions.

• Drink lots of water. This is something I have been trying to do for a couple of years. For me, I would rather drink water with my meals (instead of juice, lemonade or kool-aid), because those are calories I would rather spend somewhere else (like on ice cream). Jeff is always telling me that juice isn't bad, especially if it's 100% juice, and I agree with him. It's not bad and I like to have a glass of juice occasionally, too, but I have noticed that my kids are fine drinking whatever I offer them. And I am constantly telling Damon that water is the very best thing he can put into his body. There is a girl in our ward who is Damon's age that recently had to have a lot of dental work done. Her mom was explaining to me that she is allergic to milk and has mostly only had juice to drink during her five years (apparently, the mom can't get her to drink water). I'm really glad my kids are willing to drink water and I hope this is something I can encourage all their lives.
• Teach them to eat until they are full, not until all the food on their plate is gone. Sometimes I feel like Damon races through dinner so he can have a popsicle (or whatever he has his eye on) and doesn't truly get full. But I think it's the best way for him to figure out for himself just how much food his body needs. Even if I don't think it's enough, if he is willing to have nothing but water until our next meal (or snack) then I don't stress about how much he eats. Going along with that, we've also been pretty strict about not offering choices other than what we are eating. If the kids choose not to eat it, and they're willing to go hungry, then that is their decision to make. There aren't snacks (or worse, dessert) later on and for the most part, our kids are good eaters. Hopefully that is something that will continue, too.
• Serve healthy meals. This is, and probably always will be, one of the challenges facing moms and it is something I know I need to focus on a little more. We have been pretty good about eating whole grains and other foods high in fiber, but we can always do better. We go through phases when we're really good about fresh fruit and vegetables and I know we need to work on that again. Recently, I have been trying to cut down on the amount of red meat that we eat. This is hard, because I grew up eating a lot of beef and there's nothing I like more than a juicy steak (and I don't plan on giving those up any time soon, although I'll only have one every couple of months, so it's not that big of a deal). However, I have found that turkey is a great substitute. Ground turkey is cheaper than ground beef (usually) and there is not enough of a difference to miss the beef. The other day I found turkey breakfast sausage, which isn't exactly good for you, but it does have 30% less fat than regular breakfast sausage. Also, my mom introduced me to turkey pepperoni, which tastes great and has 70% less fat than regular pepperoni (okay, maybe those last two aren't exactly substitutes for red meat, but they are healthier options than some of the things we've been eating).
• Encourage them to be active. I feel strongly that our kids should be involved in physical activities throughout their lives. I'm not picky, and I am willing to let them choose what they want to do. Damon has really been vocal about wanting to do gymnastics and I know that I need to put him in a class, but it's hard when I feel like we just don't have the money(we don't). But I am planning on making this a part of our lives and am really looking forward to the day that we are actually making money, instead of living off of loans. Also, I am still looking for a gymnastics class for Damon that we can afford, and am more motivated to find one now that I have been thinking of ways I can help him develop healthy habits.
• Lead the way. I have noticed that when I am exercising, my kids are excited about joining in. It's hard to feel motivated myself sometimes, but I'm going to do better about exercising here at home (yay for Lifetime workouts that I can record and do later) and my goal is at least four mornings a week. Check back to see if I make it.

Wow, that turned into a lot more than I even planned on. If you're still reading, I applaud you and am somewhat amazed. Like I said earlier, if you have any tips you'd like to share, I welcome them. In the meantime, I'm excited to find out which of the kids on Shaq's show can really make some serious changes that will impact the rest of their lives (hopefully all six of them will be able to). Maybe I'll even do some sit-ups while I'm watching.

p.s. Allie is asleep on my lap, Kyla is asleep on my bed, and Damon is hiding in the tent he created around me with blankets. It may not be what I'm used to, but it is a "little piece of quiet," and I'm going to soak it up for a couple of minutes more before my legs fall asleep and I have to move Allie to the bed.

Refi

Thanks for the reminder, Noel. Here's the story...

