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Quailday: Princess Pigtails Rides Again!
Quailday: Holiday Hi-lights!
Fave-O-Lit Friday
The Buddha took his disciples to a quiet pond for instruction. As was their practice, the Buddha’s followers sat in a small circle around him, awaiting his teaching.
The Buddha ascended the dais and, as doing so, reached into the muck and pulled up a lotus flower. He held it silently before them. He spoke no words.
The disciples were greatly confused. The Buddha quietly displayed the lotus before them. In turn, the disciples did their best to expound upon the meaning of the flower: what it symbolized, and how it fit into the body of the Buddha’s teaching.
However, Mahakasyapa saw and only smiled. The Buddha handed the lotus to Mahakasyapa and spoke to the assembly:
“What can be said I have said to you,” smiled the Buddha, “and what cannot be said, I have given to Mahakashyapa.”
Mahakashyapa became the Buddha’s successor from that day forward.
+ I don’t usually talk on Friday posts- I like to share other’s words that have touched me in some way. A fellow mom to a magical little guy with that extra chromosome shared this as her expression of the joy she feels with her dear son on his second birthday. I wasn’t familiar with it before reading her words. Her birthstory and love and seeing of her boy brought me back to the peace I enjoy. You can read her words here. I’ll be the broken record and say that it still amazes me what this little bit extra that we didn’t know we were getting brings to my heart and soul. How very blessed we are.
Quailday
What? Not the Easter Bunny pictures you came here looking for? Not into Hello Kitty Bunny Electric Toothbrushes and Princess Electric Toothbrushes? Well you should be. They rock. The kids actually like brushing their teeth now. For minutes on end! Best $5 spent ever. We’ve just returned from a trip to the West Coast for a conference for Lovey and a lovely little holiday weekend with our friends and family. So I promise as we get settled back in here there will be glorious beach and Easter pictures galore. In the meantime, the first photo of the trip will have to wet your appetite…
Quailday
Quailday: Potty Prowess
Our bird’s taken to this rather quickly. I was going to wait to potty train until August when she moves into Miss Christil’s class at school. She does an intensive potty training and it’s one of the biggest perks of our girls going to that school! Plus the Quail isn’t steady on her feet fulltime yet- so it seemed like she wouldn’t be developmentally ready. And her lil legs didn’t touch the ground on that first potty we were using from Zuzu’s training days. Lovey wanted to get the potty out and try though. I figured it couldn’t hurt. What she had going for her was the fact that most nights she stays dry and has for sometime. If you go to her when she hollars you find a dry dipe on the girl. That and it was not uncommon at tubby time in the evening for us to “get got” in the time between when we took off her diaper and got her physically in the tubby. Well we got it out and put her on it pre-tubby. She went potty (I’m still thinking that first few times were sheer luck on our part of when we happened to put her on the potty). We signed potty, her sister wrote her out a potty chart (and made a matching one for herself) and we pulled out a cupboard of stickers and let her choose which one each time she pee-peed. Well the second time we set her on the potty, she did her business, then pointed to it and declared rather nonchalantly, “Right there.” She chose her sticker and we were on our way. The next few times as soon as she peed she declared, “Ticker!” and pointed to where the stickers were. Then that weekend lo-and-behold- out came Mr. Poo-poo. In the meantime the girl couldn’t get more attention from her big sister if she tried. Zuzu was in her glory explaining the process of, pee in little potty, put your diaper in the trash, dump pee-pee in big potty, shut the lid, flush, lift the lid to wave bye-bye to your pee-pee and choose a sticker to then put on your chart. We’re only doing it morning and night right now- so we’re keeping it low pressure. I remember Zuzu loving it initially and then once the shine wore off hating it with all her might. We’re prepared for that possibility- but for now we’re just too stinkin darn proud of our Potty Princess’ Prowess! Pun intended. Go Birdy go!
Quailday: Coming soon…..
I am dreadfully behind on my crowing over this dear girl.
Since the last update on what she’s up to so much has happened and every single time I go to write about it something comes up and I make a note, look at the length and sheer volume of things I need to document, get overwhelmed and decide to come back to it later. I’m talking 2 months worth of grand hoopla!
