Gabi's World

Not Quiting

2009-12-04T09:41:00.002-05:00

Funny how time slips away so quickly! I can't believe I have gone over a month without so much as an update on this blog! Of course, I can blame it on being sick with bronchitis again or my back that put me out for almost a week or that Ryan's laptop is broke and he's using mine or that Preston uses the computer more than anyone else in this house or Gabi who I find on it when I wake up every morning! Oh I could go on and on, but truth is, I just got lazy about it! And now, my laptop is about to bite the dust, too! I haven't quit though! I love blogging! I love having the memories to look back to! I love having that timeline to help refresh my failing memory. So, next week, look for a long overdue post! And I also hope to visit some of my bloggy friends too that I haven't seen in awhile!

Holy Double Digits, Batman!

2009-11-01T10:12:00.003-05:00

Today is a very special day! It's not just the day after Halloween. It's not just the beginning of November. It's not just All Saints Day. It's not even just Gabi's birthday.

It's Gabi's 10th birthday!!!

She's entered the double digits! There is no turning back, but we can reminisce to those earlier days.

Happy Birthday to Mommy's precious girl!

Gabi sang Happy Birthday to herself this morning only she was still calling herself Stephanie (from Lazy Town) because that's what she was for Halloween:

We're headed to Build-a-Bear today to celebrate!

And how about a little bit of yesterday's fun:

Gabi and Preston dressed as Stephanie and Sportacus from Lazy Town!

Thank you Ms. Elise for making Gabi's Stephanie dress! If it wasn't for you, she couldn't have been Stephanie since the costumes didn't come in her size. And you made it PERFECT!

Trick or Treating was a bit chilly so we had to wear jackets.

Preston was thrilled with the Halloween decorations with motion sensors in this lady's yard.

2009 Capabilities Walk & Talent Show (formerly called the Buddy Walk) benefiting Down syndrome

2009-10-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

We had fun at our walk this year. Thanks to all who were able to contribute and/or come out to help raise awareness for Down syndrome. Here are some pics and video from our day.

As soon as Flash The Firedog walked up, Gabi immediately said, "Hi Anthony!" Yep! Her brother Anthony was inside, but not sure how she knew it unless she used the process of elimination.

Gabi was thrilled to see Shrek & Fiona!

Posing with Buddy the dog and Elmo
(who was working with American Red Cross at this event.)

Uh oh! DOG FIGHT!!!

Christopher and Ryan waiting to help teach families about fire safety!

Preston loved seeing "Spiner-nan" (Spiderman)
and even showed him his "Spiner-nan" shoes!

Starting out the door for the walk. Cool temps and light sprinkle at this point.

During the walk: Ms. Elise (Gabi's teacher) and Gabi in front, our niece, Jordan and her boyfriend in the back left side and Kami (Christopher and Anthony's mom) to the back left. We turned back right after this as it began to rain a little harder. No use risking illness.

This was taken just before the kids from the Speech/Music
Therapy class began their performance for the talent show.

Videos of both performances:

This video below cracked me up! I had trouble keeping
the camera still because I was laughing so hard:

Posing with Mark after his Elvis performance.

Gabi getting her participation award for the talent show.

And receiving her participation medallion also.

Showing off her goodies at the end of the festivities.

Does MENSA Need a New Member?

2009-10-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

I am finding it harder and harder to get anytime at all on the computer lately. Preston has become a computer junkie and a computer whiz, but we will get to that in a second. If it weren't for being able to get on Facebook and Twitter via my iPhone, I'd have no updates at all. I just wish Blogger would come up with an app that would be easy enough to post to this blog via iPhone. So, if your looking for more frequent updates, you'll have to add me on Facebook or Twitter.

This Saturday is our local walk to benefit Down syndrome. And like a true procrastinator, I just completed Gabi's poster that will be displayed at the walk:

click image to enlarge

When the walk is over, I will display it on Gabi's closet door. She loves to look at pictures. So this should keep her entertained for quite a while. Check out our fundraising page if you are interested in donating to our local Down syndrome association.

