2015

Happy New Year! Although 2014 had some really great moments, mostly it was just a really hard year for me; a lot of things that pushed me to my max. The growth that comes from such moments is always a blessing, but even still, I had been counting down the days until I could ring in a new year since early November.

The girls had their first late night, New Year's celebration this year. We headed to Utah on New Year's Eve day and arrived just in time to celebrate. The older I get, the more I appreciate moments to reconnect with extended family. What a blessing to have almost all of mine and Jason's siblings just  several hours away.

Utah got dumped with a couple feet of snow the week of Christmas, so we got to enjoy some time out in the cold, white, fluffy stuff. And boy, was it cold! Las Vegas has warmed our blood. I don't think any of us lasted longer than 15 minutes outside. 

For the next three days we did our best to fit in as much cousin time as possible. Of course, we couldn't spend as much time with everyone as we would have liked. The girls absolutely adore all their cousins. They would choose cousins over friends any day!

Victoria and her cousin Audrey are joined at the hip. They are just six weeks apart in age, and lived just a mile apart until we moved to Las Vegas. They were so excited to see each other and finally have the sleepover they had been talking about for months.

Welcome 2105! I can't wait to see all you have in store for our family this year!

Sister Love

I love this picture that I snapped the very first time Antalya held her little sister, Victoria. The love and excitement she felt was overflowing. Now, five years later, these two are best buds.

A year ago, I saw that same love reborn again when Antalya held her little brother, Hinckley. 

She loves him through and through! 

Tonight we were in all in the car and Hinckley was not happy about something. So Antalya started singing him some songs. After a couple minutes he calmed right down. 

Whenever her siblings need someone, Antalya is right there! 

I pray that as they get older they will realize what a blessing it is to have a sister that loves them with a love not many possess. 

Our Family

Since it's been a couple years since this blog has really been active, I thought it would be good to give a short introduction about our family for those of you who don't know us in real life.

This is us! My most favorite family in the world…although I admit I am completely biased.

We're currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada, but we have a pattern of moving every couple years. We've lived in Utah, spent a couple years in London when the girls were really little, and who knows where the wind will blow us next.

Antalya will be turning 8 next week. She's in 2nd grade and in a typical classroom. She gets pulled out during the day for extra help in math, writing, and speech therapy. She loves to sing, dance, and make other people laugh. She loves school, or at least most of the time. She is a bookworm - she takes books with her everywhere she goes.

I remember going to a doctor's appointment when she was just a few months old and meeting another mother who had a child several years older who also had Down syndrome. She said the best advice she could give me was to encourage books. So I tried to surround Antalya with books. I let her chew on them when she was an infant, and color in them when she was a toddler, and dump out dozens and dozens of books onto the floor everyday. I don't know if any of that helped, but I do know the girl loves books, more so than any of my other kids.

My advice to any mother who is new on a journey with Down syndrome would be the same, but I would also add to start teaching your little one sight words when she is three. Learning to read makes all the difference!

Victoria is 5 and loves kindergarten. She is a ballerina at heart, and is in constant motion nearly every second of the day. Recently she decided when she grows up she want to be a singer part of the time, and a pop-star the rest of the time. Then when she didn't want to just be a singer, she could be a singer and dancer at the same time. She is my extra hands and eyes making sure her sister and brother stay safe.

Hinckley is the babe of the group at 18 months. He loves strawberry jam, popcorn, dogs, creating messes, climbing countertops, and being outside. At any given moment he is sure to have either a fat lip, or a bruise on his forehead. He keeps me on my toes.

Jason is my most favorite person in the whole world. We've been married ten years, and I couldn't imagine making my way through life without him by my side.

And then there's me. When I'm not chasing kids, on a date with my hubby, cleaning the kitchen, or painting furniture, it's schoolwork for me. I'm almost through a degree in Communication Disorders that I started two years ago.

And that's us…in a nut shell.

I'm In...

Happy October! This month is National Down Syndrome Awareness month. It's been several years since I've participated in the 31 for 21 challenge (a blogpost every day all month long in support of Down Syndrome). Too, be honest, when I woke up and realized October had begun, and remembered about the 31 for 21 challenge, I dismissed the notion as quickly as it came.

