This Summer...

We didn't do much of anything. We usually make a trip to Florida to visit family & friends, but we didn't make it down there this Summer. We hung out & enjoyed the pool with friends.
Emma had a Birthday in May, she turned 7 & she started the 2nd grade! She is doing good, she loves her teacher this year!


Kaylea also had her Birthday in July, she turned 9 & started the 4th grade! She is doing good too. Her math is getting harder & she is getting a little frustrated but she is dertermined.


Zach is well Zach..lol We didn't put him in preschool this year, but he will be starting Kindergarten next August. It will be my last year to have him home with me :( Trying to enjoy it while it lasts.


Ben is doing awesome! We are a little nervous as the cold/flu season is here but with him being older, hopefully he won't get sick like last year. Fingers crossed!

Long Day!

Laundry, Dishes, Painting & a fussy baby have made for a long day & I am tired! This is my post for today. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting post tomorrow :)

How is it possible..

that it has been a year!?! Wow that went really fast! My baby is growing up so quickly..his stats as of today (yep, took him to the doctor on his birthday & yes he got shots..bad mommy) Weight is 20 lbs 4 ozs! He can sit up by himself, go from sitting to tummy, he can get up on his hands & knees, he army crawls or rolls to get places, can almost go from tummy to sitting up all by himself (he has done this a couple times by himself), says dada, baba, mama (only when he cries) and he has one tooth on the bottom with another getting ready to pop thru any day now!

Ben is such a good baby & can light up a room with his smile. We love him to pieces & are just amazed by him everyday! He is a very determined little guy. Not much is going to hold him back. He is definitely a momma's boy & I love it!

Health wise Ben is doing awesome. He had a 24 hour flu last week but has fully recovered. His respiratory issues are under control. He has pulmicort breathing treatments twice a day, zantac twice a day & singular. It has been working really well for him. Hopefully as he gets bigger, he won't need that much.

Last year at this time I felt like my world had been flipped upside down. So much had happened in a matter of hours. We didn't get to see Ben but for a few minutes & then he was taken to the NICU for just over 24 hours. It was a difficult hospital stay & I have a lot of bad feelings on things that happened, but that is for another post ;) What a difference a year makes!

Here are some pics..

Then
One of the first pics we got of him..


He still has a scar from that nasty scratch he gave himself in the NICU :(


Now
This was today..happy as a clam


Eating his Birthday cupcake :)

Peas Please..

All of our kids have loved peas when they were little. It was Kaylea's favorite baby food to eat. Ben's is no different. He has gotten to the point where he doesn't want me to feed him anymore & would rather do it himself. So here he is wearing..I mean eating his peas :)

Buddy Walk 2009

A big Thank You to all of our friends who came out & walked with us today. Thank You everyone who donated to a great cause! It was such a beautiful day today, you couldn't have asked for better weather! Here are a few pics from our day..

Daddy & Ben


Buddy Walking..or Riding :)


Ben's Buds


Our Buddy Walk Team :)


Thank You everyone for supporting Ben & the Down Syndrome Association of Charlotte!

31 for 21..Day 3

Can the Carolina weather get any better? It is so nice to sleep with the windows open! We had a fun day going to garage sales & our neighborhood Fall Festival. The kids are exhausted..I am exhausted! Tomorrow will be another long day out & about. Church in the morning & the Buddy Walk in the afternoon. It's the first time we have participated in the walk, so we are very excited!

We're on day 3 & I am doin good! Will post some pics tomorrow from the Buddy Walk :)

31 for 21..Day 2

I first read this on a forum I belong to a few years back. I remember thinking it was beautiful. Of course at that time it did not have the meaning to me that it does now. This is awesome & I still get tears in my eyes when I read it!

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome To Holland".

"Holland?!?" you say, "What do you mean "Holland"??? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy"

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned".

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things...about Holland.

31 for 21..Day 1

October is Down Syndrome awareness month. Last year at this time I did not know this. I do now. Last year I didn't know what an amazing gift would be given to us in a matter of days. I do now. It is hard to believe that almost a year ago our lives changed forever..in a good way.

To help raise Down Syndrome awareness, I am going to attempt the 31 for 21 challenge One blog post each day for the entire month of October. This is definetly a challenge for me as I tend to put off blogging..a lot. Since I took a small leave from from blog this Summer, I have a lot to catch you up on.

Also, Sunday the 4th is the DSAC (Down Syndrome Association of Charlotte) Buddy Walk. We have a team set up, so if you are interested in walking with us or supporting us in the walk here are the links..

Donate/Support Ben
Join Ben's Team

Let the Blog Challenge begin :)

It's the First...

but more than likely not last time. Stitches! It was bound to happen & with Kaylea turning 9 this year we were doing good. Until today..

It started with a great morning at Church (other than leaving Ben in the nursery for the first time & me being a blubbery mess)..anyways, we came home & are getting lunch for the kids. Zach wanted a candy bar on the counter, I told him no because he hadn't eaten lunch yet & that I was going to eat it..1st mistake. He proceeded to have a meltdown yelling & screaming at me..I just walked away & sat down with Ben. About 30 seconds goes by & he comes in & starts slapping me & hanging on my arm. I am trying to get him off my arm, so that he doesn't accidentally hit Ben, & asking him to please stop. I move my arm out from me & he lets go, steps back & trips on a bag full of Ben's toys sitting on the floor & smacks right on the edge of the end table. He is screaming & Bill comes running & there is blood everywhere. Shockingly Bill was more calm then I was. When we saw where he had hit we knew he would need stitches. So 2 hours at Urgent Care & 4 stitches later..all is somewhat well...other than I feel like a horrible mom today :( It is going to be a long week!



My poor baby :(

Wordless Wednesday