First Hair Cut

We went to get Jack's very first hair cut today, finally! His hair was quite long. Now I know I am biased, but OH MY he looks SO HANDSOME! He also no longer looks like a baby. We now have an adorable 14 month old toddler.

Big News!!!

We are finally announcing our big news! We are expecting a baby boy (yes, another boy) due May 5, 2010. The boys will be 18 months apart. Jack is going to be the best big brother ever!

This is an ultrasound still shot from today. You can see baby boy #2's profile, with the top of his head on the right and his chest on the left.

Busy Week and Cookie Recipe

Last week was a busy week. Every Monday we have Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Tuesdays are Physical Therapy and Aqua Therapy. Wednesday we bummed around and didn't leave the house. I love those days! Thursday Jack got measured for orthotics to assist him in standing and walking. It was zero degrees walking in to that appointment. Burrr! Later on Thursday we had Developmental Therapy. Friday we had a baby playdate with our new friends Nicole and Adi. Adi is super adorable and almost 6 months old. It really puts things into perspective, seeing a younger baby, at realizing how much Jack has grown in almost 14 months. Saturday we had to miss GiGi's Playhouse breakfast with Santa because Jack woke up with a nasty phlegmy cough. Saturday night, John had babysitting duty and I went to help wrap and decorate for the UPS for DownS holiday party. Sunday we went to that party and had fun seeing all of our friends. It was nice to get to introduce all the people I know to each other. Jack fell asleep in John's arms before we got a chance to meet Santa, but he did get Santa's nice Sesame Street sound book gift. Once we got home, I spent the rest of the day baking sugar cookies and icing them. Mental note: do not bake and decorate any more sugar cookies until I have kids that can help. That is way too time consuming. I was on my feet in the kitchen for 6 hours, I think! I baked the cookies as a gift for Jack's therapists...and also for us, of course! They turned out glossy and yummy! If it wouldn't have taken 6 hours, I would have decorated cuter, with sprinkles and such. But I will save that for when I have an assembly line of kiddos!

Note about recipes: Sugar Cookies - add 1/2 teaspoon more of vanilla and roll dough with powered sugar instead of flour Icing - add more milk until desired consistency

Jack, The Clapping Lion

I just came across this video from Halloween. Thought it was pretty cute showing Jack clap. I know it's almost Christmas, but who can resist a cute clapping lion?

September Professional Photos - Better late than never

Copyright © Michael Dunn Photography

Christmas Blog

I have revamped our blog and added a "Christmas" touch. Merry (Early) Christmas everyone! It's time for the snow to start falling, the neighborhood decorations to go up and the family gatherings to begin. I love this time of year.

Thanksgiving Miracle

I came across an amazing story (from a friend on Facebook of course) of an 11 year old girl who made a pact with her Mom that if she could raise $20,000 in 8 days, they could adopt Darya, a child in need of a loving home. Darya is an orphan in eastern Europe of Reece's Rainbow. In 8 days they were not only able to raise the money necessary to adopt Darya, they raised enough money to help another family adopt another child with Down syndrome. Check out their story. It feels amazing to be a part of a true Thanksgiving Miracle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Have a Voice

Last weekend we went to see the "I Have a Voice" Exhibit. It is a beautiful display of people of all ages with Down syndrome. The photos are what kids TODAY look like, not what those old nasty textbooks show to the whole medical profession. The exhibit travels, so check it out soon before it moves on. The message of the exhibit is to spread awareness about Down syndrome and to show how HANDSOME, ADORABLE, CUTE, SPUNKY and INTELLIGENT our kids are! It is sponsored by GiGi's Playhouse.

Thank you Cesar for the photo!

Saturday in the Park

First Wordless Wednesday

Rub a dub dub

I just have to share some bath time photos. Jack LOVES the water.

Birthday Party and Halloween

Jack's Birthday was a two day celebration. Friday was his actual birthday and he tried cake for the first time and loved it of course. Saturday (Halloween) was his party day. I have yet to take down the door decoration.
Maggie, Jimmy and Jack Jack and Reya Cake #1 Cake #2 Singing "Happy Birthday" to Jack

Family Photo Jack the Lion
It was a busy day, but we had to dress him up for Halloween, even if it was just for 10 minutes! He looked so cute. And when he crawled, you would just see the mane moving. He kept on trying to take off the hood/mane too.

Cake!

Jack's first taste of cake...

