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Feeling Sentimental... It's all in a name.

I was taking a walk with John Michael and our dog, Mitzi, this morning on the nature trail behind our house. The planes and helicopter were buzzing overhead, the finches were flitting and chirping in the old oaks, the cat was slyly following us and ducking behind each tree along the way, and the sun was bright and cheery, warming us in its glow. Perfect for feeling sentimental.

I've often thought of why we called our little guy John Michael. Always by both names, not just one.

When I was pregnant with him, we called him Thomas for the longest time. But in my 8th month, Thomas just didn't feel right. John Michael, two very strong Biblical names, and also the 2 first names of Doug's brother and mine, we knew it was the right name. The only problem was that we'd named a baby I'd miscarried before JM was conceived by the same name. We don't know if it was a girl or boy, but the kids and I wanted to honor the little soul with a name. I came to terms with the idea of naming our newest little guy with this powerful name and I'm so glad we did.

His name means "God's grace" and "One who is like God". With a double name like that, who wouldn't agree that John Michael's life is nothing but filled with God's grace and he radiates that grace to those around him? There is no doubt that he is a gift from God and since God makes no mistakes, I know he was intended to be born with that extra set of 21st chromosomes. Bonus genes. Designer genes. Heavenly genes.

Lemons to Lemonade Blog Award!

Renee at My Special Ks presented me with the Lemons to Lemonade Award!! Thank you so much, Renee!



Here are the rules for the award:

1) Put the logo on your blog or post.

2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.

3) Link to your nominees within your post.

4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.
I nominate:

1. The Adventures of Homeschooling Noah
2. mi2boys
3. Cause of Our Joy
4. Mothering by the Seat of my Pants
5. My Little Saint
6. Big Blueberry Eyes
7. Rivers of Joy
8. Ruby's Life
9. Three's a Charm
10. Bridget's Light
11. Down Right Faith

Wordless Wednesday -- GUILTY!

When I found John Michael, he was happily splashing his hands in the shower and playing with his Lego truck that he'd also tossed in. The basin was still wet from morning showers. He looked up and gave me a huge smile at his newfound discovery of opening the door and climbing up and over the rim. I would love to have captured that on camera. It's only at those moments when my batteries fail! I raced to the car to get my cell phone camera, but by then he'd decided it was time to get out. He was soaking wet!

John Michael's ready for Spring!

Spring is still a day away, but John Michael just
couldn't wait to get outside in this gorgeous sunshine.

This is his sign for airplane.
He gets very excited when he hears the buzz of an airplane overhead.

John Michael turned 16 months old last week. He is growing by leaps and bounds, although not in the height or weight department. At his 15 month check up last month, he hadn't grown in length in the past 3 months and actually lost 2 pounds, from 28 to 26 pounds, since he started crawling and is no longer nursing. The doctor suggested I give him PediaSure for vitamins and protein. He eats well, but doesn't love whole milk as much as he should. He drinks very well from straws and sippy cups that don't have a strong valve. He learned to suck from a straw last summer when I tempted him with a Jamba Juice fruit smoothie. The icy sensation and the sweetness were great motivators.

This past week, John Michael has really blossomed in his communication. Yesterday, he said "eh-duh" for Greta and "dah" for dog several times when prompted. Today he waved and said "bah bah" when I asked him to say bye-bye. He also makes a "t" sound for tree and puts his hand up in the air to show me the tree. As for signing, I'm becoming more consistent and in return he signs "more," "eat" and "all done" more often. He crawls super-fast and loves to chase and be chased. He loves all things that roll, especially cars, trains and balls. When he gets up on his knees, he puts one foot down as if ready to stand. He really likes to stand against furniture or the windows.

Last week I bought him a FisherPrice plastic ring stacker to see if he could do it. He figured out how to put the rings on right away. Now we're going to work on size/color placement. He loves all things related to music-making. He loves to play the piano and really listens when he strikes the keys. He plays the xylophone, kazoo, drums, egg shakers and strums on his music therapist's guitar while she sings and plays. We're working on blowing into a recorder. It's a bit harder than humming into a kazoo. He'll get it.

When we're outdoors, he loves to swing and go for walks in the stroller or push car. He listens to the birds chirping, dogs barking and airplanes buzzing and makes me aware that he hears them. I'm hoping he'll like the toddler bicycle seat attached to my bike so we can enjoy rides as a family within the next few weeks.

