Happy Down syndrome awareness month! Update on our daughter...

October is Down syndrome awareness month!

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while, may remember that during the past two years I took part in the "31 for 21 Challenge". I blogged every day in October to raise awareness for Down syndrome.

This year, I decided not to do the challenge. 

As my daughter is growing, I realize that I have not many new things to share about Down syndrome. 

She is just who she is, and I don't seem to think about her having Down syndrome as much as I used to.

However, for those of you who are wondering how she is doing, I like to share in this post where we are now.

If you're new here, you might want to read more about our story HERE.

Our beautiful girl is almost two and a half already!

She is doing very well and she has the whole family wrapped around her fingers.

There are certain things she isn't able to do yet, which a typical two year old would be able to do already, but rather than focusing on the things she can't do yet, I will tell you what she CAN do, since that is so much more important.

She understands simple commands in Dutch as well as English. 

She can say a few words, and uses some American Sign Language. 

We decided to raise her bilingual, since that is what we did with her older sisters. 

We are aware of the fact that that might slow things down, but feel that in the long run we would regret if we wouldn't give it a shot. 

So, combined with sign language, she is working on mastering THREE languages!

Signing 'baby' 

She can feed herself, using her hands or a fork. 

She simply loves food, there is hardly anything she doesn't like. 

Using her fork

Helping herself to some fries of someone else's plate

She is a loving mother to all of her baby dolls, and hugs and kisses them a lot. 

One baby always has to keep her company when she goes to bed.

Speaking about hugs and kisses, our girl is the most cuddly little girl I know. 

I just LOVE how she wraps her little arms around my neck and kisses me! 

She loves to make friends, wherever we go. Whenever I am at a check register paying for something, most of the time she spends her time waving at the people behind us in line, who she is facing, since she is sitting in a shopping cart. 

We have started lots of conversations that way.

She is a speedy crawler, stair climber, and can take some steps without help. 

When things are outside her reach, she finds a stool or box or whatever else can help her to get higher up. Just last night she decided to climb the ladder of her sisters' bunk beds, but we stopped her when she was on her way to the second step up.

She likes baths. 

Recently, she was worried to miss out on a bath with her sisters, so she decided to dive in on her own. 

Unfortunately she didn't take time to undress first. 

(Another skill she just mastered, when SHE decides it is time to undress...)

Climbed in bath tub

Books: she LOVES books, she likes to look at pictures, read to her dolls, 

or just distribute them throughout the room.

Reading to her doll

She loves to 'cook' food for us in her play kitchen. 

She shares it with us, or eats it herself, saying "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

Coloring: she loves coloring! 

We give her crayons, but she prefers markers or pencils. 

She drew some artwork on one of our walls, fortunately she used a pencil for that one!

Coloring (I drew the smiley face to get her started...)

She loves music:

Whenever she hears music with a beat to it, she hops up and down, right on the beat. Her current favorite is her older sister's multiplication table CD, which is pretty funny. It has the multiplication tables on fast rap-style music, and she just LOVES it. 

And she also likes to MAKE music. I cannot have the piano to myself anymore, every time my little musician HAS to come over and add some bass to my music. Or she wants the whole piano for herself. She used to just bang on it, but now she is starting to use her individual fingers more. So we may have a future pianist on our hands.

Little pianist

Laundry is one of her favorite 'chores'. 

She loves to unfold laundry, we're still working on the folding ;)

When I am sorting laundry to be washed, she is eager to bring me any clothes that she finds in her room, that need washing too according to her. So cute! Until she starts to get them out of her drawers, that is!

 The other day I was trying to find her socks after her nap. Couldn't find them anywhere, and I thought she must have tossed them behind her bed.

Well, when I took a batch of laundry out of the washer, there they were: two tiny red socks that I hadn't put in that pile. Fortunately, she hadn't picked my white pile. So I realized she must have taken them off before her nap and added them to that pile without me noticing it.

OK, I realize that this is getting quite long here. Our little girl has SO much personality, that it is hard to just share in one post, but I hope you get the idea.

Happy Down syndrome awareness month!

Happy Halloween from the Cutest Witch in Town!

from the

who turns out to be a real girly girl:

But don't try to put the matching hat on!

She loves to put on a hat fight!

So it was time for some distraction:

in the form of a coupon binder...

So finally, a picture of the witch wearing her hat...

or what is left of her hat.

Happy Halloween!

And this marks the last day of the "31-for-21" challenge!

I did it :) I blogged every day this month to raise awareness for Down syndrome!

A big thank you to my faithful readers!

Two random conversations

A couple weeks ago I had two conversations, one day apart.

Both of them different, but both very encouraging for me regarding the future of our little girl.

