Hailey Update & Missing her Brothers

There is a reason God gave me three children.  Having Hailey here by herself for the last week has been exhausting.  Not to mention she misses her brothers and has been a "tad" cranky.  It is easier to run errands with only one, but I do miss my boys!  All in all, Hailey has been good with the boys out of town (They've divided their time between their two sets of grandparents.  Getting lots of time outside, and plenty of time with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.) 

I don't think I realized how much Hailey has changed and how much she is growing up until now.  Life with three can be busy :-)  One day, I dropped Hailey off at the child care at the gym.  I was talking with one of the employees and was watching Hailey.  She picked up a doll and walked straight to the baby swing, put the baby in it and started swinging her.  She found another baby and put her in the rocking chair and started rocking it.  She tried putting a baby in the exersaucer.  All of this fascinated me because we don't have any baby gear in the house anymore (as Hailey outgrows it, it's out of here!).  She was quite motherly with the dolls. 

Babysitting is definitely not in her near future!

Taking her baby shopping!

She always waves "good-bye" before she tears through the house with her shopping cart!

Hailey has also made progress with gross motor.  She isn't running just yet, but her walk is quite fast (try chasing after her!) and she moves her arms faster than some people run!  It is such a funny sight.  She has gotten good at changes in elevations (uneven sidewalks), up and down slopes and boy, can that little girl climb!  She has started somersaulting but she scares me since we haven't had the neck xray for atlantoaxial instability (AAI) which affects the top two bones of the neck.  I try to keep her from doing them.  Playing outside and trying to keep up with the big kids seems to be paying off.  She even did great walking in her flip flops (shhhh....no one tell her PT Abby!)

She was obsessed with these shoes this weekend. 

She looks like a girl on a mission.

I think the biggest surprise this week has been her speech and understanding of things.  Most of the time when we ask her a yes-no question, she has appropriately answered the question and added a head nod or shake.  She called one of the neighborhood children by name without being prompted.  She said it crystal clear (I had witnesses!!).  I needed to do dishes last night and I asked her if she wanted me to find a show on TV for her, she answered "Doc".  I asked "Doc McStuffins?"  "yesssssss" was her reply.  She's only watched it a few times so I was surprised that she said the name!  She has been adding a little diva to her personality, too.  However, since she has always been motivated with jewelry (to reach and crawl), some would say she has always had it in her.  She's just started covering her face with her hands when she gets in trouble.  She also started rolling her eyes at me if she doesn't like my answer.  She picks up her diaper and throws it in the trash.  I can ask her to bring me something and she will (unless it involves bedtime or medicine).  She does like to argue and negotiate. 

Maybe if I smile really big, she won't notice I'm emptying the wipes.

I'll cover my face now, she won't see me that way.

Dancing at the Mexican restaurant

She was so happy to FaceTime the boys!

We are never short on smiles in this house.

Even telling me "no" comes with a lot of drama!

This time with just Hailey has been nice because I don't think I realized how far she has come in different areas.  I've gotten more sleep without a certain 6 year old sneaking in our room every other night.  I'm definitely looking forward to the boys coming home tomorrow.  Hailey needs her motivators (and playmates) back and  mom is ready for the chaos, chatter and extra hugs...(I can do without the extra messes though!)

A Red Birthday

It was hard to believe it was time already for Ian's 6th birthday.  I still am not sure where the time has gone.  He was excited, his last day of school two days before.  Big brother woke up early and made the birthday boy breakfast.  Mamaw and Papaw drove in for a few days to celebrate with us.  It is hard to buy gifts for my children.  There isn't much they want or need.  Ian is a HUGE Reds fan and the Reds were in town that day.  It made a great birthday for our little man.  We had fabulous seats at first base and behind home plate.  We took turns in the seats so everyone got to experience the closeness of our first base seats :-)  The boys were excited to see all the players up close.  Unfortunately, the Reds lost, but our baseball fan had a great 6th birthday!!!

Little sister fell asleep in Sams.

An afternoon swim for the birthday boy.

Apparently, the scooter was a welcome gift!

His other favorite gift...a kickball.

Our traditional birthday picture

She is has no idea how long baseball games can last!

The popcorn bag was almost as big as him!

Dad & Ian sitting at 1st base

One of Ian's favorite players....fellow lefty Joey Votto

Rosie Red

The "crown" building

One last picture of the birthday boy

31 for 21: But What Do We Tell Her Brothers?

Receiving a birth diagnosis, can be an out-of-body experience?  I could see myself in the hospital with my husband and the doctor, but I didn't "feel" like it was really happening.  The emotion and questions come so fast and so powerful.  In a two minute time-span, I truly believe that that 500 emotions, fears, and questions went ripping through my body.  How we remember anything from those first 24 hours is beyond me.

Most of the questions we asked during that time have been answered since Hailey has been with us....how do we care for her?  what do we do?  who do we talk to? etc...I think you get the picture.  Then there were the questions that we may never have answers to...what will her future look like?  will we outlive her? etc.  Let's not forget about the irrational ones...can we still name her Hailey?  What?

We had several questions that centered around the other two important people in our lives...our boys.  How do we tell them about Down syndrome?  How will Down syndrome affect them?  How can we do this to them...actually this one is irrational now that I think about it?

I'm going to be honest.  I seriously don't think our boys would have even asked about anything if we wouldn't have told them.  We didn't tell them that she even had Down syndrome until November of last year...9 months after she was born.  We were on our way to a new parent dinner with our Down syndrome association.  I figured they might ask what DS was since it would have been said several times through dinner.  She is their sister.  They know nothing else.  It doesn't bother them that she does things slower.  It doesn't bother them that she has therapies.  She exercises and practices.  We tell the boys that you don't get better at sports if you don't practice.  That is what Hailey's therapies are doing for her.  Helping her get better at accomplishing things.

They know that their sister is:

Sneaky...here she is hiding around the corner because she grabbed one of their token necklaces that she knows she shouldn't have.

Persuasive...the look she gives them when they tell her no or she is begging for something.

Annoying...she climbs on this boy 24/7.

Attention seeking...if yelling at them doesn't work, she climbs on them to get their attention.

Loving...they know that their sister loves them more than anything in the world and the feeling is mutual.

My daughter having Down syndrome did not take anything away from the boys.  She has enriched their lives.  She is the annoying little sister that I'm sure will bug them until the day they move out (and probably beyond!).  They are learning about a whole new world.  They are learning we celebrate big and little milestones.  They are learning to be more compassionate.  They are learning what can be achieved with hard work and persistence. 

Just another way that Hailey is a perfect fit for our family.  The boys love their little sister to the moon and back.  Her smiles and giggles prove she feels the same about them!

Check out some favorite posts this week from other bloggers!

In House Staff

I have always loved where we live but since we have had Hailey, I have more of an appreciation of the area.  The resources we have at our disposal are irreplaceable.  Having access to one of the country's top ten children's hospitals for Hailey's open heart surgery provided a great deal of comfort and reassurance during one of the most difficult times of my life. 

However, I realized at a very early stage in Hailey's life that one of the best resources and motivators in her life had nothing to do with where we lived.  They were going to be with her no matter where our house was...because they were her big brothers.  They are her in-house physical therapists, speech therapists, feeding team, motivators, and physical trainers.  The love they share brings a smile to my face always!

A few snuggles after all that chasing.

She's ready for more and he's ready for a nap!