I tend to focus on John Michael's strengths and keep a positive outlook. I want people to see the things he can do and that he's more like typical children than not. A couple days ago I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a long time at the grocery store. She asked me 3 or 4 times, in that certain way, "So, how are you?" I kept saying we're doing great and life is just busy right now and things are just rolling right along. I think she was wanting to know if I was really OK. Or if John Michael was OK. I hope she believed me.

Naturally, there are things he does that I wish he wouldn't, but I've can say that about each of my kids at every stage of their development as well. I know he'll grow out of these things and I don't think they're in any way related to Down syndrome. Right now, he is infatuated with knocking over garbage cans, opening the shower door and slapping his hands in the water, playing with (and tasting) dog food and water (which have already been moved from the first place he found them), pulling the dog and cat's tails, tossing his sippy cup off of his high chair after almost every sip, rolling the salt shaker across the kitchen floor when he can get to it, and yelling loudly when he's frustrated with something he's not getting. These are just a few things I can think of. Most of the time, he really is a super fantastic little guy with a charming personality and his Down syndrome is only a small part of him. It doesn't define him.

PS: I'll be on a road trip with my 2 girls this weekend to visit my parents who will be leaving soon to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversay in Germany on April 16th. When I return, I will post on poop. :-) I've been called the "Poop Whisperer." John Michael used to be very constipated, but through tummy massage and prompting, I've been able to help him do his daily deed. Stay tuned and Happy Spring! :-)

John Michael's latest obsession

OK, I don't know if this is really blog-worthy, but it's a memory I want to keep, and if I don't write it down, I'll definitely forget it.

For several months now, John Michael has had a "thing" for my vacuum cleaner. Aren't kids usually afraid of vacuum cleaners? This particular one is so powerful, I don't doubt it could suck up little fingers and toes if they weren't attached so well. (Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of any particular brand and, no, I'm not being paid to advertise, but it is the most powerful vacuum cleaner I've ever had and I've been using it for several years now. It picks up everything.)

With four kids in the house, I vacuum crumbs and dog hair off the tile at least every other day, sometimes daily. On weekends, the older kids take over the vacuuming duty. I do it so often, the dog starts heading for the back door as soon as I roll the vacuum out of the closet. John Michael, on the otherhand, will crawl from wherever he is, as fast as he can, to touch it and, yes, even kiss it. It's disgusting! Maybe that's why he's been relatively healthy? Kissing the vacuum cleaner?

It's actually quite funny at times since I literally have to play "dodge the baby" with him. I vacuum and he chases me to get his chunky little fingers on the goods. It makes my job go a whole lot faster, that's for sure. If I'm not in the mood to speed through cleaning while being pursued by a 27 pounder, I put him in the high chair at snacktime. We had a little extra fun this morning since I also had to mop the floor. I use a plug-in steamer mop, which he thought was pretty cool. His jeans actually helped dry the floor in record time :-)

Oh, and yes, that's my Christmas poinsettia in the kitchen window in the distance and mini potted Christmas trees outside the window. I don't have the heart to toss them out while they're still healthy and vibrant, but I'm ready for spring!

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Monica @ mi2boys (http://mi2boys.blogspot.com/) awarded me this very cute blogger award!

Thanks, Monica! How very sweet of you to think of me -- I appreciate it very much!

The way this blog award works is that I am supposed to list 7 things I love and pass the award to 7 blogs I love, so here it goes:

1. Spending time with my family!
2. Nature walks and picnics with the family.
3. Blogging and reading blogs about families who have a child with Down syndrome (my creative outlet).
4. Quiet time or naptime (not mine).
5. Singing in an awesome vocal group for 9 years (my stress reliever).
6. Riding bikes along the American River Parkway.
7. My faith and church family (my spiritual outlet).

Now for the hard part. A couple bloggers already have this award, so I don't want to repeat...

Here's my Magnificent 7 in no particular order:

1. Bridget's Light
2. EmmaSage
3. Mothering by the Seat of my Pants
4. Finnian's Journey
5. Ella Grace with the Pretty Face
6. Party of Nine
7. Big Blueberry Eyes

My dream sons...

I love the dynamics of my family and each person's relationship with one another. In this photo, taken an hour ago, Nicolas was patiently holding John Michael while I filled the bird feeders. Watching these two together always makes my heart melt. It was one of those moments where I dropped everything and ran for the camera. Thankfully, they obliged with nice smiles.

