This dude. My life shifted course five years ago when I first held this bundle of passion, laughter, and amazement in my arms. When I look through my “monthly” collage for Dylan I can’t help but realize how fast those years have gone by – I vividly remember so many of those moments like yesterday and when I see how little he was and...
Whitney has been keeping us on our toes lately with new and improved escape techniques. This past week, it culminated with her first police encounter from the scariest breakaway disappearance yet. She has upped her game and can now climb over our side gate while covering her tracks behind her (looks like the doors are all locked behind her), and she is able to...
My heart swells with gratefulness for the gathering of Whitney’s all-star friends and family at her sixth year parade. We know that friendships for six-year-olds are pretty simple (hey – you like Ariel, so do I? My favorite color is blue, too!) and are grateful that Whitney’s school community has made a very accepting environment for her to have so many connections to her...
This sweet soul turned six today. The partying has begun – her uncle Jason (a.k.a. Mr. Festive) happened to be in town and made sure she was engulfed by balloons, streamers, banners, and everything Frozen when she came downstairs in the morning. We brought in one of her favorite books (Crankenstein) to class and she helped me read it to the kids. We also...
Leslie turned one today! From discovery and anticipation, through birth, and now this first trip around the sun this little sprout has been such a blessing. She’s almost walking (just a few steps here and there), says mama and dada and signs more. She loves chasing her siblings and laughing at them, giving kisses, flipping through book pages, everything active, pen and paper, eating...
Happy World Down Syndrome Day everyone. I think it’s fitting that Whitney spent most of her day at her full-inclusion kindergarten classroom (I basically tout her school/teacher/staff to someone almost daily – we are so grateful for what it is right now), and then after school we went to a doctor’s appointment…because that’s the other thing people with Down syndrome do a lot, right? Well sometimes it...
Every year on March 15th my mom reminds me to “beware the ides of March.” Just kidding, right? But no, seriously, in reality I basically brace myself every time I flip to this page on the calendar. March is a month of remembrance for me, especially for very challenging experiences that have fallen on it’s pages. Yesterday (March 14th) was three years since Whitney...
It was about 5:45pm, I had just turned off the burner where dinner had just finished sauteing. I rounded the corner and saw this. Whitney. Oh my gosh. It’s deafeningly quiet, when did I see her last? hear her last? I didn’t even look around the house, I yelled up to Tyler (who was working in the office upstairs) and ran out the door...
Dylan’s obsession with collecting “treasure” made it easy to do a birthday party theme for him this year….a gold treasure party. For the first time, we decided to have a small collection of kids WITHOUT their parents! Of course, I stacked my party team with grandparents, aunties and uncle to help out, but all in all I’m a fan of the party focusing on...
How will she know which is snack and which is lunch? Is it enough food? healthy? too messy? what are the other kids going to have? Let’s practice opening the container at breakfast to make sure she can do it. Braids. Can’t have her hair falling out all over the place or dropping in her food or art. Is this skirt too short? Gotta...
I guess it’s only fitting to have a motherhood post after the fatherhood, sisterhood and brotherhood ones. The thing is, motherhood for me is an ebb and flow between the sane and the insane. Fortunately most of the time we’re in the sane zone. I’m good, I’m good, I’m good, and then all of a sudden I freak out, and then I’m good again. ...
Have you heard of Breast Milk Jaundice? I hadn’t. Leslie had jaundice in the hospital when she was born, glow blanket and everything. The whites of her eyes have yet to be bright. While common among newborns, jaundice is less common now at 7 weeks. The pediatrician told me to take her in if not cleared up by 5 weeks, so we went in...