{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!

"Why I love my daddy" ....written by Colin

"This is my Daddy.  His name is Steve.  He's the BEST!  I couldn't ask for a better father.  EVER.  He takes such good care of me.  He plays with me all the time.
Today was Father's Day, and I got the spend the whole day with my daddy.  It was such a good day!!!

The other night we went to the beach - my daddy carried me in the carrier for the 1st time.  It was fun!

While we were on the beach my daddy and I were trying to catch crabs.  The crabs were WAY faster then we were.  It was fun to tease my sissy - she was kinda scared of the crabs.  But, my daddy and I laughed while we were trying to catch them (and scare her!!)

Speaking of laughing, my daddy makes me laugh.  He tickles me - all the time.  He makes me giggle when he tickles me.

Here we are, my daddy and I - just hanging out.  I'm minding my own business.  He's going to get sneaky in a minute.....

So, he decides to see if he can get me giggling.  Hey Dad!  I wasn't bugging you - why must you start??  <shhh...  Really I like it!>

Okay Daddy - you win!  You got me LAUGHING!!

Dad.....  ARE YOU DONE YET??

Thank you Daddy for being so wonderful.  I appreciate everything you do for me.  I look forward to many more Father's Days to show you how great you are!  I hope you enjoyed spending the day with me."

A first haircut

It was time.  As much as I hated to admit it - it was time to cut Colin's locks.  What was what I refered to as "his personality" was about to be gone.  Steve kept saying to me, "too many people think he's a girl!  It's time."  So we took a family trip out, the day that Colin turned 8 months, we cut his hair.  He walked in looking like a baby, and left looking like a little man. 

FINISHED PRODUCT!!!

A little Colin video

Check out Colin in action!!!

A Beautiful Mother's Day

9 Years ago I became a mother.  My son, Lucas, was born.  Mothers Day, 2002, was such a painful day for me.  I was a Mother, but my son wasn't there with me.  My heart ached, the day felt empty for me.  It should have been a celebration.
2011......  A Mother's Day that has such a different feeling then it did 9 years ago.  Natalie has blessed my life more then I ever could have imagined.  She will never an idea how much happiness she was able to bring back to my life.  She provided my heart with such healing.  She's an amazing little girl.  She has a kindness about her that most kids don't have.  She has a huge heart.  Everyday I thank Luke - because HE is the reason that she is here. 

This year, I have another reason to celebrate being a Mother - Colin!  It's been an amazing 7.5 months!  Not always an easy journey with him but, I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

We had a great day.  We decided to go to church last night so this morning we could sleep in a little.  I couldn't believe it!  Colin slept until 7am!  WOO HOO!!  Even on the weekends, we start to hear him around 5:30.  I'll take 7! 

We had a delicious brunch.  It was heavenly.  It was a fabulous way to spend time with my family.  Then we went and bought flowers to take to Luke's grave.  It's been way too long since we've been over there.

After the cemetery, we went to Ogden Gardens.  It was beautiful!  The tulips were in bloom, other things were blooming - it felt like Spring was finally going to be here!  What a gorgeous day it was!!!

I love watching Colin interact with Steve.  I love how involved he is with his son.  You can tell how much Steve loves his little guy!!

Isn't his smile the sweetest?



My kids bring me so much joy.  They make me smile, make me laugh.  They are amazing.