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I have a confession to make….I have found out that Carly is a Swinger!!  Apparently my wife knew, but as the Dad I was the last to know.  I would not have believed it myself if I had not seen the photographic evidence.

Turns out the little girl loves to swing!  Her eyes light up, a big smile crosses her face, and her giggles fill the playground air.

This picture is the first time I have seen her in a swing and I admit that I was a bit worried at first as Carly has the amazing ability to basically fold her self in half.  Meaning, that she can be sitting up and then lean forward so that her belly and head are flat with ground and right next to her feet.  This can be an issue when swinging because the swing has zero support and Carly could come crashing down.

Good news is that she has figured out that by grabbing on the front of the swing, she will not fall forward and she can enjoy the swing a lot longer with less parental worry.

I am constantly amazed by what Carly is able to do and how quickly she is picking up on things.  The last couple of weeks her development has grown by leaps and bounds.  She is working on exploring the house, which keeps MJ and I on our toes as Carly rolls from one room to the next, learning to crawl is next on her to do list.  She actively engages in conversations, with her a mixture of our words and Carly words.  She so badly wants to eat the food we eat, though she still is trying to figure out the whole chew the food up before we swallow it issue.

Now that I have gotten over the initial shock of knowing that she is a swinger, I wonder what surprises will happen next.  What ever it is, I know that she will be good at and all of us will take great pride in whatever she accomplishes.

Go get’em Princess Good Good and never forget how much joy you bring to each and every one of us.

Recently life has been a bit of a challenge of late.  My up and down roller coaster ride is now stuck in a downward slide that I am working on getting out of.  The are four main things that keep me pressing on and knowing that each day it will get better and those things are my lovely wife, Mary Jane, my daughter, Miss Emma, my son, Brady, and of course Miss Carly.

When the day seems overwhelming, I find myself looking for some peace, solitude and reaffirmation that everything is going to be ok.  Recently I have been finding this in watching the little ones sleep or drift off to sleep.

For me, there is something so peaceful about watching your kids while they are sleeping or are falling asleep.  They are so content, relaxed, dreaming about what the world has brought them and what wonderful things they are going to do next.  Now with three little one’s, I have also learned that each one has their own unique way of falling asleep and sleeping.

Miss Emma is by far the best fall to sleeper, yes, this is not a real word but if it were you would see her smiling face right next to it in the dictionary,  I know.  She pretty much puts her head down, says goodnight, and then is off to dreamland.  So, simple and peaceful.  However, once she gets there it is a completely different story.  She tosses, turns, and snores.  She may start at one point of the bed when she falls asleep but by the time the night is done, the girl has traveled many a mile up, down, and around the bed.  No matter how far she travels, she always seems to wake up refreshed.

Now Brady, he is the hardest one to get to sleep.  As an almost 6year old, his body is filled with nonstop energy and does not want to rest.  Once he does finally lay his head down and stops squirming (good luck with that!) he is quickly off to dreamland.  It is almost like his body knows that as soon as he calms down, sleep will whisk him away and playtime will be over for the day.  Now when he sleeps, I highly advise that you wear some sort of hockey gear or football gear to protect you.  He moves around like his big sister, but usually leads the way with a swinging arm or two.  There have been many a time where my sleep has been interrupted by a sleeping “punch” to the eye.  He is the late sleeper and takes a bit to get started in the morning.

Miss Carly is the crocodile tear sleeper. When she is oh so very tired she pretends to cry, as she lays down in her crib, in the hopes that someone will come by, pick her up, and let her stay up just a little bit longer.  Quickly these crocodile tears get quieter and quieter as she works to find a comfy position to sleep in.  You know she is pretty well set when the hands go underneath her, she is a belly sleeper, and her eyes start to blink a little slower.  While asleep, she has seemed to pattern herself after both her brother and sister, as she travels the crib like Emma, leaving no corner untouched, and swings out her arms, much like her brother, making sure nothing is in her way while she sleeps.

