Pool Day

I finally did it.  I took all three kids to the neighborhood pool, by myself today.  I was nervous about going by myself because not one of my three children can swim.  Payton and Braydon are in swim lessons, but they cannot swim yet.  I do think swimming is starting to click with Payton.  I predict, she'll be swimming by the end of the summer.  

Bryce was so sweet.  I set him up in the stroller next to the pool.  He happily watched me trying to teach Payton and Braydon how to swim for about 20 minutes.  Then after we all ate lunch, we went to the baby pool so Bryce could play.  He had a blast!  He just crawled all over the place.  The best part of the pool for babies is that there is a zero degree entry.  Bryce crawled over to the fountains and played with Braydon's football.  He thought it was great.  He played for an hour solid in the pool without making a sound of complaint.  His little knees were red for the rest of the day after all that crawling around.  

On the way to the pool I told the kids my new mantra:

"No fighting, no crying.  No fussing, no whining."  They agreed to my conditions.  The best part is they actually followed through and behaved.  With them, if I set the expectations up ahead of time, things usually go much more smoothly.  The trick is to remember to set up the proper expectations in advance.  

I feel like summer has finally started.  It has been cool and rainy most of June.  I'm ready for the sun, the pool, backyard  barbecues, and leisurely days.

The Birthdays of 2009

I wish I were doing a better job of keeping up this blog.  Four birthdays have passed in my family in the past 6 weeks and I haven't posted a thing about them.  Baby Bryce turned one on April 24.  He's still my little baby though.  That is one of the good things about Down syndrome.  He's such a snuggle bug baby.  I still get to hold and cuddle and love him like he's much younger than he actually is.  I like that part.  

Braydon turned 3 on April 27.  He was sick for his birthday.  He didn't have as much fun at his birthday party as he would have.  The fire department came and everything.  He didn't seem too impressed.  I thought it was a fun birthday party.

I turned 34 on May 10.  Pretty uneventful.  I think we went to Red Robin for dinner.

Payton turned 5 on June 2.  Her birthday party is this weekend.  We did celebrate with my parents last weekend.  David was out of town on her actual birthday.  We couldn't leave Red Robin out of the equation for Payton's big day.  So, I took all three kids by myself to visit the big red bird.  It went well.  The strange thing is, I think I'm actually starting to like that restaurant.  The salads aren't bad.  I recommend the strawberry margaritas too.  Although they aren't cheap.  We must be one of Red Robin's best customers.

Bryce is CRAWLING!!!

Today is Tuesday, May 12, 2009.  Bryce is 12 months 18 days old and he officially crawled today for the very first time.  He has been up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth for months now.  He has been reaching with one hand or moving one knee forward, but for the last month, he couldn't quite put it together.  But, today he did.  We had physical therapy this morning.  Then this afternoon after a long nap and some milk, he was in a great mood.  He just acted like he wanted to do it.  So, after lots of encouragement, HE DID IT.  David was home, so I yelled down to him so he could see Bryce crawl too.  We got it on video and Bryce crawled about 4 feet 10 different times.  I was so excited.  I'm still so excited.  

For typical children the range for crawling is 6-12 months.  For Down syndrome, the range for crawling is 8-22 months.  I'm thrilled that Bryce even falls within the range of crawling for typical kids.  He's on the early side for Down syndrome.  What a great day!!

Cutest Baby Award

And the cutest baby on earth award goes to Bryce!  Today after church I had to go to Costco to get things for the birthday party next weekend.  Bryce was so tired.  He had already missed his morning nap because we were at church.  It was time for his afternoon nap.  I knew if I didn't make it to Costco today it would be very hard to find another time.  So, we had to do it.  Now if this had been Payton and maybe Braydon there would have been no way.  Crying, screaming or worse would have ensued if I had tried this manoeuvre with them.  Costco was packed.  We just finished with a three day snow storm of two feet of snow.  The people were out today.  Bryce fussed for about 5 minutes, then laid his head down on the cart and went to sleep.  As I was navigating the aisles with my giant rolls of paper towels and massive amounts of food, people left and right were going crazy over my sweet sleeping baby.  What an angel!

Bryce's First Haircut

I took Bryce to get his first haircut today.  As usual, he was the best behaved out of my three children.  Payton cried throughout her entire first haircut.  Braydon cried for most of his first haircut as well.  Bryce had a few moments of uncertainty, but for the most part he stayed strong.  Bryce's first birthday is next week, so I figured I should go ahead and get his haircut.  It was getting long around the ears and he did have a tail.  I waited as long as I could to get that haircut.  