But as I dropped my 5 year old off at Kindergarten and headed home I started asking myself if there was any value in making a return to the Down syndrome blogging world. I don't currently participate actively in any Down syndrome organization or support group. And to be honest, I don't think Down syndrome affects much of my everyday life. Sure, my daughter has Down syndrome, but it isn't who she is. So why make a big deal about it?

But then I thought of the many hours, days, weeks, and months I spent searching and reading blog upon blog upon blog about the daily lives of kids with Down syndrome. Back when my head was still spinning from the knowledge that the baby growing inside me had a life changing diagnosis. I was so thirsty for information, but not the kind doctors could offer. I wasn't interested in life expectancy and statistics. I wanted to know what it really meant to have a child with Down syndrome. I wanted to see what the kids looked like, I wanted to know they were loved, I wanted to know they were happy. I wanted to read about kids learning to ride bikes and reading. I wanted to see little girls who loved to dance. I wanted to read about their first day of school. I wanted to know that there were countless other parents out there that had been through what I was then going through, and found their way through to the other side.

So, today, I decided to write. I write for those who are just beginning their journey…Or who are wondering if they should. I write for those whose hearts are still overflowing with emotion when they hear the words "Down syndrome". I write for those who need assurance that loving someone with Down syndrome is a wonderful, life changing experience.

 Count us in on the 31 for 21 challenge. It feels good to be back!

Five

Last month we celebrated Victoria's 5th birthday.

She latest obsession is My Little Pony, so we decided on a My Little Pony swimming party with all her friends. Having a swimming pool sure makes parties easy.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I love you!

On Equal Ground

Growing up, I knew a handle of people with swimming pools, but in Utah, I always felt like a swimming pool was very much a status symbol. I'm not into status symbols of any kind, so never imagined I would ever have our very own pool.

Last fall we made a move to the desert. Jason insisted that any home we consider have a pool. Boy, am I glad he did!

When it's 100+ every day there's not much else to do but jump in and cool off. We're in our pool usually twice a day, every day.

Spending so much time in the pool, has made me incredibly grateful for having one, not just so we can cool off, but because I have come to realize that it is the only activity that puts Antalya on equal ground with any other child. She can interact in a positive way, for a long duration of time with boys and girls of any age and ability.



I might insist of a pool wherever we live from now on.

Challenger Little League

Antalya had her first experience with Little League this past spring. If she could've played in 60 degree weather instead 90-100, I think she would've really enjoyed it. But even with the heat, she was excited to go to the games each week, and had lots of fun for the first inning. Thank goodness, games only lasted two innings. 

Run, run!

Antalya, Ada, and Victoria

These three girls are best friends!

 A future umpire!

Hinckley Hills

This little ray of sunshine burst into our lives 14 months ago. We call him Mr Hink. He loves anything topped with strawberry jam, splashing, eating dirt, playing hide-and-seek, and stealing drinks from strangers. We are all completely smitten. 

Just the Five of Us

Lots has been going on in my blogging absence. The most exciting of which is the arrival of our little blue eyed boy, also known as Hinckley (or if you ask Victoria, 'Prince Eric'). He's already a couple months old, and we love him to pieces!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day

(one of her favorite things is snapping 100 self portraits/minute on my phone)

Today is the day we celebrate all those who live life with an extra chromosome.
I especially celebrate my sweet, silly, spunky Antalya who fills my life with so much goodness.
She is the light of my life and is absolutely perfect just the way God made her!

Christmas

If I had to sum up the holiday season this year in one word it would be "peaceful". I even found moments where I was truly bored and wished for something important that needed to be done. 

We enjoyed playing in the snow, sledding (a first for both girls), a ride on the North Pole Express, visits to Santa Claus, family, friends, nice weather, and reflecting on the gifts from the Savior. I feel incredibly blessed to have my family with me, our health, and for all this past year has taught us. 

