It’s 3/21 – World Down Syndrome Day (in honor of the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome) Perhaps we will celebrate by ordering framed portraits of our family karyotypes. How crazy is this – the other day I stumbled across a biologist/artist who makes custom artwork out of photographs of DNA. I’d be totally interested in seeing what our karyotypes look like. He sends...
Some mornings promise particularly good hair days. As I poured Dylan’s cereal he said “You’re a good helper, Mommy.” Why thank you, son. It’s nice to be appreciated. Daddy fixed Whitney a taste of green tea, she liked it! We all wore green…well, at least I planned to but I never made it out of my workout clothes. Whitney ate her weight in...
Non-parents forgive me, it doesn’t make sense and is probably not very interesting, but I am all-consumed and can’t help but sharing that it’s Nap War II around here (not to be confused with Nap War I: the crib escape). The Dude has all but given up his nap…and has been fighting bedtime as well. He used to sleep at least 12.5 hours out...
March has become a significant month for me in the past few years…carrying the anniversaries of my top two most difficult experiences: in March 2010 we found out our baby would have Down syndrome (I’ve been wanting to write that post for a while now – stay tuned for it’s release in the next few weeks), and in March 2013 Whitney had open heart...
Last weekend we enjoyed a beautiful visit with my Aunt and Uncle and spent a lovely afternoon outside at the park with some friends. I tested out some spots at the lake for an upcoming family session and came home feeling like I had a double shot of espresso because of how energized and excited I felt about playing photography. Whitney decided she wanted...
Whitney had her first ballet class on Thursday. 45 minutes, 1 teacher, 17 girls between 3 and 8 years old. I was amazed at the class! The teacher is fantastic, leading the kids through real ballet (I mean real…french, twirls, arabesques, spotting) in a fun way that they were all trying their hardest to mimic. I really like how it was taught. Whitney did okay. ...
I can’t get enough of these sweet cheeks. He was focused on stamping or coloring or something and I was equally focused on filling up my memory and camera with his cheeks and little lips. Toddler photo experiment… I have this standalone mirror and it was surprisingly effective for photos with Whitney. I first tried to hold it out with one hand (for her...
Happy Balentime’s Day, Everyone! (as Dylan would say it). “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.” – a Moulin Rouge favorite (originally from a Nat King Cole song) I’ve learned a bit about love over the years…this year some of love’s lessons and moments drove a little deeper than usual. * Love is a risk. When...
Dylan in Sprouts: “That’s my favorite, that’s my favorite!!” (to the cereal shelf we have never purchased from). Then 3 minutes later it was “Hooray for cranberries!” And 3 hours later, he’s obsessed with reading the Storybook Bible. “Mommy! Let’s read about the sneaky snake!” (garden of Eden). He’s also a big fan of “the man who can walk” – Jesus healing the...
Tyler and I just celebrated our 9th anniversary yesterday. He planned a secret getaway for us to Point Reyes this past Sunday/Monday. My parents watched the kids (saints!) and we had a great time just the two of us. At this stage of life it seems an even toss up between what I long for most: peace and quiet (sleep!) and adventure (something new!). ...
Life is Good in our Laundry room again. Our old faithful second hand whirlpool cost us $75 and lasted 9 years under our various roofs….but alas, it has been threatening explosion (or something — you should have heard it) for a few months now. It’s a tough act to follow. It seems I hear all to often about appliances and electronics that “they don’t...
This Is The Final Christmas Post. I promise. Our grande finale family Christmas this year – with my Dad’s siblings and kids (and grandkids!). I love having so much family. I love seeing the resemblances when multiple generations are gathered around the table. I think traditions like Lasagna for dinner and Orange Mush with dessert are amusing. And the games…oh the games. Nothing gets...