Hey, so I know I’ve kinda been absent from blogging, but I have good reasons! I moved from CA to FL, lived with our friends for a few weeks, and finally bought a house! So, for all you people who can move and travel and keep up with their blogs, kudos to you! But, did I say we bought a house?
Yep, we are officially home owners and I’m loving it! Our house is perfect for us and has a lot of room. I’m down to the last few boxes to unpack and then I can decorate! But hey, it’s so hard to do those things when the beach is calling!
SO, today, I wanted to share something else. March 21, just happens to be World Down Syndrome Day! Now, for the ones who share the designer gene, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why this day is important. However, I wonder how many of my other friends know why this day is important…OK, I should say, why March 21 was chosen to be World Down Syndrome Day?
AND in celebrating this day, I want to send you to another blog. This person has been a constant since Lillian was born. She’s given me great advise and a ton of support! Now, in return, I want to do the same for her. She and her family are adopting! A little boy who needs a home immediately! As, people are coming together to show her support, I’m here to help her by running a fundraiser in Alex’s name.
Yeah, I know, you didn’t come here asking to give your money away. But I’m asking you. In our small community, there are many many families who are in the process of adopting or has already done so…like my friend Jennifer who adopted Sofia (isn’t she beautiful!) We all know the cost involved in adopting are astronomical, but all we can do is ask for support. You wouldn’t believe how many forever families have been brought together by simple donations from online fundraisers and from blogging. It’s amazing, and all of their stories are amazing!
So, if you are willing please go to Christie’s Blog and participate in one of her giveaways. OR, you can check out my AVON fundraiser for them and help. AND, if you do, please remember to use the promotional code “4ALEX” at check out.
I decided to go ahead and enter into the Pixel Perfect Photo Contest. This will be my first photo entry for a contest of any kind, but I really really really wanted to share this picture. The theme for the contest is “the innocence of a child”
In this picture, there are three little kids. Lillian is in the middle and two little boys are on either side of her. The innocence of this picture reminds me that young children will never see her and see Down syndrome…they only see and know Lillian. How innocent is that? Sweet, isn’t it?
I don’t plan on winning, but I just wanted to get it out there. Children are only innocent until they are taught otherwise.
It is the last day of the challenge and I didn’t want to forget to answer one of the questions asked of me.
A friend had asked if adults with Down syndrome were able to have children. And the short answer would be yes. However, adult males with Down syndrome have higher infertility rates than those of adult women with Down syndrome. There has been one case, in which a male adult with Down syndrome fathered a child who was born without Down syndrome.
Adult women with Down syndrome can become pregnant and carry to term. About 50% of those births will result in babies being born with Down syndrome. Some women will also carry babies who are not born with Down syndrome and have no other disability, while other babies will have some other medical related issues.
The fact is, adults with Down syndrome can and will enjoy an active sexual life. They still need proper sex education and guidance as any other active adult. Also, adults with Down syndrome can marry and live a very happy life as husband and wife. Such as Monica and David.
Hi Everyone! It’s been a really long day, so this is going to be really short.
I can’t thank everyone enough for the support we have received today for the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk today. Our friends and family who came and walked for Team Lillian made me feel so proud…proud to have such wonderful people in our lives. I am so proud knowing that perfect strangers donated their money to help raise awareness for a better and brighter future for Lillian! It as also fun to see familiar faces, like Ms. Gabby, Ms. Playette, Sofia and Joaquin, Sheridan, Gracie, The Fischer Family, The Slapes, and families from my local D.S. group! OH…I’m sure I’m missing someone!
Last year was our first walk, and I hope to continue for many more walks.
Today was truly an amazing day and I couldn’t have asked for anything better (ok…maybe a little less rain)!
xoxoxoxo many times over!
Sonia
Tomorrow is our Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk in Sacramento! I want to take this time to THANK everyone who is walking on Lillian’s Team and for those who have donated (there is still time to make a small donation!) I am so happy to share that I have reached and surpassed my goal! My friends and family members are true heroes to me and I’m so glad they are willing to stand up and give back to a life that is so very precious to me!
I am so happy to have such great friends and family supporting Down syndrome Awareness … and supporting Lillian.
