Wacky Wednesday

Today Kayla's class celebrated Wacky Wednesday. Her teacher told the children that they could come to school dressed "wacky" and this is what we came up with:

Please note the whiskers we painted on her cheeks with liquid eyeliner! In case you are wondering here is what she was wearing: blue jeans, pink turtleneck, white tank top with hearts, white boa, pink toulle belt, pink toulle skirt, one pink sock, one sock with chicks and a pom-pom on the back, one lace-up sneaker, one velcro sneaker, and bunny ears! It took all morning to come up with and she was so please with the end result that we took a ton of pictures!

James has been doing really well. We have recently made some major changes to his diet and have seen some good changes. Not even close to done but working our way through the muck! We have taken out the enzymes and added a homeopathic protocol... Nothing to report yet.

John is cuter than cute. He is talking so much and I noticed tonight that when he runs his legs move with more fluidity. He looks much less drunk when he walks, too, YAY! He loves to give kisses and hugs and may be the most compliant and obedient of the three! For example, when I ask the twins to get their shoes on and wait by the front door, I often find only John sitting at the door with his sneakers... James and Kayla, on the other hand, are often reading books, playing with Barbies, playing with a Leapster or running in circles in the living room.

We finally got enough snow this winter to actually sled. It was the first time the twins had EVER gone sledding. Needless to say they had a BLAST!

Light the Night

Lots of exciting pics to share from Halloween...

Here are some pics of Kayla's class:

Kayla as Super Girl!

Kayla with Super Man and Princess Presto.

Kayla being turned into a Mummy!

The finished product!
(Notice John waiting patiently in his stroller in the background.)

From here we raced over to James's school for his Halloween party:

James is Ultra Cool Buzz Lightyear!

Kayla and James enjoying some snacks.

John, once again, being a complete angel - although dressed as a Fire Fighter!

Buzz loves his teacher Mrs. Fech!

From there it was home to rest and then off to Calvary Chapel's Annual Light the Night...

The Minis with the Richter kiddos... didn't know they would be there!

John with Daddy.

John with Uncle Chad.

Walking on Sunshine

The summer could not be any hotter. (Well, they could but then I would be in a puddle in the corner and wouldn't be able to write to y'all.) I also can't believe that it is already the end of July. Whoever said that the summer was a time to relax didn't have kids. Since school got out at the end of June we have: driven to Nashville and back, started back to school (for James), [I] led worship for VBS, had two sick boys, taken K to Gymnastics camp, celebrated at least a half dozen birthdays (with at least a half dozen more to go this summer), had Thanksgiving dinner in July... I am sure that I am forgetting something...

But I have yet to tell you about some of the more exciting things that have happened. About 2 weeks ago Dave and I met with a Nutritionist who specializes in ASD kids. She gave us a "plan" and we have embarked upon a new adventure. On Sunday we started enzymes with James. It has been 2 full days and he seems to be doing well. So I think tomorrow or Thursday we will go from the 1/2 dose he is taking now to the full dose. There is always the chance that these treatments will at first cause James to go "backwards" but the end result is almost always improvement.

Also, James will be attending a full day autism program in the fall where...wait for it, wait for it... THEY are going to potty train him. I know I couldn't believe it either when they told me. It isn't that Dave and I don't want to (alright maybe we don't want to) but its just that we aren't really sure HOW to. So I will keep you all up to speed on that as it progresses.

The other great news is that John has started walking. I don't mean that he holds on to the couch and walks around the living room perimeter. I mean he stands up and puts one foot in front of the other and takes a couple of steps and then falls on his butt. We have tried to get it on film but of course as soon as you turn on the camera all he wants to do is eat it! So we will try sneak some footage when possible and share.

I will leave you with 2 great pics. One is Kayla climbing the dugout pole in Nashville. The other is one that my Mom took of the boys. Enjoy!

Some recent pictures

I realized that I haven't uploaded pics in awhile so here you go...

Philly Zoo (May 15)...

As I'm sure most of you can imagine our little "Mary Lou" climbed her way to the top of anything she could swing her feet up on top of!

James loved the otters!

It was possibly the only time he was actually engaged in observing the animals...

But for the most part this is what he did all day!

And this is beautiful Olivia! Our friends Nicki and Adam brought her home from Guatemala and she couldn't be any more perfect!

