"POOPY!"

Chiara has for the last month or so been telling us when she poops. Sometimes it's gas, which is also alarming to her and she feels she must make the poopy announcement. Fine. In some ways this development is very convenient: I can get to it quickly and I can prepare her for potty training. In other ways - or maybe just one - it's less than convenient.

We were at church on Sunday (I know you can already see where this is going ...). It was during the first hour, so everyone was together in the chapel - later we break up into smaller groups, but the first meeting is the BIG one. It was just after the Sacrament was passed, so you know ... the most quiet time. We were sitting toward the back, entertaining Chiara with coloring books (not Jesus coloring books but Elmo coloring books ... not that I endorse, necessarily, Jesus coloring books) and apple slices. Then suddenly, Chiara stands up on Eldon's lap, grabs her bum and yells, "Poopy!"

I just laughed out loud remembering it.

Yes, dear Reader, during a moment of quiet reverence in the chapel, our child announced to the congregation that there was poop in her diaper. And then we smelled it.

So, I did what I had to do. I picked her up, grabbed a diaper and some wipes and headed for the mother's room. On my way out I smiled apologetically to those people who couldn't resist the urge to watch the struggling mother on her way to wipe poop off her daughter's bum. Sorry, sorry everyone. Please continue.

 (Chiara after church and needing a nap ... I couldn't get her to look at the camera.)

When we arrived at the mother's room I discovered that there was actually no poop to be found. It was gas that we'd smelled and gas that she'd announced. Joyful day. So I took her back into the chapel, diaper and wipes still in hand, smiling to the same curious people, and sat down.

"Just gas." I whispered to Eldon in answer to the look on his face.

The meeting continued as usual. Try to listen to the sermon, try to keep the lamb quiet and happy. And then ...

"Poopy!" she announces again. This time a little more quietly, but still ... probably everyone for a five-pew radius heard her. Eldon and I exchanged an embarrassed but admittedly laugh-stifling look. I smelled her diaper. Woah. Yeah, there was definitely something in there this time. Okay ... I grabbed my supplies and my child and ducked out the door again. This time I didn't meet anyone's eyes. Oh get over it. Pay attention to the sermon.

A little note on Chiara's poop, since we're on the subject. :) Sometimes it is completely odorless. Other times it can peel the paint off all the walls in your home. I'm serious. The nursery leader asked me once, "What do you feed her?" Um ... well, that one was yogurt with crushed flax seed, an orange and asparagus stir fry. I don't think the smell is to do with her diet, I think it's just her. She must just have an excellent odor-detoxer because everything else about her smells wonderful. Her hair, her skin, even her morning breath. I love it all!!

That was too much information, wasn't it?