Now back to the computer whiz... Today, Preston wanted to go on YouTube to watch Lazytown videos, only he changed his mind as soon as I got onto the site. He decided he wanted to watch, "Preston." Naturally, I thought maybe he was talking about the videos of him and Gabi in the pool this summer. So, I logged into my YouTube account and discovered that a certain 2 yr old has not only been creating videos on YouTube, but publishing them as well under my account. No one has showed him how to do this. He just figured it out on his own. There were like 10 different videos on there that Preston did. So, of course, I posted some here for you to see just what he does.

Preston shows off his dance moves while Gabi
waves a Wii-mote cover in front of the camera.

So who has the number to MENSA?

Gabi Goes Bowling!

2009-10-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

I got an email this week informing me that our local Down syndrome association was going to start a bowling league. Usually we aren't able to go to a lot of the events because of me working nights every weekend. This time was different. It was going to be held on a Sunday! While the time meant I would only get 2 hours of sleep, it was worth it to see Gabi's excitement as she bowled!

Look at the nervous fingers behind her back.

She becomes airborne celebrating knocking down some pins!

She was great a rooting on the whole team!

My favorite part of the day was when Gabi said to me,
"Mommy, that says, 'Way to go!'" She actually read the board!!!

While Gabi never got a strike at least she got a spare!

Look at that bowler's form!

And look who won Game 3!!!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Terrible Twos

2009-09-30T00:05:00.004-04:00

Preston has a very serious case of the terrible twos! This kid is NONSTOP!! Yikes! I know it's a cliche' but I really, REALLY wish I could bottle his energy! Of course, last week, he did cause a plumbing mishap (which is totally worth reading... it's short and funny at our expense!) Real quick, I'll give you the update regarding that. Daddy removed the toilet gagging and puking the whole time with Preston standing in the doorway saying "Daddy wud you dewwing?" Then, Anthony, comes around the corner asking, "Dad, what are you doing?" To which Preston decided to answer for him by saying, "He doing (insert wretching sounds)!" It was hilarious! But a moment later, I heard Preston exclaim, "Daddy! You founda da phone!"

Okay so back to today! Preston's halloween costume came in a couple weeks back and I tried it on him today. Preston immediately transformed into Sportacus in looks, but less in acrobatic skills although he did try:

Of course, it was bound to happen and little Sportacus eventually fell flat on his face and bloodied his little nose:

But that still didn't stop him. After a good cry and a wiping of his nose he was back to his acrobatic stunts. Only a couple hours later, now out of costume, Preston tried his hand at artistry while Mommy went potty:

Did I mention there is a toddler for sale real cheap?

Don't Make Him Talk To Daddy!

2009-09-24T23:14:00.001-04:00

Today, Preston was playing with a toy cell phone and wanted me play with him. I was busy, but took the phone anyhow and pretended to talk to Daddy on the other end. I handed the phone over and said "Here Daddy wants to talk to you!" He grabbed the phone and responded with "I no wanna talka ta daddy" and ran in the other room. He came back a moment later empty handed and grabbed a page from Gabi's scrapbook and one of Gabi's socks and ran back. I heard a flush and ran to the bathroom to see the page and sock stuck in the toilet! I grabbed them out quickly thinking I saved the day! Only Preston looks at me and then looked into the toilet and said, "Where da phone? Phoooonnnee? Where are youuu?" and shrugged his shoulders...

Hmmmm... Are you thinking the phone is where I am thinking the phone is?

(and our toilet is clogged!)

Getting It

2009-09-23T22:09:00.002-04:00

I wrote a letter to Gabi's teacher tonight that I thought I would share with all of you. First let me give you a little background information that will help you to understand some of the content. Our household has been sick the last couple weeks. Everyone but me has been majorly sick (Preston was the worst.) Gabi has a communication paper sent back and forth to school for her teacher and I to keep communication about pertinent information regarding anything going on with her. Today's message from her teacher said, "She had a rocky start with hitting Ms. Carrie. She settled down and was great."

Hi!

