This photo is from June this year. We went together to see her friend Kayla in a ballet performance. There were maybe fifteen performances from different age groups that evening.. Dahlia was so bored! Eventually she got down on the floor and started dancing when the hip hip dancer came out. She told me that was the best part!

Justin took Dahlia to a soccer game in town. The first half she asked lots of questions while watching it and the second half she was a little more restless. Very interested in the ball girls. She aspires to be a ball girl someday (:

She also showed off her running abilities to Justins former track coach. He was rather impressed (:

Dahlia asked so many questions after I had told her what had happened... losing two special people in your life at the age of 4 seems so crazy! She is excited though that Samantha is playing with Augustine right now. That is a happy thought for her.

We are all grieving this sad loss and are feeling many similar emotions we felt last year. we Love Nicole so dearly and pray for her heart and soul to be comforted.

Dahlia likes to organize. She definitely isn't a neat freak or anything, but when it's time to organize she is all over it.

Dahlia loves her little brother!

Dahlia doing her two favorite things: coloring and posing.

I had been wanting to make a dress for Dahlia. Easter was coming up so I made that my deadline. She picked out the colors and I kept the design simple so I wouldn't get overwhelmed. She was so adorable and proud to tell everyone all about it.

I took dahlia to the park today before we went to get her stitches out... trying to ease the stress of that. she had so much fun going on the BIG slide! 

we were hoping for a tragedy free year, but i guess we are starting off pretty rocky... i suppose we shouldnt cancel our health insurance just quite yet!

since this all happened dahlia has barely uttered a word about any discomfort. amazingly we have been able to wash it and comb her hair and she doesnt mind. so glad this injury didnt involve a literal arm or leg, that would actually be very tragic.

after it all happened, i was sitting there noticing for the first time just how many pointed edges there are in a home! who's idea was that!

"dahlia and valens little brother"

it really worked out well because i have a problem giving my kids junkfood and so buying her something there was killing me, so the shortbread cookies were perfect because they were made of like five ingredients, butter, sugar, flour and salt i think..... and they were little! so if i had to feed her crap, i am glad it was that! and i just happen to love shortbread cookies! (:

she has been potty trained for a long time now, but for some reason couldnt do the pooping thing. we always had to put a diaper on her. she would freak out when we put her on the toilet. i didnt want to traumatize her and figured she would just do it eventually, so we never forced her. but yesterday i was to my limits, and couldnt handle it anymore. it is so nasty changing a three year old diaper! and a waste of money! so i told her sorry no more diapers, if you need to poop tonight we will go sit on the toilet. and eventually (six hours of holding it in) she went! justin and i both screamed when it happened because we were excited and trying to give her encouragement, but i think that startled her and she started crying! it was funny.

so we have been bribing her with anything and everything and she didnt even care. last night the final thing we offered was ice cream and that is what she got. she has never had it before. it was too cold for her but she still thought it was yummy.... of course(: oh and daddy promised to take her to the toy store and pick out anything she wanted.... i think it is more for him though (: he likes the toy store!

"Vay Vay, you being a cranky pants today"

"come on!!"

"shhh you're making too much noise!"

"ooooo that's gross!"

"okey dokey smokey"

after i took her to my midwife appointment, she came home and was pretending that she had peed in a cup and needed to bring it to me.... i dont think she will be very good at keeping secrets any time soon!

when we got there she wasnt shy at all and quickly began to play with toys and talk to herself. when the nurse called her name, she anxiously jumped over to her. all the way down the hallway to the weighing area she was looking around and talking to herself. (so cute) when the nurse asked her to do different things, dahlia politely obliged and smiled and actually talked! this is a new thing! she has been very shy up until this month really! she really liked the nurse and didnt want the doctor to come in at all. when we were in the room waiting for the doctor, dahlia played with every toy there and wanted to read every book! after her shots, she got stickers and i brought a granola bar to ease the pain... it certainly worked. then we walked out together hand in hand as chipper as ever...... what a successful trip, i was so thrilled! 

then today i was heading out to my midwifery appointment and i needed to bring dahlia with me. she was very friendly to the midwife and her assistant and made herself at home right away. she was not shy at all!!!! she actually wanted the assistant to take dahlia upstairs to look around. and then later kept insisting that the midwife sit with her. while the assistant drew my blood, the midwife read dahlia a book to distract her, and she loved it! and even gave her a hug before we left. 

