Kellan is 17 Months Old!

Kellan turned 17 months on Wednesday, March 20.  He will have a well baby doctor's visit next month so there is not one this time.  These are his measurements from his 15 month doctor visit except his weight.  I put him on our scale here and it shows 29 pounds.

Height: 33 1/4 inches

Weight: 29 pounds

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 inches

A few more statistics for this month:

Sleeping: Kellan's bed time has inched more towards 9:30 pm. A lot of nights it can be even later than that.  Most mornings he wakes up between 8-8:30.  If he wakes up while Michael is getting ready for work, we put him in our bed with me and he will sleep for another hour or more. 

Morning naps change day by day.  Some mornings Kellan needs a nap around 11:00 am (usually for about an hour) and other mornings he just doesn't.  I don't push it because he takes an afternoon nap every day.  His afternoon naps are around 1:00 if there hasn't been a morning nap and around 3:00 if he did take one.  I still mainly just watch his behavior and he lets me know he's sleepy by going in search of his paci and blankie and carrying them around the house.

Eating: Kellan remains to be a good eater but his preferences continue to change each day.  Most meals he will eat anything that we give him and if not, I can usually find something that he wants.  There was another week this month where he did not eat very much of anything and was extremely picky.  He was doing a lot of drooling and putting his fingers in his mouth so I believe we are working on some more teeth.  He also threw his butter beans which were his favorite last month.

He has 3 meals a day with breakfast being between 8:30-9 am. He usually eats half of an avocado (that I feed to him) and we have now moved up to a whole banana that he holds and bites.  If I make myself scrambled eggs or grits sometimes he may have a bite of that too.  He particularly loves bites of mommy's strawberry jelly toast.

Around 12:00-12:30 he has any combination of 3 items for lunch.  Most of the time he has cut up fruit, pieces of cheese/cup of yogurt, and some kind of vegetable or maybe even left over meat from our dinner the night before.  

Around 5:30-6:00 he has his "first course" of dinner which is usually something that he can feed himself while I am cooking our dinner:  cheese, cut up fruit, veggies, raisins, hard boiled egg, cut up leftover meat, etc.  Then when we sit down to eat dinner, he goes back in his high chair and eats whatever he might like that we are having.

Kellan continues to try new foods and still loves biscuits and crackers.  We limit his bread intake as much as we can and he mostly only gets it at restaurants.  If there is a cracker or biscuit anywhere nearby he will find it and demand to eat one.

We still avoid all processed/boxed foods and always try to make the healthiest choices for him.  I still keep eggs, cheese, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, grapes, bananas, baked sweet potatoes, baked butternut squash, etc...always on hand in our kitchen so that he has plenty of healthy options for mealtimes.  

On a Chick-Fil-A lunch date with mommy.  I love their kids meals!  Grilled chicken, a fruit cup, and whole milk.  Then of course he did eat a bite or two of mommy's sandwich and fries :)

Drinking: Kellan always drinks either whole milk or water.  He loves to drink water out of our glasses and he is going through a stage now where he does not want his own cup, he wants to drink out of ours, even if we all have the same thing.

Clothes: Kellan is wearing all 24 months.  24 months fit him perfectly although we do sometimes have to cuff the bottoms of his jeans so that he doesn't trip.  He is moving up to size 5 diapers as soon as we use up the last of the 4's.  We still haven't gotten his feet measured but hopefully we will soon before we buy him some new shoes for warmer weather.  Right now his size 7 Nike's fit perfectly.  

This is what a too little 18 month pj set looks like...skin tight pants and belly poking out the bottom of the shirt :)

Milestones: 

1. I continue to be amazed everyday at the words that Kellan hears, repeats, and then uses correctly later.  Lately he has been saying phrases with two or three words.  Here are some new words and phrases that he can say and USE:  soup, shower, "see you," raisins, phone, TV (TB), work, shake, "the end" (dee in), ready, "I get it,"  "I dropped it," "that's funny," marching, Kellan, "bye! see you!," blankie, bed, Gigi, grandma, "in it" (when he wants to get in his high chair), "up here," miss, egg, avocado ('cado), potato (tae-toe), train, Calliou, Mickey, mouse, fork, coming, naked, "Oh no!," Wow, song, "stop it," dunk, jump, taggie, phone, bathroom, coming...I know I'm not remembering them all.  At least once a day I look at him and think "Where did he learn that?!"

