31 for 21

October is Down syndrome Awareness Month!!!!


Starting Saturday, October 1st, I am going to write a post each and every single day for 31 days in celebration of the extra 21st chromosome my beautiful girl, Madi, is sporting!!  I have to admit, ahead of time, this is going to be a struggle for me to write a post every single day.  But, I am going to give it a good try!  I can't promise that the posts are going to be very insightful or inspiring........but, I will give it a shot!

Also, for the month of October, I am going to keep my song........Lady Gaga's  ~   Born This Way!
Can you think of a better song to represent my beautiful, crinkle eye when she smiles, light of my life little girlie!!!

In case, any of you wondering.......this is why I haven't posted in a week.  I am saving them all up for my 31 for 21!!!

Sentimental

I must confess........I am a sentimental sap!  I like to save little mementos and keepsakes of events that I deem important in my life.  They might seem really insignificant now but obviously, at the time, I deemed it necessary to keep that little trinket or dried rose petals, etc........

You all will think this is really funny.......but, I have boxes of stuff in our basement from growing up.  (Okay, NO I am NOT a hoarder......I call it sentimental!)  I have newspaper clippings from when I was one of the top sellers of Girl Scout cookies,  my favorite sticker collection (you can only guess how old that is!), several boxes of stuffed teddy bears, and dried flowers from Homecoming and Prom dances.  I also have my infamous Prom dress from my junior year of high school.

The other day, Taylor wanted to get dressed up in "pretty" dresses and spin around.  She kept insisting that I needed to have a pretty dress, too!  So, what did any good mom do?!?!   I got out my ole' Prom dress from when I was 16 years old!  

I really don't know what I was thinking......I just had my 2nd baby 8 1/2 months ago.......would I even be able to get it over my hips?!?!

Well, here is the result.......

Not only did I get it on......but, Taylor and I rocked it out!!!!  

Take another look at those pictures.......seriously, what was I thinking?!?!  Check out those puffy sleeves and gold beading!  (Okay, I must confess, I still LOVE that dress!  I will NEVER get rid of it!)

Moving forward to today..........my mom kept a few of my old outfits from when I was a baby.  I put a couple of them on Taylor when she was a baby and of course, I had to do the same with Madi!

Taylor at 2 months old.....

Same outfit.....Madi at 8 1/2 months old.

Taylor at 5 months old.....

Same outfit.........Madi at 8 1/2 months old.

The next outfits I never took pictures of Taylor in them for some reason.  But, I have Madi in them!

I absolutely LOVE going down memory lane!!!!

Mark likes to call all of my stuff in the basement "junk".......but, I choose to call it memories!!!!

BTW, I still have my "blankies".......the girl's have them in the playroom with them!  (And for momma to "play" snuggle with, too!)

Our Thursday's

Thursday is a busy day in our household these days.  We have a few hours in the morning to hang out and play but then we have to be out the door to get ready for.......

........Dance Class!!!!!!

Taylor was in a Creative Movement class last year but now she is officially in Ballet/Jazz.  All I can say is......it is so stinkin' cute!!!

It doesn't get any cuter than watching a bunch of 3 & 4 year old's lining up to a ballet bar and doing plies!  And the Jazz portion of the class.......yes, they do "jazz hands"!!

We rush back from class to eat lunch, Taylor takes a nap and then it is off to.......

Swimming class!!!!!

I am loving this swim class we have her in.  It is only a 4:1 ratio, instead of 10:1 like so many of the classes found around here.  And what's even better, there is a no whining policy in the class, which is great!  Taylor can get a little whiney at times......really, what 3 year old doesn't.

She's loving it!  And I can't believe how much she has improved already in just 4 weeks!  Her confidence and comfort level in the water is the biggest thing  I have noticed!

And another thing that is great about this swim school........they work with kids with special needs!  I can't wait for Madi to get a little older and to start taking lessons!

So, after class, feed Madi, eat dinner, baths for the girls, read stories and bedtime.  Whew!  I am exhausted........time to go to bed!

Madi started daycare/school

I know that I have not posted a lot the last couple of weeks......just been so crazy busy!  I have so many things that I want to share but by the time I finally get around to doing a post, it kind of seems....."after the fact".

A big thing that is going on in our household right now.......Madi has started daycare/school 2 days a week.  This is really a preparation for me for when I go back to work.  I thought Madi was going to have a huge adjustment since she really is a "momma's girl".......but, nope, she is just fine without me.  :(

This is not the school that she will be starting next fall.......The Rise School.  Her sister is already going there a couple of days a week (which that is another post I want to write about).  This is the school Taylor started at when she was 1 1/2.  They are great!

I have been extremely nervous about her starting there......or really, anywhere!  I have been afraid that she is just going to sit around and not really have her therapy done with her.  Mainly because they don't have the time......it's not a one-on-one kind of place.

But, I have to say, I have been very pleasantly surprised!!!!  When she goes on Fridays, there are only 3 kids there in the a.m. and she's the only one there in the afternoon.  So, she gets that one-on-one that I was thinking only momma could give her.

They have had me show them what type of activities we are working on for PT and they are open to trying anything with her.  They just want it to be like her environment she has at home.  As a matter of fact, today we did PT there at the school instead of at home, just so they could learn how to do the exercises with her.  Wow!!!  That's awesome!!!  And the whole time we were there, they were asking all kinds of questions about it!

I couldn't be any happier about the situation there!  I have been dreading the day that she would have to be in someone else's care......because really, who can do it better than a momma!!!  I am sure all you momma's out there would agree!!!  :)

Whew.......got one post done.......now only about a dozen more to go!

Step Up for Down syndrome Walk

In a few short weeks we will be participating in our 1st annual Step Up for Down syndrome Walk!  It's Denver's 15th year but it will be our first of many years to come!

All proceeds from the walk go to the Mile High Down syndrome Association.  The MHDSA were the first people to contact us when Madi was born and still in the NICU.  They provided so much support and resources to help us navigate this journey.

I have put together a little video, with Madi's 1st year so far........

You will need to scroll down to the bottom and pause the music to watch the video.....




The walk will be on Sunday, September 25th!

We have formed a team called Madison's Mob..........please go to our team page to join as a walker, virtual walker or to donate!

http://www.stepupdenver.org/fr/MHDSA/2011StepUp/MadisonsMob

Early registration ends in a few days.......September 11th.  So, hurry and sign up to save some money!