RAISING JOEY

I’m proud to say

I drive with it proud on the back of my van!

More tunnel fun!

Leah discovered Joey’s tunnel the other day!!!

Garden time!

My favorite part of our new house is my garden (well besides having a much larger house). I enjoy going out there everyday during the kids’ naptime so pull weeds and water my plants. Just being outside is so relaxing!

I just love cooking with roma tomatoes!

Sucess! My radishes are coming up!

While weeding my garden yesterday, look who I found! He’s not much bigger than the acorn!

Mommy’s face!

Leah like most other babies likes to explore faces, the other day while I was trying to get a self portrait of the two of us, this happened…

You can’t go to work Daddy!

Joey and Leah both love their Daddy so much and hate it when he leaves in the morning for work. The other morning, they both had ahold of him and didn’t want to let go!

Our big girl!

So not only in the past week has Leah starting crawling but she’s also pulling to stand! It’s still so weird having a child who does new things on their own. With Joey we had to work so hard to get get him to sit up on his own, and Leah is doing all of these things without our help (not that I’m complaing or anything). It amazes me how different each child is and an individual!

Look at our big girl!

And we can’t forget about Joe-Joe!!!

So you think YOU can dance?

I sure as heck can’t, lol! But check out this young man with a little something extra who can!!!

What a true advocate!!!

Last night’s So You Think You Can Dance!

Amazing!

Kari from Chanelle and Tristan shared a YouTube video about this young man and his amazing voice. His singing is INCREDIBLE! You have to see for yourself. He is such an inspiration!

Here’s the video from YouTube

Justin Hines’s homepage & his Myspace page

3 years ago today…

I married my best friend. My wonderful husband, Patrick.

Happy anniversary Sweetie, I love you!

Kinda gross yet funny Joey moment

So, Joey has had a sinus infection for pretty much the past month. Nasty snot constantly running down out of his nose, it’s not been a pretty site at times. Joey has never been a nose picker, well today out of no where he sticks his finger up his nose which comes out with a lovely line of snot running from his finger back to his nose. Keep in mind, he hates ANYTHING on his hands.

Joey looks at his finger, looks at me, says “ahhhgggg”, wipes his finger on my BRAND NEW oriental rug and starts laughing and walks away.

Never a dull moment…

Down syndrome & reading, Robyn’s story

Jeannie from Just Another Mother Blog had this posted on her blog and I wanted to share it with all of you who might be interested in Your Baby Can Read!

Down syndrome & Reading, Robyn’s Story

Unfortunatly, for some reason, I can’t get YouTube to let me post this video directly on my blog (if someone knows how to post it on a self-hosted wordpress blog- let me know).

Animal Hide & Seek

I’ve decided to start doing Usborne book reviews whenever I get a new book for the kids. My first offical book review is on Animal Hide and Seek.

One of the things I like most about some of the Usborne Books at Joey’s current age level is the touchy-feely board books. Last night, Joey and I read Animal Hide & Seek, one of the Farmyard Tales books. These books are awesome for Joey. They have so many different textures on the pages he can feel. Everything from soft and fuzzy, to rough velcro. Another thing I love about this book, along with other Farmyard Tales, is the fact that there’s a little yellow duck hidden on almost everypage, so not only do you get to read the book and lift the flaps on the pages to see the animals, you can also find the little ducks on the pages, too cute!

And I just put in an order yesterday for some more new books so be checking back for more reviews!

At Home With Down Syndrome

Wonderful article, take a minute to read it… 

At Home With Down Syndrome, By Caitrin Nicol

In storage at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is the secret to what one professor calls “the first Down Syndrome Association in the history of the world.” In 1982, Dr. Brian Stratford, a specialist in developmental disabilities at the University of Nottingham, suggested in the journal Maternal and Child Health that the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna used a little boy with Down syndrome as the model for his Christ child. Stratford made a “clear characteristic diagnosis” of the baby based on his distinctive facial features and the shape of his hands and toes. The curator at the MFA dismissed this theory, attributing the work to an unknown, less technically astute follower of Mantegna, and calling the resemblance to a child with Down syndrome accidental. In the meantime, however, Stratford heard from a history professor in Rome. The Gonzaga family of Mantua, Mantegna’s sponsor, had a boy with an unidentified “sickness,” she said, and one of the artist’s own fourteen children shared this condition—a not insignificant factor in Ludovico Gonzaga’s choice of Andrea Mantegna as his court painter. Gonzaga and Mantegna appreciated the humanity of these children whom some might have preferred to hide away or let die, and that shared sensitivity gave them a “sense of purpose” with respect to disability which Stratford regrets has been all but forgotten by our society: “Perhaps Mantegna saw in this child something beyond the deficiencies which now so occupy our attention and perhaps then, the qualities of love, forgiveness, gentleness, and innocence were more readily recognized. Maybe Mantegna saw these qualities as more representative of Christ than others we now regard so highly.”