So this is a little promise to be back soon with more detailed descriptions and high-lights from the Quail’s days that include grand things like:
*her ability to heft an 8 pound bowling ball down the lane
*her baby steps become more steady and independant
*her added vocabulary both in sign and song
*her cruising mania
*her terrible teething troubles that have 16 confirmed and in place
*her super baby oral-motor strength and coordination that allowed her to eat her first piece of pizza and chicken nugget like the rest of the rock-stars in her class
* her first pee-pee in the potty on 3/21/11, and the subsequent pee-pee and poo-poo adventures which include an already full sticker chart, the additions to her vocabulary of potty and sticker, attempts to undress herself, her clear indications of where the pee-pee is (Right there!) and waves to the extrements as they swirl away…
*her playground bullying…don’t be alarmed…she’s the uberbaby in these stories, not the underdog. Ain’t nobody puttin this baby in a corner!
*her rock-star scoring on her most recent HELP assessment which blew itself off of its’ developmental curve with huge leaps to another curve in cognition and social/emotional. Who would have ever guessed that my baby who has Down syndrome would have the same cognitive functioning as other babies who don’t who are only a couple of months younger and have the social-emotional equivalent of a 23-31 month old. Stereotypes be-damned.
Much,much more to come and pictures galore…but for now this glimpse will have to do….
Mommaday: Pretty, pretty weekend
Mommaday: Dear new Momma…
The Quail
Dear New Momma,
When I heard of your worry over the diagnosis your upcoming baby has received; that they may have Down syndrome and that you are scared, I had a lot of things to say about the history of people with disabilities and the injustices they have endured throughout time. This morning when I woke up thinking about you again and your worries, I realized this was not the time to try to educate you on the world of disability. I say this as a person who has known and loved people with disabilities my entire life, family members, people in school, people in my jobs and fortunately now my sweet girl. The time will come when you are seeking that history on behalf of the child you know and love in order to be a strong advocate for him. But for now- now is not the time for you to gear up for that. You will know when that time comes. You have already advocated for your baby in the best way you can- by choosing to have him. It is a brave choice. You are having a sweet baby- a baby you will be a better person for having and knowing. Stand with us and let us guide you. Get to know us and the real stories of the real children who have Down syndrome that we raise every day of our lives- do not let others you don’t know fill your head with stereotypes that are born out of their sorrow, their guilt or their ignorance. Those of us in this forum, we have made the choice that you are making. Whether we had a pre-natal diagnosis or not- we’ve chosen to mother our children. No one can tell you what your child will be capable of- but I promise you- your child will know you, will love you, will want to please you, will achieve milestones. He will bring you great joy and you will be continually amazed by the tiniest and grandest things he does. You will get more out of your child by ten-fold then what you put in to him. Maybe a year from now, you will want to know the history, the culture, the great people and forces that have brought the world of disability into a strong place in our world- a place where we have the right to expect equal rights for every human being- regardless of ability. We will be here to help you with that when the time comes. The people who will stand with you and your child- they are strong and good and kind and intelligent and ready when you need them.
For now, you have a sweet baby in you who already loves you enough to make his way here. Turn your back on those naysayers. They are going to do nothing but needlessly upset you- and I promise you their information is not born out of fact and reality- it is born out of fear and a need to justify choices they made—it has nothing to do with you and your baby. They do not know what your child will be capable of. Any child presents struggles, challenges and more blessings then you deserve.
ANY. CHILD.
EVERY CHILD deserves someone who believes in them, and for your baby- that’s you Momma. It’s your calling- embrace it. Soon you’ll embrace him. The Down syndrome will not be his biggest struggle, other people’s ignorance will be.
Love,
another momma
PS: This letter was written for a very specific someone who was struggling with other’s scare-tactics around her decision to continue her pregnancy after having received a diagnosis that her baby has Down syndrome. If you find yourself in that same situation- know that this letter is for you as well. You can also go here and here for more support, love and information. We’re here for you too.
Today is World Down syndrome Awareness Day. 3/21; as in 3 copies of that 21st Chromosome. Today is a day we celebrate our beloveds and shout about it from rooftops. If you or someone you love has Down syndrome- well; you are just blessed. Blessed like our sweet family.
Ordinary Afters... 