I wanted to tell you about Gabi, but it was too long to put on the communication paper. We went back to Awana tonight after being off for 2 weeks with sicknesses. I spoke to her prior to going because her Smilemaker (aide for those with special needs) mentioned last time we were there that she wasn't trying to participate and was wanting to go off on her own to play. I just reminded her that she needed to listen and she needed to do work too. I noticed that her Smilemaker wasn't there and it was already time for class to start. The Awana teacher seemed comfortable enough with Gabi so I left her in class and went to take Preston to his.

Preston totally flipped out screaming, crying and clinching my neck with a death grip. I tried to stay in the class with him until he calmed, but it was obvious that he was making it worse for the others in the class. I went ahead and took him back out to the lobby where he calmed down. Once calmed he was wrecking havoc all over the place and even ran out the door, through the parking lot, and to the van once. I was very tempted to just pull Gabi out of Awana and all go home. It was a waste of a night anyhow, right? Preston didn't make it to his class, I wasn't going to make it to worship or my class, and Gabi's smilemaker wasn't there! I figured I'd probably be doing her teacher a favor by pulling her out. Preston ran up to her class once, but they were out of the room. I decided to just wait it out with Preston until Gabi's class returned.

Gabi's class didn't return until pick up time. They were in Kid's Church. I seen Gabi in line coming down the hall with her class and knowing in my head that the moment she spotted me she was gonna dash out of line straight for me like she always does. I noticed when her eyes met me and I just held up my hand to let her know not to run. You could see she wanted to but resisted the urge and continued to walk in line back into her class. Once her teacher finished counting all of the kids and all were accounted for, he turned to me and said, "Gabi had a wonderful day! Her smilemaker wasn't here, but she participated well, played games with the class and even won the first game!" I was so happy that she did so well especially since I underestimated her. I gave her a hug and told her how proud I was of her.

We began to walk out and I could tell that Preston was gonna make a mad dash for the parking lot again. So, I swooped him up and carried him out. This made him mad, and he started kicking, screaming, biting, scratching and pinching! I was thoroughly embarrassed by his behavior. I offered to let him down if he held my hand, but he just kept saying, "I no wanna hold your hand!" I knew he wouldn't anyhow. The screaming fit continued all the way to the van, while I buckled him and all the way home! Yes he's feeling much better now!

Anyhow, I tell you this because even a minute of Preston doing this sends Gabi into meltdown mode! She walked calmly to the van, got in, put her seat belt on and resisted any inkling of meltdown until we were about 3/4 of the way home. She let out a little scream which I quickly addressed with, "Gabi you have been a very good girl and Preston is not being very good." She stopped and continued to hold her composure the rest of the way home. Once I got Preston to bed, I came back to Gabi's room to get her to bed. I held her and told her again how proud I was and how happy she made me. She said, "Mommy's happy, but Carrie's angry." I asked, "Is it because you hit Ms. Carrie today?" She nodded. "Don't hit anymore, and make sure you tell Ms. Carrie you are sorry, okay?" She nodded again. I was surprised that she even remembered it or mentioned it. I hadn't even talked to her about it yet!

She's growing up, and she's actually "getting it!" I remember the days when I would ask with great frustration, "When is she gonna just 'get it?'" Some days, I wondered if it would ever happen. I just thought I'd share this with you because of the progress she is showing.

Shannon

Most moms and dads of a child with Special Needs know what I mean about "getting it." I have heard many parents in frustration wonder if their child will ever "get it." The best way to describe it to others who may not understand "getting it" is like an understanding, the ability to connect the pieces, being able to understand the cause and effect or even a negotiation or reasoning.

Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 2

2009-09-17T07:05:00.000-04:00

Yikes! Totally didn't mean to let so much time pass before posting more about our vacation this summer, but life happens! If you missed the first post of our vacation, you can find that here. So here we go with the rest of our time in Orlando:

Day 2 in Orlando we headed to Islands of Adventure.

Hitching a ride on big brother's shoulders, Preston and Jeremy
entered the park along with the rest of our family.

While waiting for some friends, I took the opportunity to make one
of my many Twitter/Facebook updates of the trip.

Nana and Gabi pose for a picture.

My husband's best friend from High School (also named Jeremy),
his wife, Melanie and their children were with us at the park. And
no we didn't plan for the girls to wear purple and the guys to wear
blueish/green tops... it just happened that way.

