The "Other" Look

I wrote a post last month here about "THE" look....the one that we get when someone feels sorry for us...sorry for Hailey's diagnosis.  Well, in looking back at that post, I might have given the impression that we get that look frequently.  We might get it about 25% of the time.  It might not even be that often.  The other 75% of the time (and I noticed it more during vacation last week), we have people stopping us to tell us how cute or beautiful Hailey is. 

I'm not trying to boast about my child (but, yes...we do find her beautiful).  I was almost embarrassed last week with the amount of compliments she received.  We had moms, dad, grandmas, grandpas, little girls, little boys, even teenage girls and boys, comment on her.  Granted, it might have helped that she was smiling at everyone, waving, blowing kisses, and laughing...her dimples are quite charming.  I think I'm just surprised by it all.  Yes, we received compliments when the boys were babies, but nothing like this.  I know other moms of children with Down syndrome have commented something similar.

This look is different.  I don't feel people are commenting on her because she has Down syndrome, it's not out of pity.  She has a spark...a light...an energy that draws people to her.  They go out of their way to chat with her, smile at her, wave, play patty-cake.  It is almost as if they can't walk by without engaging with her.  They always walk away with a smile on their face...but honestly, how could you walk past this beautiful little girl without stopping to smile....we can't!