The girls loved the magic of Christmas this year, and it was so fun to watch their excitement build and build all December. Santa was kind to them this year and brought them both a bike. I can't wait for the snow to melt so we can get outside and start pedaling away. When Antalya was a baby I remember mourning the fact that she might never learn to ride a bike. But two years ago she mastered the tricycle and rode it everywhere until it finally broke last summer. I think she will enjoy the freedom and challenge of a big kid bike.

Hope your Christmas was just as merry and bright!

Birthday Bash

To follow up with my visit to Antalya's classroom, Jason and I decided we needed to throw a big birthday bash for Antalya and invite all of her classmates and they other kids with Down syndrome in her school, so they could interact with Antalya in a fun, controlled-by-us, environment, and see that other people have Down syndrome too.

Her birthday fell during Fall Break, so we had to postpone the party for the week after her birthday, but I don't think Antalya minded.

I was worried we wouldn't get many people, but ended up with almost every child in her class, plus the kids from her special ed class. In total, we had about 30 little kids running around our place.

Luckily the weather was amazing and we were able to keep all the activities outside.

The goal was to create a party set up that would allow all the children to have fun, and give Antalya the flexibility to interact with them without having to participate in all the activities if she didn't want to. The last thing I wanted was for either her or me to get frustrated because it was time to play a certain game and Antalya didn't want to. So we came up with a carnival theme, and then made some changes to turn it into a Halloween party.

We had a food table that the kids could help themselves to, and different stations set up around the yard with games and prizes. My brother-in-law was kind enough to make balloon animals for all the kids. The stations were pin the face on the pumpkin, pumpkin bean bag toss, pumpkin bowling, donuts on a string, and making carmel apples. I had adults at all the stations to help the kids and give them their prizes.

When everyone was through with the games, we broke open the piñata and had cupcakes. The Birthday Girl was on cloud 9 all evening from all the attention and presents, and all of the kids left happy. I consider the party a huge success!

It was a lot of work to plan and put on, but I have really noticed a difference just in the last week in the way her classmates treat her. One of the cutest things that happened at the party was when a little girl walked up to me and said, pointing to one of Antalya's friends with DS, "does that girl have Down syndrome too?" I think it helped her classmates to see that other kids have DS, and it's alright because they can all have fun together.

Teaching Kids About Down Syndrome

Several weeks ago, I visited Antalya's Kindergarten class to talk to her classmates about Down syndrome. This was an entirely new experience for me, and one that I thought I wouldn't have to take on until at least 1st grade, but the more Jason and I watched her with her classmates and talked about it, we decided it needed to happen. I got some great ideas from this blog.

Here's a run down of what I did; hopefully it can help out someone else.

I started by asking all the kids to look around and name all the things they saw about each other that was the same (all have noses, eyes, hair, shoes, etc). Then I asked them to look around and tell me some of the things that were different (hair color/length, size, clothes, eye color, etc). Then I told them I was going to read them a story about two little kids that were best friends. And I asked them to listen for all the things that were the same about the kids, and all the things that were different. Then I read My Friend Isabelle by Eliza Woloson (a great book about a little boy who is normal developing and a little girl with Down syndrome).

When the book was finished we talked about some of the differences between the two kids. Then I told them that like the little girl in the book, Antalya was born with something called Down syndrome. I didn't get too technical, but just mentioned that inside all of our bodies are chromosomes that tell our body what color hair we will have, what things we will be good at, what color our eyes will be, etc. Most people are born with 46 chromosomes, but Antalya was born with 47. Because she has one more, it makes some things easier for her, and some things a lot harder for her.

I talked to them about some of the things that are really easy for Antalya (she's flexible, she's really good at sharing, she's good at showing love and is a really good friend, and I threw in the fact that she is better on computers and iPhones then most adults). Then I had the class tell me some of the things they have noticed that are really hard for Antalya. Some of the things that came up were that it's hard for her to keep her shoes on :), it's hard for her to keep her hands to herself, it's hard for her to write, and that it is really hard to understand what she says. We talked about what to do if she starts playing with their hair, bugging them, or just won't keep her hands to herself (One sweet girl raised her hand and said Antalya likes to play her hair, I reminded her that she can tell the teacher if Antalya doesn't stop. But she quickly said, "no, I like when she does!").

