Semester Break

We're at the middle of the year. Things went great for a while, but life handed us some lemons. Keeping up with everything is a little tough, but I'd really like to stick it through until the end of the year at least. It is my hearts desire (at least I think it is) to continue the K12 program next year as well, but I need to become more organized and efficient before I can make that decision. Also, I have to consider Bubs, where he is in life, and what is best for him. He is a social creature.

I don't like thinking about all the things he would be introduced to in a public school environment. How do I teach him what's right and wrong if I can't be there and know what is all being put into his head and by whom?

If I enroll him in a public school I will still teach him things at home, and have him involved in a couple of extra curricular groups. I want to gently lead him in the right direction.

Ohhh Boys!!

Linking up with Greg's General Store today for Thankful Thursday!

I am thankful for my oh-so-amazing children,

the fact that all of our needs and many of our wants are met,

a warm place to call home in this cold season,

a flexible job that allows me to be available as a parent,

friends who are like family,

family who are like friends,

social networking, which makes it easier to keep in touch with those I love who are far away,

and so much more!

 Austin @10 months/Kheaven @14 months

Things are going well in our home this autumn.  

Austin's got some standardized testing coming up.  Last time he did great in everything but phonemic awareness.  His education specialist is going to start working with him once a week to make sure he doesn't get behind in that area.

Kheaven continues to be very vocal.  The other day he said robot, over and over again.  He's always amazing!  There are some issues with his infant child development team right now and we are praying for all of them.  It's a mix between them or their family members being VERY sick...  and it's heartbreaking because they all have the sweetest hearts.  Until we can see them again we are working on communicating using words and signing and also working on standing, cruising and guided walking.  :)

Nayeli is my quiet learner.  She observes everything around her and then one day she shows me she knows it.  She has started drawing more recently and is very good at circles and faces.  It's beautiful and she gets so excited when she makes a picture.  She's been getting into some things lately and continues to color in books and rip pages, but we're working on it!

I have been working more over the past month and it's great.  I work at night while the kids are sleeping and get home on time to get a little sleep before they wake up.  J is still helping watch them when I work, and when he's not available my close friend/Kheaven's God-mother watches them.

Austin's birthday/Thanksgiving was wonderful!  We enjoyed the company of each other and made new friends as well.  We visited with one of my co-worker's family for the holiday and they were very kind and welcoming.  There were plenty of kids there for them to play and interact with and they loved it!

Thank you to all of our family and friends who sent a gift!

♥

AND, this was us on Thanksgiving/Austin's 6th birthday!

:)

♥My heart is full.♥
What are you thankful for this Thursday?!

Ahh! I love stages of development!

Kheaven has been super spongy the past week or so.  Actually, it's been the past three weeks, because it seems like I noticed it the day after Halloween.  :-D

Tonight for instance, he has
said/sang Amen after prayer with the kids,
sang la, la, la,
sounded like he tried to say birthday, came out "berrrrduh"
said, "yeah" when I was reading the book, "I Can, Can You?"
let go of me to stand on his own, but then grabbed back on quickly...
moved between pieces of furniture while cruising,
made "gassy" noises using his tongue while crawling into the bathroom,
picked up a fake flower, held it over his head and said "umbrella" - When I said, "No, that's a flower," he held it to his nose and sniffed it!  :)

There were a few other things he did that were just...  amazing...  :)
All my littles are amazing.
Sometimes I think I'm just going to burst with love and appreciation of them!

Austi is six today...  I keep thinking about how absolutely adorable Nayeli is going to look in the dress my Grammy made for her.  I'll post pix of that.  :)

Happy Thanksgiving on time!

Speak for Someone Who Can't

Tonight a newborn baby boy with Down syndrome is fighting for his life in Arkansas Children's Hospital. He was born a twin and the adoptive parents chose only to take the baby without Ds. The adoption agency put a DNR (do not resuscitate) order on this baby.There are families who want to adopt this baby but we must get Governor Beebe to lift the DNR order so this baby lives long enough to unite with his forever family.


E-mail the governor.
http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact/index.php


Please feel free to use any part of my e-mail as your own.


My e-mail:
Dear Governor Beebe,
It has been brought to my attention that there is a child in an Arkansas hospital that was born with Down syndrome.  He was a twin and his adoptive parents decided to take his healthy sibling and leave him.  The adoption agency put a DNR order on him and it can only be lifted by you.


I am the parent of an amazing 14 month old who has Down syndrome.  He is healthy and vibrant and I know he will be a productive member of society someday.  Please give this precious life a chance.  He may hold answers to the cure for Alzeimers, heart disease, or something else.  If nothing else he will make a difference in the life of a family who very much wants to adopt him.


Just because the family he was originally meant to be with didn't want him doesn't mean there aren't others out there.  There are.  As a member of several Down syndrome communities I have seen an outreach in the past 24 hours.  Please, Governor, please lift the DNR order.


Sincerely,
Amy Green
Proud parent of a child with Down syndrome.

Autumn, Finally

Life hasn't been easy for the past month or so.  God is giving me strength, I believe, because if he wasn't I wouldn't be able to type this now.  Jeremy and I are no longer together.  I see no point in trying to hide it, or not writing about it.  I'm public about a lot of my life, I always have been.  Sometimes people find strength in the observations of another's struggle.  Maybe some good can come of this?