Gabi giving a playful pose with one of the shows performers.
This guy was totally in love with Gabi and her enthusiasm to join in.

I tried to get a good picture of Gabi with Thing 1 and Thing 2,
but they were being the menaces they are and wouldn't stop
tickling her! You can't see their grubby little paws, but trust
me they both were tickling her sides.

I took this picture of what my husband calls the best
rollercoaster ride ever... The Hulk!

Day 3, we spent at Downtown Disney MarketPlace.

First, we stopped for lunch at a prehistoric-themed restaurant
called T-Rex. I had to literally drag Gabi through the door.
Maybe because a life size T-Rex that was greeting us at the door.
It also moved and made sounds as well. It's hard to convince
her that it's not real when it certainly looks real!

We were seated under the ice caves which were changing colors
from blue to red all of the time. It was certainly beautiful as
you can see. And the food was fantastic!

One of my favorite pictures of our vacation was this one taken
of me and my husband at the restaurant.

Here's Nana and Jeremy.

And Gabi and Nana.

Anthony and Christopher.

After lunch, we traveled around Downtown Disney and were
amazed by the Lego sculptures. This one is of a Loch Ness type
of monster in the water. All made of Legos.

The guys checking out more of the Lego creations.

I wanted Gabi to pose with the Lego tourist family, but she had
other plans. She was a little moody and not quite wanting to
cooperate. So I settled for the "Where's Gabi?" pose. If you haven't
found her yet, she is directly behind the boy with the black
shirt that is walking the dogs.

She was happy to see the princesses, but still not eager to cooperate yet.

By the second princess, we started to get a smile.

Next, we went shopping. Preston was thrilled to find Nemo!

For Gabi we looked at dress-up outfits...

and dolls...

and even funny headbands...
But we finally settled on a talking Nemo for Preston and A talking
Dori and colorful bracelet for Gabi.

Then we found Buzz Lightyear...

and Mr. Potato Head...

and finally the highlight of the day was when the little ones went
to play in the dancing fountains.

I loved watching them play.

and Preston flirted with the girls. Here he was showing off his
water catching moves to this little girl who was totally thrilled.

That night we had dinner at Old Town. There we met up with
Jeremy's Mima, Papi, and Titi Jennie.

Day 4, we went to Universal Studios.

Ryan and I and our 5 kids and Nana in front of the Universal Globe.

This day, we decided to let the boys (minus Preston) go off on
their own while the rest of us went to enjoy the stuff that the
younger ones would enjoy more. So we went to see Donkey...

and Shrek and Fiona...
Before we left, Gabi gave Shrek a kiss on the cheek!

We waited in line to see the lion and penguins from Madagascar.
And the kids were so thrilled by their presence that they wouldn't
even turn around to pose for a picture!

However we did get a pose with SpongeBob Squarepants!

Water play in the hot Florida sun is a necessity if you want to have fun.

Day 5, we packed (or crammed) up the van (with all 8 of us)
and headed south to my hometown of Homestead, Florida!

More Holiday Road to come...

It's Time...

2009-09-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

It's time to retire the cute little phrase at the bottom of this onsie...

It's time to buy the proper equipment...

It's time to pull out the big boy pants...

It's time for POTTY TRAINING BOOT CAMP!!!

And it's also time to end the 10 years of diaper changing. Gabi was finally fully potty trained at 6 1/2 years old... just a few months before Preston was born. We are serious. Ryan and I have become determined. Hopefully, Preston is ready. Lately, he's been removing his soiled diaper as soon as he's done the deed, and he sits himself on the potty. It's so cute because as soon as he sits down, he makes grunting sounds, looks into the potty, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "It's not working."

I'd love any wise words of wisdom anyone has for us to make this a successful transition!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Halloween Planning

2009-09-01T23:16:00.002-04:00

I've been watching Gabi and Preston lately when they watch LazyTown and realized that the characters in it would be perfect for Halloween costumes.

Gabi will be Stephanie:

Preston will be Sportacus:

And I tried to get Jeremy to be Robbie Rotten, but he wasn't going for it. He said I would have to pay him $100 to do it. Suddenly today, that became $200 when he remembered that Robbie Rotten wears tight-like pants. This is what he would have looked like as Robbie Rotten:

Personally, I can't wait to see Preston in the Sportacus mustache. I think they will both be thrilled when they realize that is what I am planning.