Oh, yeah and then there was John. Could he be a more perfect baby?

He was an absolute angel the entire day!

Memorial Day at the Shore...

The happy 4 year olds!

The happy 9 month old!

The happy grandparents with the grandkids!

Birthday Bash, Gater Style

We have usually (the past 2 years) had the twins' birthday party on Memorial Day Weekend. It worked out because it was usually within a week after their actual birthday and having it on that Monday meant Saturday and Sunday to get the house and the yard ready. But the downside was that Memorial Day usually falls right after the rainy season and our yard was always really wet. (Not to mention all the family and friends who could never make it because they had family vacations that weekend.) So last year we resolved to move their birthday party to a later weekend.

Fast forward to this year... Who would have know that we would have a heat wave the first weekend in June? It's a really good thing that we had planned to have lots of water fun available. That is, of course, until our daughter and a few of her cohorts decided to dump sand from the sand table into the kiddy pool (!) at which point the water turned very dark and all the grossed out parents promptly pulled their kids out of the water. Couldn't have planned it better. Within a few minutes dinner was ready to be served. Whew!

Dinner... Well, in years past we have always grilled burgers and dogs. This always seemed easiest and most convenient. Except, Dave always spent like an hour grilling and sweating and basically not enjoying the party. So we decided that this year I would make something that could be made ahead in the slow cooker. Well, my math must be really bad because I ended up making enough pulled pork and BBQ beans for about 50 people. (There were maybe 18 adults and the kids all ate hot dogs.) I have no idea what happened. I do know however that I had 5 crock pots going and that could have been a mess had we lost power like so many others in NJ!

Everyone seemed to have a really good time. It was so great that Stephanie and Brian made the 3 hour trek with Luke and Shelby. We miss you guys and can't wait for you to move back to Jersey!

What always befuddles me though is present time. So, the twins know they are getting presents (I think they are born with this knowledge or something). When it came time to open I was kind of excited because there weren't so many that I had to actually keep notes on who gave what to whom. (Thanks Stephanie for the great idea of having just a kids party.) But the thing that always gets me is that they open a great present (for example, their new FP3 players which they absolutely love) but they can't really enjoy it yet because coming down the pike is another great gift. Then the madness ends and they are left amongst this haze of wrapping paper shreds, gift bags and clouds of tissue paper and no real idea of what they have been given. I always feel bad because no one knows if the kids actually liked their gifts because there isn't enough time to show genuine appreciation before the next gift is thrust into their hands to be opened. What to do?

We were exhausted when the night ended and are still really exhausted. But one more funny story to share before I am done. That night I was doing a little bit of clean up in the kitchen and Gran was holding John sitting in the kitchen chatting with me. Dave and Grandpop were outside bringing in all the chairs and tables onto the porch. At about 7:30 I realized that I hadn't heard or seen the twins in a LONG time (at least 20 minutes). I was a little concerned as this NEVER happens. I started looking in their bedrooms, "Kayla, James, where are you?" Then the living room and then the play room. This is where I found them. Sitting quietly (and I mean in absolute silence) side by side on the couch in the playroom listening to their "ipods" (as they call them). I have never been so happy in my whole life! (Okay, maybe that is a bit extreme, but you catch my drift.)

Thanks again to everyone who came and made this such a fun day for the Big J and Princess!

Blessings Abound!

Once again I have managed to be so overwhelmed this last month that I have neglected to share with all of you some of the cooler things that have been happening here in NJ.

John has been growing in leaps and bounds. Gosh, I think that it has been 3 weeks since John started crawling! I know that it was a Thursday does that help??? Let me tell you, he is a speed demon. He can cross the room in seconds and not 30 I'm talking like 5! He cracks up over everything - namely his brother and sister. A few days later he pulled himself up to standing. And you can see when he stands, the way he moves his feet, that he will be walking any day now! (A little history lesson here: Kayla walked at 9 1/2 months and James at 10 months. So given that John has pretty much developed in the same ways that they have I am guessing any day now John will just stand up and walk across the room!) Oh, and again in true Gater fashion John has gotten two more teeth (yes, at the same time).

