Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Water Table
We bought this water table at a garage sale with the main purpose of it being to get Sweet Pea to practice standing. Seems like it works! Now we just have to remember to use it!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
True California Girl
Hmm...avocados!
You have to appreciate her creative finding of the dual use of avocados...hair gel!
You have to appreciate her creative finding of the dual use of avocados...hair gel!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Our Own Ball Pit
I bought these balls at a garage sale this past weekend. I washed them in the shower and they have been drying in the laundry basket for the past couple of days. This morning I decided to see what Sweet Pea thought of them...I think she is happy about the purchase...
She may have enjoyed playing in them, but I think she enjoyed throwing them all over the place even more...
I think I'm going to get the extra Pack n Play from my mom and put these balls in it and then put the net on it. The net is to typically used to keep bugs out, but I think another good use would be keeping the balls in!
She may have enjoyed playing in them, but I think she enjoyed throwing them all over the place even more...
I think I'm going to get the extra Pack n Play from my mom and put these balls in it and then put the net on it. The net is to typically used to keep bugs out, but I think another good use would be keeping the balls in!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Two items to share
1) I just found this blog thanks to Chase and More and you have to check it out! Sarah just turned 21 on Monday and is helping her mom open a fabric and quilting shop in Ohio. It gives me such hope for Sweet Pea's future! My Name is Sarah
2) This seems like a great movie. I hope to see the full movie soon. If you wish to sponsor a school or Dr. office or even a library you can go to their website and buy it at their cost which is $6.00 + SH or get your own copy right now for $9.95. You can see more about the movie at http://www.deedahandme.com.
2) This seems like a great movie. I hope to see the full movie soon. If you wish to sponsor a school or Dr. office or even a library you can go to their website and buy it at their cost which is $6.00 + SH or get your own copy right now for $9.95. You can see more about the movie at http://www.deedahandme.com.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
What is Sweet Pea Trying to Share?
What does my shirt say?
![]()
Really Mommy?!?! Yeah! (I'm clapping, but my serious look is because I'm currently scheming about all the trouble we two can get into.)
It's true! We are expecting baby girl #2 in early February!
We are all experiencing a whirlwind of emotions and have been since we found out on June 11th! Since this blog is supposed to be my tool for expressing all my feelings, keeping this bottled up has been really hard and I'm sure it has contributed to why I've been MIA a lot recently. I'm so excited to finally share this with everyone!
We decided to do an early test for chromosomal abnormalities and the results all came back negative so it looks like we will have a typical baby girl in 6 1/2 months! Having the shock of Sweet Pea's diagnosis at her delivery has made us very gun shy and so we wanted to know if this little baby would be typical or extra special. Daddy even wanted the gender to be known this time so it's very strange knowing that what I'm used to calling an "it" is really a she! So exciting and makes planning things a lot easier, but yet very odd since we found out at delivery last time.
We are very excited and extremely nervous and so many other emotions all rolled together! I'm sure to share some more details over the coming days and weeks, but for now, let's just celebrate!
Really Mommy?!?! Yeah! (I'm clapping, but my serious look is because I'm currently scheming about all the trouble we two can get into.)
It's true! We are expecting baby girl #2 in early February!
We are all experiencing a whirlwind of emotions and have been since we found out on June 11th! Since this blog is supposed to be my tool for expressing all my feelings, keeping this bottled up has been really hard and I'm sure it has contributed to why I've been MIA a lot recently. I'm so excited to finally share this with everyone!
We decided to do an early test for chromosomal abnormalities and the results all came back negative so it looks like we will have a typical baby girl in 6 1/2 months! Having the shock of Sweet Pea's diagnosis at her delivery has made us very gun shy and so we wanted to know if this little baby would be typical or extra special. Daddy even wanted the gender to be known this time so it's very strange knowing that what I'm used to calling an "it" is really a she! So exciting and makes planning things a lot easier, but yet very odd since we found out at delivery last time.
We are very excited and extremely nervous and so many other emotions all rolled together! I'm sure to share some more details over the coming days and weeks, but for now, let's just celebrate!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Fun at the Pool
We went to our annual family swim party on Saturday and everyone had a good time. Seems that I just can't keep my sunhat off Sweet Pea. She wants to wear it and I find it adorable since it is bigger than she is.
The cousins are definitely dare devils and their dad is their launching canon:
The big news of the day...Sweet Pea finally went into a cold pool! It wasn't as cold as we were expecting, but it wasn't the warm 80+ degrees that our wonderful indoor kiddie pool in town is. Sweet Pea has pitched an absolute fit every time we even think about putting her into water that isn't warm. Her toes touch and that is the end of it. She turns into us and starts trying to climb her way up our bodies to escape.
Yesterday, we were expecting the same old routine. Try to put her in and get nowhere. Luckily, she has been wanting to prove us wrong as often as possible recently. Her cousins were there so I was hoping that they could show her that it was fun and get her over the hurdle. I am giving them the credit for this positive experience...mainly the older one since the younger one was sunbathing trying to warm up (not a good sign, I know).
