Photos Too Cute Not to Share

We took our family on vacation to Disney World December 1-9. My oldest son and his wife work at Disney World through the college program. My son is a skipper on the Jungle Cruise and his wife works at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. If you'd like to read more about our trip or see other photos you can check out my blog http://www.rebeccatalleywrites.blogspot.com/.

My youngest son loved Disney World. Everything was so exciting. He couldn't ride on some of the rides, but he had fun on lots of other rides. It was great watching his reaction to everything and seeing Disney World through his eyes. I've included some of my favorite photos of him. I hope you enjoy them.

Gratitude for my Son

I am very thankful for my son. I am very thankful that he's been so healthy and that he's doing so well. I feel very blessed.

When he was born, he had to spend time in the NICU because he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He was actually air-lifted to another hospital because the doctors assumed he had a heart defect. About 50% of those born with Down syndrome have a heart defect. I remember being so scared and wondering if he'd even survive the flight.

Thankfully, he did, and he didn't have the heart defect. He didn't have anything wrong with his lungs. He didn't have any problems with his intestines. He was able to suck and he was able to breathe, suck, and swallow at the same time. I'd been told he wouldn't be able to nurse, but I was determined to nurse him. I ended up nursing him for almost two years--even through an extremely painful bout with thrush that had settled in my milk ducts.

We never learned why he needed the extra oxygen. They'd suspected newborn pneumonia, but he didn't have that. I believe it was because he was induced too early. I hadn't kept good track of dates so the doctor relied on the ultrasound to pinpoint his due date. He was 8lbs 6 oz when he was born, most of my babies were over 9 lbs and I even had one that was over 10 lbs, which is a good size. I think his size threw off the ultrasound dates. Plus, the induction with him took so much longer than any of my others, induced or natural, I'm pretty sure he just wasn't ready to be born.

Four years later, I'm just so thankful it all turned out so well. Yes, he has some delays, but that's okay. He's healthy, he's happy, and he's surrounded by a family that loves him. Today, I am so grateful he was born into my family. 

Memory Skills

Shortly after my son was born, I researched Down syndrome as much as I could. I bought and read books, read articles, met people connected to DS, asked questions, and posted on DS boards on online sites. I wanted to know all I could as fast as I could. Of course, I've since learned that all that book reading and studying was good, but it could never compensate for, nor replace, experience.


One of the things I read while researching was that people with DS have memory issues. I've been interested to see how my son does with memory skills. I was pleasantly surprised to see him be able to match picture cards to pictures in a book while at his speech therapy session last week. Wanting to help him with this new skill, I decided to purchase a game from Walmart called Memory.  I've been using it to help him with him memory and I've been very pleased to watch him correctly match cards from this game. I've done it a couple of different ways and with each match we go over the sign, the name, and the sound. He's been consistently trying to make more sounds and he's done it much more spontaneously. Not only is he having fun with the game, he's improving his memory. I'd expected, from my research, that he wouldn't have much memory retention, but I've learned from experience that at this point he actually has a great memory.


Update on speech therapy: last week, and this week, his therapist was quite surprised at his vocalization and willingness to try new sounds so I think we're making progress--yay!

Speech Therapy Progress

My son had his speech therapy session yesterday. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling well by the time we got to town so he didn't want to participate very much.

I visited with his therapist and asked her what she thought about his progress. She said she was happy with how he's doing and she's seen him improve in his verbal skills. She'd like to see him use even more words and consistently ask for things using either a sign or a word. The therapy sessions have been good for me in that I've become more insistent that he ask for things. As his mom, I almost always know what he wants--I can practically read his mind. In the past, I've let him point to things or take me by the hand to show me what he wants, but now I'm making him ask for it by either signing or by saying a word. So, the positive effect of his therapy is that it's making me more aware of how I interact with him when it comes to communication. Yes, it's easier to just hand him a drink of water, but that doesn't help him learn. Now, I make him give me the sign for a drink. Next, we'll move to the signs for both a drink and the water. Then, hopefully, we'll move to the words.


The therapist read him a book yesterday and he had to match the picture in the book to a picture on a card. At first, he wouldn't cooperate, but by the end of the book he was pointing to the matching cards, which is great progress for him.


I'm glad we've had him in speech therapy. I think it's been good for him and it's taught me a lot. He's learned to work with another adult and he's started to make connections between signs and words.