It's Finally The 1st Day of School!

2009-08-26T11:20:00.005-04:00

Jeremy, the 11th grader.

Gabi, the 4th grader.

And Preston, the disappointed one since
his playmates all went to school.

Dad & Jeremy Update

2009-08-23T16:24:00.002-04:00

My dad was just discharged about an hour ago from the hospital. All of his tests have come back negative (except the cardiac enzymes). The cardiologist believes that the cardiac enzymes were a false positive. He said that since my dad has already had heart attacks and experienced some pretty violent vomiting that it can release some enzymes from the already damaged portion of his heart. They believe it to be this because the elevation was only slight. Thank you for your prayers!

And Jeremy is doing so well that he went to the movies with some friends today.

Jeremy's Surgery & More Prayers Needed

2009-08-20T22:52:00.001-04:00

Jeremy's oral surgery: I always hear that the younger you are having your wisdom teeth out, the easier it is. I am not so convinced anymore. I did far better than Jeremy did. When we first came home, he was right in the bathroom vomiting. I called the surgeon's office and asked if I could give him one of my Phenergan tablets that I had here for when my migraines make me nauseated. They said that would be fine. Thank God it was just a one time thing. Then the pain got worse and worse as the numbing wore off. It was tough watching my son in so much pain. The first pain medication he was on wasn't helping his pain at all. He was getting more and more apprehensive as the time went on. I called the surgeon's office again, and they switched his pain medication. He finally fell asleep and slept a few hours. I kept checking on him periodically. It's probably a habit from being a nurse. I would wake him and ask him if he was okay and make sure he wasn't over medicated. By 10 pm, he had significantly improved, and by this morning, he was even better than that. I resisted any picture taking and videoing, too! This morning he looks like a chipmunk. His pain is now tolerable, and his need for any pain medication is getting further and further apart.

More Prayers: Tonight, my father is being admitted to hospital. He has been having nausea and vomiting for days and back pain. They ran blood work and found his cardiac enzymes were elevated. This means he had another heart attack. They are doing a cardiac characterization in the morning. Please keep him in your prayers.

Prayer Request

2009-08-18T21:40:00.004-04:00

Jeremy is having oral surgery tomorrow. He has to have all four wisdom teeth removed. His surgery is at 11am EST. Please pray for a quick recovery! School starts next Wednesday and I would like him to be pain free in order to concentrate on his studies. He requested a steak dinner tonight since he won't have anything that solid in several days! Of course, I was happy to oblige!

And Jeremy made me promise that I would not be taking any post op pics or videos! Now why would he think I'd do that?!

Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 1

2009-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

I bet you all thought I wasn't coming back! Many of you have followed our vacation through Twitter and Facebook! Don't worry if you missed it. It will all be here plus more! I am breaking the vacation posts up into sections since there is so much! I'll try not to bore you, and just hit the highlights. So let's get on with it. The first several days we spent in Orlando to visit the theme parks. Most of us drove down in the van from Indiana, but some were flying in. So, we had to pick them up first.

We stayed in a luxury waterfront condo:

Okay! So it was swamp-front! They forgot to
mention that on the advertisement!

The first day down there, we spent a lot of time
at Orlando airport. Jeremy came in from visiting
his dad in Connecticut:

I hadn't seen him in 6 weeks. So, I was very
happy to see him, but I wasn't the only one.
Christopher and Anthony missed him, too.

Look! Christopher actually smiles! So, while the boys got
caught up, I took Gabi to meet Shrek!

Okay! So, it wasn't the real Shrek! But Gabi wanted to know
where her kiss was? Then we headed over to the Harley store.

Preston had to check to make sure we had gas before we took this baby out!

Now that we are all gassed up! Gabi is ready to
♫ head on down the highway... lookin' for adventure! ♪

And then we went to Disney's Earport (What a clever name!):

Gabi and Snow White got to meet! Look how excited
Snow White was to meet Gabi! She must be a fan of the blog!