Kayla must have mountain goat or monkey blood or something. Why? you ask. Well, because that child likes to climb on or hang from any and everything. Her goal seems to be to freak me out at every turn. This past weekend we went to the Shore for Memorial Day. Monday morning we took the kids to the playground at Sunset Park where they have a 10 or 12 foot rock wall for kids. I saw it and thought Kayla would love it. Then Dave tells me that he watched her do it already. So he climbs up the other side after James and I encourage Kayla to climb up to the top where her Daddy was standing. Well, not only did she not need any encouragement, she didn't need any help. She flew up that wall like she had been up that wall a hundred times.

James, James, James... where to start. His move to the 4 year old class back in February has been great for him. Being home "by himself" (John naps almost the entire time Kayla is at school) has allowed him to have quieter time to work on fine motor skills and play computer learning games that have challenged him in other ways. But something else has happened that is amazing. (Well, this is less about James and more for James.) At the end of April I had a meeting with his current teacher and case manager. They had one opinion and Dave and I had another. They thought that for the Fall he should stay in the classroom that he is currently in. We felt very strongly that this would be a bad idea. First, it is a class that he has already been "doing" for the past 3 months. Plus, all the kids moving up into the class would still be significantly younger than him (part of the problem and why we moved him out of the 3 year old class). So I called SPAN (Statewide Parent Advocacy Network) and they sent me a packet of information written by the NJ Dept of Education called Autism Program Quality Indicators that gave me a lot of information regarding what a high-quality program should be offering to students with Autism. However, this is not the LAW. So we prayed that they would see how these points will benefit James and his development and that they wouldn't be completely focused on their budget and what the administration might think.

So the meeting wasn't great but it wasn't awful either. They were pretty set on him staying where he is. I did however say some things that made the case manager write in her notebook furiously! I noticed that when I quoted the law they both looked a bit surprised. I was careful to not get defensive. But at the same time I stood our ground. One of the things that left me with a glimmer of hope was that the case manager agreed that she needed to talk to the Home Programming Coordinator who had come out more than two months prior to evaluate James at home.

We saw James's Developmental Pediatrician the last week in April and she had only glowing things to say about James. I mentioned to her the document by the Dept of Ed that talked about the recommended program for preschoolers with Autism. She told me that just after our last visit (Nov '07) the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) published a document saying the exact same things! So that was definitely her recommendation. (Finally the AAP recommendations are paying off for us!) On May 6, James's case manager called to let me know that she had observed James for about 45 minutes the day before and "observed several atypical behaviors." (DUH!) Then she said that the programming coordinator was going to be observing James that day at 2 pm. In short they are revisiting the idea of having James go to the full day class for "High Functioning ASD." Initially they thought that this class would not be a good fit for him because most if not all of the ASD kids in it are lower functioning than James BUT the morning half is an integrated class with other typical 4 year olds. So although we have some reservations (and they are very slight) about him picking up the "bad" behaviors of some of the other ASD kids in the class, the afternoon is primarily 1-on-1 ABA and so James would be working with a teacher in a semi-secluded environment. They can also adjust the "teaching" more specifically to meet James's goals. Plus this means he would be in-district (not bussed to a school as much as 30 minutes away) and still a part of the local community. So after the coordinator observed him his classroom teacher, case manager and program coordinator sat down and discussed what they saw.

The very next day the Autism Programming Coordinator called. She observed James and then spoke with James's classroom teacher and case manager and they are recommending that James go to the full-day high functioning class. It is integrated with other typical 4 year olds in the am and then more intensive instruction with just the ASD kids and 2-3 teachers in the pm. This is good news!!! One of the major pluses of this class is the highly individualized nature of the instruction. So James will have someone always directing him and keeping him focused so that he is less likely to be idle. (Idle time for James leads to excessive mouthing of his hands and other objects, babbling and baby talk, or visual and verbal self-stimulating, to name a few.)

The following week the coordinator came over to discuss the goals to be included in James's IEP for the Fall. I was expecting her to talk about things like holding a pencil and cutting with scissors. Instead she showed up with a print out of the curriculum goals for the combined K/1st grade Autistic class. She said that it didn't make sense, given James's academic level, to confine him to age appropriate goals.

Fast forward to today, the coordinator, Cindy, was here this morning to work with me and James. One of the first things that he did was begin reading to her. About half way through the story she said, "We will definitely have to include him in the K/1 class in the Fall." Huh? She repeated herself and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So during the time of the day that makes me the most nervous (when the only students in his classroom will be the other ASD kids with potentially negative things fro James to pick up) occasionally James will be pulled out and included into the K/1 class!!! Can I get an AMEN?!?!

