Best. Thing. Ever.

My Sad. post from January 6, 2011, seems like a distant memory.  In just a few short months, John Michael has grown by leaps and bounds. It's so exciting how much he's changed!

And I know... I am seriously overdue for a post on all the words and phrases he's saying, how preschool is going, his behavior, his manners (he's very polite!), shapes and color identification, counting, singing, and gross and fine motor stuff. There's so much to write, I don't know where to begin!




But stay tuned... it's coming... and, here's why I'm seriously behind...

In the past 2 weeks, Luke (10 1/2 months old) has started crawling all over the house, waving hi and bye, pulling to stand, cruising, drinking from a sippy cup and straw, giving sloppy wet kisses and generally getting into all kinds of trouble.  I often find myself wishing he'd slow down and enjoy the ride a bit, cuz my head is spinning from trying to keep up.  Seriously.  I rather prefer John Michael's pace at this point in my life...

I'm finding very little time to sit at the computer, so for tonight, I will leave you with this photo of John Michael (17 months) at Easter 2009, signing LOVE. Today, at age 3, he freely tells me he loves me, gives me hugs and kisses, and it's the best. thing. ever...

Reflections...on Down syndrome... and Family

Palm Sunday 2010

Easter 2009

Easter 2008

The kids griped about posing for a photo in the same place for three years in a row. But, I think it's cool to see how much they've changed.  In the bottom photo, Greta was just turning 3 and often refused to smile for photos. John Michael, still in that cuddly baby stage, just thought the swing rope was pretty cool.  Nic and Anna were in 5th and 3rd grades, and already big helpers with the younger two.

A year later, Greta is all smiles and John Michael has grown out of his baby stage and morphed into a cute, crawling towhead. Nic and Anna had matured as well.  This was the start of a fun year, really living and feeling comfortable in our new world of having a child with Down syndrome.  We've met so many great local and online families since a year ago around Easter.  To date, I have at least 140 "friends" on Facebook that have a child with Ds.  Most of whom I've not met, but feel a deep connection to.  It's so strange, but wonderful... this amazing Ds community.

Fast forward another year... to today. Greta is almost 5, counting to 100 and spelling a bunch of 3 letter words. John Michael is 28 months old and quite the toddler, walking, running, climbing up and the down the slide, kicking a ball, and is full of love and life. Anna and Nic continue to mature and become more and more responsible and independent.  We've immersed ourselves in the Ds world... being comfortable in our roles as advocates, talking to a couple schools about Ds and the r-word, facilitating a mom and dad sharing session through the local DSIA, meeting moms with newly diagnosed babies and welcoming them into our fold, helping a friend raise money to adopt a child from eastern Europe who also has Down syndrome.  The list goes on...

I asked Nic tonight if he ever thought about John Michael having Down syndrome. He said he doesn't notice. John Michael does so much and it's only when we compare him to a typical child at the same age that we actually notice his "delays." But to us, he continues to grow and reach milestones that we don't think of him as "delayed." It's only society that places those labels on him. I know we will continue to experience great things as a result of haivng John Michael in our lives. I still hear from parents that tell me their son or daughter was positively affected by my talk on Down syndrome and the r-word!  That's awesome!  You never know if you'll touch someone or if they'll just roll their eyes at you and think "whatever..."  Hopefully, we're reaching more of those who will be touched and in turn will touch others in a positive way.

This is the Day...

that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Alleluia!

Happy Easter from our family to you and your families! I've enjoyed blogging and getting to know some great (mostly) moms who have a child with Down syndrome. I've learned so much from your collective wisdom.

What a difference a year makes! I thought it would be fun to take a photo of the kids in the same place as last year. The May 2008 photo has been one of my favorites of all four together, so I tried to re-create it. Greta was giving me the dramatic "I don't want to smile" look and John Michael at 6 months old was too busy with the rope on the swing to notice. Nicolas and Anna keep growing up!

Easter 2009

May 2008

Happy Easter!

from John Michael and his family to you...