I've never been a very patient person. When I want something, I want it now. Of course, after having so many kids I've become more patient than I was as a teenager, but I still tend to get impatient. My son has been a great teacher. I have to be patient with him. I have to not stress that things take him longer. I have to be okay with the time it takes for him to learn things. I've had to let go of wanting him to do certain things at certain times and just be thankful for what he does, when he does it. After all, I'm in this for eternity, so a few extra months or years won't make much difference. Besides, learning how to be patient and grateful are things I might not learn any other way.

Occupational Therapy

I took my son in for his occupational therapy evaluation a couple of days ago. When he was an infant, the physical therapist said he didn't need OT so I never thought too much about it. His speech therapist suggested we have him evaluated for OT now that he's older.

I researched OT trying to figure out what it meant, how it helped, what skills it developed. I found that OT is dedicated to helping individuals learn to live in their environment. It helps people learn to feed themselves, dress themselves, use pencils, crayons, scissors, and be able to adapt to their surroundings.

My son has been feeding himself for a couple of years (except, of course, when he doesn't want to eat what I've fixed him). He can dress and undress himself. He loves to find his sister's shoes and wear them. And, his favorite is to wear nothing at all, so I'd say he's much better at undressing himself.

He also draws and colors. I prefer when he does it on paper, but he doesn't limit himself to that, he likes to draw on the walls, floors, doors, even the refrigerator. Sometimes, he even likes to color himself. He can draw lines, circles, squiggles. He likes to use different crayons to add color. In fact, if I give him a pad of paper and some crayons, it'll keep him busy for a long time.

Unfortunately, he can also use scissors as his sister found out when he snipped a rather large piece of hair off her head. Many years ago, after my oldest son cut his sister's hair off (she had to wear a ponytail for almost a year to hide the damage) I have insisted that scissors and preschoolers don't mix.

The OT tested him with things like stacking blocks (he stacks blocks all the time, but his favorite is to stack cans of vegetables at the top of our stairs and then send the cans careening down to the basement), drawing, using scissors, threading beads, picking up beads, and folding paper. He didn't know how to fold the paper, but the other tests he did well. In fact, the OT said he has very strong hands and has amazing skills. She attributed it to having so many older siblings.

The best news is that he didn't qualify for OT. Other than working on better scissor control and folding a paper, he's where he should be and is age-appropriate. I thought he would be, but I was glad to have a professional determine that as well. I'm all for having services he needs, but I want those services to really benefit him, not have services just because he has Down syndrome.

Now, if only we can get him talking more and using the toilet, I'll be a happy mama.

My Mexican Jumping Bean

Yesterday morning I got my son up and fed him a big breakfast. Sometimes, when he's hungry he grinds his teeth. Last week at his speech therapy session he started grinding his teeth and twisting his hair even though he'd had breakfast and a snack. I was puzzled that he was hungry so quickly, but assumed he was just very hungry that morning. I wanted to prevent it this week so we could focus on his session and not his hunger, so I gave him extra food and even brought more for the ride to town.

On our drive to town he was fine, but as soon as we walked into the therapy building, he started to grind his teeth and twist his hair. It dawned on me that he wasn't doing it because he was hungry, it was because he was stressed. I guess the strange environment and an unfamiair person in this setting makes him stressed. I'm hoping he'll get over it as we work more with the therapist. He seemed to warm up by the end of the session so that's a good sign.

The therapist was giving me some advice to help my son use more speech. She encouraged me to let him be a boy. She said I should let him run around, jump on things, and crawl around because that would encourage him to talk. I stared at her. laughing to myself, and wondering if she was for reals. This kid regularly chases, and usually tackles, his older sister, much to her dismay. He jumps on the trampoline, runs around the backyard, and plays on the swingset whenever he can get outside (usually after he's let one of the outside cats into the house to jump up on the stove and eat the hamburger I'm cooking--but that's another story). He jumps all the time--piles up pillows so he can jump into them, jumps on the couch (even though it's against the house rules), and jumps up and down the stairs. In fact, if he's holding hands with people while walking somewhere he "counts" and then on three, he jumps. If you aren't expecting it, he can almost take you down to the ground. He jumps so much he reminds of a Mexican Jumping Bean.

