A Pool Party and Buddy Walk 2011

This summer, Heather (who I've meet through the Down syndrome world) hosted a fun swimming party for our families.

During the summer craziness we've lost track of the play groups so it was fun to see everyone again and also fun to meet new families.

When we pulled up to the party I saw little Mia getting out of the car and I just screamed!  

My kids couldn't understand my excitement to meet Mia!  I blogged about her here.

Cute Mia was just adopted last May at the age of 4 from the Ukraine by Kris and Keica.  

They also have a darling little girl with Down syndrome named Bree who is 4 as well. 

I LOVED following their story everyday as they went to get her and I cried many tears of joy while watching their journey to her.  

She is adorable!!  Her eyes were all red from swimming.  She just loved being thrown in the pool by her daddy.     

Sisters Mia and Bree.

So cute!

Kecia and Frankie.  Kecia is now expecting twin girls!  

We are so excited for them and pray for their babies safe arrival.

Frankie loved swimming.  Right- MaryJane and her friend Eliza, who is Henry's sister.

Henry and Frankie are just a few weeks apart in age.  I love it when we get these boys together.  

They are so fun to watch.

Thanks Heather for a great time!

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My first Buddy Walk!

For this years Buddy Walk, we weren't planning on going because we had one of those crazy Saturdays with soccer games and birthday parties.  But I really wanted to try and make it.  So we sent Cole and Sadie off with friends and rides so we could go.

I'm so happy that we made it work!  This is only a small shot of a very large group of families who support the Down syndrome community.  I can't wait to walk with my family next year!

They had many fun activities all day, Free Games, Train rides, Dunking Booth, Bounce Houses and entertainment by Rachael Colman of Signing Time.  

MaryJane and Eliza

Max, Frankie and Lyla who is a first cousin to Bree and Mia.

Kecia, Frankie and I.

I love these boys!!

Hanging out with Henry and his mom Amanda.

They were so cute and sat there drumming with pencils on paper.  Content forever.

This is Tasha and her little boy Sam who is 3.  Tasha used to be a roommate of my sister Jill. 

 It was great to run into her there and meet cute Sam!

Sam really liked Frankie and wanted to give him lots of kisses.

This is cute Jayne who I've met through the playgroups.

I honestly love all these little faces!!  I have such an outpouring love for people with Down syndrome. 

 I love being apart of this Down syndrome family!

Remember this post about "A Club"?

Once again I'll post another favorite quote.

"We often think that having a child with Down syndrome is like gaining membership to a secret club, a club you never knew you wanted to be in or even existed, but once you are in, you are so thankful that you were chosen."

In honor of National Down syndrome awareness month here are some facts taken from the NDSA website.

• Down syndrome occurs when an individual has three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome.

• Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition. One in every 691 babies is born with Down syndrome.

• There are more than 400,000 people living with Down syndrome in the United States.

• Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels

•  People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems, Alzheimer's disease, childhood leukemia, and thyroid conditions. Many of these conditions are now treatable, so most people with Down syndrome lead healthy lives.

• A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm. Every person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees or not at all.

• Life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent decades - from 25 in 1983 to 60 today.

•  People with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, and contribute to society in many wonderful ways.

•  All people with Down syndrome experience cognitive delays, but the effect is usually mild to moderate and is not indicative of the many strengths and talents that each individual possess

• Quality educational programs, a stimulating home environment, good health care, and positive support from family, friends and the community enable people with Down syndrome to develop their full potential and lead fulfilling lives.

• Researchers are making great strides in identifying the genes on Chromosome 21 that cause the characteristics of Down syndrome. Many feel strongly that it will be possible to improve, correct or prevent many of the problems associated with Down syndrome in the future.

Patty Cake!

October is National Down syndrome awareness month.  

A lot of bloggers have been posting everyday to spread awareness.  I'm not on top of it as some.  But I would like to share a few of my thoughts (hopefully this week) and things I have seen posted. 

At the age of 31, I found out that Frankie had Down syndrome at my 20 week ultrasound.  

Receiving the news was really hard.  A time I will never forget.  Every time I reflect upon the details of those days and the emotions that I felt, it can still bring me to tears.  

It was hard to adjust my expectations to something different...a little detour.

“Having a child with Down syndrome is like taking the scenic route. You still get where you are going. It may take a little longer, but it will be well worth the trip!”

A small percentage of mothers find out their child has Down syndrome before the baby is born.   

For me, I feel really blessed to have known before Frankie was born, so I could go through the process of grieving before he was placed in my arms.

By the time Frankie was here, I was SO excited to meet him and SO ready to love him as he was.  I was so excited to start my journey with my little angel and finally meeting him was an absolute joy!  

What Causes Down syndrome?

Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction.  It is not known why this occurs.  However, it is known that the error occurs at conception and is not related to anything the mother did during pregnancy.  It has been known for some time that the incidience of Down syndrome increases with advancing maternal age.  However, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.

30%-50% of individuals with Down syndrome have heart defects.  

Most of these defects are correctable by surgery.  Thankfully, Frankie's heart was heathy and normal!

Loving this little guy has been SO easy!  I love the dynamic he adds to our family and I wouldn't trade him for anything!  His slower growth development has been so enjoyable.  