I haven't blogged about Nicolas because it would be easy to get on the bragging bandwagon with him. At 11 1/2, he stands at 5' 5", is a model student, a born leader, altar server, 2nd class Boy Scout, and sax player to name a few. He's kind and caring (although 9 yr old sister Anna may disagree) and makes us all proud. He is a dream son. I could go on, but I don't want this to sound like one of those over-the-top Christmas letters where the font on the page gets smaller and smaller to include every accolade and achievement EVER. :-)

When John Michael was born and we shared his diagnosis with our kids, Nicolas would often share his sadness with me at our nightly prayertime. He wasn't concerned about John Michael being different as much as he wanted him to be healthy and do things "normal" kids could do, like play Legos and ball. The two boys share a room, and as John Michael's personality developed, so did Nic's love for him. In the early morning hours before I would pick up John Michael to nurse, Nic would often get out of bed to give him a Binky to comfort him. Nic still does this, but on the rare occasion that Nic is still in bed when John Michael wakes up in the morning, the little guy will sit up on his knees, throw his Binky on the floor and reach out to Nic. It's so sweet.

Before Greta and John Michael were born, I used to have a recurring dream about a little blonde boy that would walk behind our family. At the time, I thought our family was complete, but always wondered if this was a message from God that He wanted us to welcome another child. Greta, being a girl and a redhead, didn't fit that particular dream, so I tucked it away. (That being said, Greta is a wonderful, joyful addition!) After John Michael was born, I wondered if this was the little blonde boy God wanted me to have -- the one who would walk a few steps behind, but always be part of our family. I'm now convinced that this is that little guy. I can still see the face of the little boy in my dream and I think it's symbolic that the little boy walked behind us to indicate John Michael's Down syndrome would perhaps slow us down a bit. In a good way. John Michael is literally my dream son -- a special and unique gift from God.

Premio Dardos Blog Award!

Cheryl at Ruby's Life has awarded me the Premios Dardos blog award.

“Premio Dardos means ‘prize darts’ in Italian." This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

So, first, I graciously accept. How very nice of her!

Step 1: Respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

Step 2: Tag - eight other bloggers to do the same.

1) What are you wearing right now? A spring green cardigan over a white v-neck t-shirt, jeans, and my old Adidas casual tennis shoes.

2) What is your biggest fear? Rolling down a cliff or off a tall bridge while driving.

3) Do you nap a lot? Huh? No, but I love when the little ones are napping :-)

4) Who is the last person you hugged? My hubby

5) What websites to you visit when you go online? Lots of blogs about Ds and a Catholic Ds Facebook "ning" social network.

6) What was the last item you bought? Groceries for the week. Sad, but true...

7) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Carmel with my hubby or on a pilgrimage to Rome

8) If you could go to the Oscars, who would you want to sit next to? I'm not one to get starstruck. I'd be happy sitting next to someone whose work I respect .

9) Has a celebrity's hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle? I had a Dorothy Hamill cut when I was in 6th grade.

10) What is your most embarrassing moment? Let's just say... in 2nd grade I had to go to the bathroom sooooooooo bad during class but the teacher said NO! You can guess the rest...

11) What was the last movie you watched? No Reservations.

12) What is the luckiest thing that ever happened to you? Meeting and marrying my husband.

13) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments or interruptions what would you do? Get a pedicure, drink a Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks and read a book by the pool (that we don't have) or going for a nice long walk in the woods with my husband and a picnic lunch.

14) Is there a major goal you have that you haven't yet achieved? Getting back down to my pre-mommy weight :)

15) Where did you meet your spouse? At a jazz club -- he and his friends sat down next to the table where I was sitting. When I wasn't looking, my girlfriends bought him a drink with my money. He turned to thank me even though I had no idea what he was thanking me for. We started talking and one of my friends told me later that evening that we would be married someday...

16) What is something that those in blogland might not know about you? I'm the daughter of German immigrants and played accorion as a child and I have a BA in Applied Math and Statistics.

17)What States and Countries have you visited as an adult? Native Californian, toured New Orleans w/ my singing group in 2007, so I've been to Louisiana; Also been to Oregon; Washington; Nevada; Arizona; New Jersey; New York, Vancouver, BC; Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hungary, Holland, Belgium, France. Some of these were from a choir tour in college.

18) What do you do to relieve stress? I sing in an awesome mostly a capella vocal group, called RSVP, which stands for Reconciliation Singers Voices of Peace. We are all professional or semi-professional college-trained singers that use our talents to raise money and awareness for local charities.

Now for the fun part. I enjoy many blogs out there, and only choosing 8 is hard for me. If you've already been tagged, consider yourself extra special -- If you don't want to pass on the questions or blog award, I won't be hurt, either.

I tag:

My Catholic friend at The Pondering Catholic

Amy at My Little Saint

Leticia at Cause of Our Joy

Jennifer at Pinwheels

Jeanette at DownRightFaith

Chris at Mothering by the Seat of my Pants

Renee at My Special Ks

Beverly at Adventures of Homeschooling Noah

John Michael at 15 months...