There's a commercial on tv all the time about a "no cost refi," and for some reason, Damon and Allie think it's funny. Allie started saying it and when I laughed at her, it only encouraged her that much more. Well, a few days ago we were reading the children's Book of Mormon stories and I was pointing out who Nephi was. A few minutes later, Allie held the book up so I could see, pointed to Nephi, and called him "No Cost Refi." Close.

Kyla and Bexley

So, my friend Stephanie borrowed an idea from a friend of hers where she posted pictures of her son at one week and one month posing by the same stuffed animal so you could see how much he had changed. I love the idea and I am going to borrow it too. The first picture is of Kyla (and Allie's beloved Baby Bexley) at one week old.

The next is at one month old, just a couple of days ago.

There isn't as much difference as I thought there would be (besides the obvious lack of a belly button stump in the second one). She has gained almost two pounds since the first photo, but, lucky girl, seems to hide it very well. I hope that is a trait she carries with her throughout her life.

Okay, I have much more to say, but I will save it for later. I just wanted to get this post up.

Baby Tyson

The other night we got to watch Greg and Noel's little boy, Tyson. He was supposed to sleep the whole time, but he didn't want to miss out on all the fun with the cousins. Here is a shot of him with the girls. Doesn't Allie look thrilled to have him here?

Damon wanted to hold him, but was a little surprised at how heavy he was compared to Kyla. It didn't stop him, however.

Tyson is the Trapnell family's miracle baby (the product of a third attempt at in-vitro for Greg and Noel) and we think he was worth the wait (and "weight." He is four and half months old and pushing 20 pounds!). How can you not love that smile? Even though this isn't the best shot of Kyla, I had to post it because it's just too cute of Tyson.

More pics of guess who

I noticed a very sad fact--I have barely any pictures of Kyla with Jeff and/or me. And so today I decided to snap a few to prove that she actually has a mother who holds her (and not just a very clingy big brother and sister). Of course I had to use the self-timer so I had very little control over what she was doing when the pictures snapped, but here is one that I liked. Minus the spit-up running down her face.

Here's one of her that I liked, even though she's not quite as chubby as this makes her look. She smiled a few times at me, as if to say that she wasn't totally against the impromptu photo shoot, and I managed to catch this half-smile.

She's actually still pretty skinny, as you can see in this wonderful crying shot.

Here is one of her asleep in her carseat. I recommend the Kiddopotamus headrest--it has been great and her head rarely falls over. It's a little pricier than the regular headrests, but it's worth it. We also take it out at home and put it in the swing so she can be snuggled in there, too. She doesn't sleep great in her carseat, unlike a lot of babies I know who always sacked out in there, but she does alright. Usually she'll cry a little in the car but nothing too out of control.

So, that's it for today. Kyla has a poopie diaper and is patiently waiting for me to come change her. One last thing. Damon and Allie are annoying sometimes with how much they love her, but how can it not be good for someone to hear things like, "Kyla! You're a beauty!" everyday?

my mouth

A word about communication. It's obviously important to make sure we are understanding one another and Allie made that clear to me the other night. I don't know if you struggle with your kids the way we do with ours, but we are always "reminding" Damon and Allie that they need to keep their food in the kitchen or dining room. They just can't seem to remember and our carpet is proof of that. The other night, I found Allie drinking her milk in the family room again. Remaining calm, I took her cup from her, put it on the small table in the kitchen, and asked, "Where do we drink our milk, Allie?" Fully expecting her to recite our rule about only eating food in the kitchen as she has so many times before, I was a little caught off guard when she looked up at me with those big eyes and said, "In my mouth." How could I not smile at that?

Update, mostly for me

I think it's a combination of having a new baby and the onset of summer that has completely ruined the routine I worked so hard to create during the rest of the year. I really have no excuse for not blogging more (or writing more, as I have managed to find time to post videos and pictures) and I am gradually working back to doing all the things I want to do.