Braydon's hair is so thick that he needed another haircut even though it had only been 2 weeks since his last one.  I had handed Braydon's haircut duty over to David because Braydon would  cry so much, during a cut.  But, David took him to Sports Clips and Braydon never got a good cut there.  Twice they cut his hair straight across the front.  He looked like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber.  No more of that.  

Of course if Bryce and Braydon were getting their hair cut, Payton had to too.  She finally lets me fix her hair now.  She gets excited to get her hair cut.  It's so funny, because she used to cry and cry during cuts too.  I'm glad we're past that.

I spent $60 on haircuts!  Crazy!

Spring

Spring is here!  Finally!  What a long winter it has been.  But, strangely not really.   In terms of snow and ice, we didn't really get that much around here this year.  But, we sure got hit with a constant barrage of colds, ear infections, sore throats, and stomach viruses.  Someone was sick in our house for two months solid this winter.  Currently both of my boys are taking antibiotics.  But, I see the light or the sun rather.  

Today, we spent the morning at the park behind our house.  It was so gorgeous out.  70 degrees, no wind, perfect.  What was even more perfect was that two of my neighbors were there with their kids too.  It was so great just sitting and chatting with them.  That's what is hard about winter.  Not being able to have the random meetings at the park with friends.  It's such an unexpected surprise.  

This afternoon, we colored Easter eggs.  A fun, but messy tradition that must be maintained year after year.  I love coloring Easter eggs.  This was the first year that Braydon was old enough to enjoy it with help.  Payton even did everything herself.  Poor Bryce had to be content to sit and watch.  

To round out our perfect Spring day, Payton had her first spring soccer game tonight.  I love going out to the field to watch the kids play sports.  It's such a great family time.  Although it was very windy by tonight and Bryce was not happy about the wind at all.  Other than that it was a great time.  

I think I've made it.  The winter is behind us.  Easter is in 4 days.  Hallelujah!!!!

Coincidences?

Before Bryce was born I didn't know anyone who had Down syndrome.  There was no one in my immediate circle of friends and family who had DS.  Although, throughout my life, I can remember crossing paths with many people who had DS.  Maybe this happens to everyone.  But, I can remember since I was very young coming into contact with lots of people who had DS. 

My first memory of noticing someone with Down syndrome was when I was in about the second grade.  I remember playing on the playground with a little girl who had DS.   We played in the sandbox together.  She went to my school, but back then there was no inclusive education, so I never had any classes with her.  

Much later in life, the year after I had graduated from college I was at a neighborhood swimming pool.  There was a woman there who worked at the grocery store where I shopped.  She was with her baby girl.  I hardly knew this woman and I asked about her baby.  I couldn't really see her because of the sun glare and they were under an umbrella.  She told me that her baby was 15 months old.  I commented on how tiny she was.  (I really wish now I hadn't said that.)  She told me the baby had DS.  I don't remember what I said after that.

6 years later, I was at yet another grocery store.  (this time in another state.)  As I was standing in line to check out, I noticed a mother with a little boy sitting in the front of the grocery cart.  This little boy had DS.  But, this mother looked very sad.  She might have only been sad because she was having a bad day and it had nothing to do with DS.  But I felt sorry for her.  

2 years later while Payton was taking a ballet class, there was a little girl in her class who had a sister with DS. While I waited for Payton's class, I would see this little girl running around the playing for the entire 45 minute class.

1 year after this while I was pregnant with Bryce I used to take Braydon to a tumbling class while Payton was at school.  There was a little boy in that class with us who had DS.  

Another strange thing was the church David and I joined.  There must be hundreds of churches to chose from in the Denver metro area.  David and I joined a church 4 years before Bryce was born where the head pastor, Harvey Martz, has a son who has DS.  Harvey's wife, Judy, was the President of the National Down Syndrome Congress.

  

Also, when I was in high school, one of my favorite TV shows was Life Goes On.  It was a drama about a family.  One of the children in the family was a young man who had DS.

Before I had Bryce, I read two novels that centered specifically around Down syndrome.  The books were Jewel by Bret Lott and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.  

Before Bryce was born, we did not know he had Down syndrome.  

Do these types of things happen to everyone?  Does everyone cross paths a lot with people who have DS?  Maybe they do.  Maybe this just shows the prevalence of DS in our society.  Or maybe somehow I was being prepared for Bryce.  Maybe all of these "coincidences" were there to provide comfort for me.  Maybe God was trying to prepare me somehow, since I was completely blind-sided by the diagnosis.  

I don't know.  I like to think of them as more than coincidences.   Over the past 9 months, I have thought about all of these events often. And I have found comfort.