Whirlwind

Over the past couple of weeks Lennox has made some great gains. It seems like we can go for a long stretch of nothing and then it's like a whirlwind of adventure happens!

The many faces of Lennox :)

The order of sequence of this excitement all started with him cutting his first tooth on the day of our walk for Ups and Downs. I admit I am pretty amazed that he is teething so early, as the literature led me to believe it happens late and teeth appear in random order. I guess it goes to show again that EVERY child is unique and the literature is more of a guideline than anything. So now he has one little white pearl poking through the top of his gum. It's so cute...I call it his snaggletooth:) 

Can you see it?

I feel something...what is that? 

He not only chews his fingers but chomps on anything!

Another exciting milestone is now Mr. Monkey can sit for short periods unassisted at 7 1/2 months!! These periods are getting longer and longer and his balance is improving daily. We are pretty amazed, excited and proud. Again, the information or "guidelines" state a child with Down syndrome can learn to sit unassisted between 6-18 months. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I'm pretty impressed with how hard he tries and how successful he's become!

It's a tough job being this cute!

I have been signing with him for a month or so. I wasn't exactly sure how much he was learning, but as with any new learned skill, it only comes with repetition and practice. He watches me like a hawk and smiles when I take his hands and have him sign back. We have worked on mommy, daddy, milk, eat, more and all done. It seems to have paid off! He signed his very first word a few days ago. It took me awhile to figure out if it was actually a sign, but now it's apparent! And his very first word was...mommy!! Yay, me!

We are still working on improving his sounds. Right now he still just makes the Aaaa sound. And yells alot! He also does that crazy coughing sound kids make, as if to say "excuse me!" He's vocal, and I love it. The sounds will come together eventually. I have decided that I will teach as much as I can and let him develop the way he is meant to. I'm not going to stress about what he's not doing but celebrate the things that he is. And I have to remember that I can't compare my beginning to someone else's middle. I know it will all come together in the end.

And believe it or not and as crazy as it sounds, Lennox will be attending the Early Learning Program at PREP this September. It's an early intervention preschool program that teaches daily skills through repetition and routine. It is a parented class once a week for 2 hours. I figured, it can't hurt. Gaining more knowledge and having a little more socialization for both of us is always a good thing! And since I am back to work in the Fall (drat) we won't get as many opportunities to meet up with his little buddies and their mommies!

Best buddies!

Things have been going well with our page. It's hard sometimes not to get caught up in Social Media., and become "over involved". I am all about bringing awareness and acceptance. It is very important to me now more than ever. I have always been a very accepting person. Now that I am paying closer attention, unfortunately I am learning that not all people are as open minded. Especially when it comes to being or looking a little "different". I feel it is my mission to open hearts and minds to the possibilities and change any negative views of disabilities. And to help Lennox grow up believing in himself as much (or more) than we do!

We aren't planning on raising Lennox any differently than our other children. The same rules and respect will apply. It may require a different approach, but we expect nothing short of great things for him! I want him to be included in play groups and on sports teams. I want him to be accepted for his individuality and uniqueness. I want people to be aware that our differences are what makes us who we are. I don't want to change the way he may see the world. It's my job to change the way the world sees him. And seriously, what's not to love?!

<3 <3 <3

I am so very proud. Proud of him. Proud to be his mom. I want to show him off! Is that wrong? After posting this on Miracles of 21, a wonderful follower suggested I enter this picture in a contest...hmmmm. 

The adventure in life, is to learn!