The first one was in the grocery store. I was in the checkout line behind a lady who had a little boy in the seat of her shopping cart. 

It took me about 2 seconds to realize he had Down syndrome. So I had decided to pick that line. 

Our cashier was slow, so I started a conversation. It turned out she was the grandma, and it was fun to talk to her. 

I noticed how she spoke Spanish to the little boy, so I wondered if he was bilingual. And sure enough, her daughter is from Costa Rica and she speaks both English and Spanish with him, and he understands both! 

Our oldest two daughters are bilingual (English and Dutch), so it has been our plan to teach our youngest two languages, too. 

Three even if you count sign language. I have learned that there are different opinions on that subject, 

but I have found examples of people with Down syndrome who speak 2 or even more languages. 

One thing we know for sure, if we don't try it, she for sure won't be bilingual.

So it was good for me to hear from someone else who is doing the same thing!

The day after that I was in the library with my 3 girls.

I noticed a girl, about 12 years old, sitting at a table with a girl in her early twenties. 

They were playing an educational card game. The younger girl had Down syndrome. 

I was kind of curious, but didn't want to interrupt them. So we picked our books, and the girls wanted to play at the computers, so I let them. Then I saw a third girl running over to the table. She was about the same age as the younger girl, and she hugged her. She did some small talk, and then I heard her say something like: "What you said today to X wasn't so nice, I think you hurt her feelings. I think it's better when you don't do that again." I was pleasantly surprised by the way she handled this situation, and how she kindly tried to teach her what was right and what wasn't. 

By that time I was really curious how all these girls knew each other, so I just couldn't help myself and casually walked past and let my little girl wave at them. That always seems to break the ice, and we started talking. It turned out that the older girl was hired to work with the girl with Down syndrome after school to teach her whatever she needed extra help with. I had kind of figured that out just watching them. The younger girl was a in the same school as the girl with Down syndrome, and she knew her. 

To me it was really heartwarming to realize this was a schoolmate, who was really nice and caring. 

Sometimes I can't help but wonder what the future holds for our little one, and witnessing this was just what I needed.

"31-for-21" Challenge - Day 30

Laundry Schedule - Funny quote on canvas

When I saw this quote somewhere online,

I knew it belonged in my laundry room.

It sounded SO familiar.

With 5 laundry producing people in our household,

doing laundry is one of these never-ending tasks.

It would maybe be better if I could just finish the job in one day,

but somehow, that never happens.

I really live up to this quote.

(I also line dry a lot of stuff, which then hangs in the laundry room,

and that sort of turns it into an extra closet where I go to get clean clothes, 

often till the next time when I need space to hang stuff to dry...

But how do you put that in the quote? :)  )

Initially, I created the following canvas:

I just painted the canvas,

cut the text out of Vinyl, using my Sihouette Cameo,

and put the letters on there.

I used non-permanent vinyl,

and that was no good idea.

In the damp environment of our utility room,

the letters started to come off after a while.

Since I wasn't too thrilled with the sign the way it was, anyway,

I decided to give it another try.

I peeled the letters off, and cut the text out of contact paper this time.

I put the letters on there, and then painted all over it with grey paint.

After the grey paint had dried,

I stamped some swirls on it with red and aqua paint.

And then I pealed off the contact paper letters,

to reveal the text again.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the process.

This was one of these spur of the moment crafts,

 that I decided to do late at night when the kids were in bed.

 

I am still blogging daily this month to raise awareness for Down syndrome.

Want to know why? Click the tab "Down syndrome resources" on the top of this page.

"31-for-21" challenge - Day 29

Shared at Sugar Bee Crafts.

400,000

We're more alike than different

If you just found out your baby has Down syndrome...

Since I have noticed people coming to this blog looking for answers to questions about Down syndrome, 

I thought I would write some things that could be helpful during this stressful time. 

I know this won't apply for the majority of the readers of my blog, 

but maybe someone out there could feel a little better after reading this some day...

I'm not claiming to know everything about Down syndrome, and I know that not every situation is the same, 

but there are a few things I wish we would have known on that day we learned that the baby we were expecting had Down syndrome. 

Our daughter - six months 

So if I could go back to the days right after our unborn baby girl was diagnosed with Down syndrome, 

and tell myself a few things, it would be this:

Don't feel quilty that you're sad!

Whether you received the diagnosis before or after the birth of your baby, it is only natural to be sad. You had certain dreams and expectations, and you are worried that you have to adjust your expectations. You may feel like you suffered a loss; like you're mourning the loss of the baby you thought or hoped you would have. Mourning takes time, but it will get better!!!