Words that he has been using in previous months:  nana (banana), night-night, cheese, shoes, socks, duck, yes, no, mommy, daddy, thanks, you, car, truck, tractor, doggy, ball, paci, Briggs, papa, Elmo, spoon, milk, tootie (cookie), chicken, bath, shoot, this, hat, more, uh-oh, book, hammer, hot, cold, light, button, mess, dirty, read, fish, fire, poot, bed, yucky, bread, Mimi, apple, water, egg, berries, cootie (cookie), go, remote, house, cow, funny, up, movie, burp, moose, avocado, blocks, bless you, miss, clock, nose, eyes, brush, phone, hey, bye, horse, train, lotion, read...and the list continues to grow.  

2. We are still holding at (at least) 10 teeth. He has 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top and two molars that we know about.  The way he has been drooling tells me that there may be more but he won't let me get a good look.

3. Kellan loves to watch people on TV sing and he twirls, sways and tries to hum along when he hears music.

4.  Kellan continues to love looking at books on his own and having us read to him.  He has started to want us to read the same book over and over.  His current favorites are "Machines at Work," "Where's Spot?," and "Brown, Bear, Brown Bear."  Now when we get to the end of a book (or when he's decided its time to stop) he will loudly say "Dee In!!" (the end) and close the book.

5.  He loves to point out objects that he recognizes.  He has to point out every one's eyes and nose and thoroughly enjoys letting us know when he sees an animal that he knows by yelling out its name.  He gets so excited when he knows the word for something that he sees.  On our walks around the neighborhood he points out every car, dog, truck, house, etc.  We have many conversations daily about socks and shoes.  He points to himself if you ask him "Where is Kellan?"  And he can say his name now...he says it sometimes when he's looking in a mirror.

6.  He has officially learned "mommy."  Before everything used to be "daddy."  Now Kellan is usually found wherever mommy is and says her name about fifty million times a day. I can't go far before he is following close behind.  He also has started saying "mommy daddy" for no apparent reason when we are both at home. :)

7.  Kellan is watching everything.  Whatever we do he is right in the middle of it.  If mommy is on the computer, he needs to tap on the buttons too.  If mommy is cooking, he needs to "see."  If mommy is loading the dishwasher, Kellan is climbing into the dishwasher.  If mommy is taking clothes out of the dryer, Kellan is throwing his toys INTO the dryer.  He gets very mad when he tries to open a drawer or cabinet that has been child proofed.  He wants everything that he can't have and touches everything that he shouldn't.

8.  I am still letting Kellan practice feeding himself with a toddler fork and spoon but now I keep 2 towels underneath his chair.  He makes such a mess and throws his food or spits it out when he's done or doesn't want it.  Even when I'm feeding him, he wants me to scoop it, hand him the spoon, and he will feed himself.  When he can't get pieces of food on his fork, he will yell "HELP!"  This lets me know that he wants me to stab it for him and then he will feed it to himself.

9.  Kellan still has an affectionate side and loves to hug at random times.  Several times a day he will plop himself in my lap just to hang out.  He loves to sit beside us on the sofa.

This picture didn't capture it very well but he was hugging and kissing Elmo's eyes this morning.

Hugging Briggs :)

More hugs...

10.  We are still working on the hitting...especially the hitting of other people.  Everyone tells me that its just his age and the fact that he is a boy.  He loves to hit things all over the house with his plastic golf clubs and wooden hammer.  

11.  He still loves to play "shoot shoot" (basketball) with his indoor basketball goal.  His new favorite basketball word is "dunk" and he still loves to tell you when you've "missed."

12.  Kellan still loves Elmo and gets so excited when he comes on Sesame Street.  We don't have to play the videos on our phones quite as often because he loves playing so many other apps.  I do have to hide the iPad from him sometimes because if he sees it he has to have it and he doesn't want to do anything else.  His favorite app right now is PBS Kids where he can pull up videos from Sid the Science Kid, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Calliou, The Cat and the Hat, and Curious George.  These are also his favorite TV shows at the moment.

Rubbing his fingers impatiently waiting on something to download. 