At 15 months old, John Michael is growing up so fast in so many ways. He loves things that move, like this cute car he borrowed from his cousin. He loves to push Lego cars and trucks around the house and crawl after them. He loves to chase the cat when she taunts him with her tail. He likes to stand when I pull him up, and is working on trying to stand on his own. He loves to crawl and climb up to his knees at each chair and sofa and coffee table within reach and put toys on them. He definitely has the concept of "in" and "on". We worked with him for a while on putting things "in" and now he can do it without any difficulty. He's starting to stack 2 blocks and if I hold them still, he can sometimes stack a couple more. He still enjoys knocking towers down, especially the ones Greta so lovingly builds for him out of Duplo Legos. He plays a mean kazoo and loves to hear the sounds he makes. I bought one for him and Greta at the music store for 95 cents apiece. Best $2 I've spent in a long time! He loves to play the drums and xylophone and is very good at banging with one stick. When he has two, he usually puts the left stick down and bangs with his whole soul. He loves to shake musical egg shakers (also from the music store) or anything that makes a sound when he shakes it, as well as banging things together. He loves remote controls and telephones and usually mimics me on the telephone by putting it up to his ear. So cute. He is trying to say, "Mama" but his "B" sounds usually get in the way of "M". That's OK. I'm thrilled he's so close. There was a time when I would think he'd never say "Mama." He usually waves 'hi' and 'bye' and makes a "T" sound for tree. He says a short "a" for Anna and can say "Dada." He gives the best impromptu soft, wet kisses and will gladly give anyone a "high five." This little guy is so joyful and gives so much, it's hard not to fall head over heels in love with him.

Goodbye, Flu! or "Not so funny Valentine!"

Last week was quite a week for our family. It started out as the perfect Valentine's Day. My husband, Doug, gave me a dozen roses, a beautiful card and a heart-shaped box of dark See's chocolates (yes, very traditional, but lovely nonetheless!) He made a huge batch of homemade pancakes with blueberries and bananas in some and chocolate chips in the others. The kids were in heaven! We enjoyed our day together and looked forward to a much needed date night, sans children.

Late that afternoon, Doug's mom came over to watch the kids. We headed downtown to see a play written by Canadian Norm Foster, called Mending Fences, making its U.S. debut at one of our local playhouses. It was a 5pm show. The play was excellent -- about a strained father/son relationship that needed, well, mending. After the play, we enjoyed some nice Rodney Strong Cabernet and California cuisine at one of our favorite bistros. Feeling very satisfied, we then headed to an art gallery reception, where we chatted with a plein air artist I'd invited to our school a few years ago. It was the perfect Valentine's Day date.

By the time we got back, around 10pm, Doug's mom told us we'd missed quite the "show" at home. Nicolas had had a violent attack of the stomach flu all evening. Thanks to Doug's mom being an ER tech and being around sick people all the time, it didn't even phase her. Two days later, Anna followed suit. We weren't so lucky with her. We were up all night cleaning sheets, emptying buckets, picking chunks from the carpet, stripping the bed and washing the comforter. Two nights later, within a few hours of each other, Greta and I were on opposite ends of the house, emptying ourselves until we had nothing left to give. I was so weak the next day that I couldn't carry John Michael. Doug stayed home for much of the day to help me. We thought Doug and John Michael were safe, but by that night, Doug was aching, too. Out of the whole family, John Michael was the only one who had a flu shot in the fall. His single episode with flu was also the mildest. I'm guessing the flu shot really worked...

Today was our best day since our sick-filled week. The sheets and comforters are all washed, the towels are hung and the beds are cozy again. John Michael was himself again, being cute and cuddly as usual. He's teething very badly, which causes him distress at night, but other than that, he's my little cutie pie again. So glad that's behind us! I'm thinking this year, we may consider flu shots!

Wordless Wednesday

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it!"

(Click on the photo to see his eyes up close. The white lightning streaks in his eyes are Brushfield Spots. They're mesmerizing!)

Moooovie Monday

You've got to check out John Michael's squishy face when he tries to say "Mooooo." It's too cute! As he was watching this little video clip, he did all the motions again because he heard my voice and saw himself. He's such a parrot, which is wonderful opportunity to get a lot of learning in while having fun at the same time. Have a great day!