All over the United States and the all over the world, people are walking to spread the news about Down Syndrome. They are sharing their life stories and building a strong network of supporters, people who will offer friendship, guidance and care.
I can’t thank you all enough!
Sincerely…with tons of LOVE!
Sonia
Today I am SOOOOO tired!
Back in July I opened up a home daycare. I really wanted to bring in some extra income, couldn’t get a job as a teacher (stupid cutbacks) and really didn’t want to put my two younger kids in daycare anyway. So, I was left with home daycare.
I can honestly say I like doing it. What I don’t like is all the paperwork and inspections that come along with it. Ughhhh….So many inspections on a monthly basis. I started out with an infant, a 3 year old and 4 four year old. Currently, I have the infant and 3 year old, another 3 year old and a 12 year old. Yes, I have a 12 year old! I only have him in the mornings, his parents drop him off here so he is not home alone in the mornings.
Needless to say, my day starts at 530 a.m. and the last kid leaves at 5 p.m. daily! Even with the kids gone, my day isn’t over. Paperwork can really get annoying and the clean up from having so many kids is very daunting.
OK…so what I’m trying to get at is Lillian is learning a lot by having other children around. She is pretend playing and doing all the sing along games. She loves to play ring-around-the-rosie. She also thinks the infant is her baby doll, so there is A LOT of supervision in that area! She will sit when the other kids are sitting during story time. However, she does not show much interest in coloring. She is also learning to pass me her plate when she is done eating, because she use to throw the plate on the floor!
ON the bad side, she is hitting a lot more. She learned this behavior from a previous kid I had. I used to put her in time out, but then she would hit someone and go and put herself in timeout. Now we say and sign gentle and sorry and she spends time out in a porta crib. She also thinks if she keeps saying gentle while in the crib, she will be able to get out. Not happening… I tried letting her take naps on the floor mats with the other kids, but that soon came to an end. Nap time was no fun for me and the other kids when she would continuously get up and run off or throw things at the other kids. So, she is sleeping in her porta crib until she can stay put on the mat.
But my favorite part of the day is when they are all doing this….
Oh so sweet.
Do you have any questions?
About me?
The family or my pets?
Questions about Down syndrome?
Ask them…I probably would have the answers!
AND, the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk is right around the corner! It should be a fun filled event and I can’t wait to see all our buddies from the area! And I’m feeling good that we are almost at our goal…hopefully, it won’t be much longer!
!Ciao friends! See ya soon…
…because the weekends are slow and not many people are reading, I thought I would share just a pic of my baby girl.
Beautiful Girl
Did you know that Divorce rates of families with Down Syndrome are lower than the general population and with families raising children with other disabilities? I think that is pretty amazing!
I believe the study was published in January 2008…a month before Lillian was born. It is a pretty short and interesting read, you can go to the article and read more if you are interested. The study also tells us why they think it is, but I’m not too sure if I agree with it 100%, but I still like that there is evidence that our families tend to stick together, better than other families!
Two and half years after Lillian arrived, our family is still together and loving every minute of it!
Yesterday, I mentioned about some blog post ideas for this challenge.
On my way home last night, there was this big black truck right behind me. Like on my butt behind me! So, I changed lanes to let him pass. Here’s the thing, the road we were on has a gazillion stop lights, so I never take off fast and push the gas, because you just won’t make it pass the other light.
So, we both had to stop at the next light and I just knew he was ready to take off and try to pass the next light before it turned red. The light turned green and there he went and I just took my time…and he was there waiting for me at the next stop light. This probably happened for the next five miles as it seemed we were heading to the same destination. No matter how fast he went, I was getting there on my own time. And I knew he was still going to be there.
This whole scenario kind of played out in my mind about the kids with typical development and the kids with Down syndrome. The black truck, to me, represented the typical kids. On the go, pushing hard to get to the next step and going as fast as they can until they have to pass onto the next milestone. My mini van represented the kids with Down syndrome. We take our time, but we know we’re eventually going to get there. And the joy we get knowing that when we got there the other person is still there, waiting for the go. They go and we catch up. And the best part is we are all going to the same destination. The van may have more stops, but eventually we will reach our final destination.
I’ll let you decide what that destination can be…I already know what ours is!