Watching "Sid the Science Kid"

21.  One thing is definitely for sure.  Kellan's hearing works.  He notices every time a train comes by, a dog barks, or a song comes on TV.   He stops what he's doing, points his finger in the air and says "train!" or "doggy!"  In the mornings if he hears the cabinets open or water running, he sits straight up and says "Daddy!"

22.  Kellan's new way of saying bye is to wave and say "Bye!  See you!"...although its usually after we have already gone.  When we were on a walk this week he told every car that passed "Bye!  See you!"

23.  Kellan is constantly looking and asking for "Papa"...a lot of time he just asks for him out of the blue (we're not sure which one, that's what he calls both of our dads and Michael's grandpa).  He has also started saying "grandma."  I think this is coming from one morning when he stayed with his Great-Grandma Grizzard while I went to the doctor.

His artwork with Great-Grandma and Aunt Tina :)

24.  He sometimes calls his daddy "Michael" when he's not around.  Where does that come from?!

25.  Kellan still has to have a blankie and rubbing the tag between his fingers in order to fall asleep.  He always has a paci too but I'm not sure if that's a necessity...I'm just not brave enough to take it away to find out yet.

26.  It is still a struggle to change his diaper or put his clothes on.  He loves to run around the house with no clothes on saying "naked! naked!" and wanting me to chase him.  He wiggles and bucks and kicks his legs.  He absolutely HATES to have Desitin put on him during diaper changes.  He screams like its burning.  

27.  Another of Kellan's new frequently used words is "coming."  We always have told him that Elmo was coming when he is waiting on a video to download.  Somehow that has translated to everything.  When he is waiting on his breakfast in the morning he chants "nana coming?" " 'cado coming?"  Everyone or something is always "coming."

Here are a few more pictures from this month:

Kellan loves bath time and bath toys.  He especially loves the Penguin from my Aunt Tracie.  It sings to him and the baby penguins dive into the water :)

He loves to pull everything off of mommy's nightstand...everyday.

He was not happy with mommy at the doctor's office when he had to get his flu shot.

He hates shots so much (and mommy does too) so I took him to Panera to get a cookie afterwards.

Kellan loves to brush his own teeth (he does not care for us to help).  I am constantly having to take away our toothpaste because he sucks on the open end.  We had to baby proof the bathroom drawer to keep him from getting it.  One day when I was brushing my teeth this is what I found.  I guess he figured shampoo is just as good as toothpaste :/  So I pulled him out of the wet shower and went back to brushing my teeth.

Then I heard the bathtub water turn on...here he is wetting his toothbrush...

And then brushing...*sigh* never a dull moment with this one in the house.

Eating a cup of strawberry ice cream at Baskin Robbins BEFORE dinner.  This won't happen again for a looooong time.  He acted crazy for the rest of the night.

One of Kellan's new words is "march."  This is him marching in the backyard one afternoon.

We have had a few really nice weather days so Kellan and I tried to take advantage of them.  Here he is loving his swing.  I couldn't capture all of the shrieks and giggles in a picture :)  He loves to be outside and asks to go " 'side" even when its dark out.

Appropriately golfing OUTSIDE instead of his usual inside.

And mommy pulling him in his wagon.

It is so hard to believe that in one more month my little buddy will be one and a half!  I love this little guy so much and I treasure every minute I get to spend with him :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day a day early at an oyster roast.  There are not many foods that I love more than a good oyster.  I love them raw the best but I can't have them while I'm pregnant so I settled for the steamed.  Michael and I both ate waaaaay too many and Kellan even had one or two.  He was more into the fried fish, cornbread, and hush puppies though.  Kellan had an awesome time throwing sticks into the woods with another little boy that he met named Benjamin.  

Less talking daddy...just point me to the food...

He hadn't found any food yet but he did find his Great Papa :)

Don't even THINK about taking my fish or cornbread

This was our fourth or fifth pile...I lost count somewhere during the eating...

This little boy LOVES to be outside and he had such a good time running around and exploring...thank goodness Gigi and Carol were there to chase him so that Michael and I could spend more time eating :)

Playing with Benjamin in the leaves...he loves finding older kids to play with and he is not shy at all.  If he spots another child, he just walks right over and joins in whatever they are doing.  I even saw him take a few swipes at poor Benjamin with a stick!  Where does he get this behavior from???!!