I go into the water with her and sit on first little step with her on my lap. All seems well. Her feet are actually in the water and she isn't freaking out. Grandma keeps her distracted as I get her deeper and deeper in the water and she isn't minding at all! She is actually having a good time! Yippee!!!!
Her older cousin comes over to check on her and reassure her that the pool is the place to be. He is a serious fish and has spent a good portion of the summer...make that his life...in the water. He is just the ticket for getting her to have fun!
Time for daddy to blow up the baby float and see how she reacts to it.
The only issue seemed to be that she wasn't able to sit back in the float and so she would end up with her mouth under water if we weren't careful. I don't know if her huge belly was causing her body to float stomach down or what, but she didn't seem to mind.
Looks like we will be needing to head to the pools a lot more often before they close for the season.
The cousins are definitely dare devils and their dad is their launching canon:
The big news of the day...Sweet Pea finally went into a cold pool! It wasn't as cold as we were expecting, but it wasn't the warm 80+ degrees that our wonderful indoor kiddie pool in town is. Sweet Pea has pitched an absolute fit every time we even think about putting her into water that isn't warm. Her toes touch and that is the end of it. She turns into us and starts trying to climb her way up our bodies to escape.
Yesterday, we were expecting the same old routine. Try to put her in and get nowhere. Luckily, she has been wanting to prove us wrong as often as possible recently. Her cousins were there so I was hoping that they could show her that it was fun and get her over the hurdle. I am giving them the credit for this positive experience...mainly the older one since the younger one was sunbathing trying to warm up (not a good sign, I know).
I go into the water with her and sit on first little step with her on my lap. All seems well. Her feet are actually in the water and she isn't freaking out. Grandma keeps her distracted as I get her deeper and deeper in the water and she isn't minding at all! She is actually having a good time! Yippee!!!!
Her older cousin comes over to check on her and reassure her that the pool is the place to be. He is a serious fish and has spent a good portion of the summer...make that his life...in the water. He is just the ticket for getting her to have fun!
Time for daddy to blow up the baby float and see how she reacts to it.
The only issue seemed to be that she wasn't able to sit back in the float and so she would end up with her mouth under water if we weren't careful. I don't know if her huge belly was causing her body to float stomach down or what, but she didn't seem to mind.
Looks like we will be needing to head to the pools a lot more often before they close for the season.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wonderful Article
I just read the most amazing article about the grieving process that parents of disabled children go through. We were told when Sweet Pea was first born that we should grieve, but I wish I had read this 16 months ago! I would highly recommend reading the whole thing for those interested. Thank you to Chase & More for sharing it!
Full article by Ken Moses, PhD is available here: http://www.pediatricservices.com/prof/prof-15.htm
Parents attach to children through core-level dreams, fantasies, illusions, and projections into the future. Disability dashes these cherished dreams. The impairment, not the child, irreversibly spoils a parent's fundamental. heart-felt yearning. Disability shatters the dreams, fantasies, illusions, and projections into the future that parents generate as pan of their struggle to accomplish basic life missions. Parents of impaired children grieve for the loss of dreams that are key to the meaning of their existence, to their sense of being. Recovering from such a loss depends on one's ability to separate from the lost dream, and to generate new. more attainable, dreams.
As disability bluntly shatters the dreams, parents face a complicated, draining, challenging, frightening, and consuming task. They must raise the child they have, while letting go of the child they dreamed of. They must go on with their lives, cope with their child as he or she is now, let go of the lost dreams, and generate new dreams. To do all this, the parent must experience the process of grieving.
In almost twenty years of working with bereaved people, as well as dealing with my own losses, I have never seen anyone achieve acceptance of loss, only acknowledgment. Belief in the concept of acceptance leads parents into feeling like failures for not being able to attain it. Any use of grieving theory as a recipe is strongly discouraged.
And an unrelated, but great exchange between a mother and grown son with DS can be found here. Thanks Kristin!
Full article by Ken Moses, PhD is available here: http://www.pediatricservices.com/prof/prof-15.htm
Parents attach to children through core-level dreams, fantasies, illusions, and projections into the future. Disability dashes these cherished dreams. The impairment, not the child, irreversibly spoils a parent's fundamental. heart-felt yearning. Disability shatters the dreams, fantasies, illusions, and projections into the future that parents generate as pan of their struggle to accomplish basic life missions. Parents of impaired children grieve for the loss of dreams that are key to the meaning of their existence, to their sense of being. Recovering from such a loss depends on one's ability to separate from the lost dream, and to generate new. more attainable, dreams.
As disability bluntly shatters the dreams, parents face a complicated, draining, challenging, frightening, and consuming task. They must raise the child they have, while letting go of the child they dreamed of. They must go on with their lives, cope with their child as he or she is now, let go of the lost dreams, and generate new dreams. To do all this, the parent must experience the process of grieving.
In almost twenty years of working with bereaved people, as well as dealing with my own losses, I have never seen anyone achieve acceptance of loss, only acknowledgment. Belief in the concept of acceptance leads parents into feeling like failures for not being able to attain it. Any use of grieving theory as a recipe is strongly discouraged.
And an unrelated, but great exchange between a mother and grown son with DS can be found here. Thanks Kristin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)