So I thought about and decided why not? It is a super cute photo. I googled "photo contests for kids" and thecutekid.com came up. I uploaded 3 pics and hit submit. But before it would process, I needed to pick a contest. Either the Cutest Kid where the prize is $25,000 or the People's Choice which is a photo selected by online viewers for each month with a prize of $250 to somewhere. I selected the first one. To be completely honest...I don't even care about winning any prize. Seriously. How awesome would it be if a child (and I mean ANY child, not just mine) with Down syndrome won and were featured in marketing?! So, I hit SUBMIT. But, again, before accepting the entry, I was asked for payment of $20/photo. I never read what it was for. I decided right then it wasn't a contest for us. Then surprisingly, somehow with all the clicks and what have you, one of the pics I uploaded had been selected for the People's Choice for the month of June. I'm not even entirely sure how it happened because my techy skills are somewhat sub-standard. It was deliberately by mistake if that makes sense! It wasn't the above picture that was selected but whatever. The one they chose is super cute too. But we had only 6 days left in June to generate votes. So thank you Facebook friends for helping us out <3. I know I don't need to win a contest to validate what a cutie my little man is. I know. Everyone who has had the opportunity to meet him, knows. Our trusted followers on Miracles of 21, know. 

My big and little <3

The purpose behind it runs much deeper than getting the title of the Cute Kid of the month. It's about bringing awareness, promoting inclusion and encouraging acceptance for ALL children, not just my own. Then, as I am posting for the link to vote for the 5th time on Facebook, I start overthinking things. What am I doing? Am I for real? Is this going to prove or change anything? I'm posting cute kid contests while others are posting updates on their strong, beautiful children that are fighting for their lives in a hospital room that has become their home away from home. And I'm concerned about getting enough votes to win a contest? Seems kind of silly and I feel ashamed for being so narrow-minded. So my question is this...am I pushing too hard for change? Am I making it a bigger deal than it needs to be? Am I caught up in my own whirlwind? Sometimes I wonder... 

Street Meet 2014

Here it is...ALL the photos from our Street Meet in iMovie format! Complete with a theme song! Our amazing team raised over $1600.00!! The total funds raised for Ups and Downs was nearly $40,000!

Another huge THANK YOU to all who supported us by donating, walking or sending us some LOVIN'. <3 

https://vimeo.com/98776977

Happy bloggin-versary:)

It has been a year since I started blogging about our journey with loving Lennox. We have come so far in this short amount of time. 365 days to be exact.

Looking back, it's hard to believe I ever had doubts. All my fears, my anxiety, and my grief are distant memories. My advice to anyone with a recent prenatal diagnosis is this...educate and celebrate. Your grief will pass and will be replaced by excitement, followed by joy. Your heart feels sadness at the moment, but soon will feel a love like no other.

The stats still surprise me. 1/10, they say survive a prenatal diagnosis. I'm not entirely sure where those statistics come from... I have met ALOT of moms that knew BEFORE their child was born that he/she would have Down syndrome. And it seems like a lot more than the stated 1/10. It warms my heart knowing that in our Ds community, the numbers are so much higher than the statistical 1/10. My hope is to bring so much awareness that those numbers will go even higher. I am so thankful we chose life. I can not imagine missing out on all there is to my sweet Lennox. He truly is our gift and is cherished beyond words.

So, it was just a short year ago that we set out on our journey with loving and learning all there is about raising a child with Down syndrome. So far, so good. I like this road!

We are gearing up for our second Ups and Downs walk this Saturday. Rain or shine, it will be a blast. We are all very excited, and especially since Lennox will be a part of it this year. There will be roughly 27 friends and family members walking for Team Lennox. I am so happy:) I will be posting pictures of course, so stay tuned. We managed to reach our fundraising goal of $1500.00. Yay for everyone that helped out and donated. Ups and Downs is an organization that we will be a part of for as long as we live in Calgary. So thank you, thank you! Your hard earned dollars will be put towards helping us help Lennox reach his full potential in life:) and for us to gain more insight as to what our life may hold as our journey progresses.

And thanks to all for following. I hope that in sharing our story manages to help shed some SUNSHINE where there may be darkness... 

Team Lennox! Booyah:)

On a side note, my beautiful and amazing daughter graduated grade 12:) and my smart and handsome big boy finished up at SAIT in Chemical Engineering and now  is officially a tax payer! So proud of both of my babies:) Here's a pic of Braedyn on grad night. No pics of Ky (yet)!

Life is good! xo