Of course I have to have a little St. Patrick's decor around the house!  Its not much but its the little things that make me happy :)

My Skittles rainbow creation...thank you Pinterest :)

What holiday is complete without seasonal dish towels?

And to finish up this post here is my little leprechaun from last St. Patrick's Day.  It breaks my heart to see how much he has grown up in just one short year :(

I hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day and at the very least I hope you wear a little green!

The Happiness Project

I finished reading a book called The Happiness Project about a month ago.  It was recommended by a blogger that I follow and her post made me interested in checking it out.  While we were in Oregon at Powell's Books I went in search of it and luckily they had a copy.  Actually it probably wasn't lucky.  This was the same bookstore that takes up an entire city block...I'm willing to bet if you can think of a title they have a copy in there somewhere.

Anyway, I started reading it recently and after finishing I highly recommend it.  The author, Gretchen Rubin, clearly states that this book is not meant to help someone who is depressed or even genuinely UNhappy.  She wrote this book mainly to tell about her "Happiness Project" over the course of a year.  At the very beginning of the book she says that she wasn't unhappy with her life.  She loved her job, had a great marriage, and two wonderful, healthy daughters.  Her main concern was that even though she had these amazing blessings she found herself being too negative, complaining too much, and letting lots of little, nagging problems take away from her happiness.  She wasn't as happy as she SHOULD be or COULD be.

She focused on one "resolution" per month and by the end of the year she had twelve resolutions put in motion.  At the end of the year she began to wonder why she had started the project in the first place.  Her husband's thought was one that I can totally relate to in my own life.  He said, " I think this happiness project is all about you trying to get more control over your life."  That one statement resonated with me more than anything else that she said in the entire book.  Feeling like you do not have control over your own life is a sure fire way to lose happiness.  After reading each month of her experiences I found more resolutions than not that I could see trying out in my own life.

She started her project in January and I started a much "looser" version of my own project in March.  Each of her months had one main resolution with several goals to help her keep it.  For example, her January resolution was "Boost Energy" and her goals were:  Go to sleep earlier, Exercise better, Toss, restore, organize, Tackle a nagging task, and Act more energetic.

This was a fabulous chapter and through the majority of it I found myself thinking "Oh my gosh, I so need to do all of this!!!" and "Yes!  That takes away from my happiness too!"  When I thought about it I realized that there are so many tiny, little, nagging things in your day to day life that zap tiny little bits of your energy but over time really wear on you.  The main overall goal of Mrs. Rubin's project was to figure out what those little, nagging happiness suckers are, change them, fix them, or replace them with things that GIVE happiness.

These were her resolutions for the year:

January- Boost Energy (Vitality)
February-Remember Love (Marriage)
March-Aim Higher (Work)
April-Lighten Up (Parenthood)
May-Be Serious About Play (Leisure)
June-Make Time for Friends (Friendship)
July-Buy Some Happiness (Money)
August-Contemplate the Heavens (Eternity)
September-Pursue a Passion (Books)
October-Pay Attention (Mindfulness)
November-Keep a Contented Heart (Attitude)
December-Boot Camp Perfect (Happiness)

All of her resolutions did not apply to my life and sometimes even if I could relate to the resolution, I would set different goals to go about accomplishing it.  She did tons of reading and research during each month and even made herself Resolutions Charts to assess her progress each day.  I haven't gone all out to use the charts and I definitely don't have the time to do lots of reading and research.  For me, I'm not all that interested in the research and studies.  For the most part I KNOW what is zapping my energy and happiness on a daily basis...its just a matter of taking the time to do something about them.  I do see the value of setting a resolution and goals per month and finding some way to document it so that you actually stick to it.  My version of this is going to be blogging about it at the end of the month.  I don't have all of my resolutions formally mapped out for each month but I have a general idea of the big goals that I know I want to work on.  I'm being a little lenient with myself because not only am I 7 months pregnant but I'm also chasing a toddler.  My main goal for myself is to be aware of "happiness zappers" and do a little bit each day to fix them.  If I can accomplish that I will feel successful.

I highly, highly recommend this book if you can relate to anything that I've described.  I'll be posting about my first "resolution" and what I learned during March in a couple of weeks!

