Page Fifty-Seven

Finally, after months of waiting Woodbine Houses newest book has been published and because VADA IS IN THE BOOK, we just received our free copy!!! Woot! Woot!

 Months ago I saw on Facebook that Woodbine was requesting pictures of young children who have Down syndrome to put into their revised edition of Early Communication Skills for Children with Down Syndrome. It turns out that Vada's photo submission was at the cut off due to their overwhelming responses from all of the other parents that had heard of this well before I had! So, I was pleasantly surprised when someone from Woodbine contacted me with release forms that needed to be signed and resubmitted. I filled out everything and then I was told that they may use one or more of the photo's and if they did use any of Vada's photo's then we would receive a copy of the book shortly after its release. 

 It was all extremely exciting but also overwhelming because I don't care to wait! Surprises aren't really my "thing" and I really, really wanted to tell everyone about this amazing opportunity but couldn't because I would look like a crazy fool if I had said she was going to be in a book and then wasn't. But she is! So now as I sit typing this all out my face is actually hurting from the ear to ear grin that I am wearing! Oh what an amazing blessing! That's my girl, Sweet Vada on page fifty-seven! 

Original photo from January 2012

Thank you Woodbine House for using a photo of our daughter in your book! You have given our family a gift to be passed down from generations! Yes, we are that proud of this publication!

WDSD

What did you do this WDSD (World Down Syndrome Day)? My Mother in-law as well as my girls and I headed over to Famous Dave's to celebrate. GiGi's Playhouse of the Quad Cities was having a fundraiser of sorts, up to 20% of each ticket was being donated from Famous Dave's to our GiGi's. How cool are they?

Not being the biggest fan of fleshy foods I was a little apprehensive but it was for a good cause and it turns out that Famous Dave's has some kick butt food! Seriously delicious! 

Jasmine order a full rack of ribs with full intentions of finishing them all off on her own...NOT! But she did order a full rack and brought home the left overs for Justin to have. She was a little embarrassed about the amount of food that was placed in front of her and tried to enplane her order to our servers but they knew what was up and gave her a hard time about it. It was all in good fun and made the night even more enjoyable. I love meal times that are full of laughter!

There was this lady at famous Dave's that night, "Zany Janie", who was making the most amazing balloon animals that I have e.v.e.r. seen. Jasmine and Kiliegh both received one. 

It was a fun night and it seems that we had a nice turn out as well which is great. Our youth leader from our church surprised us and shared the beginning of our meal with us which still makes my heart all warm and gooey. (I just love our church family, each and everyone of them!) We had our pictures taken and I got these very cute photos and last but not least we celebrated Vada and every other individual who share having that extra magical chromosome in common.

A couple of days before WDSD Justin's parents brought over some of our things that we had left behind from Vada's birthday party. One of those things was a bag full of balloons. The girls had been driving me crazy with them because they kept leaving them around and I was scared that Vada would end up with one stuck in her throat (it happened to my baby cousin when I was younger--scary stuff!). Anyway, I had had it up to here (picture me reaching for the sky) with the balloons and said enough was enough. Before we went out to eat i combed the house for the remaining death traps and thought that I had done a very fine job at getting them all but when we came home, after the girls were in bed and fast asleep, I found this...

Made by Jasmine.

Who never said a word about my balloons being a hazard rant.

And I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty in her words. She makes me proud but im still sticking with no more balloons!

Car Seat Confusion

I'm not overly protective but I don't throw caution the wind when it comes to the safety and protection of my children. That's one of the reasons that Vada is still in her infant car seat. Yes, infant, as in the one we brought her home from the hospital in. I have had conversations with Vada's doctor and he said that I should keep V in this seat for as long as she fits, for extra protection for her and since I had already planned to do so I agreed with him. However, this morning I had two mom's look at me in utter shock when I told them that V was still in her infant seat. I had explained why she was still in it (she still fits, extra protection, helps support her because of the lower muscle tone, protects her neck..) but the shock didnt disapate quickly. Which had me second guessing myself, so I came home and got online to see if I could find the weight and height limit to Vada's car seat. Somewhere I thought that I had seen that it was thirty-three pounds. I found two car seats that looked just like hers and each had different limitations so I ran outside to see if I could find a model number or something. It turns our that the seat actually had a sticker on it with the details that I was looking for! Duh!

Alright, it says twenty-two pounds and under and twenty-nine inches or smaller. Vada weighs twenty pounds and ten ounces and is around twenty-eight and a half inches. She's right there, sitting on the cusp of change. So the big question is Should we make that change?

I took these pictures on my cell phone today to use as a visual aid of sorts...

Her legs look a little cramped in the above and below pictures but she naturally sits this way and regardless of what seat she is in she will be rear facing because she is suppose to be.

The below pictures were taken a couple of days ago, again with my cell phone...

Personally, I think that she looks bigger in these pictures than she does in the above pictures that I took today and that might have to do with the fact that she is really stretching out...

Look at those looong looking legs... at least you know that she is comfortable!

This one cracks me up! Its like her legs are yelling for room! So, when I look at these I am confused. She hasn't quite met the criteria for getting out of the infant seat but she seems to need a new seat and more room. Parents, what do you think? More specifically, parents of children who have low muscle tone, what is your thoughts on this?

Last year about two months before Vada's first birthday I bought a new car seat, only to realize that my little girl was a slow grower and was nowhere (at that time) ready for her new seat. I packed it away until today and I just pulled it out to look at it's requirements. Here they are...

(Just to clarify I don't think that these mom's were judging me, I think that they were just really surprised. And if they were, well, we all do things differently.)  

31 for 21: Good Books

I had twelve weeks of strict bed rest during my pregnancy with Vada. I did a lot of emotional preparation and soul searching during that period as well as a lot of reading. While I am setting out to spread awareness about Down syndrome I thought that I would share a few books that remains on my shelf to this day.

Please keep in mind that all children are different. They all have their select talents, purposes, attitudes and interests. Some of these books are generalized and don't necessarily show the individuality in each person. This is the case in most informational forms of reading but something I feel I should caution all readers on.

These two books are very similar and helpful in the area of possibilities or things to be aware of. My favorite thing about the books were the pictures of the children!

Just like the title says, this is a facts only read. Again, generalized but is full of what can be possible.

In conjunction with the Gifts books and Common Threads, this is my favorite (and one that I need to read again). It is a book with the goal of helping mother's to not loose sight of themselves and to find balance in their daily lives. You can only read so many informational books before they all seem to say the same things and you can only prepare so much and then you have to live life-- at least this is how I feel. More Than A Mom doesn't teach about Down syndrome but is more of a helper for mothers with children who have unique needs.

I ordered this for Jasmine to read and after I read it myself I decided that it may be a bit past Jasmines age (10 years, at the time). However, I would suggest this book to any teenager, adult and even expecting parent. It is informational as well as quick to read. A good place to start learning about Down syndrome.

A workbook, if you will, that helps parents who are raising a child with unique challenges. 

This book is filled with amazing pictures, stories, poems and quotes! It is fabulous!

These books are uplifting and emotional. True stories from real parents who happen to have a child who has Down syndrome. They are similar to the Chicken Soup series, only in my opinion, better!

So, have I left any good ones out? What books have you read that you would recommend pertaining to Down syndrome? Which one's were most helpful and which one's did you not like and why?