At the Rainbow's End

On our way home from school two days ago, there was a strange mix of rain and sunshine. The kids were drenched from the heavy downpour while waiting for me to pick them up. Once in the car, I commented to the kids that we should be on the lookout for a rainbow. Within a minute, the kids and I spotted this rainbow stretching its colors across the dimming blue sky. You could see the entire arc of the rainbow and it appeared to be somewhere in our neighborhood. On their urging, we drove past our home to find the end of the rainbow. While we didn't manage to find a pot of gold, we did find beauty in God's creation. The brilliance of the rainbow on the right was so spectacular against the strikingly clear sky, followed by a second, less brilliant rainbow to the left. The kids were all saying what a beautiful gift God has given us. That alone was a beautiful gift for me.

One Sibling's Journey with Ds

The other night I was reviewing my sweet 9 yr old Anna's monthly writing journal and came across this entry from January 7, 2009. I always keep her journals, but don't always make the time to read each one. Wow, am I glad I found this one. It brought tears to my eyes since for the first months of his life, she wished John Michael wasn't part of our family. She's gone through her own metamorphasis and I'm so proud of her! Here 'tis...

"I have a big family; but one of those members gave me a little something I did not expect. That member is my little brother, John Michael. John Michael made me look at life in a whole new way. John Michael has Down syndrome. I don't like Down syndrome so I call it happy syndrome! DS is something that lots of kids have. When my mom was in the hospital and gave birth to him, the first thing they (the hospital) gave her was a huge binder full of information on what could happen not what will happen. I was not so happy about this Down syndrome thing. I had a meter for how much I loved this baby.

Time went, time passed and my meter went from 2 - 100! I love John Michael. Right now he waves, claps and when you say how big is John Michael he puts his hands in the air. He is 27 pounds and 13 months old! I (heart) John Michael. He changed my life a lot.

PS: John Michael is a good piano player. :-) (smiley face)"

John Michael Strikes Again...

A couple weeks ago, I posted about John Michael flipping over Mitzi's water bowl and tasting some kibbles. That was such a mess that I moved her food and water into the laundry room, out of sight. Mitzi adjusted very quickly, even though her feeding station has been in the same place for the past 4 years. Last night, John Michael struck again! He was playing contentedly on the kitchen floor with Greta while big sis, Anna, was doing homework at the kitchen island just above them. I ran to another room for a couple minutes and then came back to check on him. All was quiet, so I thought all was well.

Note to self: Quiet isn't always good...

Greta was no longer with him -- she was playing in the living room by herself. Anna was still doing homework. I noticed a piece of dog food on the floor next to him, but brushed it off thinking Mitzi may have dropped it. I reached down to pick up the little guy and as I lifted him, water started dripping from his footed PJs onto my foot. Huh?!?! He was cold and soaking wet! I looked toward the laundry room and saw a 10-inch wide streak of water as if he had mopped his bottom across my kitchen floor. Dog food was spilled in the laundry room and the water bowl was upside down. He has seen me feed the dog a couple of times in the new location, so obviously he has no trouble with his memory! Big sister, Anna, said she didn't even know he'd scooted away... so much for keeping an eye on him! It's not her fault, but I was frustrated. I carried him dripping to his changing table. He kicked up his legs and started sucking water from his water-soaked PJ-covered feet. Yuck! Presto chango, I dried him up, changed him and asked Anna to help me clean the water mess. Not sure what I'll do if he strikes again!

A Boy and his Dog

So this is what happens when I leave John Michael with Daddy and Mitzi for a couple hours... I'm just glad I wasn't there to see this!

Hey Mom! Check out our cool cars!

Old Fashioned Fun

I love the simplicity of this photo. I was busy cooking and monitoring my 9 year old's California Mission project and kept getting distracted by these two little ones. To occupy them I gave them "cars" (scrap boxes from my Costco excursion) and some wooden spoons to bang away. Greta added a red light and a map to her box. It helped keep them entertained as well as "contained" for a little while. I love when simple things like cereal boxes and rubber bands become the coolest guitars, empty plastic spice containers and split peas make great maracas, and Tupperware-type plastic containers turn into indoor skates. I'm curious... what kind of simple toys do your kids enjoy? If you enjoy this post, but don't usually comment, I'd love to hear from you as well. Please say "hi"!

The Water Boy

Half fish, all boy! John Michael loves water, whether it's from a faucet, a drinking cup, a showerhead, or the bathtub. Bathtime is especially fun when shared with big sis, Greta.

John Michael, Daddy, and Mitzi taking a break along the American River after a nice long walk and picnic lunch. He fell asleep in the Baby Jogger only minutes after this photo was taken. Nothing like fresh air and sunshine on a crisp, cool winter day (68 degrees!)