Wordless Wednesday

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It's Official!

Logan is a walker...he walked today more than he crawled! He turns two on May 13th, so he will be quite the showoff on his birthday! Of course, you all are saying "I told you so!". He did surprise me once again. He falls down A LOT, but he gets right up and keeps going. I am so proud of him and his determination!

Just because...

Devin's T & A Day

Devin did a great job today. He knew what was going to happen and really went into it with a great attitude. He happily went with the nurse to the operating room without me! I was shocked. But, when he came out of recovery I could hear him all the way down the hall. He was crying for me and saying that he needed "medicine now"! They took him to his room and I held him for about an hour before he finally settled down and the pain meds kicked in, and he has been fine ever since. The doctor told us that if he continued to drink a lot of clear liquids and kept on top of the pain meds he would do well. Right now, I am debating on whether to wake him up at 3am for his next dose or to just wait til morning. We were also told it is hard to catch up to the pain if we get behind on meds. The only problem so far has been the fact that he is really hungry and can't eat anything, but if we keep his mind off food he seems to forget. Also, I was worried that he would not take him meds, but he actually likes them...which I think is strange. He tells me they taste good, and he knows that they will help.
The cutest thing was how he told me about everything that happened after he left me for the OR. He told me how they let him pick out green tape for his IV (which they put in after he was out), about how the OR looked and that he laughed when they gave him the cherry flavored gas in a mask to put him out. He didn't seem traumatized by it at all. He is such a technical guy and always pays attention to all of the details. After he settled down in his room he just wanted to get up and play with everything. Now he even says he wants to be an ENT when he grows up.

Before the surgery, with the bird the nurse let him pick out. His name is Tweety! After he settled down and decided to rest for a while.

He picked out the green smiley tape for his IV.

I was told all kids sleep for a while after surgery...not Devin...he got up and wanted to check everything out.

He insisted on pushing around his IV pump all by himself.

We were released about 3 hours after surgery after he was given a specific amount of fluids through the IV.

Don't assume my son won't be able to!

I forgot to mention that Logan went to the dentist last week for the first time. Logan's dentist is a wonderful person, and we go to him specifically because we trust him to do a great job for our family, but he made some assumptions about Logan. When I went to him for a visit very shortly after Logan was born, he basically told me that he would try to treat Logan, but he felt that Logan would probably need to go to a hospital to be sedated for his dental work. At the time, I just sat there stunned since I was currently trying to deal with the diagnosis itself. It was too much to also have to think about the fact that my son would not be able to go to a regular dentist. I didn't know whether to believe him or not...it was just more bad news. Last week, I went into the appointment very optimistic that Logan would prove the dentist wrong...and of course, HE DID! Logan sat very still for him (he was on my lap) and let the dentist check out all of his teeth. When we were done, the dentist seemed shocked that it went so well and he said that he felt he may be able to work with Logan after all! HA!! Logan proved him to be wrong about "all kids with DS". Unfortunately, the world is a long way from getting away from generalizations about people with disabilities. I want everyone to know that they are NOT all a like and can NOT be under estimated!

I also want to mention something very sad, but exciting at the same time. The Adoption Awareness Program in Down Syndrome Association of Cincinnati has contacted our local DS support groups to let us know that they have TWELVE birth families currently trying to make an adoption plan for their pre-born babies. This is a good problem but they are hoping to have several potential adoptive families to present as possibilities. Let me know if you may be interested and I can send you more information.

And finally, here are some pictures of Logan. Could this boy get any cuter?!! Looking at him makes me so sad to think that there are families out there that are giving up there precious babies. Maybe some of those families will change there minds...but, at least these babies are not being aborted.

Just look at those beautiful teeth!

Wordless Wednesday

Band Practice

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Logan Milestones and Birthday Update

Big news...Logan can squat down, pick up a toy, then stand back up!! This may seem minor to some, but this is HUGE for us. This means his strength is slowly building in his legs. He also can stand for longer periods of time and even play with toys and raise his arms without holding on to anything. Also, tonight he said "eyes" and he was able to identify my eyes, nose and ears. And there is more!...Dad is most proud of this one, he is signing "Dad". I am SO proud of him!! Oh, and one more thing, he is starting to follow simple one-step directions. Oh....I just thought of something else...I just should have made a list....I found him trying to put on clothes today! It was SO funny! He went into Devin's closet, emptied Devin's underwear bin and when I found him he had three pairs of underwear on up to his thigh...just on one leg, but how amazing is that!! When I found him he was in the process of trying to put socks on as well! He is such a smarty pants!! He knows SO much more than I give him credit for and I feel bad about that. I guess his quiet, observer personality makes me forget that the wheels in his head are still turning and he is absorbing SO much all day!
We have decided on a car them for Logan's party....not Cars the movie, just cars, all kinds...because that is one thing I know he likes. I am looking for any creative ideas for the party! Cake ideas, games, activities...cars, cars and more cars. So far, I have cars for the sandbox, candy cars, car bubbles, toy cars with road rug to play on. I need a car cake idea...
I am SO excited for the party now, but so much work to be done!

