A rough week...but we'll make it...

After Luke was born, it became very clear that I would need some help managing the kids and helping John Michael have the attention he needed while I recovered and cared for a newborn.  I've never needed help before, but this time was different...

On a recommendation from a friend, we found Haley...


a Sophomore at St. Mary's College who we hired to be a nanny/babysitter/mother's helper (all-in-one) for several half days a week throughout the summer.  It didn't take long for us all to warm up to Haley, and she and John Michael formed a special bond that I'm sure she didn't expect when she first started helping out.

Within a few days, John Michael had Haley wrapped around his little finger and she quickly learned how to communicate with him and interpret his sounds, gestures/signs, and words.  She took him (and usually Greta, too) to the park, both slathered in sunscreen, to work off some of their energy and to allow me some quiet time with Luke, to straighten up the house or to rest.  She made it easy for me to leave the house to run errands with Luke or to have some one-on-one time with the older kids, often while John Michael was napping.

Saying "Good=bye" last Wednesday was especially difficult.  The kids and I have missed her this week and I can tell John Michael misses her, too.  He has even said her name, "Lay-Lee" a couple times!

Haley, we wish you well in your studies.  You are always welcome to visit and babysit anytime.  The kids all agree that you're the best babysitter they've EVER had.  That's quite a compliment!  So, don't forget to stay in touch!  We'd love to see you at the Down syndrome walk!

Lithia Park in Ashland, OR

Ashland, Oregon, is only about 75 minutes north of Mt. Shasta, CA, where my parents live.
It's a gorgeous Shakespearean / college town just north of the California/Oregon border.

John Michael had a blast at Lithia Park. Can you tell what was his favorite thing to do?

Nic and Greta "chilling out" by the stream.

Anna and Greta doing the same.

I sometimes wonder if the kids will still be close when they're grown up.  I can only hope this is a glimpse in to the future.  And it's moments like these that make my heart smile!

Nic, Anna, and Greta enjoyed it, too. Here they are outside the Shakespearean theatre courtyard waiting to hit the local ice cream shop.

Random photos from Father's Day and 1st Day of Summer

Me and Luke (17 days old) this morning, the official first day of summer. Sacramento will hit 90 degrees today, which seems appropriate, especially after the unusually cooler weather we've been having.

Luke's message for today... "be happy."

Nicolas enjoyed holding the little munchkin yesterday (Father's Day).

John Michael and Greta (with Mitzi) are enjoying a juicy plum out front with Daddy on Father's Day.

I still need to get a photo of all the kids together and another of just John Michael with Luke.  John Michael is doing "OK" with the baby, but usually tries to sneak in a pinch after his gentle touches, so it's hard to get a good shot right now.  Otherwise, my funny boy (JM) is doing quite well and enjoying the day with his grandmother today.

I hope your Father's Day was wonderful and that the start of summer will be filled with lots of sunshine and fun.

Sound of Music (Anna's turn) and Dutch family visiting

Our family life has been very busy lately, which explains why I've barely even gotten around to posting photos. Busy is really an understatement. My Outlook calendar is running on overtime and if it weren't for Outlook, I don't think I'd remember half the places I need to be.



This past month, John Michael has had an explosion in speech and communication.  I've compiled a list of words and word approximations, and will post an update in the next few days. For now, here are some family photos.  Above, big sis, Anna, with John Michael. This is his "show me your teeth" smile.

John Michael and Granny (great-grandmother) from Holland after Mass. I was pregnant with John Michael the last time she came to visit, so it's nice for her to see how wonderful this little guy is in person.

Proud great-grandmother moment -- her eldest great-grandson, Nicolas, as altar server.

Big sis, Greta, and John Michael give the best hugs!

John Michael taking time out to smell the flowers with his great-uncle Piet from Holland.

Granny and John Michael at one of Nic's volleyball games.

And finally, some photos of Anna as Louisa in various scenes from The Sound of Music last week.

The Goatherd song

The von Trapp children singing "So Long, Farewell" to the party-goers.

The children singing for "Uncle" Max before Maria returns...

Nicolas as Rolf at the Festival

Festival scene where the von Trapp children, Maria and the Captain sing their farewells and ultimately make their escape over the hills to Switzerland via the Abbey.

Wordless Wednesday -- Randomness

It's a rainy, windy day here in Sacramento.  The blossoms from our Bradford Pear trees in the backyard are falling, leaving a snow-like blanket over the grass and patio.  Here are some recent, random shots all taken in February from when we were having gorgeous spring-like weather. 