Then I had all the kids put a big marshmallow in their mouth and try to tell me what they ate for breakfast. They thought it was hilarious that they couldn't understand each other. I explained that that is what it is like for Antalya - because her tongue is bigger, it's like she's always trying to talk with a marshmallow in her mouth.

We ended with talking about some of the things they could do to help Antalya. Then I gave all the kids a coloring book to take home so they could tell their families about Down syndrome (I didn't use all the pages; I took out the ones I thought weren't necessary). Overall, it went really good, and I was really glad that I did it.

School Days

I just walked in the door from dropping Victoria off at preschool.
I have piles of laundry.
A kitchen stacked high with dirty dishes, and breakfast remains still sitting out.
Bags of grocery sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be put away.
I have two exams this week that I haven't even begun to study for.
And in 45 minutes Antalya's school day ends, and I'm back to 100% mom mode.

Life is busy. Most days I feel a bit overwhelmed, but things are moving forward one step at a time.

Antalya is enjoying school. I'm realizing we've entered a whole new ball game with elementary school. Somehow I thought because she has always exceeded and had friends in preschool, that kindergarten would be the same. I thought the mainstream approach would just happen naturally like it does with all kids. But I have had to face the realization that special ed will always be a part of Antalya's schooling. She is in the regular kindergarten class for most of the time, but she has been really struggling with sitting for so long and listening to so much instruction. So every day they pull her out for 30 minutes to work on additional math skills with her and a few other special needs kids in the special ed room. She's also pulled out every week for OT and speech. For the most part, I think her classmates are nice to her. But they know she's different, and they don't understand why she acts the way she does. I'm going to talk to her class about Down syndrome this week with hopes that it will help ease some of the tension and help the kids understand ways they can help and encourage Antalya.

Victoria loves going to preschool. It's at a neighbors house, so it's been really fun to walk with her in the mornings and listen to her babble on and on about this and that. Her vocabulary is exploding lately. In fact, did you know that young children learn an average of two new words a day? Just a bit of knowledge I have gained from my own studies this semester! Victoria is definitely there.

Lately I am so amazed at how easy life is for Victoria. She learns things so quickly, and the world around her makes so much sense. She doesn't have to work hard at anything. And her sister works so hard at everything! The vast difference is on my mind a lot lately. I wish I could help people see just hard Antalya works. I wish her teacher and her classmates would see how hard she works. I wish the world could more easily see past her weaknesses and disabilities and see the amazing strengths she has to share.

Maybe it's that I'm finally stepping into an advocate role. Up until now, I haven't felt much need to advocate for my daughter. But now that elementary school has begun, I feel that for the most part, her happiness and success in school and life for the next 13 years depends a great deal on how well I can advocate for her. I can feel the extra weight on my shoulders. I can't let her down!

Back to School

It's back to school time at our house!

Antalya had her first day of Kindergarten.
She was so excited when I woke her up this morning and told her it was finally the day she could go to Kindergarten school. Her smile lasted all morning!

Last Thursday I got a call from the charter school I have been hoping and praying for, that they just had a spot come available for Antalya if we wanted it. After meeting with the special ed director and finding out she would have a one-on-one aide in a mainstream classroom, I jumped on it. I think it will be an ideal set up for this year. The school is only two miles from our home. There are four other little kids with Down syndrome at the school, and two of those had her same teacher for Kindergarten the previous two years. 

I have a feeling it will be a great year for my little girl!

And today was my first day back at school. I graduated with a bachelors eight years ago, and have been wanting to go back to school ever since but couldn't decide what I wanted to do. These last few years had me thinking more and more seriously about becoming a speech therapist. I finally feel like the time is right for me to take some classes part time. 

After some research I realized that in order to apply to the Master's program I have to have a undergrad in communicative disorders. So, today, I began work on my 2nd Bachelor's degree. It will take a couple years of part time classes before I can apply to the Master's program, but that's alright. 

And Victoria starts preschool next week. I decided that if I was going back to school, I needed a few quiet hours a week to get my studying done, so I found a neighborhood preschool three days a week for Victoria to go to. She is so excited!