Aubrey's Dedication

Over the weekend, we had Aubrey's dedication at our church. I want to thank our family for attending the church service and for all of their support in raising our children. I appreciate the importance of family more than even since starting a family of my own. I couldn't image parenting without the love and support from our family. Here's a picture of Aubrey with her godparents!

T & A Surgery

I thought that this post would be about Logan, well he will have one like this probably within the next year, but this is about Devin. I found out today that Devin will need his tonsils and adenoids out next Friday. The ENT said his tonsils are so big that they touch each other in the middle of his throat! He's always been a snorer and I knew that was something to pay attention to, but I guess because of Logan's sleep issues in the past, I wrote Devin's off as minor. But recently, I have become more concerned. His breathing at night has been quite scary lately. It's loud with pauses and gasps for air. At his 4 yr checkup the doctor mentioned that his tonsils were big but he didn't insist that we see an ENT. Now, I know it was the best thing to do. Devin has also been tired during the day and sleeping late, which is a bad sign. Another strange thing lately was the fact that he sticks out his tongue often (to open up his airway) and does a lot of noisy mouth breathing. I felt a huge feeling of relief when the ENT Dr. told us the T & A surgery would probably make a huge difference for Devin. I am dreading the actually day of surgery and the 10 days of recovery, but at least Devin is not in school yet. (that would be a lot of school to miss!) I am looking forward to him having more energy (I say that now!!) and not being so restless at night. And lately, I have lost a lot of sleep worrying about him as I listen to him sleep at night. Right now, he has a very hard time making it all the way through his gymnastics classes without wanting to lay down and rest....before, I thought it was just behavior related, but now I feel bad that maybe he really was too tired to participate. The Dr. also mentioned that kids have shown huge changes in school performance after the surgery because they can finally go to school well rested. We are hoping for a big change to make it all worth while!

Wordless Wednesday

Easter

Aubrey's First Easter! It was fun to dress Aubrey up and I even let Dad take the camera to get a shot of me and my little girl. (I know I don't get in front of the camera enough and I may regret that later) After our Easter Hunt!

More Steps!

In the second clip of this video, Logan takes the most steps he has taken so far. Yesterday, he was willing to try over and over again...even after some hard falls.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Outdoors with Logan

Logan still loves to swing! Last year he wasn't stable enough to use the toddler swing. He's still a little unsure of how to hold on and gets a little nervous, but after a while he got the hang of it. I am always surprised by how cautious he is. He's very far from being a dare devil boy like Devin. That's ok....maybe I won't have to worry about him getting hurt as much.

Happy 6 Months Lil' Angel

A much needed "pick me up"...

I've been a little out of sorts lately...maybe you have noticed by my not so positive posts lately. But today, I got the most perfect pick me up I could ask for. I had the pleasure of meeting Kate. I've met adults with DS before, but never had a chance to really talk to them and get to know them a little. Kate is amazing! We talked movies, which she loves!! She owns hundreds! Her favorite being Simon Burch, which if you don't know is about a child with disabilities. She came along to help make Miss P feel comfortable during her photo shoot with me this morning and I quickly found out why. Their close bond was obvious as I watched them interact in front of the camera. When the photo shoot was over, Logan came crawling into the room. After a few moments she suddenly realized that Logan had DS and she was really interested in him and getting to know him. It was so fun to see them interact. Seeing them together gave me a sense of peace about Logan's future and I honestly didn't want her to leave. (hope you don't mind me writing about you Kate, and I hope to see you again soon...maybe at the Buddy Walk!)

Waiting to celebrate

Logan will turn two in just over a month. Back when Logan was very small I dreamed of his 2nd birthday and how he would show off his new walking abilities. Well, I am feeling like it just may not happen. I was hoping for this big celebration, but now I just am not as excited about his upcoming birthday. I should be planning now and picking a date, but I just am having a hard time getting excited about it. People are asking more often now if he is walking...and I used to not mind saying no, because he wasn't 2 yet and I knew it probably wouldn't be until then. He still takes a few steps every now and then, but he is not walking. Walking to me would be more than just standing up and taking a couple of steps. He's not using these steps to get anywhere, just to show off that he can do it.
I love seeing other kids his age with DS starting to walk all over now, but I am beginning to be a little jealous I guess. I'm wishing that was Logan.