Trick or Treat

I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to share :-)

Yum, this tastes good.

Really good....

Perfect snack if you add my thumb to it.

My ears are as crooked as my halo :-)

What are these things on my feet?

I love my big brothers...even if they are dressed a little weird!

Let's roll!

Matthew...did you see what my mother did to me?

Dash leading the pack

Hey, boys, are you going to share your candy with me?

Minnie is all tuckered out.

31 fo 21: Day 31 - Challenge Completed!

Happy Halloween!  I'll have to share our Halloween pics tomorrow.  Trick or Treat is tonight but we might all be too exhausted tonight to post.  We'll see :-)

Today is also the last day of Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  The last day of our blogging challenge.  It is bittersweet....on one hand, I will be okay without "needing" to blog everyday.  Some days I did come down to 11 something p.m.  On the other hand, I've enjoyed sharing our challenges and joys of parenting all of our children, one who happens to have an extra chromosome.  I will continue to blog...just probably not every day :-)  I use it as a journaling tool for us and it is an emotional relief for me.

I hope that through my blog I can help ease the mind of one pregnant mom that receives a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome that everything will be okay.  I hope that I can reach one mom who just received a post birth diagnosis that it isn't the end of the world and her life will be enriched.  I hope that I can educate one person who doesn't know much about Down syndrome and help them see that we are just an ordinary family with a child that has designer genes.  I want people to see that we are not suffering because of Down syndrome, not as a family or is Hailey.  She doesn't need anyone feeling sorry for her or pity her.  Hailey is not a burden.  She is a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, a cousin....a beautiful little girl who looks like her big brother Ian and is full of smiles like her big brother Brayden.  I hope people see that she is a person...just like any other child and she wants to be treated the same.  That she is more alike than different.

Take a minute to read some of the blogs that I follow (in the column on the right).  I would love for you to share my blog with others (email it, post it on facebook).  Help me spread the word that Down syndrome is nothing to be afraid of, people with Down syndrome deserve the same respect and treatment as everyone else and their lives have the same value as everyone else.  Please help us continue opening the eyes of others.  Let them see how fabulous my little girl is (and other people with DS)!

This pics are repeats but so cute that they need looked at again :-)

In closing, I'll leave you with this and one last photo....

Down Syndrome creed

My face may be different
But my feelings the same
I laugh and I cry
And I take pride in my gains
I was sent here among you
To teach you to love
As God in the heavens
Looks down from above
To Him I'm no different
His love knows no bounds
It's those here among you
In cities and towns
That judge me by standards
That man has imparted
But this family I've chosen
Will help me get started
For I'm one of the children
So special and few
That came here to learn
The same lessons as you
That love is acceptance
It must come from the heart
We all have the same purpose
Though not the same start
The Lord gave me life
To live and embrace
And I'll do it as you do
But at my own pace

 ~Author unknown

31 for 21: Day 30 Little Peanut Keeps on Rockin'

Today was a catch up day for us.  We had a busy week last week and a busier week this week.  I like to give the kids some down time.  The boys spent the day playing as I cleaned and did laundry.  This is their idea of playing with their sister, hmmmm.....

Well, Mom, at least they gave me a few toys.

Hailey decided though that today wasn't a day of rest.  She finally sat for about 30 seconds to a minute without propping herself or tipping over!  No, it wasn't too long but she showed she can do it.  She does better when she doesn't "realize" she is sitting on her own.  She also starting pivoting on the floor.  Well, she has probably been doing it before but we haven't seen her do it.  I think she does stuff in front of us just so we will cheer for her.  She's a ham and loves the attention! 

Hailey doesn't know it but mommy really needed to see her do these two things today.  I think we kind of live in our bubble here.  We see Hailey meeting milestones and we think she is doing fabulous (and yes, I know she is) but then we see her next to a "typical" child and then I second guess everything.  We were at a neighborhood get-together yesterday and the neighbor's daughter is almost 2 months behind Hailey and everything seems so easy for her.  Just in looking at them, you would think that Hailey is 2 months younger than her because the little girl is about 5 pounds bigger than Hailey.  Her movements seem more purposeful, more coordinated, stronger.  She is moving about much better than Hailey.  Don't get me wrong, I am happy that the little girl is doing so well.  It is just in those moments that I realize that Hailey is a little behind others (even though she is doing fabulous for someone that was 4 weeks early and had open heart surgery). 

Hailey showed me today that things will be just fine and she will accomplish everything.  I just can't control it :-)  Another lesson for my type A personality :-)

Check out the crocodile tears because mommy wasn't feeding her fast enough!

Guess the carrots add a little too much orange :-)

Crying and lunch can wear a girl out!

Love these mashed potatoes!

31 for 21: Day 29: Living

I know Thursday we talked about what we wish people would get about DS.  I think the biggest is that we LIVE our lives just as most families.  Down syndrome doesn't make us house-bound families.  We aren't ashamed to go out because of our child's "condition".  We go to church, restaurants, movies, amusement parks, school, etc.  We LIVE.  For some of us, our child with DS isn't our only child.  Regardless, our children with DS are an equal part of our family.  Hailey isn't our entire family or a bigger part of our family.  Her diagnosis doesn't control our family or take over all aspects of it.  We add her therapies into our calendar just as we add Brayden's religion class and basketball games and Ian's soccer practices and playdates. 

Today was that typical day of us living.  The boys had their last soccer games of the fall season and Miss Hailey had her last lunch in the stroller in the middle of the game (at least for this season).  We have a neighborhood Halloween party this evening and another party tonight for my husband's work.  Granted it is a busy day but oh well ;-)

I hope that one day, pregnant women who receive a prenatal diagnosis will be given all of the correct information.  Yes, they should receive the medical information...possible heart defects, thyroid issues, vision testing, etc, but they should also receive information from parents who are living with children that have Down syndrome.  The entire story.  I think this information could possibly change the statistic of abortion rates with prenatal diagnosis. 

Here are pics of us "living" today!

Tired before the games even began!

It was nippy this morning!

Big brother Bray in the black hat

Thanks for lunch, mom

My little man, E

Watching his teammates as he takes a break

Wow...my little #3 looks small compared to the other guys

Big brother cheering from the sidelines

Dad, are we almost finished?

Dad, did you hear...this is the last game!