So, yes, I do let him be a boy. He's extremely active. I don't think lack of activity contributes at all to his speech delay. In fact, if activity were tied to his speech, he'd be speaking like a college professor. I know the therapist meant well, she wants his verbal skills to improve, as do I, but sometimes, I have to wonder about what therapists say. I think if she'd stopped to think for a second, she'd have realized that with nine siblings not only is he active, but my entire house is in constant commotion.

Gymnastics

I enrolled my son in a community gymnastics class to help him strengthen his muscles, learn to better follow directions, and to interact with other adults and  kids (I'm a super cool mom, but once in a while I think he gets tired of only playing with me :) ).

He did really well. He isn't the bravest soul so when it came time to walk across the balance beam (which is about 3 inches off the ground) he hung onto his teacher for dear life. He had a great time raising his arms up and down while following the class around the gym. He loved jumping. In fact, he now jumps more than he walks. He likes to count to three and then jump, especially when we're walking somewhere and are trying to hurry.

He wasn't too sure about the rope swing at first, but he seemed to be an expert by the end of the class, grasping onto the rope and then dropping a few feet into a big, cushiony mat.

I think his favorite activity was climbing through the tube. He kept wanting to go back and do that.

He did need some additional instruction and guidance to stay in line and not skip over the other kids so he could keep taking his turn over and over again. He isn't as good at responding to verbal instruction as he is to having someone show him what to do. But, once he gets it, he does pretty well.

Most of all, he's having fun. His little face lights up and he has a huge smile as he participates in this little gymnastics class and that's all I need to tell me he loves it.

Speech Therapy

We took my son in for a speech evaluation and will start speech therapy next week. Of course, when the therapist that evaluated him asked him to say some words he wouldn't. But, I know he isn't very verbal so I think this speech therapy will be a good thing. My kids tend to be late talkers so I was waiting to see if he'd pick it up on his own. Since he's only saying a few words and generally communicating in other ways, I wanted to get him started.

He does not have a problem communicating at all, he just isn't very verbal and I know he'll need to be verbal before he starts school, so now is a good time. I'm also hoping to learn techniques from the therapist that I can use at home to help him.

Does anyone have any advice on what helped your child with verbal skills?

I'm excited for him to be more verbal. I can't wait to hear him speak more.

Jennifer Aniston's Ignorant Display

A perfect example of a non-thinking, flippant reference to people with intellectual disabilities. Jennifer Aniston thought she was being funny, when in reality she was making use of a word that hurts and degrades those who have intellectual disabilities. I've never been a fan of Aniston's and I'm certainly not now. I'm sure she meant it to be some off-the-cuff remark for laughs, but the fact is it isn't funny. Not to my son. Not to me. Not to the thousands who struggle each day for some acceptance and some respect.

People with disabilities don't want or need a cure--they need compassion, kindness, and understanding. Don't try to change them, embrace who they are and what they can each offer to the world. Each of us is a child of God, no matter what challenges we may face.

And, for the record, people with intellectual disabilities don't "play dress-up."

Memory Skills

I've heard that kids with DS have problems with memory skills so I've been watching my son. Since he's still young, I don't know yet about long-term memory, but he seems to be able to remember things like how to turn on the computer after I've turned it off, how to access his favorite websites (like Starfall), and how to lock me out of the house (while he smiles at me).

Today I watched him match words on Starfall. I've seen him match items like apples or dogs or flowers, but I've never seen him match words. I thought maybe he was just lucky the first time I saw him do it, but he repeated it by matching four more words. When he finished, he looked at me with a smile and then pointed to the screen. He realized he'd done what he was supposed to do for that particular game.

I'll continue to watch him for memory skills.

As far as potty-training, he has had many dry diapers in the morning and he's had long periods of a dry diaper during the day. He also points to his diaper when it's wet and says, "Eeeww." I nod my head and say, "Eeeww." Then I sing, "Potty in the diaper, no, no, Potty in the toilet, yes, yes." I think he's getting ready, but I don't want to push him and stress him out and then make it take longer. So we'll keep working on potty-training.

And, he's the only one home with me now that school has started. Very weird. I haven't only had one child home in over twenty years. I'm looking forward to one-on-one time with him and helping him grow and learn.  