Just John Michael...  I love the expression on his face.

Greta showing me that she can, in fact, Hoola Hoop...
even if it is only 2 times around before it drops. 
Gotta start somewhere...

John Michael eyeing a baseball he found in our outside toy box. 
He loves to play with balls -- whether it is kicking, throwing, rolling, or swiping with a tennis racquet...

After this shot, I gave him Greta's little tennis racquet and showed him how to hit the ball.  He sorta got it and then went on to hit the beach ball with the racquet.  Much more satisfying...

My big girl, Greta Sunshine. 
She's turning 5 in April, and is Michael's biggest teacher, motivator, dance instructor, mischief partner, and playmate.  I think it's going to be a tough transition for him when she goes to Kindergarten in the fall.

Anna buried in a snow hole she and Nic dug out while sledding in the Sierras.

Nic and Doug with Bishop Jaime Soto in front of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Scout Sunday.  Nic received his Ad Altare Dei award and Doug received the St. George award.

Me and my prego belly, while on our Valentine's weekend getaway, outside of the Sonoma Mission.  I don't kow what it's like to have a small prego belly, but yes, there's only one in there.  :-)

I just love a strong man  ;-)  Here Doug is doing his part to tidy up one of the fallen redwoods in Armstrong National State Park.  This tree is about 1400 years old.  Wow! 

When I Grow Up...

What do you want to be when you grow up?  That seems to be a common question in our house right now.

This morning, while beading a colorful necklace for her Oma, Greta announced... "When I grow up, I want to be an artist and a veterinarian farmer."  Hmmm, lots of paintings and other creations, fresh vegetables and healthy farm animals.  Sounds very down to earth.  If anyone can, she can pull it off.

I love the things kids come up with, especially when they're creating and not so much thinking.  Just letting their thoughts come out as they come to them.

Anna wants to be a teacher and an author.  She says she can teach and still write in her spare time.  I hope she also continues in art, but I'm very impressed by her writing skills.  It's these "smiley-face" tricks... a writing technique she learned for excellent creative writing.  I should take notes!

Nicolas still desires to be a Catholic priest -- something he's aspired to since he was 5.  Some days he says family life, being a husband and father would be a joy for him as well.  He's very involved in Boy Scouts, has strong leadership skills and tends to be analytical, so who knows what else he would choose to do.  He's still young... who knows what his desires will be in the next 5 or 6 years.

I often wonder what John Michael will be when he grows up.  I think about his future occasionally.  He's already such a people person...  What kinds of opportunities will he have?  Will doors open for him?  or will his facial and physical appearance make a potential employer reconsider hiring him?  I used to be afraid of the future... of 40 years down the road when I'm (gasp) 80.  I no longer worry that far in advance.  We have so many years ahead of us with school and life... it's a waste of time to worry.  I'm learning to enjoy the ride and I pray that the future for our children and adults with Down syndrome will be bright.  We need more advocacy, more awareness of how awesome these individuals are, less hate speech, like the "R" word, more compassion, less infatuation with "perfection".  I've never known any of my kids to be completely "perfect" and yet, they're all perfect. 

When I grow up, I want to be more like John Michael.  Less concerned about what people think, more able to be present in the world around me and enjoy the small things, less judgmental, more compassionate, less worried about things I cannot control, and have a more child-like faith.

When was your first experience... meeting someone w/ Ds?

Thanks to Kimberly over at Chromosomally Enhanced for giving me the idea to post about the first time I ever met someone w/ Ds... (below about 5 paragraphs)

When John Michael was born, and for several weeks thereafter, I was very sad and frightened of this new world we had just entered.  The medical books that were meant to be "helpful" were causing more anxiety than comfort.  At night, I imagined that any day the doctor would call me to say John Michael had this or that medical condition requiring XYZ treatment or surgery.  I struggled with this diagnosis and the misperceptions I'd had as a child hearing the word Down syndrome, or (gasp) Mongoloid.  Was my child a Mongoloid? 

I soon set aside the heavy 4" binder from our local Down Syndrome Information Alliance and began embracing uplifting anthologies, like Gifts, edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper, and Whispers of Hope, a book of local Sacramento families who loved their children deeply and their family photos that showed very cute children with Ds.  I also thoroughly drank in every word of Road Map to Holland by Jennifer Graf Groneberg, and sobbed deeply through her descriptions of the NICU.  I finally felt a connection to other moms who had gone through the same or similar feelings I was having.