However, in the meantime, I still haven't written (anywhere) about what it's been like having a new baby in the house, and Kyla is fast approaching one month old. Shame on me. She'll grow up feeling like a typical third child who didn't get any of mom's attention, not nearly enough pictures taken to prove she had a childhood, and nothing but hand-me-downs from her big sister. To be fair, I am busy and as if to prove the point, I have to go hold the crying baby now and will have to finish this post later.

Alright, back at it...

The past three plus weeks have been everything I knew they would be. I am running on far less sleep than I have been used to having, yet somehow I manage to make it through each day. Kyla has had some good nights and some bad (fortunately, more good than bad). Three nights ago she even slept from 11:30 pm to 5:45 am! Wow! She stirred once around 3:00 and I got her up to nurse her, but by the time I got her out of bed, she had fallen back to sleep. When I woke up and it was starting to get light, I panicked for a quick minute, worried that she hadn't made it through the night. I am really looking forward to the day that all nights are like that. Two nights ago, bothered by a stuffy nose, she woke up every hour or two and had a hard time with both the binkie and nursing. That was a tough night for me. Last night was a little better. More typically, she will sleep three hours at a time and then wake up. I'm not convinced that she always wakes up because she's hungry (she hasn't been the most voracious nurser in the middle of the night), but I feed her anyway. Sometimes she will have a messy diaper, but unlike Damon, she doesn't need to be changed with every feeding (we'll see if that changes). Occasionally she won't make it three hours at a time, but we usually make it through the night with two feedings. I have found that the most tired I feel is always at around 7:00 or 8:00 am when the other two kids want to get up. Of course.

Okay, I know that was probably really boring, but I wanted to have some record of that for the future. Also some things of note:

• Kyla is awake a lot more than Damon and Allie were. From day one, she would have several awake periods a day (usually about 4) where she was calm. I don't know how unusual that is for some of you reading this, but I remember my other babies only being awake and calm right before messing their diapers.
• Now, she can stay awake a little over an hour at a time. Usually by the end of the hour she has started getting fussy, but she loves her binkie and that helps with those times.
• She is almost always awake when I am trying to get dinner ready, and this is one of her "not calm" periods. She doesn't cry a lot, but enough to let me know that she's not going to be comforted unless I am holding her and giving her my undivided attention, which has made getting dinner ready a little bit tricky.
• She also really wakes up in the evening. Sometimes she is happy and sometimes she isn't, but right after the kids go to bed, she is awake.
• Sometime during the evening she gets fussy and I have to pull out all the tricks to keep her happy (bouncing, walking around the house, letting her lay on the bed and have a good cry by herself...). But usually by her last feeding of the day (11:00 or so) she has calmed down and is ready for bed.
• She likes to have her hands out by her face, but slept really well swaddled, so I am undecided on the best way to put her to bed. This needs some more experimenting.
• She took a bottle from Jeff on Wednesday night just fine (yay!) and I'm hoping that will continue. She has always been a good nurser, which is a huge blessing.
• Today she weighed 9 lbs 14 oz at her appointment. I checked Allie's record and she weighed 9 lbs 15 oz at one month (Kyla will be one month on Sunday).
• Not only has she been awake a lot since birth, she has also smiled at us a lot when she was awake. I think this is a little unusual, too, as I don't remember my other two doing that until later on. It may be that she's just awake more so we notice it, but I like to believe that she actually is smiling at us. I love it. For a while I thought she only smiled at Damon and Jeff, but she's been giving me a few beautiful grins lately, so maybe she does like girls, too.

Wow, that ended up being more than I planned on, but I think I will be happy to have a record of it later on. Mostly, I have thoroughly enjoyed having a baby again. Of course it's hard and there are moments when I think I'm going to lose my mind, but the good things far outweigh the bad and we feel so lucky to have been blessed with such a wonderful, healthy little addition to our family.