Reading and Potty Training

Yep, we're still working on potty training, probably will be for quite some time. While my son sits on the toilet I read him books. He's doing more and more signs for pictures in the books. I was reading him an ABC book and we got to the letter N. The illustration was notes, as in musical notes. I had never read this book to my son before, but he pointed at the notes and started singing and waving his arms around as if leading others in singing. I was shocked to see him connect musical notes to singing and can only guess he recognized them from the hymnbooks we use each Sunday.

Kids with Down syndrome generally do not have good memories, or so I've read. But, my son definitely remember things, even things I wouldn't guess he'd remember like those musical notes.

Every day is an adventure with my son. I find it exhilirating to see what he'll do each day and to watch him grow and learn. I never would've thought this when he was born, but I'm very, very grateful I have a son with Down syndrome! I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father chose me to be his mom.

Potty Training Update

We're still working on potty training. My son will sit on the potty each morning. He likes to see a doll use the potty first so I "feed" the baby and then let it go potty on the toilet. He then jumps up on the seat and sits there while I read him books. He hasn't actually gone potty yet, but he knows what it means when I say, "Let's go potty." He'll sit there for awhile and he understands that afterwards he needs to flush the toilet and wash his hands. He isn't afraid of the toilet which is progress for him.

I read short book on potty training in one day. It isn't really in one day because you spend a few weeks ahead of time preparing for the "big day" and then you spend a few weeks, or even months, afterwards cleaning up accidents and following up on using the toilet. For my other 9 kids I've just waited until they were ready and looked for signs that they could understand. Since my youngest has had dry diapers and points to his diaper when he wets, I think he's getting ready.

We also watch potty training DVDs and sing songs about it.

It's slow going, but he'll get there. Meanwhile, we'll read a lot of books and sing a lot of songs together.

The Inspiration of Team Hoyt

The world sees Rick Hoyt as handicapped and many pity him. Yet, in the eternal scheme of things, he is not the one that is handicapped, we are. His challenges, like my son's, will never keep him out of the celestial kingdom, while mine will.

While watching this video and the love this father has for his son, I am reminded of the scripture in John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Have a tissue nearby while you watch this.

He's Not a Chromosome Count

My son still amazes me when he does things I don't expect.

He loves to play on Starfall (www.starfall.com) and today I watched him choose a game about the body. Words were listed at the top of the screen. In the middle of the screen was a figure of a kid. Along the sides of the kid were spaces with arrows pointing to different body parts like head, arm, foot, hand, etc. I stood in amazement as my four-year-old, who doesn't speak much, matched words to body parts by clicking on the word at the top and dragging it to the correct space. Time and time again he did it correctly. As soon as he'd match one, he'd look at me and smile.  At the end of the game, the kid on the screen did a little dance so my son stood on his chair and shook his little bootie. So cute!

The more I see him do things like this, the more determined I am to make sure he doesn't get shoved into a "box" designed by well-meaning people who decide he'll only do certain things because he has an extra chromosome. He's an individual with talents just like everyone else. He may have challenges, but so what?

He needs to be evaluated as an individual, not as a chromosome count.

Family Photo Session or Torture at the Talley House

This is an attempt at a family photo. I just love my youngest son's smile, even if it is goofy.

Here's a close-up of that smile.



And this is the best representation of what our family photo sessions are like . . .

Tiara Boy

This is what happens when your older sisters take you wedding dress shopping--isn't he lovely? Poor boy, he didn't stand a chance.

His favorite part of the shopping experience was hiding inside the poofy dresses my daughter tried on. He also loved the big mirrors in all the stores where he could make faces, dance, and even strip off his clothes. He loves to admire himself.

And, yes, we successfully found a wedding dress for my daughter--thankfully.

Music

My son loves music. He regularly sits down at the piano and "plays." He loves to play the piano when we sing our nightly hymn. He smiles and really gets into it. He even plays faster, slower, softer, and louder. He's actually starting to make more music and less noise.

He loves to dance, especially if it's in front of a reflective surface. He really wiggles his body, even his little behind. When he's done, he claps his hands and says, "Yay." He expects all of us to clap for him. Surprisingly, he seems to get the beat.

Ever since he was born, I've played music for him when he goes to bed. Sometimes, it's children's songs, but usually it's classical music. I'm hoping that it's not only helped his brain stimulation, but has given him a subconscious understanding of music. I plan to give him piano lessons when he's a little older. I'll be interested to see how he does.