Clap for cake.
First taste of cake.

Oh, this is good Mommy.
Yummy!
More cake and blue icing.
I love cake!

Happy First Birthday Jack!

Happy 1st Birthday Jack!

Today is Jack's First Birthday! I cannot believe it. My son is one year old!!! I have a one year old son. No matter how you say it. It doesn't seem possible. This first year of life went by way too fast. I have always heard parents say that and now I know what they mean. It's funny. I can't even remember him small and tiny like the newborn he was, but yet it seems like just yesterday that my doctor was telling me "We're going to admit you into Labor and Delivery now."

Happy Birthday Jack! We love you!


So you ask, what is one year old Jack up to these days? He has almost mastered the crawling! Yay! He can crawl to something when he wants, but he usually has to be prompted to do so. The remote and our dog are great luring devices. Go, go, go Jack! I will try to get video and post it later.


Happy Birthday Doodle bug!

Happy Heart

We went to the Cardiologist today and got an echo cardiogram. The last echo was done when Jack was born and it found a small hole in his heart, but luckily it did not need surgery to repair, we just had to wait until it closed. At Jack's six month appointment, the doctor said it might close by the time he is a year old. The hole is closed! Yay! No more Cardiologist. Check that baby off the list! I just wanted to share the good news.

Jack did great during the echo too. The technician whistled and I sang. I had to hold his limbs down and it felt like the test took forever. The technician said Jack did great and I did a good job distracting too. He said sometimes it takes an hour because the kids squirm so much. Thank goodness it didn't take that long! It's quite difficult to hold 4 baby limbs with only 2 arms! I got kicked in the neck a few times. Jack looked so cute on that hospital bed in his diaper. He is such a good baby! He is almost one (4 days to go) and will always be my baby.

Dinner Dance Program

Back in September, Jack posed for some photos for the UPS for DownS (United Parent Support for Down Syndrome) Dinner Dance program. The UPS for DownS big fundraiser is their Dinner Dance and they put together a little program to showcase our kids. The theme this year was Roaring 20's and to fit the theme, the photos were shot at Al Capone's Restaurant and Hideaway. The Dinner Dance was last weekend and we weren't able to go, so I'm not sure what photos made it into the program, but if you ask me, I think the photos of Jack are cover worthy. But I might be a little biased.

Buddy Walk Success

Last Sunday we walked in the Buddy Walk for the first time. It was a great day, although quite cold! The day before the walk, we went out to buy Jack his first pair of shoes and a winter coat. And it's a good thing we did. We bundled him so tightly, he couldn't move his limbs. He stayed warm though! So warm, he took a night long nap in the stroller breathing that cold fresh Fall air.

Team Jack was quite successful in the Buddy Walk raffle. My friend won a night's stay at a hotel, John won a book, my father-in-law won two things (a toy for Jack and a DVD system for the car)! How cool! I guess we are one lucky team. The walk site was new this year and it was beautiful. The Jesse White tumblers even performed and they get pretty crazy with the flips and trampoline.

It was a great day. Team Jack raised over $300! Thank you to all who walked with us as Team Jack and thank you to those that donated to the Buddy Walk!

Recent Photos

We went over to my Dad's for dinner last weekend and finally got some good photos of Jack. I have not been liking the photos our digital camera has been taking lately at all. Here are some cute ones. Hey my smiling boy!


And here is the game "elevator" that John likes to play with Jack.
Jack looks down when he's ready to plummet.
His hair goes flying in the air.
Surprisingly, he loves it!

Aqua Therapy

After a four month long wait list, we finally got to start Aqua Therapy with an OT today. I wish I had a picture to show you how cute Jack was, but I didn't know how comfortable OT Monica would feel about that. Jack and OT Monica had the indoor pool all to themselves. I sat on the sidelines dressed in my swim suit, just in case I needed to participate too. He was SO cute to watch. Him in his little orange trunks and winter rosy cheeks and me watching on like a proud Momma. He splashed, kicked his legs, worked on putting pressure on his legs and feet, got to float on this cool raft, played with water toys, practiced being on all fours and Monica sang to him the whole time. She said he is very tolerant and did great. It was a fun 30 minutes to watch and I look forward to next week....I think Jack does too.

On a side note, this blog I follow (Our Unexpected Journey) posted this great entry. October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month and the goal is to make people more aware and accepting of Down syndrome. Please click HERE to read her post. It has some great facts and information you might not be aware of.