Down syndrome is a developmental disability resulting from an extra copy of the twenty-first chromosome. It is the most common single cause of human birth defects, occurring in about one in eight hundred births. Symptoms include mild to moderate mental retardation, lower muscle tone, an approximately forty percent chance of a congenital heart defect, and lesser but significant risks of gastrointestinal disorders and leukemia. Individuals with Down syndrome generally have outstanding social skills and in a supportive setting can be fairly high-functioning. Due to improving medical care, the life expectancy for someone born with Down syndrome has increased from twenty-five in the early 1980s to more than fifty today. In many other ways as well, a child born with Down syndrome today has brighter prospects than at any other point in history. Early intervention therapies, more inclusive educational support, legal protections in the workplace, and programs for assisted independent living offer a full, active future in the community. Adoption agencies report a high demand for children with Down syndrome.

However, the abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome tops ninety percent. The alphafetoprotein maternal blood-serum test followed by amniocentesis are standard practice in prenatal care for women over thirty-five, who have an elevated risk of conceiving a baby with Down syndrome. Eighty percent of babies with Down syndrome are born to younger women, however, due to their higher overall fertility rate, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended in 2007 that all pregnant women be offered screening for Down syndrome. While ACOG insists on its neutrality with regard to abortion, it is not difficult to interpret this move as an effort to reduce the number of individuals with Down syndrome who are carried to term. Obstetricians are not well trained in explaining the diagnosis and have little if any clinical experience with individuals with a developmental disability, and medical school deans indicate that such training is not a priority. A 2004 survey of mothers of children with Down syndrome, published by then-medical student Brian Skotko in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reported that the prenatal diagnostic process sorely lacked information on the nature of the syndrome. While the physicians did a satisfactory job of explaining the actual test procedures, the women felt that a discussion of the symptoms and the potential of individuals with Down syndrome was either cursory or delivered with highly negative overtones. One was shown “a really pitiful video first of people with DS who were very low tone and lethargic looking” and then told that “our child would never be able to read, write, or count change.” Others regretted that they had not been offered contact information for other parents who have children with Down syndrome—connections that, where made, proved to be one of the most important and supportive factors in the mothers’ decisions to continue their pregnancies.

Continue reading At Home With Down Syndrome…

Your Baby Can Read

Now that we’re finally settled into our new house, I’m able to concentrate more on my Usborne Book sales and getting my business up and running. Last night I sat and watched my demo DVD on Your Baby Can Read.

Back when I first signed up to be an Usborne Books Consultant and I was talking to my supervisor, I mentioned that Joey has Down syndrome and she told me about Your Baby Can Read. She told me about parents who have children with Down syndrome have this for their children and it’s helped them with not only their reading but also their speech.

I have already decided as soon as I have a little extra cash that I’m going to be buying this for Joey! It truely seems like an awesome program and definetly worth the $79.95! It comes with 5 DVD’s, a card set and uses not only whole language but also phonics in its sight and sound teachings!

Your Baby Can Read!

I’ll be sure to update everyone in the future about Joey’s progress with this program!

Darn trees…

Anyone have a leaf blower or feel like sweeping up a million whirly-bird thingys off our driveway???

Also, don’t forget about my Books For Buddies! I’m donating 50% of my income from my online Usborne Book store to Parker and Rhett! So please, if your children love books, go check out my Usborne Book Store!

How about some kiddo cuteness??

“Mom, please. I said no pictures!”

“Mommy, I’m so beautiful!”

“Joey? Where are you? Has anyone seen Joey?”

“Oh! There he is!”

So it begins…

Two weeks ago I signed the paperwork to start Joey’s transition from his birth to three program into preschool. For some reason, it almost felt like I was signing my life away. It’s a longer process for a child with a disablity than a “typical” child. He doesn’t start school until March but it takes this long for all the logistics and paperwork to get in order. We just had our annual IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) which was just sent to our local school district. Coming up in the next few months we will be going to tour Joey’s school, then by the end of the year, we will be having his first PPT (Planning & Placement Team), then comes the IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

 So many acronyms, so little time…

 In other news, I just recieved a package for Leah from my mom, 2 pairs of BabyLegs!!!

A good read!