Basically our fears and stresses continue to be taken away. It's about time! There are other things to share like the potty training that Cindy wants to start soon and the sensory diet that she can't believe James doesn't already have. Ahhhh, I have actually felt the weight lifting off my shoulders recently and I have to admit that it feels good.

I will try to post some pics soon. Especially since Dave got some really great ones down the Shore.

So much has happened

AAAAHHHHH!

Where has the time gone? I turned around and it has been almost a month since I posted. So let's see what has happened in the last 4 weeks (in no particular order):

• John went from 2 teeth to 6 teeth in about 2 weeks;
• Dave and I went to the DAN! Conference and learned an awful lot of amazing info;
• James has almost completely stopped napping (let's pause for a moment of silence...);

I know, you're wondering what about Kayla??? What did she do this past month? Well, really there isn't much she isn't doing. She is our amazing blessing. She is so much more mature than her age. (Is that right? Dad, help me out with the grammar here.) She loves school and her teachers can't say enough about how wonderful she is. She wants very badly to read like her big brother and tries hard every day to read just a little more. She loves playing with John. She is so good at watching out for him and just the sight of her makes him light up like the Fourth of July fireworks.

In other news, John's first two teeth (on the bottom) came quite awhile ago. Like the twins they came pretty close together. The twins also got the rest of their teeth in pairs. This was great because they would teethe really bad for a few days and then have two more teeth. Well, John started getting really cranky and was drooling like a leaky faucet. Then they started coming. Now he has 4 teeth on the bottom and 2 on top and once again he is as happy as can be again!

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I spent 2 days straight up to our eyeballs in seminars and workshops about biomedical intervention designed to treat Autism. WOW is all I can say. We were completely unprepared for how much info it would be. But it really made an impression on both of us. We not only learned about the typical things you might expect (GFCF diets, vitamins and supplements) but also about toxins and other things that may have contaminated our possibly already compromised kiddos. We also learned about working to prevent harm to our next kiddos. Sooooo, we came home and threw out all of our Teflon coated pans, food storage containers, plastic plates and cups. In their place we purchased new Rubbermaid containers, started using our cast iron pots and pans more often and invested in Corelle plates and cups for the kiddos.

Yes, I know some of you don't completely understand the sadness I am feeling about James's abandonment of naps but I coveted that time when the twins (and sometimes John, too) would nap and the house would be quiet and the time would be mine. I am not trying to sound selfish but I REALLY need that time. It is time when I can make important phone calls without major interruptions or respond to an important email or (heaven-forbid) take a nap myself. So now we are trying something a bit different. Some days we go out and do something fun after James gets off the bus (go to the playground, go see Mr. RAY) then the next day I let the twins know that today will be a resting day and Voila! Kayla and James both take a nap! Granted Kayla would nap everyday for at least 2 hours if I would let her but I think that this is better for everybody (at least for now).

How Fast the Time Goes

So it seems that John is already seven months old. Um,... how did that happen? The twins are going to be 4? Is Dave really going to be 33? YIKES!!!

Well John is officially sitting up on his own. On Thursday (3/27) we spent a lot of time playing on the floor and then that evening he did! He spent about 15 minutes sitting up nice and tall before beginning to teeter from exhaustion. Man did he sleep well that night!

It is spring break right now and the Gaters are a little off kilter right now. Hopefully life will even out a bit once school is back in session.

Happy Leap Day, Happy 6 Months, Happy Magic Nuudles

Just a quick note. Today is Leap Day. Is that what they call it? I know that this is a Leap Year but what is the official name for February 29th?... According to Wikipedia I am right! I actually have a friend whose birthday is today... Happy Birthday Jane N!!! What are you now? Like 10!

Today is also John's 6 month marker... WOW that has gone by fast. So let's see what does he do??? He has had 2 teeth for about a month and a half, he can pick up just about anything and stick it in his mouth, he LOVES his Exersaucer and I think I forgot to mention that he started rolling over last week. (It's not like I haven't had about a hundred other things happening too.) He is also eating like crazy. He has been eating solids for 2 months and LOVES his bananas. And through it all he is always laughing and smiling. I will let you all know what his stats are after his doctors appt next week. So stay tuned...