Weekend at Mimi and Papa's House

Kellan and I spent the weekend with my parents a couple of weeks ago.  My sister and brother-in-law had gone on a cruise so my nephew and niece were staying at Mimi and Papa's house.  We hadn't seen anyone from my family since Christmas so we decided to go visit while Owen and Eden were there too.  The cousins had so much fun but my mom and I were worn out.  Owen is 3, Kellan is 16 months, and Eden is 14 months.  Those three together means someone always needs to be changed, pulled out of the toilet, fed, entertained, read to, put down for a nap, bathed, or just snuggled.  They definitely kept us busy even though we just hung around the house.  Getting those three packed up and loaded into the car seemed more trouble than it was worth so we just let them play and watch movies.  Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

The iPad and the iPhone were very popular this weekend.  Kellan loves to watch Elmo videos and click from app to app.  It is amazing to me what he already knows how to do...he's an expert "swiper" already.

Watching the Cars "moodie" with Owen.  Kellan was fighting a nap but he refused to give up.

Snuggling with Scout didn't even make him give in to sleep.  Yes he is wearing Santa pj's in March.  If it fits, we wear it...just not in public :)

I was giving Kellan a bath and Eden was all but jumping in with her clothes on.  I'm not kidding, this girl was hanging over the side.  She played in the back while I gave Kellan a bath and then Mimi took over.

"Excuse me.  He's splashing me."

"Oh hey girl...how long have you been back there?"

Playing "Go Fish!" with Mimi.  Eden was good at catching fish...

Kellan insisted on "fishing" his way.

"You guys are making this way too hard.  Just pick them up with your hands!"

Eden sneaking a hug sitting in Papa's old rocking chair.

Kellan rocking and watching T.V.

Eden started off being completely willing to share her goldfish...here she is handing Kellan a fish.

Until someone got a little greedy...

and just started to help himself.  Poor Eden.  Look at that face.  "Can't someone stop this kid.  He's eating all of my fish!"

Mimi gave Kellan a bath the next night and he got the full salon treatment.  He got all lotioned up and his hair dried and styled.  He's thoroughly enjoying himself :)

And one picture with Papa before bedtime.  I wish I had time to use my camera to get a better picture but with these three you just have to grab whatever is available.  No one stays in one place long so I just used my phone while the opportunity was there.

We had so much fun and can't wait to see everybody Easter weekend in Charleston, SC...and especially Aunt Jessie and Uncle Shannon since we missed them this time!

More Book Reviews

I should have done another book review post because I have read quite a few books since the last one!  I'm actually pretty amazed that I have finished so many since the only time that I read is before bed. Michael calls me his little "Weekly Reader."  I'm assuming the name comes from those little paper newspapers that we used to get in elementary school?  Who knows?

 Most nights I read one or two chapters before bed from whatever book I am currently into.  It has allowed me to finish lots of books but that creates my problem of staying up too late!  I guess I need to actually get into the bed earlier so that I'm getting a good night's sleep too.  I just never take the time to read during the day since there seems like there are so many other things that need to get done.

Here are half of the books that I have read since my last book review post in August, and my thoughts on them (I will do another post on the other half soon...there were too many for one post):

Book Summary by www.shelfari.com

Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown.  It has been boarded up for decades, but now the owner has made an incredible discovery:  the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II.  As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American.  While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student.  Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship-and innocent love-that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors.  And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

My Review:  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet taught me a lot about the events happening in the United States during World War II.  This book is not a history book but while telling a wonderful love story, it gives details about what it was like for Japanese families living in the U.S. during a time when the bombing of Pearl Harbor had made everyone terrified of all things Japanese.  I learned very little about the internment camps where all of Japanese people living in the United States were forced out of their homes and sent to live at government controlled "camps."  During my history classes through school, the main focus of our World War II lessons were on the Holocaust and the war going on in Europe.  I remember learning very little about what was going on here in our own country and I learned a lot from this story.

The author does a wonderful job of giving you a sense of the time period and its happenings while telling about the relationship between Henry and Keiko, their struggles living in a country that does not accept them, and how much of an influence their extremely different families make on their lives.

Book Summary by www.shelfari.com

A brilliant and beautiful contemporary novel about love and memory.The events of a December afternoon, during which a father and his daughter find an abandoned infant in the snow, will forever alter the 11-year-old girls understanding of the world and the adults who inhabit it: a father who has taken great pains to remove himself from society in order to put an unthinkable tragedy behind him; a young woman who must live with the consequences of the terrible choices she has made; and a detective whose cleverness is exceeded only by his sense of justice.Written from the point of view of 30-year-old Nicky as she recalls the vivid images of that fateful December, her tale is one of love and courage, of tragedy and redemption, and of the ways in which the human heart always seeks to heal itself.

