...And in the air, the fireflies, our only light in paradise. We'll show the world that they were wrong, and teach them all to sing along; singing Amen I, I'm alive. Amen I, I'm alive...

- Nickelback, If Everyone Cared

For All The Right Reasons Album



And I'm singing Aaa-ayyy-men, I'm alive!







William Leonidas November 12th, 2009
My only regret is that I cried so many tears while I waited for you.


"...I'll try ~ but it's so hard to believe. I'll try ~ but I can't see what you see. I'll try and try to understand the distance between the love I feel ~ the thing I fear ~ and every single dream. I can finally see it. Now I have to believe all those precious stories. All the world is made of faith ~ and trust ~ and pixie dust. So I'll try ~ because I finally believe. I'll try ~ because I can see what you see. I'll try, I'll try ~ to fly..."

Jonatha Brooke "I'll try"


Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10




Lilypie Second Birthday tickers
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..." Jeremiah 1:4-5




For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:13-14



Monday March 5th, 2010

So Why Stinkerie?



It's simple, really. It's the first thing I whispered against my newborn little Dumpling's temple as I held him alone for that very first time. "There's my Little Stinkerie." And all was right with the world as I brushed my lips across his delicate dewy soft newborn-pink skin and sniffed at his sparse smattering of downy soft hair. Corny and sappy, huh? I can't help it when describing my new Little Puppy. But don't get used to it - I have been told I am "irreverent."



Anyway, it just came out and he's been Stinkerie ever since. As well as Stink Pie, Stink Pot, Stinkey Pete, Little Stinks, Stinks, Puppy, Ducky, Baby, Baby Head, Baby Head Jenkins, Jack, Jack-Jack, Jackie Boy, Jax, Snork, Snorkis, Snorkle, Billy Boy, Billy Bob, Bobby Sue, Billy-Joe-Jim-Bob, Will, Willie, Willister, and the name given by my mentor turned friend Beth - Snake. When I write to her I call him either The Snakester or Slither! And of course, Dumpling, because he is my Little Dumpling - warm and soft and comforting. It's alright to combine comfort food with baby names, right? Have you ever watched the movie Where the Heart Is? If you have, you'll know why I mention this in my defense!



Long story short, you're likely to encounter any one or more of these names in a single post. Because I can. It's my blog!





Something to Consider

Bad decisions make good stories.

Something to Think About

With any pregnancy, there are concerns. With any child, there are worries. When you have a diagnosis of Down syndrome, you know what to worry about. You know what to look for. You have a plan of action. With your typical child, there is no limit to the things that can 'go wrong' or 'happen.' There's no place to focus your worry and concerns. 'IT' will always be out there, waiting. You'll always be on guard. Even when the child is 55 and has grandchildren. With Down syndrome we have a battle plan. With Down syndrome, there is a finite number of things that can go awry. With a typical child, there's isn't. It's a crap shoot. I'm sticking with the Ds and taking the other two back to the hospital for a refund.

Head Above Water


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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Very Bad Mother

My Children are a little annoyed with me because I am insisting that they watch two Baby Signing Times every day during Christmas vacation. I was going to make them watch only one, however since they were at The Other Mommy's house over night on Monday, they owe me one and then there's the one for today. This evening I popped in the first one they'd already watched on Sunday, when I started this idea, just for review. It was very clear that they'd retained little. Who woulda thunk it? I mean seriously, I watched the two starter videos (which they are now learning) and totally got it after one viewing! Or twelve! Okay, probably more like twenty viewings, but at least by the twentieth viewing, I had some pretty good recall! So, the plan is to watch which ever disc they watched the day before, and then a new one. Every day while they are on vacation! So there!

Now that Willie is starting to sign just a teeny bit, I am signing everything I can think of to him, just as part of my normal conversation and going about of daily activities. And now that The Dear Daddy sees him signing Daddy, he's got his pinky toe enthusiastically on board with 'this signing thing you're doing.' My hope is that as Our Olders incorporate more signs into their daily speech with Willie, The Dearly Beloved will find more innate value in learning some signs as well. And I could be just smoking a crack pipe...but we're trying! Wish us luck!

2 comments:

Holly W said...

How awesome...make them watch them over and over again...they'll be signing pros by the time school starts up again..
we're starting a sign class come January through the early intervention program, I'm pretty excited!

Tracy said...

Well you'd think I was holding them down and forcing them to eat snail guts and worm poop! I think the spirit of competition will rear it's ugly head soon and then we'll get some progress! I'd love to do a class eventually...but eventually I'd like to be certified as an interpreter! Even if I spelled it wrong!