I get to bottle up each stage just a little longer.  He is just what I needed.

I know Frankie is here for me.  He is here to teach me.  

I'm not a perfect person who is perfect to raise a child with Down syndrome.  

I found this quote which describes exactly what I am trying to say.

"God doesn't give children with special needs to strong people; He gives children with special needs to ordinary, weak people and then gives them strength. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family." 

Our family feels special because of him.  Oh how we love him!

Recently Frankie has learned how to clap.  

And it was all caught on video!

It is so cute to watch his excitement as he claps.  He is so pleased with himself.

He has all sorts of facial expressions as he claps.  It's so cute!

One Sunday while we were all at my parents home, we sat Frankie in the center of the table and tried to get him to play patty cake.  He learned really quick that if he'd clap, we'd cheer.  

We could have done it for hours!

It was so cute to watch him!!

And this is when he learned to clap.  Can you tell how much we all love him!

PreSchool for MaryJane

This is MaryJane's first year for preschool!

 She was so excited to meet Miss Dana!

I got to go with her on the first day to meet the teacher and make a bag.

All my kids have gone to this preschool and we just love it.

Here she is doing her pose again on her first real day with out me.

She didn't skip a beat.  She was so happy to feel like a big girl.

She also started dance again.

This time she is with her friends Claire and Eliza.

I can't get over my planter box.  My Impatiens really out grew my Hostas this year!  

I love having a drip system in there.

Long live the pose!  

MaryJane is growing up so much lately I can't stand it.  

She is such a fun part of our family, we sure love how happy she is!

Back to School and a Birthday

The first day of school was the day after we arrived home from California.  I felt so unorganized and needed to buy some school essentials but had no time.  I didn't blog about youth conference but I went for two days, came home Saturday night and left Sunday for California.  It was crazy!  

Poor Sadie wore her flip flops to school.  But she didn't care, she felt cute.

1st Grade and 3rd Grade

After a summer of pony tails, I can't believe how long Sadie's hair has gotten.  

She was SO excited to finally get a locker!

Sadie made the transition from 1/2 day Kindergarten to Full day 1st grade with no problems!

She was so ready for school.

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Kevin had a birthday!  

He requested a Chocolate Ganache cake.

Great choice.  It was delish!!

Kevin captivated the kids with his mad-dog skills of drinking from a cup with no hands.

Quite the fun birthday entertainment.

We passed the camera to Sadie, not a bad shot for a 6 year old.  I'm just happy we're in focus.

Kevin's mom treated us to his favorite restaurant Benihana, for his birthday dinner.

If you're wondering what MaryJane is doing here, it's her new "posing for the picture" pose.  

Here is a better shot of her new pose.  She has done it in most of my recent pictures.

She learned it from the Barbie movie A Fashion Fairytale. :)

Frankie loves his siblings.

I love his little profile here.

Frankie loved the yummy birthday cake!

Beach Trip 2011

I better get this post up before it Christmas!  I can't believe that we are 10 days into October already!  I just love this time of year!

For the last four years we have gone to San Diego in the summer with Kevin's family.  It is always so great to look forward to a beach trip!  

This year we had a mix-up with the time share dates leaving us homeless for the first three nights of our vacation.  So my brother-in-law found us this awesome Castle house to rent from Vrbo.com (for a great price) just 45 minutes inland.  We really enjoyed all staying under the same roof just hanging out.

The kids thought they died and gone to heaven!  The girls felt like princesses.

This 8,000 sqft home had 6 Master bedrooms and bathrooms.  Making a total 7 bathrooms.  Two Staircases and an elevator.  Plenty of room for all of us.

It was on 5 acres perched on top of this hill with a beautiful view.

This is Frankie first pool experience which he loved!

The kids were in and out of the pool all day everyday and us adults stayed up late talking and playing games.  

Lucy and MaryJane writing letters to Beth, Sadie and Jaidia who lived in Paris (on the other side of the pool).  That game kept them busy for a while.  One I used to play at my grandmas pool with my cousin when I was a little girl.  

I really feel like we had the best of both worlds.  Private home and pool for 4 days 3 nights and the beach for 4 days and 4 nights.

It's always great to see, hear and smell the ocean.

The gang.  Just missing two brothers and a sister. 

Grandma, MaryJane and our view of the beach from our condo.

My brother and his cute family came down from Costa Mesa to hang out with us for a day.  

They brought us yummy donuts from my favorite shop by their house.

It was so great to see them!  Makes me wish we lived closer!

Cole and Scotty LOVED digging for crabs!  Sand crabs and little black crabs that lived under the pier.  Yuck!  They grossed me out to the max!  But they sure had fun.  It kept them busy for hours!

Grandma brought a kite for the kids to fly.

Frankie loved the sand!  

His poor eyes seem to be irritated here from either sunscreen or sand. 

MaryJane and Olivia

I think this was my favorite beach trip of all time!  No long lines at Disneyland or crowds at other big parks.  We just relaxed, swam and played at the beach the whole time.    

My kids got really brown.  Sadie loved it when I would joke with her after she took her suit off.  

Her tan line was so dark that it looked like she was wearing a white baiting suit.  I keep telling her to take it off but she just giggled telling me it was her skin.  Her suit was already off.

Thanks to my Mother-In-Law for another great vacation!