Yellow Star

I have been terrible about reviewing the books I have read lately (I have been reading, but as the list of books I have finished continues to grow, the likelihood of me writing about them decreases dramatically), but I did want to write a little about a book called Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. I have read a lot of books about the Holocaust (Number the Stars, The Devil's Arithmetic, etc.), but this one is different from any of the others that I have read. It's written all in verse from the point of view of a child who lived in Lodz ghetto in Poland with her family. It's also a true story based on the author's aunt's experiences. It's really a quick read because of the way that it's written and it's an amazing story. Roy captured beautifully what it's like to be a child and the poetry is simple, yet beautiful. Here is one of my favorite parts of the book.

Love

Dora came home from work in a bad mood.
Mother and Papa are tired.
I miss my real doll.
And we are all hungry.
But there is not enough food for dinner.
Mother does not eat her meal.
She gives it to me instead.
She does not say "I love you" in hugs and kisses,
but her love fills up my plate,
and I gobble it up.

Papa says Mother is a noble woman.
He tells me,
"From pain your mother gave you life,
through pain she continues to give."
I think about Papa's words as I finish my broth.
It hurt Mama to give me life? Why?
Didn't I just pop out of her belly button?
I guess I think these words out loud, because
suddenly everyone is looking at me.
Then they all burst into laughter.
Papa, Dora, even Mother.

"Syvia, you are a tonic
for helping us forget our pain,"
says Papa,
and they all smile at me.
Their love fills the air around me,
and I gulp it down.

Damon singing

So, last night at FHE we had Damon sing a few of his preschool songs for the camera. I was a little nervous when he started preschool at a Baptist church at the beginning of the year, but it was a good experience for him, and therefore, for me. This is him singing "I Am A Promise," which was one of their graduation songs.



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At graduation, there was a giant screen on which they showed the graduation pictures of all the kids, along with what they want to be when they grow up. Damon's said, "When I grow up I want to check out food." Yes, he has aspirations of working at the grocery store. Also, a word about his hair in the video clip--he combed it himself before FHE and thought he looked great. We cut it today so it's not so long, but in case you were wondering about his slicked look, that's the explanation. He asked, "Do I look like someone stepped on my head?"

One quote from Allie

I was nursing Kyla the other day and Allie came in.
"I want to hold you," she said. Then, noticing Kyla on my lap, pointed to the coffee table behind her and said, "Baby Kyla sit right there."

Because Heather asked...

So, Heather wanted to see a picture of me just before having the baby. Now that that is behind me, I guess I will oblige. This was two weeks before giving birth, but I didn't really gain any weight the last two weeks, so I am confident in saying that this is as big as I got. If you are wondering, it was 40 inches around the biggest part. Wow!





And here is a cute one of Allie and me in the hospital. I cut my hair a couple weeks ago, if you are wondering. I was tired of asking Damon to stop playing with it and I thought it might be better if it were shorter. There hasn't been a big difference.

I also realized that I didn't have any pictures of me with Kyla (besides the ones from the hospital when she was just born), so I had Kimmy take a few yesterday. Here is one of those.

And here is one of Kimmy with the kids. What would we have done without her? She babysat a lot, she would get up with the kids in the morning and get them breakfast if I was tired (which, of course, I always was) and would do Allie's hair every day. Not to mention she kept Damon entertained, which is a full time job. She was a huge help and it was well worth the money we spent to fly her out here. We miss you already, Kimmy!

And I can't leave my mom out. She left yesterday (with Kimmy) and now I'm on my own with three kids. When will I be ready to leave the house? That remains to be seen. I just know that Damon shed a few tears yesterday on the way home from the airport (although I don't know which one of us cried more) and we can't wait to see them again!

Video

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Well, you know that none of the pictures I have posted look that much like baby Kyla so here is a video clip so you can see what she actually looks like. We all think she has my sister, Heather's, eyes. I know it's not much, but this is definitely the most like what she looks like, so enjoy.

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share PhotosAnd here is a video of Allie singing "I am a Child of God." Don't mind the fact that she's sitting on the toilet. I just couldn't resist. Her falsetto is especially nice.