I think music has a dramatic effect on us. In fact, inside our hymnbook the First Presidency states, "The hymns can bring families a spirit of beauty and peace and can inspire love and unity among family members. Teach your children to love the hymns. Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time. Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together. Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones."

I've noticed that as we've sung hymns in our home that we've experienced less fighting and felt the Spirit more abundantly. I love to sing the hymns and my son loves to lead them.

I'm thankful that he enjoys music so much and look forward to seeing how he uses it in his life. Maybe he'll be the next Beethoven.

Fishing

My son had fun with us on our fishing trip over the weekend. He loved reeling in the line as soon as we cast it out for him. He wasn't quite sure about the fish when we caught them. He didn't want to touch any of them. Can't blame him, I didn't want to touch them either. I definitely didn't want to stick my finger in their mouths to pull out the hook. And gutting them? No thanks.

He was so cute sitting in his dad's lap holding onto the fishing pole. Wish I'd had my camera to capture it.

He really enjoyed taking off his shoes and socks and throwing them into the water. Yep, I had to go after them and I was sure I'd end up in the water, but luckily I didn't. His shoes are now permanently soiled with lake water. I'm just glad he didn't decide to go for a full-on swim.

He loved being part of our first successful, as in we actually caught some fish, fishing trip. Maybe when he's a little older, he'll catch one too.

Drawing and Hand Movement

Permanent marker does not come off grout. How do I know? Because I live with an artist. My son draws on everything. Usually I can remove his "art" but last night he decided to take a black permanent marker to the tiles in the hallway. I was actually impressed that he'd drawn circles on the tiles (running over onto the grout), the floor, the stairs, and the back door. He used to only scribble, but now he's making deliberate shapes. Of course, I now have a permanent reminder of that on my grout.

When he was first born, the doctor examined his hands. I'd heard about the line thing, but in my mind, I'd envisioned some kind of colored line or something. Yeah, that doesn't make sense at all and when the doctor explained the common one line crease across the palm, I realized what a dork I was. My son actually has two creases which means that inside the womb he used his hands in a normal fashion. Many kids with DS only have one crease which means their hand movement is somewhat different and usually means they need some form of therapy.

My son can use each of his fingers and can pick up tiny objects. He can also grip a pencil, or, in this case, a permanent marker, and I'm hoping this means he'll be able to write easily when the time comes. I know he can draw easily.

It's fascinating to learn all these intricate details that I took for granted with my other children. Things I'd never considered, but that I've had to watch for and evaluate with my son. It's definitely a learning process and I'm sure I'll learn more from him than he'll ever learn from me.

A Puzzle

On Sunday, my son was playing with an unfamiliar wooden puzzle board. He removed all the pieces. Each one was a different shape. I watched him do this and then turned the board 1/4 turn so it was different when he looked at it. He grabbed each puzzle piece and placed it in the correct position on the puzzle board. After each placement, he stopped and gave me the thumbs up sign. I was surprised to see him put every shape in its correct place.

Yesterday, he was working on the computer and he was supposed to place the letters in the right place to form a word on the screen. Each letter was placed on a shape and below the letters there was the corresponding shapes without the letter. I watched him click on each shape and place it in the right order making a word. Now, I'm sure he wasn't reading the word or doing it correctly because he can spell, it was because he recognized the shapes and could match them. I think that's impressive.

He continues to surprise me. Today, he not only surprised me, but annoyed me when he found, launched, and then installed Norton Antivirus software on two of our computers. The problem? We use Trend Micro Antivirus and the two programs fought each other enough that it disabled both computers. I have no idea how he found Norton nor how he installed it since I have no idea how to do it, but he figured it out. He's quite the genius when it comes to electronics.

Yet, he's not potty-trained. He's a puzzle, that's for sure.

Starfall

Why is it that even my four-year-old is smarter than me when it comes to working a remote or the computer? He is a genius when it comes to anything electronic. I can always tell when he's had the remote to the DVR because he's set it to record cartoons. How does he do that?

He's also learned to navigate through one of his favorite internet sites www.starfall.com. This site allows kids to learn the letters as well as their sounds, learn to read, read simple books, and print out projects. My son is starting with the ABCs and he knows how to click on each letter. His favorite is when they show him how to do sign language for the letter. He loves to imitate the signs and he claps intermittently (which means he's pleased with himself).

Today when he got on the site, I tried to help him and he promptly told me "no" and instructed me (by pointing his finger) to leave the room.