Though I did see a bit of Mary Jane and myself in her when she was taking a nap the other day, she has a little music block that plays songs when pressed.  While making her sleeping travels around her crib, her foot hit one of the buttons and the block began to play.  That only lasted a few seconds as the same foot came back again, this time with a bit more force, and kicked the music block to the other side of the crib and away from the sleeping baby. I am pretty sure that I have used this same trick on my own alarm clock one or two times myself!

She always wakes up with a smile on her face and ready to greet a brand new day.

Thank you to my three little ones and the peace and joy they bring to each day.  I love being your Dad 24/7 no matter if you are asleep or awake.

With love, Daddy.

There she sits, surrounded by her loyal followers and the subjects who love her dearly.  She gazes around and with an amused look on her face.  So this is how it all begins, she thinks.  The crowd begins a rousing chant or perhaps it is a song.  When they are finished, they clap, and tell her congratulations and to have a happy day.  Now is the moment they have all been waiting for.  She knows that it is time.  One more glance around and she lets out a big grin.  A grin that can only mean one thing:

LET THEM EAT CUPCAKE

And she leads the way with a double hand scoop of the yummy goodness that is called pink and white frosting.  Soon she has frosting between all of her fingers, in her hair, and covering her cheeks making a pink frosting beard.

Life is good for Princess Good Good, for it is not everybody that one gets to celebrate the big 2^nd birthday.

Later on that night, the frosting rush has worn off, and the yawns start to come at a quicker pace.  Our sweet princess puts her head down lets out a deep sigh and heads off to dream land.  I can’t help but wonder if she is dreaming out her cup cake experience or already planning ahead and wondering what the Big 3 will bring.

I kiss her gently on the head, as to not to disturb her royal sleep, wish her a happy birthday and head off to bed.  I drift off to sleep with the vision of her hands and face covered in frosting and I think “Let them eat cupcake, indeed”.

I am sitting here watching Brady and Carly play on the floor and listening to the giggles and laughter of both of them.  Brady has the ability to make the little one laugh out loud at a moments notice.  Whether he is playing hide and seek or blowing a raspberry on her belly, whatever he does, she loves.  She loves him so much and he loves her so much as well.

This interaction always brings peace to my heart and mind.  When we found out that Carly has Downs, MJ and I adjusted pretty quickly because we knew of the risks during the pregnancy.  However, I was worried about how the kids would react.  Would they be scared, mad, upset, or love Carly for being Carly?  Thankful, they love Carly for being Carly.

I love these monkeys with all my heart and I am glad to see that they love each other the same way.

I know that I often state how lucky and blessed I feel to have such an amazing family and it is this type of interaction and play that serves as a reminder of how lucky I am.

To quote a song by Debbie Boone, These kids of mine “Light up My Life.”

What a fun and wonderful day today!  As many of you know, I have been lucky enough to have the kids out of school, for the summer, and able to hang out with them Wed-Friday.  It has been a bit bumpy sometimes, with each one of us being in a cranky mood or two, but it has been well worth it.

Today was one of those days that makes me feel so lucky to be a dad and to be blessed with wonderful kids.  Emma, Brady, and Carly did a wonderful job today and we had fun pretty much all day long.  In the midst of all of it, we coined a new nickname for Carly, her new nickname is Princess Good Good.

So how does one get a name like Princess Good Good?  It is not an easy task and most certainly not a common Princess name.

One gets this name by sitting on the floor and using ones tush to move around in a circle.  This is not all that needs to be done though, you must also stop at each quarter turn and say “good, good” and then clap and laugh.  Do this, and you shall earn the name Princess Good Good.

That is how Carly, err Princess Good Good started off our day today.

Days like this remind me how far along she has come in her development and how much more of the world she understands.  I don’t think that this little girl, or any of my kids, will ever stop amazing me with the things they say and do.

Today was a great day to be introduced to Princess Good Good.

Down Syndrome may be your need, but your all I need

This is a picture that Miss Emma made for Carly.  It will hang above Carly’s crib.