And finally Nana arrived from her VERY LOOONG flight all the way
from Ft. Lauderdale! Okay! So the delay was longer than the flight
thanks to the thunderstorms down there!

Yay! Nana is here!

So now that the gang is all here, let's get the fun started! Tune in soon for Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 2! I promise I won't make you wait as long this time!

On The Road Again

2009-07-19T16:12:00.001-04:00

Absent from the blog again, but this time it was related to getting ready for our trip! We actually left 8 o'clock this morning headed for Florida! Gabi hasn't slept yet, and I doubt she will. She is entirely too excited! Of course we'll have lots of pics to share! So stay tuned!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ This Week's Favorite Photos

2009-07-07T23:25:00.001-04:00

Click Here and here for more Wordless Wednesdays.
And Click Here for more Special Exposure Wednesdays.

I Can Explain Really!

2009-07-02T20:30:00.001-04:00

I know I have been absent from this blog a lot this summer. No, it's not because I am busy and overworked. Well, I am with my home duties but not with work work. (double word intended)

I can explain. Well... let's start with this as an explanation:

Yes I have created a monster! She is totally addicted! A few days ago, I spent most of the day outside with Preston in the backyard (I could see Gabi through our glass French doors.) It was a beautiful day, clear sunny skies but not hot in the slightest. We were out there for hours, and Gabi never moved! She goes back and forth between Nick Jr.com and Sesame Street.com. So, she doesn't give me a lot of time on the computer myself.

But we have been having fun, too! Look at some of the things we've been up to:

Outside Fun:

Playdate with our friend Danny:

Fun at the water park:

Christopher and Anthony stayed with us for a week:

Enjoyed ice cream in the summer:

Gabi performing a song and dance after dressing up:

Speech/Music Therapy Class at Down Syndrome Assoc. of S. Indiana:

Of course, the summer also comes with chores to do. We have had plenty of those, too:

Had to cut down our Pear tree after a storm split it in half:

Had to brush out Fat Kitty and bathe her.
(I could have made a small cat with all
of that fur I combed off of her):

Of course I was tempted to do this to Fat Kitty but resisted:

Tons of Laundry to get done. Thank God I had my helper:

Speaking of laundry, anybody got a match for any of these?

And the summer isn't over! Jeremy is still at his Dad's house in Connecticut and will stay there until our vacation. We leave to Florida on the 19th of this month! So excited!

Can You Hear Me Now?

2009-06-30T21:48:00.003-04:00

I have had some issues with people having trouble opening my blog. I removed the item that I believe was causing the problem. If you are reading this in a viewer, would you take a moment to click through to my blog to see if you have any problems loading my page (especially those who have been having problems)? Please leave me a comment to let me know you had no problems. If you are having problems viewing my blog, please send me any email so I can still look into the issue. thegrahams at insightbb dot com

Thanks for your help.

Regretfully, Unable To Attend

2009-06-24T20:30:00.001-04:00

Have you ever got a wedding invitation in the mail and not recognized who it was that was getting married? I have a few times before, but usually I am too afraid to ask anyone how exactly I know this person. Yesterday was different.

Ryan, after retrieving the mail, opened an envelope addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Graham & Family turning to me to ask,"Who is getting married?" I said, "It's probably Courtney's invitation," (who is my niece that is getting married next month while we are in Florida.) He hands me the invitation. I proceeded to read it and said, "Who the heck is this for?" Ryan shrugs and says, "I don't know! Your mom sent it!"

I grabbed my phone calling my mother realizing only after it was ringing that it was ten o'clock at night. My mother answered sleepily, "Hello?" I didn't waste any time, "Mom, who the heck is this invitation for?" "Who do you think it's for, Shannon? It's Courtney's," was her response. "Courtney's name is no where on this invitation," I answered. "Well of course it is," she assured me. "Nope. This is what it says..." and I continued to read the following information really fast:

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Gaynor
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
their daughter
Elizabeth Marie
to
Mr. Jason Barry Johnson
Saturday, the eighth of September
Two thousand twelve
at two o'clock
Little Flower Chapel
1000 Morrison Circle
Providence, Rhode Island

I wasn't far into my reading before my mother was laughing. "So, who's it for, mom?" I asked again. "I don't know, they handed it to me and asked me to send it to you. I just addressed it and mailed it off," was her explanation.