this is such a big deal for dahlia jade, we are so glad she is turning a corner!!  

behind our house there are three large trees without any leaves right now. as they were disappearing over the fall months, dahlia would point out, "leaves fall off the trees" constantly while at meals. and still mentions it that there arent any there and asks when are they coming back. today we were eating grapes and after she was done she said "grapes fall off the tree" and wanted me to take a picture of her little tree... she is adorable!

reading books (jibber jabber the whole time!)

wearing her dora slippers.

making cookies with playdough.

chasing valen down the hall and tackling him.

taking baths.

singing her alphabet and days of the week during meals.

walking up down stairs.

playing in the cupboards with valen.

being naked.

reading her bible.

eating... she always wants to eat. i thought kids at this age were too into playing and didnt care about food anymore.

grandma and grandpa coming over!

singing really loud when mommy and daddy are trying to have a discussion (=

getting the mail.

sleeping with mommy and daddy.

to be continued......

dahlia went to sleep all by herself tonight in who knows how long! she has been coming into bed with us every night for the past month at least around 3 am also. so we are just trying to get this whole sleeping thing figured out with her. so tonight is a big deal!! she is asleep!! and before ten oclock!

dahlia has a new friend named katie. she lives in her room, which conveniently is IKEA and sometimes she isnt nice to dahlia and dahlia comes to tell me about it. i see her often talking to katie while she is playing and involving her in her activities. oh how adorable is that to have a make believe friend for a three year old! i love it!! so my actual friend katie was going to visit today (dahlia didnt know i had a friend named katie) dahlia was excited. usually she is afraid of new people but took to katie very well. i think it had something to do with the fact she has her own little friend named katie . (= it was sweet though.

her favorite past time is to cook with her new dishes from great grandma davis. valen and her will literally play for two hours together going around the house offering us their baked goods. but if we dont eat it just right then she corrects us. sometimes we need to use a spoon or drink it instead of bite it. she is very particular about her pretending with others.

last night when i put her to bed, she was reading a book while i sat there next to her. she was just jabbering on and on turning pages. then she wanted me to read it. so i started to say a few words and she would stop me and say "no no thats not right" then she would explain how it needs to go and then tell  me to start again. so i would start again.. "no no mommy, thats not right". hmmm i said , well dahlia i cant read it if you keep telling me i am wrong. then she looks at me really seriously and says " mama you can do it!" i busted up laughing!!!! she was so serious about helping me figure out how to read this book. she is such a mommy!! so cute!

i asked dahlia today what she wanted to draw and she said a train. so i asked her what shape was a train and she started explaining a four sided object, then she drew it. then she continued by saying that there should be four wheels... and four windows. so there you have it, a train! and then i told her that to make train tracks it only requires two long lines and then a bunch of smaller ones along it. this is her masterpiece!

we started the day heading out to church. on the way we noticed a few spots on dahlias face. before we went into church i was a little nervous. not sure if she had chicken pox or some kind of virus. when we got into the nursery we saw about 8 red spots on just her face. i was concerned for the other kids and the lady in the nursery was also. so we went back home. it was kind of a bummer since today is dahlias birthday party! but after going home and looking up like crazy online about red spots on kids faces, we decided that it was probably bug bites. i remembered waking up last night and swatting at an annoying bug buzzing in my ear. she slept with me so the bug must have gotten her! we decided to carry on with the party, and all the guests still came! here is jonas and lillian her cousins from vancouver and her friend maiah. dahlia acted a little funny all day, but i know she had fun and enjoyed being with her friends! thanks for coming!!

she is the snuggliest most fun girl we could have imagined, constantly pretending and making up everything! she loves to learn about everything, especially letters and writing. she can write her name and valens name, oh and mom. she just came up to me one day with her drawing pad saying "look mommy look mommy" she was so proud of herself. she also enjoys drawing and cooking! she hasnt gotten to the word "why" yet, but more the words " what ya doin mommy" "what you got mommy" things like that. more whats than whys.

everyday we love her more and just are baffled at how amazing she is... i asked her the other day where she gets all her cuteness, and she answered me "from mommy". i  promise i did not tell her that before!! (=

we love you dahlia jade and look forward to every year to come! smooch!!

dahlia was a bit nervous about the snow, and kept very close to daddy. unlike her brother!

