Tagged

Thanks Laura for tagging me! Here are 10 neat things about Antalya.

1. She likes ice cream, but hates pudding and yogurt.

2. She loves to camp.

3. She is very determined. It doesn't matter how many obstacles I create, she always gets into whatever it is she wants. 

4. She loves music, and loves to dance. She loves when I turn on American Idol and performances from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She pulls herself up next to the TV and dances away!

5. She spent a week backpacking through Patagonia (brrrr) with very little complaining.

6. She loves practicing her signs. She tells me she wants to "eat" all day long. She always gets a "I'm so proud of myself" look. She is trying so hard to communicate and is doing so well.

7. She is a little social butterfly - no stranger anxiety with this little girl. I was recently at a funeral and after sitting on my lap for 5 minutes, she was ready to make new friends. So she continued to make her way down the pew, stopping at each person for a few minutes, then reaching out for the next person.

8. She loves to watch Baby Signing Time.

9. She loves to give kisses and big bear hugs.

10. She is an absolute angel. Anyone that knows her will agree! I am so blessed to be her mom.

I'm tagging Christine, Brittany, and Lisa to tell us 10 things about their kids. 

Legacy

Today I attended the funeral of a sweet lady that lived near us when I was growing up. As I listened to the remarks made about her life, I started thinking about my own funeral. What kind of things will people say about me? What will be their memories of me? What will be the impact I have had on the lives of those individuals who come to celebrate my life once I have moved on? What will be my legacy? What is it that turns an ordinary life into a great one? I've heard it said before - many times, actually - that life is what is happening NOW. Each moment, each hour, each day, we are living our lives - we are becoming who we will be remembered as - we are either moving forward towards our goals, or falling behind. It's such a simple truth, yet how often do we let the moments, or the days pass us by while we wait for some future event - while we wait and dream about the things we will do ONE DAY? I do it all too often. I'll set aside a supply of emergency food when we have more room than our one-bedroom apartment we are living in. I'll spend more time teaching and reading to Antalya when she can understand me better. I'll call so-and-so tomorrow when I have more time. The list goes on and on. Why don't we stop waiting and start becoming the person we want to be now?

"I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present...because life is the moment we're living now." (From The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho)

Bath Please!

I was in the middle of fixing dinner tonight when Antalya crawled up to me and started signing "bath". She just learned the sign about a week ago, and is the first sign she knows that doesn't have to do with eating. I was so proud of her! How could I not stop what I was doing and go put her in the bath tub for a few minutes? I am so excited that she is started to communicate more.

Antalya's Favorite Toy

Fisher Price Learning Piggy Bank

One of Antalya's therapists loaned us this toy a few weeks ago. It quickly became the favorite! I love that it can do so much. Right now Antalya has fun practicing things such as push (the nose plays music when you push it), in, out, open, close. The coin slot is just big enough for the coin, so she is forced to work on her coordination and fine motor skills getting the coin at just the right angle to fit inside. Once she gets a little bigger we can use the coins to learn colors, animals (the coins have a the heads and the tails of different animals), big vs small (the coins are two different sizes), and counting. 

Wordless Wednesday - First Bubbles Experience

Easter

Here are a few pics of Antalya's first Easter Egg Hunts. She had a great time. Especially when she found there was something inside the wrapper she had been sucking on.....chocolate!

March Mascara Madness

Has your tube of mascara almost run dry like mine? Is it time to buy a new one? Wouldn't it feel good if your buying a new mascara helped someone else out? Well, now is the chance. Chelsea is one of the cutest 2 year old girls out there. She as Down syndrome; she also was diagnosed with Leukemia 6 months ago. She is on her 5th round of chemo. Her mom is on a Mary Kay mascara mission to help out. Click here to read all about it.

World Down Syndrome Day

Down syndrome is occurs when there are 3 of the 21st chromosome (normally there are only 2 of each chromosome). Hence, today, March 21st (3/21), is the day we join in a world-wide celebration of people with Down syndrome. In honor of today here are 21 things you might not know about Antalya, and Down syndrome (The facts about Ds were mostly taken from the NDSC website).

1. Although the odds of giving birth to a child with Ds increase as a woman gets older, about 80% of babies with Ds are born to women under 35.
2. There is no known cause for the chromosome variation known as Ds.
3. Antalya had major surgery on her intestines when she was only 2 days old. She came through with flying colors.
4. Antalya hates having her teeth brushed, nails clipped, and her face wiped.
5. Children with Ds are usually smaller than other children.
6. Approximately 5,000 babies are born with Ds in the US each year.
7. Antalya's name means "heaven on earth".
8. Ds is the only disability in the US that has a waiting list of parents wanting to adopt.
9. Antalya loves chicken.
10. There is a wide variation in mental abilities, physical development, and behavior in individuals with Ds.
11. Antalya's favorite movie is Baby Signing Time.
12. About 1 in every 800-1,000 live births are babies with Ds.
13. Antalya has 67 first cousins, with another one on the way this summer.
14. There are 3 kinds of Down syndrome. The most common is Trisomy 21.
15. Antalya loves to camp.
16. Each child with Ds is unique.
17. Antalya ate for the first time when she was 12 days old. She was given nutrients through an IV until then.
18. Antalya hates pudding.
19. Ds is not related to race, nationality, religion or socio-economic status.
20. Antalya is the name of a city in Turkey. One day we will take Antalya to her city.
21. Antalya's middle name is Marian. She is named after her great-grandma Marian who is still alive, and an inspiration to all who know her.

First Day of Spring

Is there a better way to celebrate the first day of spring than going to the park with friends? The kids had a great time on the swings (Christine, sorry there is no pic of Atticus).


When it was time to play on the playground, Antalya wasn't too excited. I don't know if it was the weird texture, or the fact that she could see the ground through the holes. But whatever it was, she sure wasn't happy. I couldn't even get her to move. If I put her down sitting, she stayed sitting. If I put her down on her tummy, she stayed on her tummy. Hopefully next time will be better.