Who doesn't check over their wedding invitations before mailing them off? Every bride I have ever known has checked and rechecked a hundred times.

So, if anyone knows Elizabeth and Jason who is getting married at the Little Flower Chapel in Providence 3 years from now, let them know we regretfully are unable to attend. That's my RSVP.

I called back today to find out just how many invites were sent for the wedding of "Elizabeth and Jason." It turns out that I should have been the only one who received the wrong invitation. The company that made them, sends an example to show how your invitation should look after you put it together. I got the sample. I hear Courtney's response was "Thank God it went to my aunt rather than anyone else!" She knew I'd be there... invite or no invite. After all, she waited until we were going to be down there before getting married! :)

So, I hope we've all learned something from this story. Brides and Grooms... check your invites before mailing them. Everyone else... If you don't think you know the people getting married, maybe you really don't!

Puberty and Down Syndrome ~ Part 1

2009-06-15T13:20:00.001-04:00

The past few months, I have been suspecting it. I wasn't sure if I was right, but the constant daily appearance of what appeared to be acne on Gabi's face was leading me to believe she was entering puberty.

At first, I was in denial. "Where is this rash coming from?" It was better on the days that I used Phisoderm on her face. Then, one day fairly recently, I noticed THEM. Her breasts looked slightly fuller. No, she doesn't actually have breasts. They are more of a budding. It almost looks like she has too much weight on her (only she isn't heavy.)

At first, I wondered if children with Down syndrome entered puberty early. After all, they are prone to getting dementia earlier than the general population and their life expectancy is still slightly shorter than average individuals. I posted a question on Twitter and Facebook to see what kind of responses people had. I thought I was being neglectful in not having researched this long ago. As a mom of a child with Down syndrome, I am supposed to be the expert on all things Down syndrome, right? Obviously wrong and to my surprise, everyone who responded only had guesses about it too. My searches on the internet were even futile. I couldn't find anything on the female with Down syndrome going through puberty and found only contradicting information regarding the males. Maybe they don't enter puberty early as I thought. Maybe they enter at varying ages just as the general population does. How is it that we determine when our children (special needs or not) usually go through puberty? That is when I remembered. I started getting breasts in the fourth grade (earlier than most kids). What grade is Gabi going into? You guessed it, the fourth grade!

I'll admit it. I feared this time of her life. I remembered how difficult it was for me going through puberty. Oh all of the emotions I went through! My poor parents (especially my mother) is all I have to say! Gabi is already the type of child who can cry and have a temper tantrum one minute and laugh and sing the next minute. How is she gonna handle the hormone fluctuations?

At that revelation, I decided I better start getting her some training bras so that she gets used to the idea of wearing a bra before nature necessitates it. Last week, we went bra shopping. She was thrilled! She loved the idea of wearing a bra like mommy. I was thrilled that they had at least some child-like designs. (I'll never understand why parents put "sexy" items on their children and then worry about their safety... another post for another day!) We opted for a plain white one and another with a cute monkey pattern on it to start with.

When we got home, Gabi was so excited about her new bras. I wanted her to keep that excitement. If she's excited about them, then she will more likely wear them. So I let her call Nana and Papa to tell them about our newest shopped items. My mom didn't answer her phone. So we called my dad next. I told him that Gabi wanted to tell him what she just got and put her on the phone. She was so excited and blurted out,

"Papa, I got new boobies!"

Shocked at her response, I couldn't help but to laugh. Oh, I would have loved to have seen my father's face when she said that! I am sure his face had more color at that moment than it has had in a very long time.

Then towards the end of last week, I had to take Gabi and Preston to the pediatrician because they were both sick. Our pediatrician at one point said, "... and the rash on her face looks like it may be from congestion." To my surprise, I responded quickly with, "It's not a rash." He looked a little surprised too and asked, "It's not?" That was when I explained that I think she has entered puberty and that her face has been broke out for at least 2 months and threw in there about her budding breasts. "How old is she again?" he asked. "9 1/2 and entering the 4th grade. I also started developing breasts in the 4th grade," I replied. After a short silence, he concluded, "I think you may be right about that." "Have you thought about what you are gonna do?" he asked. I realized with that question that there was more involved than I had already predicted.

