31 for 21 - Day 12!!

Does it get any sweeter?

31 for 21 - Day 11

Abilities vs. Disabilities

I hate the word "disabilities."  I don't believe that Colin has disabilities - I feel that he has different abilities!  I know I've mentioned it before, but I have a hard time with milestones.  I know that I really just need to sit back, relax, enjoy where we are at with Colin right now, and now that it will all come - in time!

He may not be walking - or even crawling, but who needs that?!?!  I don't think that's a disability - he still gets to where he wants to go by rolling!  And he has the ability to be one heck of a sitter!  He's pretty strong.

Colin has the ability to charm the pants off anyone.  Last week, I didn't have him with me at Natalie's gymnastics.  I had 3 different ladies, at different times, say to me, "Where's my boyfriend?!?!"  He has charmed them all - it's probably one of his strongest abilities!

Colin has different abilities - I'm sure there are things he does that other 12 month olds don't do.  Those aren't disabilities - all people have various abilities.

Colin's time will come - he'll get it all eventually.  So I might have to carry my little guy around on my hip for longer then most mom's would like - that's ok.  Because he's little, he has the ability to NOT kill my back!!!



Mr. Serious!  He has the ability in about 2.5 seconds to be laughing - his face is constantly changing!  Love this little guy.

31 for 21 - Day 10!!!

Why my brother is EXTRA special!

......by Natalie

Today I have a guest blogger!  It's a big day for her - HER BIRTHDAY!!  Natalie turns 8 today.  So, in honor of her birthday, she is going to tell me why her brother is extra special - I'll type for her (it goes way quicker!!!).  So, here we go.

My brother Colin was born with down syndrome - that makes him extra special.  He has 47 chromosomes and I have 46.  Sometimes he needs more help.  Even though he's 1, he's still not crawling or walking.  I help him try to crawl, play with toys, and read him books.

My favorite thing to do with him is make him laugh.  To make Colin laugh I "tickle monster" time!!  I also make funny noises and faces that he really likes. 

I want Colin to be a healthy kid as he grows up.  I hope that he learns how to play musical instruments.  I hope he becomes a doctor.

I want people to know that my brother has the best smiles in the world. 

I love him a bazillion gillian pieces!  He's the BEST little brother that I could ask for!

This was taken the 1st day he was alive.  He was cute even here!

See!  He has 47 pieces to love - and I love all of them!!



31 for 21 - Day 9!!!

Our 1st Buddy Walk!



It was awesome and we all loved it!  My parents/sister/neice/Steve's parents all walked together.  It was great fun!  Our weather was fabulous - nice and warm which is crazy for October!

It was great to support the down syndrome association - obviously something we believe strongly in!  The walk was pretty short - just around the lake at the fairgrounds.  My sister and I commented that we could walk around a 2nd time.  But Natalie was hungry. 

They started with a balloon release - it was cool to see the yellow and blue balloons float away.  Natalie really liked that!

Here's our whole team that came out to support down syndrome and Colin!  I love that the parents from both sides were there.  My sister was SO excited to be there!  We are blessed with an amazing family!

And here's the star of today's show:

We look forward to participating in many more Buddy Walks each year - especially as Colin gets older.  It'll be fun to hang around, see him interact with other children that have DS.  All the kids were adorable today!  They had a DJ there - and it was super cute to see all the kids out there dancing and enjoying the music.

Fun times!  And thanks for our families for supporting Colin!!!!!!



31 for 21 - Day 8!!!

So excited for tomorrow!!  It's our first Buddy Walk!!  Last year, Colin was just a few weeks old.  With breastfeeding struggles, and him being so little, it just didn't happen for us.  We are so excited to be joining them this year.
The 4 of us are walking along with my parents, Steve's parents and my sister and neice. 

Tomorrow's blog will be EASY!  Full of Buddy Walk pictures and the stories of the day!!!! 

I'm so glad our fabulous family has decided to join us, it means a lot to us to have both sides here to support Colin and such an important cause.

31 for 21 - Day 7!!!

My Rock



My husband Steve is my rock!  We've been married 2.5 years and they have been the BEST 2.5 years of my life.  I said to him the other day, "doesn't it feel like we've married longer then we have?"  And not in a bad way.  Maybe it's because we've known each other so long. 

But since we received Colin's diagnosis Steve has been my rock.  AMAZING.  Without a doubt.  As I have been on this journey I have experienced multiple emotions.  There are times I've been ok with it all.  There are times I feel like I can't handle it.  There are times that I've questioned WHY Colin was given to *us* - but like I said, Steve has been there 100%.  There have been moments of complete irrational comments/thoughts and he has always been able to talk me down!!

He is the best dad - so involved and it's obvious how much he loves his little guy!  He's amazing.  I can't wait to see how their relationship grows as Colin gets older.

It's been fun to see Steve with Natalie and how much he loves her!  I can't wait to see a similar relationship as Colin grows.  Fun times!

31 for 21 - Day 6!!!!!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday, and it's a beautiful day here.  We don't get many October days when it's in the 80's like today - definately something to be thankful for!!  Driving home from school, it got me thinking how much Steve and I have to be thankful for....

I have said it before - I have an amazing (almost!) 8 year old.  She is a heck of kid - and I'm constantly amazed by her.  She has such a good heart.  She's caring.  She loves her brother so much and I know that he will have a great advocate in her as she gets older!

I think about how much I have learned since Colin was born just over a year ago.  In fact, my learning began when we received his DS diagnosis in May of 2010!  I was one of those moms from the beginning of this journey who wanted to know exactly what was going to happen.  Of course, most of that couldn't be answered.  I was thankful to be able to have Colin near our house at St. Anthony's (they don't have a NICU) since our doctors were comfortable that there wouldn't be any surprises at his birth.  Everything went the way we wanted it to.

I am thankful that I was able to breastfeed and pump for the first 10 months of Colin's life.  This was so important to me - and we went through a lot to get to that point.  {Thanks Lavawn!!  I LOVE YOU!!  I couldn't have made it without you and your amazing support!}  So many babies with DS aren't able to breastfeed and Colin did pretty good. 

I am thankful that my little guy wasn't born with a heart defect.  That was my ONLY concern I had throughout the last 1/2 of my pregnancy.  We knew there *shouldn't* be anything major - his fetal echo and multiple level 2 ultrasounds showed his heart looked great.  But of course, we wouldn't know 100% until his echo at birth.  I'll be honest, that would have set me over the edge - I'm not sure I would have been strong enough to handle that! 

I am thankful that throughout Colin's 1st year, he's been a healthy little guy!  Sure he's had some respiratory issues - sick a handful of times, but I'll take that!  Sure he's watched closely by a pediatric endocrinologist for some slightly elevated thyroid levels - but I'll take that!  Sure he's been on the tiny side - but again, I'll take that! 

When I read about families who have children with DS that struggle or medical issues, I realize how blessed we truly are. 

I am thankful for Colin's extra chromosome...  In fact, I'm not sure who he would be without it!  It has certainly made me one lucky and thankful momma!