another phobia she has had lately is the carseat. we took it out and put it into my sisters car a few weeks ago and since then she insists that it isnt in our car and she cant drive anywhere. we show her it is secure, but for some reason she freaks out. finally sunday came and we had to go since i am doing sunday school for the little kids and we just forced her in and she cried most the way, but then her fear was over and was so glad she came to church with us. 

twice this week dahlia has come into our room and wanted to sleep with us. the first night she just crawled right up into bed with us without really saying anything and layed right next to me and fell asleep! oh it was sweet. eventually kicked daddy out of bed and i slept a little. then two days later she came in again all excited at about 3am. she jumps on justin and says "i cant go back to feep" "i not tired"..... then started talking about the numbers on the ceiling from our projection clock... then she told daddy "you need to weave, you cant stay here " so he packed up his belongings and dahlia and i spent a lovely night together snuggling.well it wasnt so lovely. i did enjoy snuggling her, it was very precious, but it is hard to sleep when there is a 30 lb child laying on your neck! we were probably awake for several hours because she couldnt get positioned right and kept saying to me " i need nuggle mommy"... "nuggle me nuggle me, mama!" how do i say no to that (=

when dahlia isnt wearing underwear she runs through the house yelling "i nakee i nakee!!"

since she was born we have called her footie pajamas "snuggle suits" so as the weather has been turning colder she has been wearing one again. her vocabulary is so much better now!  before bed she says "i wear nuggle fuit, vay vay (valen) wear nuggle fuit too"

we are always saying "thats funny" or "youre funny dahlia" so now when she does something silly, before we even laugh or mention it, she will say " i funny mama"

one last thing... when she couldnt talk i taught her how to do the sign for "i love you". she still does it all the time. we will be sitting at the table eating a meal and she will put her hand up in position and yell "i love mommy daddy!!!"

 she likes to be like her mommy and daddy too of course, like taking a purse with her to grandmas house or wearing a hat to the store. she packs up some toys into her play purse and throws it over her shoulder, just like mommy. just today i threw a hat on before we went into the strore, and she wanted to do the same. there happened to be one in the car, so we went in looking like twins, many people commented on how cute she was (=

justin runs several times a week and she sees him put on his watch and shoes... so she will find her velcro bracelet and bring it to me, "i go run, i go run".. then she will find another one for valen, "vay vay go run too" so they chase each other around the table and want me to join in. kids really do have an amazing amount of energy and they dont even drink coffee (=

favorite color- oatmeal nana

favorite food- oatmeal nana

favorite toy- oatmeal nana

favorite number-oatmeal nana

favorite letter- oatmeal nana

favorite animal- oatmeal nana

no seriously she says oatmeal nana for everything. she used to pray for oatmeal nana before bed... but i think she did that since we pray for our food at meals, so logically it would seem we are praying FOR the oatmeal nana (= but if i ask her a couple timess and reword it she answers all of these questions appropriately. so her actual favorite things are

food- oatmeal nana

color- pink/purple

toy- abc blocks

number- 10 (yes she does have a favorite number)

letter- w (and yes she also has a favorite letter )

animal- cookie monster

also her favorite character right now is tinkerbell! she talks about her all of the time. we only have one book of peter pan and she always wants to read it. a week or so ago she started talking a lot about her and now she is her best friend.  i was wondering if we would have to go through that whole "princess" thing with her as she grows up... looks like we might. i dont mind so much fairies though, there are so many more possibilities with that than princesses. my sister made a costume for lillian a few years ago and i was thinking of putting dahlia in it this october if it fits her. it is a tinkerbell costume. so if she is still in love with her, that would be appropriate and stinking adorable! maybe valen can be peter pan.. or michael (=

as for counting, she can do up to 10. then she rambles off some teens that i have never ever told her about, so i dont know where she got it. she knew one through ten a couple of months ago but couldnt say six or seven so she would just go back to three four five when it got to that part, but her speech is improving and she takes a stab at them now. i think this video gives you a little idea of her cute little personality. oh and at the end of the video she is naming all the characters on the back of one of her golden books, she says them all but it is kind of hard to understand, turn up the volume and enjoy the video (=

well i do admit that i baked a batch of cookies that week she started to use the bathroom, and i would give her one every time she would go potty. they were the size of a quarter and made of whole wheat flour and honey with one chocolate chip per cookie, so it wasnt that exciting, but to her, they were gold! i had tried giving her treats before and she didnt care, but i really think it has something to do with the big girl bed.... she really gets excited about being a big girl. lately she doesnt ask for a cookie everytime she goes, she is just excited to go potty, we give her a lot of praise so that helps too. but we did run out of cookies a couple days ago and i have just been giving one apple cinnamon soy crisp if she remembers to ask for a cookie. she loves them too. they are definetely not as exciting, but if she thinks they are then that is fine with me.