Magic Nuudles, what are those you ask? And didn't you spell it wrong? NO! They are this really cool product that look kind of like packing peanuts but are biodegradable and stick together when they get a little wet. Well Kayla and I had some fun creating with them today and this is her final creation:

Transitions Part 2

For all of you who were wondering how James has faired after a week of the "new plan" I thought that I would send out a followup post. Tuesday and Wednesday were extremely difficult. I don't think that we could have ever been prepared for the struggle that James had. Yes, he had many transition "inspired" meltdowns in the past but those are almost completely gone and when he does have difficulty with a transition or change now he can usually navigate through it with much more ease. I reread my post about Tuesday and I don't think that I was able to capture the extreme level of difficulty that he had and I am still not sure that I could. The frustration and meltdowns continued on Wednesday. His exhaustion worsened and on Thursday he was soooo exhausted that after returning from picking Kayla up from school he just lost it. He burst into tears and couldn't even stand up. I asked him if he wanted to eat lunch (our new normal time) and he just sobbed "No!" So now I am panicking because it is 11:15 and his bus comes some time between 11:50 and noon. What does he want? What do I need to do to make this easier? So I asked him if he wanted to take a nap or eat lunch and go to school. He screamed nap. So I reminded him that if he took a nap that he wouldn't go to school and he just pointed to his room. So I put him to bed without lunch and called the bus company and his school to let them know that he was not coming to school. He took a somewhat short nap but it definitely helped. The of course there was no school Friday because we got about 6 inches of snow!

So Friday night Dave and I went into crisis recovery mode and decided on a new schedule. (I should also mention that Kayla was soooo much less than pleased with this new schedule. She didn't like the idea that she was napping by herself and I think that she was jealous that James was getting one-on-one time with me while she was at school and while he was at school she was having to nap.) Now James gets special Mommy Time in the morning while Kayla is at school. Then after we pick her up we have lunch and hang out until the bus comes. Once he comes home we unpack and read a story and then everyone gets a nap - including John. Kayla loves this new nap time. She is always tired by then (3 pm). James doesn't always nap but he has to rest in his darkened quiet room. And Mommy gets a much needed respite from the crazies!

It means an adjustment on my part and rethinking the way that we used to do certain things. It is also going to require us (Dave and me) to think about when and how we participate in certain events. But I think that this will be the best thing that we can do for everyone in our family.

Crazy, Crazier and Craziest

Dave's Grandpop has been really sick - he has been in and out of the hospital a bunch of times over the past couple of months. (PLEASE PRAY!) So he and his dad decided to take a trip to FL to visit him (perhaps for the last time). (= a little crazy) Dave flew out at the ***-crack of dawn on Friday morning. Thankfully Kathy (Dave's mom) was able to come Friday morning to help get the twins ready for school. And God love her she did a ton of laundry! Oh, but I forgot to mention that I didn't get to bed until about 2 am Thursday night and was up at 6 am with James. (I'll help with the math. I got 4 hours of sleep.) Then while the twins are at school John broke through his first tooth. (Yea, the screaming should subside for awhile.)

Kayla has had this cough for a few days but what Preschooler doesn't have a cough from November through March??? So when she had trouble sleeping we weren't surprised. (= a little crazier) But then Sunday night she got up at about midnight complaining that her ears hurt and upon further investigation we found that her throat was swollen to almost twice its size. (= even crazier) She wouldn't go to sleep without my sitting by her side so at 2 am when she was still awake and I was practically falling asleep sitting up I took some cushions off the couch and slept on her floor. I got about 4-5 hours of sleep.

While all of this is going on in her room... I can hear John wailing in my room with David. I want to go help but then I would have a second crying kid. The next morning I found out that John had cut his second tooth! (The twins got most of their teeth early and in pairs, too.)

I took Kayla to the Doctor yesterday morning and the rapid strep test came back negative the Dr said he thinks that it is a viral infection which will probably get worse before it gets better and will probably take 4-5 days to clear up. She showed a little bit of fluid in her right ear but no infection. We are waiting to hear back from the throat culture (on Wed) whether or not it really is strep throat (which is very uncommon at this age). So Kayla will be home probably all week from school trying to get better. (=craziest)

Though it may sound strange please pray that she might have strep because then it can be treated with antibiotics and can be healed faster.

