Why I'm Still Not Afraid (31 for 21 post 31)

I posted last year on Halloween about why I'm not afraid for Reagan's future because I know there will always be people in her life who care about her and look after her.  About her friend who set aside his own trick-or-treat basket to make sure she wasn't left out.  Well in the last year that friendship (amazing but yes, my 2 year old has a deep and lasting friendship with a 9 year old)  has become very important to both of them.  Olin loves to get Reagan from Sunday school every week and play with her after church.  He helps her keep up with the big kids and (most important to Reagan) shares his hats with her. ;)  He has moved from simply being her protector to being her teacher, so this year instead of simply making sure she was carried to the door for trick-or-treating, he showed her how to play each of the games at the carnival.  

Isn't she the cutest little pixie you've ever seen?

Olin carefully helped her sit on the table and showed her how to make the frog jump.

Gotta admit on this one Reagan was much more interested in the ducks than the candy...which is saying something once she figured out she was getting chocolate from all these people. :)

Olin demonstrating how to throw the ball and make it stick on the wall.....

...and Reagan is no dummy, she figured it was easier just to go up and stick it on.

Note...Reagan was scared of the bounce house when Grammy took her to it,  but if her buddy Olin was going to go with her she was all smiles!  Sorry Grammy.

And look who came with us this year...the cutest little bee.  Now with family and friends like that not only surrounding Reagan with love and care, but also teaching her and guiding her,  how can I be scared?

Whew....made through all 31 posts!  A little less Down syndrome this year and a little more normal life, but that is good.  Now we are off to a weekend of wedding stuff...back with cute pictures next week!

And Now A Brief Message From... Dad (Terms of Endearment)

I just thought I would get in on the fun before the end of the month and it looks like I just got in right under the wire.  I do want to say before I start that it's a bit distressing that Down Syndrome Awareness Month is the same as Breast Cancer Awareness Month but it's been fun educating people on the subject and it's an interesting discussion when someone asks you about Breast Cancer and you come back with "Did you know..."

Well, on the subject of my post:  "Terms of Endearment"... It's not just a really good very sad 80's flick starring Debra Winger.... It's every little wonderful memorable strange cute and not so cute names we call the important people in our lives.  For instance my oldest daughter we call Rissie (Reesie), her name is Clarisse, which I've always wanted to name my first daughter (I know what you're thinking but you'd be wrong... I got it from my favorite book of all time "Fahrenheit 451")  but I never wanted her to be nicknamed Clair so we call her Reese and it has stuck (Thank Goodness!).  Then our next daughter is Cadie short for Cadence but I'm a musician so sometimes I call her Cadential or Dential for short so you can see the madness involved in nicknames.  Well our last lady is Reagan and she's just a blessing to our little family as you can see from the above video as she helps Shauna sightread the main theme from what else "Terms of Endearment".  I'm good aren't I?  (You don't have to answer that)  Well we've been taking to calling her Rae Rae which is cute and she loves it.  But, when she was first born I had another nickname for her.  A name that was dismissed by a few people not the least of whom was none other than her Godparent himself.  I used to call her my Downsy or just Downsy... I know horror of horrors right?!  What was I doing?  What kind of weird grief stage was I in to be able to do such a cruel thing?  Who knows the answers to these things but before we get into a knock down drag out fight on what's appropriate and people first language I should say that I've never been a person who really cared about political correctness... When she was born there was a lot of angst, fear, and sleepless nights.  She was my little beautiful blessing with Down Syndrome.  I loved her and I wanted to protect her and take care of her like my other ladies and that's what came out!  Anyway, like I said earlier now she's our Rae Rae and she's growing so fast (since her heart repair she's just growing like a weed!) and she's playing the piano and running around and she's just like her sisters.  And I know that as she get older and more independent the old nicknames will fade away but I know she's always going to have that little extra and maybe when I think back on when she was just born I'll allow myself to remember her as my little Downsy.