speaking of the big bed, she is so funny! things change around here often, but basically we leave her in her room after books and such and a few minutes later she peeks out of her door and says "mommy daddy mommy daddy" in this adorable tiny voice. we try to keep from laughing. so when i come down the hall she runs and jumps into her bed giggling. i tuck her in and tell her not to get out again. of course a few minutes later she is back at her door, just opens it a crack and says "mommy daddy mommy daddy" and then runs away. oh it is so cute! so we have threatened her with the crib, and actually put her in it one night. i think she was tired of the crib because she was so confined, but now she can do whatever she wants to. she has definitely hit that supposedly "terrible two stage" well i dont know what it is, but she is different lately and is so strong willed and doesnt care if you punish her, she keeps doing whatever it is she is doing. and she has been really clingy to me lately. whenever she gets hurt or upset or whatever, " mama mama mama" and snuggles me for a long time. such an emotional girl! but i do admit i really love her needing me. it used to be "no mama no mama" when i would come in her room during the day while her and valen were playing, now it is " mommy pay mommy pay toy" all day long! 

right after she got up today we commented on how much of a big girl she is now, and soon after that she said she had to go pee, so she went into the bathroom.... i thought maybe this would be a new start for her... but sadly not. well she did go in her potty chair but a couple hours later peed in her underwear. actually i am ok with her not being potty trained quite yet, it is more of a hassle right now. in a few months would be a good time. so we are just waiting for her to "get it" and not rush it. 

we are so excited she is in her big bed, now if she wakes up at night we can just come lay with her for a few minutes until she falls asleep... much better than letting her sleep with us and getting kicked out, literally! and now valen can have her crib too.

dahlia is really interested in counting and learning her letters. she can actually write a few of them! not that that means she is some smarty pants, but it is cute to see her learning stuff. she knows all her alphabet and can say them when you point to them. or if she sees a letter randomly somewhere she will tell you what it  is. and she can count to five! we were playing with play dough yesterday and i was putting the dough back in the containers and she started counting them.

of course every parent wants to think that their kid is the most amazing and talented kid around, but it is pretty stinking cute to watch her be excited to learn. she doesnt talk very well yet, but some geniuses talked late or not very well. so we will just go with that right now (=

our previous pediatrician in vancouver told us at her two year old check up, that she thought dahlia was delayed in her speech and said there are classes you can send your kid to to help with putting words together and such. dahlia says a lot of words just not very well.  but she isnt even two and a half yet, so i am really not worried. 

 i know that kids learning different things varies widely, but what age did your kid learn their numbers and letter? or talk really well?

one of dahlias favorite books right now is her Bible that my parents got her. it is geared for toddler aged kids. we have to read it twice every night and then a book called Thank You God for my Family. we didnt even push these on her at all, but it is neat how both her favorites are about God and prayer. we used to just pray for her but lately she prays some nights and then wants me to pray afterwards, it is adorable. especially since she cant really say the words right. she kneels down in front of the couch and folds her hands and this is what she says,

"jeeja be good gur an nigh nigh, amie" ok i will translate.

"jesus, be good girl and go night night, amen.

 as you will see in part of this video clip is that dahlia does not wear barretts. well she does soemtimes for a short while but usually rips them out and then her hair looks goofy. i didnt want to cut her hair to have bangs but i ended up doing that tonight. the front part of her hair is always falling in her face and i had no choice)= but it actually looks cute now. i just was a bit nervous to cut it off. she actually lets me cut her hair now and does not even flinch. she used to freak out and i had to sneak it while i was supposedly drying her hair, but she caught on to my devious ways and then would walk around with a half cut hair do for a day or so. it is all finally one length too, it has taken forever to get that way. i was hoping for pig tails at age one, boy was i way off. valen has already had his first hair cut and he isnt even one years old!