Sweeter Words Were Never Spoken

Kayla really is shaping up to be the most compassionate and considerate child ever. On Friday David had pretty much reached the point where he couldn't continue to work he was so sick. So he called me to say that he was leaving work early to go to the doctor. He was home by the time that Kayla got up from her nap and she was excited to see him. Later that afternoon when I was making dinner I asked Kayla what she wanted to eat. Her response to me was, "Maybe Daddy should have some soup. That will make him feel better." She made a point of making sure that David knew this idea. He and I just looked at each other with amazement.

Then today after I picked the twins up from school I put John down to sleep. I then came out to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher. Well, of course John decided that he wasn't really asleep. So I went back in to the bedroom to help him back to sleep. Next thing I know, I hear these little feet pad into my room. Then Kayla says, "Mom, can I empty the dishwasher?" "Sure honey, but remember just the plastic things." When I came out of my bedroom she had placed every plastic dish and cup on the counter and was starting to "put away" the silverware.

My question is if this is the core of her spirit then where does the whining come from???
Don't get me wrong I am super grateful for her compassionate spirit I just wish that this was her attitude when her brother wants to play with her doll house.

(This is a photo of Kayla and my cousin Nicole at our family's Cousins' Christmas Party. When you have this many cousins you need to have a special party!)

Update on Kayla

Here they are the much-anticipated nails!

Aunt Day

I think a monster has been created... For Christmas my sisters gave the twins "Aunt Day" - a special day just for the 3 aunts and the designated child. Today was Kayla's Aunt Day. Lets just say that it was awesome for her (and I think for them, too). They took her to the mall and she got to get a Build-a-Bear. She chose a hot pink teddy bear that has magnets in her hands and face so that she can look like she is blowing kisses. She also has a heart on her tummy and on the bottom of one of her feet. After making the bear they let her "dress" her newly born friend - named Wish. She chose the identical matching outfit to her Halloween costume - Tinkerbell! Complete with magic wand and pink sequined sneakers (the same shoes she wore with her costume). But it wouldn't be complete without the Hello Kitty pjs. Yes, that's right she got Hello Kitty pjs for her new friend. I think that they might have let her buy anything and everything if she had known to ask!

Then they took her down stairs to the nail salon. Yes, that's right, my 3 year old had her first visit to the nail salon. She chose a polish color that matched the fur color of her new bear. Of course the ladies in the salon couldn't get enough of this grown up toddler and gave her the Star treatment. They gave her a sparkly top coat and diamonds on one finger of each hand.

Next she got to "ride" on all the mechanical rides before they took her to Wendy's for dinner. She got her own Kids Meal (we usually go ala carte and share) and then her aunt Kat shared an Oreo shake with her.

As you can imagine she was so excited when she got home and couldn't wait to tell/show us all the things that she had done. Then she pulls out a book and says, "Here James I got this for you." Little did I know but her aunts had taken her to the toy store in the mall and she was able to pick out some new toys and she chose something for her brother. It doesn't get much better than that.

Needless to say next time we go to the mall she is going to have some strong opinions about what we do and where we go. I will add though that she does not like the way that the nail polish chipped off and she informed that she "never, ever wants to get her nails polished again, ever." But I am sure that will change! **I will post some pics as soon as I can. I was able to shoot a few of her sparkle nails before they completely chipped off.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...

So I realized a couple of days ago that I haven't really shared much of the "entertaining" things that Kayla does. And then yesterday morning it happened...

I was sitting in the living room feeding John and trying to remotely get the twins ready for school. I sent Kayla to the bathroom (the reason now escapes me) and I was trying to keep an ear out for her to make sure that she stayed on task. Then I heard this little voice start singing, "Washed a lot plates in Memphis, Pumped a lit of pain down in New Orleans, But I never saw the good side of the city, Till I hitched a ride on the river boat queen. Big wheel keeps on turning Proud Mary keeps on burning. Rollin, rollin, rollin on the river. If you come down to the river, Betcha gonna find some people who live, You don't have to worry cause you got no money, People on the river are happy to give. Big wheel keeps on turnin Proud Mary keeps on burnin. Rollin, Rollin, Rollin on the river [this time complete with arm movements ala Tina Turner]."

When was the last time you saw a 3 and a half year old channeling the spirit of Tina Turner. Thanks Grandpop and Poppy for exposing our kids to such great cultural elements. She already identifies the Beatles when they are played over the PA at the mall. What next???