What I Am

In Matt's post this past weekend he mentioned the fact that one of the ways we got Charlotte to actually take her bottle was by resorting to You Tube videos.  Trust me, this didn't start out as our method of choice, nor was it my favorite approach, but we quickly learned that so much of our feeding stress disappeared when we paired bottles with music and visual stimulation!  I can't blame the poor little girl for needing a little distraction from her yucky tasting formula (now if only the videos could have distracted Matt and me from the SMELL of it!)

Some of Charlotte's favorite videos were musical segments from Sesame Street, including renditions of popular Jason Mraz and Feist songs.  While they seemed to do the trick, there was one song/video that was a family favorite among all of the Ritchies.

"What I Am" by Will.i.am

If what I am is what's in me

Then I'll stay strong, that's who I'll be

And I will always be the best

Me that I can be.

There's only one me, I am it.

Have a dream, I'll follow it.

It's up to me to try.

(drums)

Oh, imma keep my head up high... HIGH!

Keep on reachin' high... HIGH!

Never gonna quit.

I'll keep gettin' stronger.

And nothings gonna bring me down... No!

Never gonna stop gotta go... Go!

Because I know

I'll keep gettin' stronger.

And what I am is THOUGHTFUL.

...what I am is MUSICAL.

...what I am is SMART.

...what I am is BRAVE.

And what I am is HELPFUL.

And what I am is SPECIAL.

There's nothing I can't achieve

Because in myself I believe in, oh

Gonna keep our heads up high... HIGH!

Keep on reachin' high... HIGH!

Never gonna quit

Just keep gettin' stronger.

And nothins' gonna bring us down... No!

Never givin' up gotta go... Go!

because I know I'll keep gettin' stronger.

What I am is SUPER.

What I am is PROUD.

What I am is FRIENDLY.

What I am is GROUCHY.

What you are is MAGICAL.

What you are is SPECIAL.

There's nothing I can't achieve

because in myself I believe in, oh

Gonna hold my head up high...HIGH!

Keep on reachin' high...HIGH!

I'm never gonna stop

I'll keep gettin' stonger.

Nothins' gonna bring me down

Never givin' up Gotta go

Yeah...

I'll keep gettin' stronger.

As if Will.i.am's sweet hair and a bunch of adorable head bobbing monsters weren't enough, the words in this song sealed the deal for this mama.  They cover so many things that I wanted Charlotte to always remember...most importantly that as long as she believed in herself, NOTHING, not even a sick little ticker, could hold her down.  She was brave.  She was smart. She was super. She was special beyond special.  

Every once in a while this song comes up on my iPod playlist and most of the time I listen to it twice before moving on to the next in line.  I can almost picture myself sitting with Charlotte in my lap, her head heavy in my arms while she enjoyed her "dinner and a movie".  While I wasn't thrilled with the concept of having to con our child into eating, I wouldn't trade those moments with her for anything.