dahlia and valen love playing on top of this container. they are always pushing each other off of it and standing on top to get to other things. probably one of their favorite toys!

i made dahlia some jewelry out of play dough, she LOVED it! she wanted me to keep making more and more bracelets. it was really cute!

valen is constantly standing up during his baths and is so curious. dahlia never did that ever.. just recently she is confident to lay down and let me rinse her hair and also stood up by herself a couple weeks ago. i think she was nervous because she slipped one time when i was trying to rinse her hair. anyways, valen is not concerned with falling, this guy has no fear!

ahhh he is so cute!! (=

we will be posting more videos soon, hopefully one a week or whenver we have something worth sharing caught on camera.

as for eating habits, i would say i am probably the best eater ever.... in the nursery... in the world for that matter! i like most things that i am offered, some of my favorites are tomatoes, nanas, avocados, spaghetti, blueberries, peanut butter.... ok ok the list could go on forever...i love to eat anytime anywhere! but broccoli is not gonna happen. you cant smother that stuff in enough cheese even to trick me, i wont fall for it. i eat spinach and asparagus and bell peppers but not those nasty shrubs. my dad doesnt eat them either, so what is the deal with that.. i am getting mixed signals here. but anyways, some toddlers are super picky and get all skinny, but i am still carrying around my baby weight, i know i am getting enough cardio each day and bench pressing valen burns some calories but i just love food too much! the only other thing that i dont like is mashed potatoes.... i know i know, that is like every adults favorite but i just cant see why, maybe when i am more mature i will get it.

my parents finally let me watch tv now. they kinda had to force me to start actually, i guess they want some "down time" but how boring is that, why would anyone jsut want to lay on the couch when there is so much playing to be done! but i do like to watch Sesame Street, well some of it anyways. Elmo, Grover and Cookie monster are super cool, but i could do without mr noozle or whatever his name is... he is a bit creepy. i love it when they dance on that show too, i just love to dance and it is fun to see other kids do it too, maybe i can learn some new eighties moves that they are showing off. oh ya and my daddy found an old disco cd called "sesame street fever, now that is groovy! 

i have been learning my letters and numbers and colors. i got most things down except for the last few letters of the alphabet, i cant say them at all. i am talking a lot more than a couple months ago, but most stuff still doesnt come out right, but at least my parents understand me. i am kind of a picky girl, i like things in order and i clean up my messes at meal times. i like to organize my toys by color sometimes, see for youself below. as of right now my favorite color is "purpie"and my favorite letter is "mmmmm" for mama (=

when dahlia wakes up in the morning, it only takes about 25 seconds for her to see straight and then start playing. she wastes no time at all. from the time she wakes up to the time we put her in her bed, she is wired and excited. i bought her a coloring book today hoping that she would do something calm during valens naps, or at least one of his naps. she loves it, and we colored for quite some time. she was so purposeful in her coloring. she was actually trying to color the specific objects different colors and trying to stay on that particular object. maybe that is normal for two year olds, but i found it amazing (= usually during his naps i spend most of the time chasing her down the hallway, where she loves to run and either bang on justins office door or valens door. very annoying since he actually NEEDS his naps to be a happy camper all day unlike certain dahlia jades that we know (= so it is actually more work for me if he does take naps, because dahlia is twice as difficult when he is sleeping than when they are playing together. she is very nice to him now, brings him toys and loves to play with him, it is very sweet! dahlia loves to be tickled and teased, she giggles and giggles and that is the greatest sound in the world! she has such a hysterical laugh and i just love to hear it! she likes to get hyper about an hour before bedtime and that is getting really old. now valen has been getting hyper too around eight which used to be his bedtime.... shes teaching him bad habits!

the last time i wrote about how dahlia was turning into a terrible two year old.. well i was wrong. i guess she had a few rough days and got back on track. she has been extra sweet and cute for a while now and just seems to be learning and excited to learn and grow and TALK a lot now. she does a lot better with valen too, keeping her whacking to a minimum and actually listening sometimes. she says a lot more words now and even three in a row sometimes. the most frequent phrases are "i go bye bye" "i dont know" and "i go baby".. not sure what the last one is about. and she says "mommy" A LOT. if she needs help at the table with her food and i am not paying attention, she will yell, "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY" until i help her, it is stinkin cute. i went in to pick her up the other morning (justin usually gets her because i am either still peeling myself out of bed or making breakfast.) when i saw her she gave me a hug and then said "wheres da da? where's da da?" and kept saying that till we went into our room and she climbed into bed with him and snuggled him. she brings us so much joy and i am just in awe how much she learns! she picks up on EVERYTHING!

