Wordless Wednesday

Mom - I am sooooo over this!

Fall Fun - 2006!

Hard to believe how much they have changed in the last few years!


Pumpkin pics became a lot more fun once he discovered he could throw the pumpkins out of the wagon!
What a pretty smile!

Jay is always giving me a hard time, because there are never any pictures of me with the kids (as I am always stategically positioned behind the lens!).
The oldest three of the kiddos!

Okay, all through now!

Sunday Grains of Gratitude

Grain #1: My oldest daughter Addie. We have been taking "Pumpkin Pictures" since she was 6 months old...my how she has grown.











Grain #2: SD Emma. Emma has been a good-sport about our "Pumpkin Pictures" since she was 5 years old. And now four years later, she is such a beautiful "grain".









Grain #3: Jackson - aka Bubba Bear. Okay, so we can now officially debunk the myth that children with Down syndrome are not "always happy"...Bubba was not too thrilled with the pumpkin patch. Until that is, he learned he could throw the pumpkin out of the cart. Now THAT is some good fun!








Grain #4: Isabella (Bella) aka Principessa Pickle Bug. She was pretty good for her first round of "Pumpkin Pics". Oh, so, many, many more to come in her future!









Grain #5: All the kiddos together for the weekend...PRICELESS.







Thanks Christine for starting the Grains of Gratitude!

Wordless Wednesday

Good practice for the teenage years...

Itsy Bitsy Spider and other Childhood Traditions

There must be something about the age...the age where you have to sing familiar ditties such as the Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, If You're Happy and You Know It, Old MacDonald and the ABC song until you are blue in the face. The age where they want you to read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Panda Bear, Panda Bear", 50 times a day, and then just "one more time Mom". The age where children recognize the difference between all the verses of "Baby Bumblebee" and trying to cheat them out of a verse or two to save one's sanity.

This is the age where we are now. And I must confess, I could not be any happier or more delighted. Why? Why be so elated for the repetition, the monotony, the joy of the ritualistic childhood norms? Probably because I was not sure exactly what to expect of Jackson's childhood, and just how many "norms" there would be. There are too many to count; his love of books, his love of music, his love of banging pots on the floor, his love of anything which makes a really, really loud noise! But here we are - mired in the second year of his life - and oh, how glorious these moments and rituals are.

One of the realities of parenting a child with Down syndrome, is the mandate that you slow down your pace. But from that slower pace, comes the gift of enjoying those childhood moments, which may for some parents, rush by too quickly and un-noticed.

As parents of children with special needs, we are supposed to appreciate every moment, every milestone. And we do, but sometimes, just sometimes, we wonder...are our children doing as well as they can, are they doing as well as other children with special needs? We read of the accomplishments of other children with special needs, their milestones which may be different from those of our children - and then the double whammy, my child not only has special needs, but maybe is not developing at the same pace as other children with Down syndrome.

I guess as parents, we are all inclined to compare our children - and parents of special needs children are no different. We all want our children to excel, to succeed, to achieve their highest potential. I, too, am guilty at times of the comparison game. It tends to bring me down, and take my focus away from all of Jackson's successes (truth be known, I do this with my typical children too). And as October is Down syndrome Awareness month, it is time to set aside the comparisons, and celebrate all that is different, and all that is the same. Some may walk sooner, talk sooner, and some may know their ABC's before others.

But in the end, they have all brought something so priceless to their families, the need to slow down the frantic pace of life and just enjoy another round of "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

Hope you can join us for our Buddy Walk this year - it is sure to be bigger and better than last year's event!

PS - I encourage you to visit a blog called, “Lovely and Amazing”. This blog details a mother’s life with her two children, one of whom has Down syndrome. Her blog entry, titled “Humble Pie” inspired this blog entry.