So, here's hoping it's a great school year for all us girls in the house!

Horses and Haircuts

Antalya has just completed her summer riding lessons. It's been a great experience for her, and I'm hoping we are able to do another session sometime in the near future.

Although there are many places near us that offer riding lessons, we opted to drive the extra distance to the National Ability Center since we had such an amazing experience with them last winter with Antalya's ski lessons (and did I mention they have scholarships available to help cover some or all of the cost?).

At each lesson, before she could mount her horse, she had to brush her, clean out her hooves, help get the reins and saddle, and lead the horse around the arena. I love that they teach about the whole experience, and make the kids participate in caring for the horse.

Once her horse was all ready Antalya would go for a short trail ride with her horse. She had to tell it when it to go, "walk on", and when to stop, "whoa", and listen for prompts to turn left or right.

On a completely different note, Victoria decided to give herself and Antalya haircuts on Sunday while I was busy doing the dishes. When she was finished she came to show me. She was so proud of herself that it helped distill most of my anger. Luckily she just cut a few inches from Antalya's hair, who is now sporting a cute little bob cut (pictures coming soon). But on her own hair, she had cut it clear to the scalp in several locations, and completely butchered everything on top from ear to ear. It was a true mullet! She is now sporting a modern chic look. I still think she is completely adorable, and in some ways, the short hair shows off her dark eyes more.

Splash!

The count down to school has begun.

Two weeks!

Just two more weeks until this house can get cleaned and organized again.

Just two weeks until we have a daily routine back.

 We've enjoyed the lazy mornings and late nights.

We enjoyed all the popsicles, splashing, campfires, and picnics.

 But I am feeling oh-so-ready for Fall!

Ready for structure.

Ready for busy mornings and early bedtimes.

Ready for whatever will come our way this next school year!

But for two more weeks we will soak up whatever summer is left!

Three

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Little Sunshine!

Just Go With It

Today we took an unexpected road trip from home and back again. 

Jason was supposed to catch a Greyhound bus to Las Vegas this morning, but due to some miscommunications we got him to the bus station just as the bus was pulling out. We were left with no choice but to drive him the extra 2 1/2 hours to the next stopping place along the route so he could hop on the bus there. And then the girls and I would have to drive the 3 hours back home again. Since we were already an 1/2 hour from our home, there was no time to turn back and get whatever distractions we would normally bring along for a day in the car.

Luckily the girls and I left the house this morning all wearing shoes (this doesn't always happen), and I had grabbed my purse and phone out of habit. But that was about all we had. No books, no coloring pads, no DVD's, no snacks, and with no radio signal across central Utah the only music option available was an old (and somewhat scratched) CD of Shakira.

But we did it. And we even smiled along the way!

It was nice to have a few extra hours with Jason before we had to part, and we got to stop in for a visit at Auntie Gayle's house. Uncle Steve and her live the home that my great-grandfather built with his own hands 60 years ago, in a town so small there isn't even a traffic light. If you ask me, it's like visiting a little piece of paradise. And the girls love visiting because they have what Antalya has named the "princess house" playground, and a little jeep the girls can drive by themselves. And in their eyes, the thirty minutes to play at Auntie Gayle's house was well worth the 3 hours in the car to get there.

(The old one room log cabin in the background is the home that my grandfather was raised in, the newer cinderblock home in the far right corner is the one my great-grandfather built for his family with the life insurance money he received when his son was killed in the Korean war).

And tonight my heart is full of gratitude that what could've been a long and frustrating day turned out to be a very pleasant one. I am grateful for two little girls that have learned to just go with the flow. They constantly remind me to live in the moment, and enjoy the moment you are living. They are my heroes!

The Beach

One of the highlights of our trip to California was the day we spent at the beach. It was the first time the girls have seen the ocean in a warm setting. Which, according to Jason is the only true way to experience the beach. 

The girls were in heaven!

The feel of the sand on our feet, the warm sun, the ocean breeze, and the waves crashing were enough for all of us to feel we had spent the morning in Paradise!