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...
Some shots from our Easter weekend. This is as good as family photos get right now…someone’s hands in her mouth, someone’s not looking, someone’s staring into space, mom and dad are trying their best not to move. The next best had someone lifting her skirt and someone else marching around us in circles. Oh the...
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...
My last post was a frustrated one about Whitney’s bolting away and how one result of that is choosing to stay cooped up at home to avoid the stress (and danger) of chasing her around public places. Well, I’m happy to report that we’ve had a few adventures since that post and while all involved wrangling her as she tried to wander, none involved...
We’ve been cycling through a series of celebration and survival modes the past two (and a half?) months…and I have a lot of catching up to do. If you were wondering where your Christmas card was I’m sorry, we didn’t get one out this year. But I LOVE getting all the cards and catching up and seeing snapshots of people’s lives. Thanks to all...
There’s some extra cuteness going around and the smiles are especially contagious. And I found the first little tooth poking through this evening! We had a 4yr (Dylan) and 4month (Leslie) checkup last week. These kids are healthy and thriving! Dylan is the size of the average 5 1/2 year old. The doctor encouraged us to “put a basketball in his hands.” I just...
We recently returned from our inaugural Disney family adventure….and now we study the Disney map at breakfast every morning. “Mom – what’s the scary parts in Indiana Jones?” “Why didn’t we go on Yeti Mountain?” Seriously, though, while totally exhausting on my end with baby back on an every-three-hour feeding schedule, Disney did not disappoint – it was every bit as magical and as...
I blinked and it’s now five weeks later. We are a whole different family now. Dylan’s hair seems a few bushy curly inches longer, Whitney is almost to her first break for school, and we heard the beginnings of Leslie’s laughing today. It’s been a whirlwind of change – we have been weathering tons of parent meetings and trainings for these co-op schools we’ve...
I can’t believe it’s been more than 6 weeks since this moment……and of course I’ve had this post *almost* done for probably three weeks now. A third child means I am three times as slow (and patient) right? It’s an adjustment. Speaking of adjustments, I have been so pleased to see how Dylan has adjusted to becoming a BIG brother. Perhaps 3 1/2 years...
Sisterhood. Oh what joy I have already watching my two girls together. I am pretty sure Leslie will grow up knowing deep in her soul that from her first breath she has had Whitney’s unfaltering love and devotion. Whitney has adopted Leslie for her own and can’t get enough of baby time, always asking to hold her, declaring it’s time to change her diaper,...
On Father’s Day I posted some recent pictures of Tyler in his daddy-element on Facebook. As I was collecting the pictures I was struck (again) with how lucky I am and how lucky my kids are to have Tyler. He’s such a wonderful match for each of us. I wanted to put pictures here on the blog, too, to remember this season (all from...