Our pediatrician shared with me regarding his experiences with adolescents when he would volunteer at the Special Olympics events. He had some very interesting stories to say the least. Basically, they have normal desires, but teaching them appropriateness of acting on them and redirecting them to more appropriate outlets can be difficult.

This is where it gets explicit. So if you have virgin ears, heed my warning...

So what about the onset of menses? Our pediatrician said that once entering puberty, we have approximately 2 years before menstruation begins. I confided in him my thoughts of how I think Gabi may react when that day finally comes. Either she is gonna freak out because she'll think she is hurt, or she will try to hide it thinking she did something wrong.

This is when I question my decisions in the past. As a mom, you can imagine, I very rarely get to go to the bathroom alone. (Now it's with 2 visitors in there.) I have always been careful at that time of the month to not allow Gabi (or Preston) to see. I thought maybe she would think I was hurt. She did notice the use of a pad, and a couple of times, I had to explain "No, mommy does NOT wear a diaper!" Maybe I should have let her witness the normal womanly activities and just explained it as normal and made no big deal of it. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be fretting her reaction so much as I do. I know... it's too late for the "what if's."

The pediatrician did tell me about what I like to call "the options." He said that often parents of kids with Down syndrome will put their kids on birth control or have them get injections every few months to lesson the periods or to turn them off. He said some parents have even gone as far as subjecting their child to a hysterectomy. (I am sure we are all gasping in unison over that one.) Her doctor wasn't suggesting it, he was just giving me information. He thinks that is a bit over the top as well. I can understand the hysterectomy only if there was a medical reason behind it as well (and to me Down syndrome is not a medical reason).

My personal thoughts regarding the other options is that it may not be a bad idea to lessen the periods as long as it won't interfere with her development. He suggested that I make an appointment with a gynecologist to discuss Gabi within the next 2 years so that we can have a game plan. So, what are your thoughts?

As you noticed, this post is titled "Part 1." I know this is going to be a reoccurring topic through these next few years. I am certainly not an expert on puberty and Down syndrome through each stage. Heck, I am not even an expert at where she is right now. This is gonna be a learning process. Please include any questions you have in the comment section. I am sure they will help me with preparedness and I can include answers in a follow up post.

Also I plan on buying this following book to see if I can get more answers as well: Teaching Children with Down Syndrome about Their Bodies, Boundaries and Sexuality If you've read it, tell me your thoughts about it. Was it helpful? Was it archaic? Was it a good place to start, but needs more work?

Ryan On The News

2009-06-08T23:39:00.003-04:00

Ryan was on the news yesterday for his business. He came home telling me he played "Vanna White." He wasn't kidding, look at this:

(Ryan is in blue if you can't figure that out on your own.)

If you can't see the embedded video, you can see it here: http://alturl.com/id4f

Hmmm... What is today?

2009-06-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

Don't know? Check out this post from last year to find out.

Magic Marker Monday ~ Self Portrait & Surrealism

2009-06-01T00:44:00.004-04:00

Haven't done one of these posts in a while, but someone suggested I show off Jeremy's artwork in a Magic Marker Monday post. I thought it was a great idea! It's a great way to come back.

Jeremy is my 16 year old and he has a love of art. Like most artists, he is also too critical of himself. This first picture, I rescued as Jeremy was trying to throw it in the garbage. It's a chalk self portrait. He hates this picture! I love it and honestly taking a picture of any of his artwork just doesn't serve it justice. It is so much better in person!

These next pictures were taken at an Art Show for Jeremy's High school. This one is done in pastels. This type of art is called surrealism... which means involving the combination of images that would not normally be found together, as if in a dream. So he has a hawk perched on the moon wearing a purple top hat while looking back at the earth. These were judged the next day and Jeremy received 1st place in his category for his entry! I was so proud of him and he was so excited that he called me right away when he found out!

For more Magic Marker Monday participants click here.