My Review:  I don't know why I keep reading Anita Shreve books.  I just don't think I am a fan.  I usually enjoy them right up until the end and then either she looses me with a lot of crazy details or the book just seems to end with no real closure.  Light on Snow was the "book just seemed to end with no real closure" type to me.  I liked the story and it kept me into the mystery of where did this baby come from?, how could anyone leave their newborn in the snow?, what is going to happen to Nicky and her father?  But then, just like always, the story started to deteriorate for me and I just wasn't happy with how the ending developed and closed.  Anita Shreve is an extremely popular author so I know it is just my taste and I never seem to give up because I keep reading more and more of her books.

Book Summary by www.shelfari.com

It is a house on the beach. Honora doesn't mind renting - despite its age and all its flaws, the old house is the perfect place for a new marriage. She and Sexton throw themselves into fixing it up, just as they throw themselves into their new life together. Each morning, Honora collects sea glass washed up on the shore, each piece carrying a different story in its muted tones.

Sexton finds a way to buy the house, but his timing is perfectly wrong. The economy takes a sickening plunge, and as financial pressures mount, Honora begins to see how little she knows this man she has married.

There is Vivian, an irreverent Boston socialite who becomes Honora's closest friend even as she rejects every form of convention. McDermott, a man who works in a nearby mill, presses Honora's deepest notions of trust - even as he embroils her in a dangerous dispute. And there's Alphonse, a boy whose openness becomes the bond that holds these people together as their world is flying apart.

My Review:  I enjoyed this one more than most other books by Anita Shreve that I've read.  Although the ending was sad, the story was well written and the way that the characters were developed kept me interested.

Book Review by www.shelfari.com

Set during World War II in Nazi Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing something she can’t resist–-books. With the help of her best friend Rudy, she learns to live on Himmel Street after her brother dies on the train-ride there. She learns to read thanks to her accordion-playing foster father, Hans Hubermann, and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is found and marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul and human spirit. This book will entrance any one, this is a must read.

My Review:  I really enjoyed this book. I find the Holocaust and World War II era fascinating and I especially loved that this book was told from the perspective of a German family. It made me see this sad, and horrific time from a new viewpoint.

Book review by www.barnesandnoble.com

'When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down and run it down through my head until it got easy.' So it begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbon's much acclaimed first Novel. The story of an eleven-year-old orphan, driven to desperation by some of the wickedest relatives in literary history, this is the story of her battle for survival. Wise, funny and affectionate.

Having suffered abuse and misfortune for much of her life, a young child searches for a better life and finally gets a break in the home of a loving woman with several foster children.

My Review:  I am a big fan of books from Oprah's Book Club and this was no exception.  Stories about abused and neglected children always make me emotional but this story, although sad at times, is about such a tough, smart, and inspiring little girl you feel uplifted.  Her honest and innocent thoughts will teach even adults important life lessons.  I have always considered adopting a child and this book made those feelings even stronger.

Book review by www.shelfari.com

A funny, sad, wise, and redeeming first novel about a young girl's battle with a troubling affliction. Rural Kentucky in the 1950s is not an easy place to grow up in, and it's especially hard for 10-year-old Icy Sparks, an orphan who lives with her grandparents. Life becomes even more difficult for Icy when the violent tics and uncontrollable cursing begin. Icy's adolescence is marred by the humiliation brought on by her mysterious condition, and its all-too-visible symptoms are the source of endless hilarity as everyone around her offers an opinion about what's troubling the girl. Eventually, Icy finds solace in the company of an obese woman who knows what it's like to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Narrated by a now-grown Icy, this first novel shimmers with warmth and humor as it recounts a young girl's painful and poignant journey to womanhood--and the many lives she touches and enriches along the way.

My Review:  Another selection from Oprah's Book Club that I really enjoyed...right up until the end. I didn't feel satisfied with how the story ended...I needed a little more closure and wanted to know more about Icy's future.  Although it was a very eye opening read because I knew very little about Tourette's Syndrome.  It is a story that anyone can relate to that has felt like an outsider.