From Little (31 for 21 post 29)

We all are guilty sometimes (some more often than others)  of thinking that we can't make a difference.  So I have a reminder here that keeping your hands and heart open is always enough.  Many times we do not get to see the results of our actions or generosity,  but sometimes we get to see an example of exactly why we should never, never assume that whatever (supposedly) small thing we have to offer won't make a difference.  We are called to use what we have been given...sometimes money,  sometimes time,  sometimes talent.  And when we give of ourselves it will be used.  I mentioned that I posted some custom crochet items in Tommy's auction.  I almost didn't do it.  I wanted to help, but I was overwhelmed with flower girl dresses and frustrated at the difficulty in finding pictures for the auction so I almost said forget it I'll just make a small donation instead.  I am so glad that I didn't give up on using my time and talents because it multiplied to so much more than a simple donation would have been!  One of the winning bidders asked for two items for double the donation...that resulted in over $100 for one of the auction listings....wow!  Never underestimate how a gift can grow!  All you have is always enough whether it is $1 or $100, whether it is a donation to a garage sale or a bake sale or 5 minutes of your time or 5 hours of your time.  Open hands, open heart, open life, amazing results.

Sunday School Therapy (31 for 21 post 28)

Reagan's therapist was curious as to what exactly Reagan does in the nursery at church, whether she plays with the other kids and what toys she likes, so today my mission was to find out.  It was not the best day for observing her interaction as the was only one other kiddo for only part of the time, but the nursery workers were in Reagan heaven (she is very popular at church).  When I picked her up I asked them what she did today and they both said "talked..a lot".  One of the ladies said she played on the slide a few times and they read a story, but mostly they were trying to get her to say new words.  They claimed the honor of teaching her "fish" and "bubbles" (which they also worked on blowing, another skill she's been working on in PT)  and that she was saying a lot of other words too.  So what if she can't get a speech evaluation or therapy until at least December?  Who needs that, we have Sunday School! :)

The (unwanted) Skill (31 for 21 post 27)

 Reagan acquired another new skill today.  One I have been carefully avoiding encouraging in any way considering what a monkey she is.

Oh boy I am in trouble.  I knew it was only a matter of time.  She climbs on everything, and if there is something close so stand on she takes full advantage of that situation.  And she picks up her piano bench and carries it around and sits on it all over the house....so the natural progression is??

Yep, she discovered that she can place that bench (or other things, didn't take long to work that out) strategically to allow for Reagan-don't-climb-on-that access to high places.

  Help!

Proud (31 for 21 post 26)

I forgot one of the tidbits I intended to post about yesterday and it was the one that made me smile the biggest of all.  You know there are the big milestones  like crawling and walking that make us jump up and down and cheer.  And there are the little milestones like properly sorting shapes and putting puzzles together that make us smile and brag.  And then there are the ones that make us bust our buttons and scoop our sweet children up in great big hugs because they just made us so proud.  Reagan did that last night.  She was thirsty and so she signed drink and said "duce" as she usually does.  And she watched patiently as I filled her cup as she sometimes does.  And then when I handed it to her she did something that she has never done before and is an achievement for any two year old....she tucked that cup in the crook of one chubby little arm and with her other hand looked my right in the eyes and signed Thank You.  And then of course she giggled and looked at me like I was nuts for making such a big deal out of it.  But it is a big deal.  We always want our children to show gratitude and good manners, and that is not always easy with two year olds (or 4 year olds or 5 year olds either).  We teach by example, modeling gratitude and requiring it from the older girls.  This not something we have really asked of Reagan more than a scattered handful of times.  So aside from the crazy cuteness of it,  and aside from the fact that I'm proud she is developing manners,  mostly I am reminded not to expect less of her than her sisters.  She watches and observes, then she shows me...yeah Mom,  I got this too.

Tidbits (31 for 21 post 25)

 Today we have a little of this and a little of that with photos brought to you by Auntie Megan.

 Sophia brought her mommy and Grandma over today.

 Sophia came to play with her new friends and watch Reagan's therapy.  Mommy and Grandma came to be crafty with me.

 We were making invitations for Sophia's homecoming shower.

 And now that Sophia is home  my attentions are turning to  another adoption.  My dear (virtual lol) friend Susanna brought Katie-bird home and she is doing very well, and now her family is working on bringing home a young man named Tommy.  So I have listed some items in his fundraising auction Tommy's Time.  And finally a Happy Birthday shout out to Reagan's friend Laura who is turning 3 today.

ok so this picture is courtesy of Ashley's brilliant photography :)

                           
Such a big girl who is soon going to be a big sister too as her family just got their court date to go get their daughter Kamdyn.  So we are working hard to get them the rest of the way funded and bring this baby girl home for the new year!