It happened at work again the other day; a coworker saw a picture of Carly and asked how old Carly is.  I said “22 months” and the coworker said “Wow, she is pretty small I thought she was only 8 months.”  I replied with “Yep, she is small, I think she gets that from her moms side of the family, plus she has Down Syndrome.”

As soon as I said “Down Syndrome” I knew what was coming next and just had to wait out the 5 seconds of “uncomfortable” silence and then….

“Oh, I am so sorry”

My reply has always been, “No worries, My wife and I, along with her brother and sister feel very lucky to be part of her family.”

The comments that usually follow are along the lines of wow, you are so strong to be able to say that, I don’t know how you do it, and sometimes I can’t believe how open you are about it.

Since day one, I have never felt the need to hide the fact that Carly has Down Syndrome, perhaps it was because her touch and go birth, or the fact that she is alive and healthy, or because I was raised in a home that did not put labels or limits on people.  To me, Carly having Down Syndrome is the same as Brady having green eyes, or Emma having straight hair.  It is just part of who they are.

So how do I do it?  There is no magic secret or some special sort of incredible resolve I have, rather I have an amazing wife who is my partner every step of the way.

We are raising our children much the same way we were raised, no limits or labels on people.  We are volunteering at the Special Olympics on Saturday to not only support the event but to also let Emma and Brady see, with their own eyes, that anybody can do amazing feats.

As far as being “strong”, I think that comes with being a parent.  I don’t know of a parent who is not strong.  You do whatever you can for your kids, love them with out condition, and raise them to live, laugh, and love.  I have a friend who has a son with Autism and if you asked my friend if she thought she was stronger then other parents, she would probably give you a similar reply

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I brag about all my kids.

I have a family that believes in no labels or limits.

I am not stronger then anybody else.

Simply, and thankfully, I am a parent.

I vividly remember not being able to sleep the night that Carly was born.  The excitement of being a daddy along with the trepidation and nervousness of her having Down Syndrome was keeping me up way too late.  I had way too many thoughts rushing through my brain to even think about sleep.

Thoughts like:

Can we handle this?

What’s next?

Why us?

Fast forward roughly 22 months later and there is not a day goes by where I don’t think:

You bet we can handle this and love every minute of it.

Joy, love, and growth are what’s current and next.

Thank you for choosing us.

Not only have I been blessed to have a wonderful daughter who has just happens to have Down Syndrome, I am equally blessed to have another wonderful daughter, an awesome son, and an amazing, strong, and loving wife that helps us hold it all together.

Thank you for choosing us!

“No, we don’t eat the cat…”

Now this is a comment I did not think I would hear myself telling one of my kids.  Especially when the cat that was being “eaten” was our older and somewhat cranky cat Chelsea.

To give you a bit of a background on Chelsea, she is just about 18 years old and has generally been a bit of a temperamental cat, aka a royal pain in the tush sometimes.  Chelsea has put up with a lot of things in her life from moving around the world to dealing with going from a one owner home to a home full of three kids and yet another owner added on.  Of course, none of this happened with anyone consulting her, perhaps that is part of her anger.

Chelsea has been some what accepting of Emma and Brady and tolerates them as long as they are bringing her food and water.  Now with Carly, it is a completely different story.

Chelsea and Carly love each other dearly.  Carly loves to pet and/or try to eat Chelsea every chance she gets.  Chelsea walks around her, lies down beside her, and willingly gets her hair pulled as Carly learns how to pet a cat.  It is almost as if Chelsea knows that Carly has something special going on.  They have formed a great bond with one another and Chelsea has become one of Carly’s favorite toys.

I wonder if our pets, or pets in general, can sense when they encounter a person with special needs?  Do they, the pets, become more tolerant and understanding?  If so, why can’t we, as humans, do the same?

Chelsea is getting a bit long in the tooth and to be honest I really don’t know how much longer she is going to be around, however; I do know that she has been very understanding, patient, and comforting to a child, Carly, who loves her dearly.  To this I will always be grateful and will gladly tolerate her meowing in the middle of the night, just because she feels like it.