a friend commented on how dahlia is half naked in most pictures, and i said that it isnt because our house is so warm or anything, she is just funny and doesnt like to wear clothes at all. she can take them off by herself so that is what she usually does and insists on it. i guess all that running around keeps her body temp sufficient. also at night valen and her wear sleepers and the house is usually 69 degrees and they seem fine, but justin and i have four or five blankets on plus our pajamas. there is no way i could sleep without blankets.

she still loves her brother a lot, but likes to randomly smack him upside the head, not so much a love pat as it is a "i need attention and if i do this, then mommy will come over and make funny faces at me and put me in my room, wont that be fun " grrrr, not fun at all..poor little valen has taken quite the beating lately, but i am sure he will return the favor to her once he is able.

dahlia has been learning to feed herself the past month, and actually does pretty good... well if the substance is thick and doesnt tend to slide off the fork or spoon. i always need to help her with her spaghetti, but this time she insisted on the bowl being on her tray and her holding the spoon all by herself! she ate the whole bowl alone and i just watched her, i was amazed, it actually got mostly into her mouth. most of the time if i feed her it is because i dont feel like giving her a bath afterwards, this time was very very messy (= it doesnt look that bad in the picture though, but it was. i usually strip her down to a diaper, but didnt do that this time another onesie bites the dust (=

then again after dinner i was getting her out of her high chair and she started doing it again for about an hour. but then she was just fine. but then AGAIN in the middle of the night she woke up crying and wouldnt move either one! then again in the morning her left arm seemed to be having trouble for about 20 minutes..... but then all of a sudden she was just peachy. we were so confused! either she is really good at faking an injury, or something was really wrong and miraculously healed itself.

a couple nights later she woke up at 11pm and was freaking out in her crib. so justin went in there and she would not calm down! she rarely wakes up in the night and hasnt done it for a few months. she used to always calm right down and go back to sleep fine. but this time she kept pointing at the light and the fan and stuff. we think she wanted to get up, maybe she thought it was morning. so eventually we took her out into the living room and read a few books to get her ready for bed again, but she was not into that at all. she wanted to play! after 15 minutes or so of her playing i decided to go to bed. justin ended up taking her into his room and worked while she played in there till about 130 a.m. and she wanted to come back out to the living room and read books. after that she folded her hands to pray (we always do that last thing before bed at night) then she went to bed...... i gues she didnt get enough play time in during that day earlier (=

all four of us were going to go on a walk and then on the way home stop by the store and pick up a few very needed groceries, but dahlia had no desire to sit in the stroller! we have gone on walks before but this time she wanted nothing to do with it. we walked about a mile and i would ask her every so often if she wanted to get in the stroller cuz she was tired, she just shook her head no. at one point i tried just putting her in anyways, and she spread her legs out so i couldnt... it was funny. when we were almost to the store she was walking a little funny and kinda dragging her feet so i ended up carrying her home since she is way too slow, we wouldnt have made it before her bedtime!

We don't have a kitty but there is always one in our back yard. sometimes he is gray sometimes he is orange, but I love to see him come no matter what color he is. I can actually say the word Kitty too. my only words at this point are mamma, dada and kitty (=  I understand a lot more than I can say though, i hear what i want to say, but i cant quite form the words yet, hopefully they will come soon!

my little brother isn't even here yet and he is already bothering me. I was trying to take a nap on my moms lap and he was kicking so hard that it woke me up! I did fall back asleep, but still...

Has anyone else noticed my mom is getting fat? And she acts proud of it too. Posting pictures left and right, she must be awefly secure with herself to do that. Should I be concerned?

Last week I went in to the doctors office. I didn't know why we were there at first, but I soon found out. After playing with the magazines in the waiting room and entertaining all of the other patients gathered there, my mom took my down a long hallway into a strange room. And then I knew, I knew then and there was where I was going to scream bloody murder! NOT THE NEEDLE!! This mean old lady poked me more than I had ever been poked before! It was horrible, you wouldn't have wanted to be there. I think that I actually saw a tear in my mothers eye too, she loves me a lot!