{Welcome Home Sissy!}

There is NO denying that Colin absolutely ADORES his sister!!!!!!!!!  When she is around - no one else exists.  No one.  He watches her every move.  She walks in the room and a HUGE smile lights up his face.  I absolutely love this. 
Natalie came home today after being at her dads house since Saturday night.  She wanted nothing to do with me.  She was all about immediately getting on the floor and rolling around with Colin, playing with him, giving him hugs, and getting those HUGE chuckles out of his little body. 
I love their relationship.  It's beautiful.  I look forward to seeing it grow as they both get older.

Who is Colin?

This is my Colin:

He's a baby - and a sweet baby at that!  He's 9.5 months old.  He smiles a lot, and makes people laugh.  He gets a reaction from people, everywhere we go.  Probably because he's so darn adorable!
Oh, and he has down syndrome.   Yes, I know, I've mentioned this before here in my blog.  Colin is a baby with down syndrome - not a downs baby.  Not a downs child.  Not a down syndrome baby.  Not a downs kid.  He's my son and yes, he has down syndrome.  His "syndrome" doesn't define him.  Sure!  He has an extra chromosome - there's more of him to love!!!  But, first and foremost, he's my son, a little boy, my baby.
Where am I coming from??  Too often people refer to kids with down syndrome as "downs kids."  I HATE that - as probably does every mom whose child has DS.  It doesn't define who our children are.  Please remember that.  Lately, I have found doctors to be worst with this!  Colin went to the opthamologist yesterday and twice he refered to Colin has a "downs baby."  I wanted to scream at him and say, "He's my son with down syndrome!!!!!" 
Please remember - the syndrome doesn't define our children.  They are still our children.  Colin is still my amazing 9.5 month old, with that sweet adorable smile.  Oh yes, and he does have down syndrome.

My Superman!

This is Colins new superman!  He's kinda creepy looking, huh??  We won it at a Church Festival this weekend, and Steve knew that Colin HAD to have his own superman!  (Can you tell that Steve is a superman fan??)  But, it got me thinking.  Colin is my superman!  {well, Steve is too, but right now, Colin is my superman!}
Colin is now 9.5 months old!  It's hard to believe - the last 9.5 months have just flown by!  In some ways, I feel like I've lost some time because I've been so focused those stupid milestones.  I feel like I've spent so much time worrying about what Colin *should* be doing that I've lost a lot of time enjoying what he *is* doing!  Lately, my superman has shown me to just step back and enjoy!  Over the last three weeks, Colin has finally mastered sitting up!  It was amazing to watch him try so hard to master this huge milestone.  He didn't know that it was supposed to be hard for him!  In Colins mind, he was just doing what babies are supposed to do, right?? 
I know all moms think their kids are amazing - but Colin is truly amazing!  He has such a personality about him.  The way he smiles lights up the room!  Having a rough day?  Watching Colin {superman!} smile - it'll change your mood!
Colin has taught me a lot of lessons during his 9.5 months!!  In fact, his lessons stretch to my pregnancy with him.  He's my superman - an amazing kid!