The kids are doing well!  Halloween was fine, we all still went out trick-or-treating as a family, and that was nice since he's been living with a friend lately.  From what I can tell the kids take their emotional cues from me.  If I'm okay, they're okay...  It's good to see them okay, because then I think I must be holding it together nicely.  ;-)  

^LOOK!^ Cheese-heads in Kansas.  There IS a reason I love it here!

Kheaven was in the hospital at the beginning of the month with croup.  We spent three days there, with him getting breathing treatments and shots of steroids.  A couple of days after he was released both of the other kids and myself got sick.  We are all on the tail end of it now though, and I am SO glad!  Sick babies while you're a sick mama is NO fun!

I am very blessed to have the support system I have.  My co-workers, especially, have been extraordinary.  They are my pseudo-family.  :)  I am also very blessed to have a non-coworker "family member," Kheaven's God-mother.  She has been very helpful and supportive.  I shouldn't forget to mention Kheaven's Infant Child Development team.  They are and always have been amazing people!  I know that I will endure and eventually life will seem normal to me again.  


I will continue to update when I can.  If I don't have the chance to update beforehand.  

♥Happy Thanksgiving to all!♥

A Letter for Nayeli Belly Boo

Dear Booboo,
You are a beautiful, amazing princess!  I love watching you develop your sweet, silly personality.  I think it's great that you can play rough with your big brother, and soft and gentle with your little brother.  You are incredibly smart!  I can't believe you can count to 20 and say the seven continents and your just over two and a half!!


I love your high pitched voice and how you sing and dance all the time.  I love the faces you make all the time.


I love our time together now, but I also look forward to the future.  I hope I can always let you know how sweet and smart and special you are to me.  I know we'll have our conflicts, but I hope that we can always come to an understanding.


Your so little and already such an incredible little person, I can only imagine that you'll get better with time.

I love YOU Nayeli!♥

I Don't Know When

My dream of adoption feels like it's going to be put on hold for possibly longer than I thought. It's still my dream though. I don't know when I'll write again, but this post is just to say that I'll be back. :)

Six in a Month?!

Austin is going to be six on ONE MONTH!
My first baby is getting SO big.  I can hardly believe it!
He is such an experienced little person.
He has lived in California, Wisconsin and Kansas.
He rolled over when he was two weeks old.
He sat on his very own, from a crawl at six months old.
He didn't walk until he was 13 months old, but when he was a year and a half he ran face first into a bookshelf.
He needed stitches for that.
When he was little he wouldn't go anywhere without a ball.
Now he can sit and draw for hours and hours.
He loves studying Spanish.
He's fascinated by plants and bugs.
He's a good singer, and is usually singing or humming something.
He is an exceptional big brother and super loving and helpful most of the time.  :)
He is friendly and caring.
He takes pride in the fact that he has friends ALL over the country!
He is thoughtful and empathetic.
He is an animal lover.
He's a picky eater.
He LOVES candy and sweet things.(He gets that from his dad.  I try to keep him in check though.)
He says he doesn't like school, but he does very well in it.
I love looking back at where he's been, and I look forward to where he'll be.

♥I'm so glad to be raising such an incredible little boy.♥

Happy last month of being five Buggy!!!

A Letter to Kheaven (@13 Months)

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Dear Kheaven,
You're AMAZING!  Your smile and your laugh light up the world...  not just my world, but THE world.  You are strong and fast and sooo curious!  I love how you mimic the things I say and the faces I make.  I love the silly noises you find on your own.  I love that you are so ticklish that when I pick you up you laugh.  I love that having you in my life has made me grateful for more than I used to be.


Kheaven, I believe that you are capable of whatever you put your mind to!  You have been surprising me since the day you were born and I know that you will continue to surprise me.  I hope that I will always give you room to grow and learn.  I hope that I won't expect more than you can give, pressure you in any unhealthy ways, or make you feel like you're not right where you should be.  I hope that we are able to communicate our wants and needs with each other calmly and that I will truly hear the things you want/need.


I thank God every day for you.  You are one of my most treasured blessings.♥

Once Upon A Time...

There was a beautiful princess...

Such a beautiful princess was she!

♥

Another busy day ahead, but there's always time for pictures...  right?

:)

My Lovey Loves

I've been so busy playin' with these beautiful little people that I hardly can find the time to blog.

In the spirit of keeping up with the 31 for 21 challenge I leave you with more pictures.

 We know autumn will be here soon...  til then, short sleeves work.

The Camera Loves Him!

My baba will be six on Thanksgiving!!

 

 

 

 He's still a hammy man!

♥

 

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Something you may not know, in other parts of the world children with Ds are put in institutions if they are not adopted by the age of five.  There are people trying to adopt these precious children, and if you find it in your heart, you can help.

http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorsader.html
http://thenewfaceofdowns.org/adoption/

Both links will bring you to a page where you can make a donation.  No amount is too small.  These children deserve a chance.♥

Sword fight!

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If you have another/other kids and are expecting or have already had a child with Ds...  Don't worry, they'll be accepted and loved just the same!

♥Love it!♥

Friday Photo Flashback: 1995

I haven't done a photo flashback in about a year I think?

Three kiddos keeps me busy.

***

This is my little brother, Isaiah!  

He's 16 now, but wasn't he so cute?! 

(Haha, he still is pretty cute. :-P)

It'd help me with comparisons if Kheaven had teeth yet!

They're not twins, but definitely related!

(You can tell more in other pix and in person.  If I had more time I'd find them, but this will have to do!)