Be careful where you get your information

Don't do random searches online to educate yourself! Don't get books from the library that are more than 5 years old. Things don't stay the same, and there is a lot of outdated information.

Therapies are continually improving, and Early Intervention programs can help your child to reach their fullest potential. In the last 30 (!) years, the life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has gone up from 25 to 60!

If you want to start your online search somewhere, http://www.ndss.org is objective and useful.

Find local resources

There is a lot of help available for families with children with Down syndrome.

On this page you can find a lot of North American Down syndrome organizations, while this page has links to organizations worldwide.

Talk to other families with children with Down syndrome

The most important moment for me during my pregnancy that changed my outlook on the diagnosis of our baby girl, was the moment that someone let me hold a newborn with Down syndrome. That was SO comforting, realizing I was just holding a baby, and realizing it was not as different as I had thought.

Also, watching other families interact with their little ones with Ds, showed me that they were all 'normal' families, enjoying life like anyone else. When we went to our first playgroup for toddlers with Down syndrome I expected a bunch of sad people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Also, it was really good for us to get to know people to whom we could ask practical questions. Everyone has been extremely helpful so far!

You're having a baby, not a diagnosis

Don't forget that you're having a baby. Just like any other baby, he or she will need food, diapers, and most of all, love. Try to think of your baby as a baby, and not as a diagnosis.

And, although your baby will most likely have some features that are common to kids with Down syndrome, like the almond shaped eyes, he or she also has your genes, and may show family resemblance.

8 months old

Quite a few people who have someone with Down syndrome in their family go on to adopt a child with Down syndrome

Did you know that there are a lot of people that adopt children with Down syndrome? In fact: there are even waiting lists for such adoptions. And even more important: there are quite a few families who already have a child with Down syndrome, and decide to adopt a child with Down syndrome. If it is really hard to have a child with Down syndrome, why would you adopt another child with Down syndrome?

I personally ADORE the following blog: Confessions of the chromosomally enhanced 

The writer of the blog is a mom of two little girls. Her older sister has Down syndrome. She and her husband decided to adopt a little girl with Down syndrome. Simply the fact that someone with first hand experience with Down syndrome CHOOSES to have a child with Down syndrome herself, is SO encouraging. 

Our life stayed 'normal' -whatever that is

I thought that our lives would change forever. And not in a good way. Well, guess what? Our life is still quite similar to what it used to be. There are no things we haven't done because our child has Down syndrome. Sure, we didn't do things with her that we wouldn't do with any other newborn, but other than that? 

The biggest change is a good one! We have our third daughter, who we adore, just like her big sisters. We have met some great people during this journey. Granted, she does have therapy and some extra doctors visits, but she is SO worth it :)

11 months old

Reece's Rainbow

Angels on their way...

May I introduce you to

Markus

Sadie

Sean

Corinne

Micah

Travis

Caleb

 Fiona

Amanda

Carmen

These little cuties have a couple things in common:

They all have an extra copy of the 21st chromosome, also called Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome.

And, they are all desperately waiting for a family that will love them.

That's right: these kids all don't have parents to love them.

They were born in countries where children with Down syndrome are not worth much,

and often 'given away' to orphanages at birth.

I can barely look at these pictures, because these faces remind me so much of our own little girl.

And there are many, many more children in the same situation!

Fortunately, there is some hope for these children:

There are families out there who want to welcome them in their hearts and homes!

But, these international adoptions are very expensive.

To help families who want to adopt an orphan with Down syndrome or other special needs,

Reece's Rainbow collects money for individual orphans. That money goes into a grant for a specific child, and can be used by parents who commit to adopting that child to help cover the costs for the adoption. That way, families who would not able to adopt simply because they could never afford that, are enabled to adopt! 

So, if you would want to help, there are different ways:

Ways to help an orphan with special needs

I have met a family who has adopted a little boy with Down syndrome,

and just recently met a mom who is waiting for her little girl with Down syndrome to come to the USA. These people are amazing!

And they're not the only ones...

This family and also this family went on to adopt a girl with Down syndrome, after they had a daughter with Down syndrome. This family has been waiting for a long time for their little boy Davis to come home. Davis has Down syndrome, and he will have a big brother with Down syndrome, too, in his new family. And there are many more families like it.

In closing, I would just like to quote the mission statement of Reece's Rainbow:

"The mission of Reece's Rainbow is to rescue orphans with Down syndrome through the gift of adoption, to raise awareness for all of the children who are waiting in 25 countries around the world, and to raise funds as adoption grants that help adoptive families afford the high cost of adopting these beautiful children."

(All pictures used in this post are Copyright © Reece's Rainbow)

"31-for-21" Challenge - Day 24