Take a minute and go read Dave Hignsburger’s post today from his Chewing The Fat. Well worth the minute it’ll take to read it. I wish there was more people out there like him.

Happy Friday!

Be sure to say a prayer for Parker today. He is having sugery on his little tushy today.

 Also, Leah is one heck of a droller! I am constantly changing her bibs to try to keep her neck dry but it is still all broke out in a rash! I’m even doubling up on bibs to try to help it dry! Anyone have any ideas??????

More ways to help Parker and Rhett!

Not only am I donating 50% of my online Usborne books income to Rhett and Parker for the next month but others have amazing ways to help too!!!

 In the Life of a Child is hosting a benefit for Parker and Rhett

Down Blogger is hosting Pages for Parker. If you’re crafty or a scrapbooker, check this one out!

Open a new account with Revolutionary Money Exchange from the link at Praying For Parker and Parker’s Medical Fund will receive $10.00 for each new account opened through his link. Plus you will be sent $25 from RME!

How cool is this?!

From the NDSS 

———————————————————

Dear All,

Sarah Schleider
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
National Down Syndrome Society- NDSS
666 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10012
212-763-4369

Who says Usborne Books rock?!

First hand account of why Usborne Books are awesome! Jennifer Graf Groneberg said this about them…

“At my house, we’re big fans of Usborne books (what’s not to love?  The cute pig, the little duck, the “That’s Not My Monkey” which we’ve read maybe 1,000 times).”

 If you love Usborne Books, please let me know!

 Also, don’t forget about my pledge to donate 1/2 of my online sales income to Rhett and Parker for the next month. So please, check out my online store!

Tunnel Lovin & Cookie Monstar!

ok, so I guess posting earlier about how I’ve not taken too many pictures lately got me in the mood to grab my camera. OR it could be the fact that both Joey and Leah were extremely adorable after their naps. You decide….

Yesterday at Ikea, we bought Joey this tunnel thing and he LOVES it!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

On to the next kiddo… after I gave Leah her lunch I decided to give her a biter biscuit. (Mental note to self, don’t dress Leah in light pink then give her one of those things ever again!)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I am loving living here already!

Finally! Good neighbors!! We never really got to know our neighbors at our old house. They never really came outside and the ones that did, well, they just weren’t that friendly. There was only one that I ever talked to, and I’m really going to miss having her around.

 About a hour ago, I was out front digging up the so-called flower garden with a shovel so I could actually plant flowers in it this week. The next thing I knew, one of our neighbors came over with a roto-tiller and tilled up the dirt for me! What a nice guy! Then he went out back and tilled me up a garden in the back yard! I finally have an area I can plant veggies in this summer! I’m so excited!

And last night, my wonderful mother ordered this for the kiddos! I’m looking so much forward to this summer when I can take the kids out to our backyard to play and me work on my garden!!

Mother’s Day, snotty noses & more…

First, just a quick reminder about my books for a cause. From now until June 10, 50% of my income from my online sales of Usborne Books are going to Parker and Rhett. Stop by my online shop and look around!!

Don’t you HATE it when you’re writing a blog post and you’re internet explorer decides to freeze and you lose the post you’ve been sitting and writing?! Gotta love Mondays!!

 Anywho, I had a nice conversation with Trisha this morning for about a half hour. It’s so nice to have girlfriends to “chat” with occasionally on the phone with!

I’m so behind not only in blog posts but also in downloading pictures onto my computer. It’s been almost one month since I’ve uploaded any pictures onto my poor computer! So finally I just got them all uploaded. Of course, I don’t have any of the new house yet, those will hopefully come soon now that things are finally starting to get in order around here.

My Mother’s Day yesterday started off at the Irish Club for a Mother’s Day Irish breakfast and mass. It was very, very nice! From there, my in-laws took Leah to their house and Joey, Patrick and I ventured to Ikea for a little shopping. From Ikea, we went to my in-laws house for the afternoon and dinner. So needless to say, I had a WONDERFUL Mother’s Day! I hope all of you moms out there also had a wonderful day too!

 Both of the kiddos have had colds the past couple days. Joey seems to be feeling better this morning but poor Leah’s nose is still running like a faucet and now she’s had 3 poopy diapers in the past 2 hours probley from all the sinus fluid draining.

Anyways, here are some pictures from our trip home to Ohio a couple weeks back…

Leah and my mom

Joey and his PahPaw!

Joey’s first experience with a horse…

My turtle, Gus!

And this one was actually taken last night. The kid’s first bath together. As you can see, Leah wasn’t too happy!