I recommend this site for any kids who are just beginning to learn their letters all the way through reading fluently. It's a fun site. My other kids enjoy it as well. It's fun to watch my son while he learns his letters on this site.

www.starfall.com.

My Son is Not a Blob

When my son was born, I was worried he'd be a blob. Not so. In fact, so not so. I spend most of my day chasing after him, cleaning up his messes. One of his favorite things to do is to draw all over himself with marker. Somehow, he'll always find the permanent markers that I hide and use those because they're the hardest to clean off. Highlighters are also hard to wash off.

He also loves to draw on the walls, the floor, homework papers, and the toilet bowl. Yes, the toilet bowl. I didn't even know a pen could mark up a toilet bowl, but he's proven it can be done.

Today, he decided that the books on the shelves in the library were just too tempting to leave alone. Yep, I now have a pile of books, knee-deep, in my library.

He's also become obsessed with eating ice cream bars, usually my Weight Watcher ones. He opens the freezer, grabs an ice cream bar, and eats it as fast as he can before I can find him. He doesn't like some of the bars so I find those melted under the table, on the counter, or in the bathroom sink. I can't keep him out of the freezer.

He's also become proficient at turning on the computer and clicking his way into programs that he likes. He can manuever through programs faster than I can. On one online program, he can click on it and see someone do the sign language for each letter of the alphabet. He likes to imitate the person and it's really cute. It's not cute, however, when he opens my laptop and proceeds to give me the black screen of death, you know, the one where nothing happens and my only choice is to reboot.

So, yes, my son is not a blob and while I'm very thankful that he isn't, there are days when it'd be nice if he'd just slow down for a second.

I Have a Voice

Potty Training

I have potty-trained 9 kids. I'm not sure how it will go this time. I've read on others' blogs that it may take a couple of years to potty-train my son. I bought him a cute little Cars potty chair, but he doesn't seem too interested in it. Since he's my youngest, I'm not that concerned about it, but then I don't want him to start school still needing to potty-train. I would think he'd be embarrassed if he had accidents at school or had to wear pull-ups so I'm going to try really hard to get him trained before he attends school.

We watched a DVD today about going potty. It's Blue's Clues style and he seemed to enjoy it. I guess I'll see if it has any effect. I've never used videos/DVDs or potty chairs so this is all new to me. I'm going to be optimistic and hope it won't take too long.

If you have any hints, please, let me know. I'd love to hear any and all ideas to get through this next milestone.

What More Can I Ask For?

My son was diagnosed with Down syndrome four years ago,  a few days after his birth. I didn't expect it at all so I was shocked. I remember searching through pages and pages of possible medical conditions on the internet and feeling completely overwhelmed. I had no idea what was in store and I worried that I wouldn't be able to care for my other nine children if I was always in the hospital with my son. My doctor gave me some great advice. He said, "Stop getting on the internet. We'll face whatever medical challenges he might have when, and if, that time comes." Smart doctor.

Turns out my son has not had any medical issues. His heart is normal, his lungs are normal, his bowels are normal, and so are the rest of his organs. Other than when he was born, he has not had any overnight stays in the hospital. He's growing and learning. He's happy. He interacts with all of his siblings. He laughs. He draws (sometimes on the walls). He plays with clay. He can work a mouse on the computer. He is a genius when it comes to all things electronic. He sings, he dances, he performs any chance he gets. He makes us laugh when he raises his eyebrows up and down. He tickles his sister. He gives kisses and hugs. He likes things his own way. He loves to play on the piano. Pretty typical stuff.

He is smaller than other kids his age, but he's so dang cute. It took him longer to walk, but now he runs. He isn't speaking in sentences yet, but he has no problem communicating what he wants. There may be other challenges down the road, but I have to say, "So what?" So what if it takes him longer to speak fluently or to learn to read or to do math or to clean his room (well, my other kids haven't even mastered that one yet).

I'm just thankful he's hea;thy, happy, and he knows he's loved. What more could I ask for?

Amazing Young Man with Down Syndrome

This article gives me so much hope for my own son. What a great accomplishment for this young man to attend college at Utah Valley University. He sings and he perfoms as well. I want my son to have no limits. I want him to have as many opportunities as any other young man.

Here's the article. It's so inspirational!!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog about living with Down syndrome. Come back to visit often.