I found Jennifer Graf Groneberg's Pinwheels blog and began clicking on other blogs.  I couldn't stop reading and staring at those beautiful faces.  I was amazed at how many other families were blogging about their experiences and the majority of what I read was the joy that these families were experiencing.  I began following some of the blogs and soon after, found my own blogging voice.  At first, I was a bit intimidated.  I had no idea how to start a blog, or what to say, and worse yet, I couldn't ever keep a written journal for more than a week or two, so who would I write for and how long would it last? 

Fast forward 19 months.  I love blogging... I'm amazed at how many people tell me they read this or that post (BUT DON'T COMMENT!), or others that ask if they can share my blog with a new mom they know.  I never expected my words to comfort or console or encourage anyone, but I'm humbled to know that somehow I'm making a small difference in the world by educating and advocating for these little gifts from God.

This brings me to why I started this post.  Do you remember the first person you ever encountered or touched with Down syndrome, besides your own child?  John Michael was a baby and I'd already come to view him as a true gift from God.  Doug and I were at a dinner for Immaculate Heart Radio and a mom introduced herself to me, having recognized John Michael as having Ds.  That was the first shocker for me.   A few minutes later, she came back with her son who was about 10 years old.  I wish I could remember his name.  He had a modern, touseled blond hairstyle, was very trim, hip-looking and polite.  He held out his hand without any prompting on my part and we shook hands.  His words... "Pleased to meet you."  His eyes sparkled, his face lit up, and his crooked-toothed smile spread from ear to ear.  I was mesmerized by this boy.

That was my first experience meeting someone with Ds and it was fantastic.  He gave me hope.  Later on, the mom came back to us (I think she really wanted to hold JM), and told us a funny story about her son.  She said he likes to splash in the toilet and one time, pretended he was the family dog and drank from the toilet.  Internally, I was horrified.  I was still on cloud nine and she quickly burst my bubble as I could only imagine my own son doing that at some point in time. 

Once again, fast forward to just last week.  John Michael is learning to open the lid to the toilet and Greta has taught him how to pretend to drink from the dog's water bowl.  I just hope and pray he doesn't put those two together and follow in that boy's footsteps.  And if I end up blogging about it one day, I hope a new mom or dad out there don't read it and think, "Oh, horror of horrors... my son will never do that."  I always say... never say never.  It might come back to bite you.

So, what was your first experience?

Our Growing Family... Enjoy Your Weekend!

Last Sunday we got a nice break in the weather to take a 2 mile loop nature hike along the American River near our home. The lush green grass, cool river breeze and blue sky dotted with white, puffy clouds was good for my soul and my brain.
This fence always cracks me up. It says "No Trespassing", which our family technically was doing by standing on that side of the fence. But that's what's so funny. There's just his lone gate, long abandoned by any semblance of a fence attached to it. How on earth do they keep anything out?

Below... our growing family...

A couple walking by offered to take our photo.

Yes, we're growing by another member, but really, I am amazed at how much my kids have grown this year!

Nicolas is now officially taller than me, although in this photo he's standing at a slight incline. I'm about 5'7" and, at age 12 1/2, Nic is just under 5'8".  It's strange to look eye-to-eye, but he still knows height doesn't replace authority. :-)  Anna and Greta are also tall for their age, and John Michael is relatively tall according to the Down syndrome growth chart... thanks to Doug's genes I'm sure. I'm not getting taller, just rounder at 22 weeks today.

This is such a cool place... so natural and serene. This huge tree must've fallen down 15 years ago or so. I can't remember it ever not being there. And by the well-worn path going under and around the tree, it's clear that many people besides us have stopped to enjoy the view and, perhaps, a climb.

I hope you find time to enjoy your weekend with the ones you love, too.

Wordless Wednesday -- Good Morning!

John Michael loves Mitzi.

 

Mitzi tolerates John Michael.

But one thing is for sure...
John Michael LOVES Greta...

and it's mutual. 

He's so full of love and hugs and kisses this morning that he doesn't want to eat.
Do you remember the last time you were so in love that you didn't want to eat?

Oh, and if you missed the excitement on Facebook,
John Michael is going to have a baby brother in early June.  Yes, another BOY!

The girls are adjusting to the fact that we'll have more boys in the family than girls, but that's how it goes...