Park Playdate

The clouds, record low temps and rain didn't stop us from having a great DSFN park playdate this morning. We actually had an awesome turnout despite the gloomy weather! I also remembered to pack my camera!! So, I got some great pictures of all the kids that showed up. Seven families came to the park to play!

Ruby, Max, Logan, Micah and Aaron (Brandon and Erin came after this picture was taken)

Logan loves to slide! Devin had a great time taking Logan on the park equipment.
Erin and Max's older sister Lily.

Devin, Logan and Brandon's older brother Mitchell.

Brandon (and the cutest smile ever!)

Logan and Brandon

Brandon

Micah and Brandon posing for a picture.

Logan protecting his cracker from Aaron...Aaron's thinking "come on Logan, please!" (Aaron's older sister, Samantha is in the background)

Micah's younger brother, Matthew. (Micah's brother, Nathan, was also at the park today)


Ruby

Micah smiling for his Mom.

Max

Our trouble makers, Devin and Aaron's older brother, Christian.

Aaron

Logan wanting the big swing!

Aubrey

Erin (Michelle-we were sad that Ruby missed a chance to play with a girl her age for a change!)

I met Erin for the first time in Boston at the NDSC Convention, but she lives just a half hour away in Green Bay.

He loves the camera...sometimes!

Every now and then, Devin lets me get ready for a photo session by letting me test my lights on him. He was a real ham the other day! He cracks me up. Sometimes I feel like he really belongs "on stage". He is always pretending to put on a show....he sings, dances and plays his instruments. Lately, he is really into the movie Annie. We rented it from the library because he saw it at a friend's house and needed to have it at our house. Well, we only got to keep it for a week, so when I brought it back I decided to burn him a CD of the songs so that he could keep listening to them. He now has all of the songs memorized and it is so cute to here him singing them. It will be interesting to see if he continues to love music so much!

Logie Bear!

One of our many nicknames for Logan is "Logie Bear". I think because he has always been and still is a big snuggler, even with strangers. I was at his ENT appointment the other day waiting in the waiting room and an older women, out of the blue, asked to hold him while I filled out paper work. Logan has had this affect on people lately. He draws a lot of attention, I think because he is toddling around like the new walker he is, and it is SO cute. And of course, he gives strangers the cutest looks with those big blue eyes! Anyway, he let this woman pick him up and he contently sat on her lap until we were called for his appointment. I was actually surprised he didn't put his head on her shoulder...that's what he usually does, but he was content to look at her and listen to everything she had to say to him. Just after Logan was born, I feared the negative comments that would be thrown our way and the stares we would receive and people refusing to acknowledge Logan. But, I have found the opposite to be true....for now anyway.

Today, Logan had no choice but to model a new hat a good friend made for me to use for my photography. It was time for me to put up some new pictures of him anyway...so here you go. Enjoy!

Buddy Walk

I have officially begun to plan the 1st Annual Fox Cities Buddy Walk! The date will be October 2nd, 2010. (To all my local friends and family: Team Logan will still be walking in the Aspiro Buddy Walk this September, and we will also be walking in the DSAW Walk in Milwaukee this year. I will be sending info by mail soon!)
I am excited, but nervous to take on the organization of a new walk! So far, I have been blessed with wonderful people to work with in the process. If anyone has experience in putting on a walk or just has some advice, I would love to hear from you! If you live in the area, I hope that you can be a part of our walk! I am looking forward to involving the Fox Cities in promoting acceptance and inclusion for people with Down syndrome and to raise funds for our local programs.

Wordless Wednesday (Happy 9 Months Aubrey!)

Fishing over the fourth

Over the weekend, Devin and Dale spent some quality father-son time fishing. It was Devin's first time using his new "real" pole. Before this weekend, he has never casted and reeled in a fish all by himself. They caught about 15 together and 4 of those he caught all by himself including a 20 inch northern. (in the last two pictures)

Breath Holding Spells....Scary!

Aubrey gave me the worst scare ever yesterday. She has been climbing everything and she occasionally will bump her head on things. Well, last night she bumped her head and I knew she was going to cry so I picked her up. I waited for that big scream, but it didn't come...she was holding her breath! This has happened before, so I just held her waiting for the scream, but it didn't come. I had been at least 10 seconds and nothing...then she began to turn purple and her eyes were red and rolling back in her head. I know that I held her for at least between 30 seconds and a minute...but it felt like longer! I was totally panicking! I turned her over and patted her back, I blew in her face, nothing was working. Finally she started to slowing pink up again...I think she took a tiny breath, but she was still not breathing. She then took another little breath and started breathing normally. She never did let out the big cry. She just stared off like she was totally out of it. It actually took her another couple of minutes then she wined a little but seemed then to be ok. I believe now, that she was a few seconds from passing out...thank God she didn't! I would have freaked and called 911!
After I got over the shock of it, I got on the Internet and found that this is called BHS or breath holding spells. It described exactly what had happened to her. It is a reflex, not something that children do on purpose...how scary that must have been for her. I can still picture the terrified look she had on her face. I plan to bring this up at her 9 month appointment coming up, but there is nothing that can be done except checking for anemia, which can make the episodes more frequent. Like I said, this has happened before with her, but not to this extreme. She has made me panic before, but nothing like this. I just hope that it never happens again, but it sounds like it probably won't be the last time.

Aubrey on Etsy!

This morning I received a hat from Etsy for Aubrey. I thought this unique and funky hat would be super cute this fall. Dale thinks she looks like Annie!

I used the opportunity to try a new background and light setup in my studio. Then, I sent the pictures to the creator of the hat and she loved them and is now using them on her site! You can see Aubrey here at HuggaBeans on Etsy. You can also see more pictures of her in the the hat here, on my other blog.

Wordless Wednesday

Logan at Gymnastics

Logan is having a great time at the Little Gym this summer! The first class was a little hard for him though. I think it was all very overwhelming and he doesn't do well when he is supposed to follow directions until he knows the routine. Having his cautious personality makes it hard for him to adjust to a new situation quickly, but once he feels comfortable he usually does a fantastic job. Now, he walks right into class on his own and knows right where to go. His participation the past couple of weeks has been great! He only refuses to do a few things...like hang on the bars and walk under the parachute, but I have a feeling that will change in the coming weeks. Today, he walked the entire length of the balance beam! I was holding on to him, but he walked perfectly with one foot in front of the other! The first week, I worried that he would never get some of the skills, including that one, and he proved me wrong by the second week! If fact, after the first week I was really worried that he wouldn't try anything because he wined a lot and seemed so upset. I don't think he wined at all today...maybe just when class was over!

He is so darn cute in class...like when ever his teacher turns the music on he has to stop and wiggle his hinder a little, and he always has an eye on her and gives her the cutest little smiles, then when she is not looking he steals her remote for the stereo. He also loves to volunteer to help his teacher show the next skill.

He loves to explore the gym and climb on everything! But he always comes back to the group just in time for the next activity.

He is having fun...really.

At the end of class, we always have some bubble time. Today, Logan laid down like he was tired...until the bubbles came out...that woke him up!

Logan always goes right up to his teacher for more bubbles! You can see the love!

"Got your belly!" If you are wondering....Logan had a VERY large umbilical hernia when he was born. Fortunately, it has pretty much resolved itself, but he is left with a lot of extra skin in that spot.

Finally, I just want to say that the Little Gym does a fantastic job with our little ones. I love how they are knowledgeable of child development and they are aware of what is appropriate for each age level. Logan is in a parent child class for 10-18 month olds and it has proven to be the perfect choice for him. He fits in perfectly!