Taylor was well enough to go to school today!!! Yeah! She didn't have to miss the Halloween party at her school! And Madi was able to participate in her first school Halloween party too!
You can see in the pictures that Taylor is still not 100%......but at least she no longer has a fever.
Can you say too cute!!!
Gigi and Madi, the lamb!
Madi and her classmates!
"Mom, really......do I have to wear this thing on my head!?!"
They started out the party by having a parade. Madi's class was pushed in a quad stroller. First of all, have you ever seen a quad stroller before?!?! That thing was huge!!
Taylor strutting her stuff.
I am so glad it is the weekend! Hopefully this one will go a little better than last weekend and we'll have no little girlies be sick!
Taylor has had 6 straight days of fever and sickness. Last Saturday morning the snotty nose and cough slowly began. By afternoon, the cough sounded more like a bark. I didn't think too much about it, though, I just knew that I had a sick little girl.
Sunday morning, the cough was still there. Her breathing was a little ragged. Again, I still didn't think too much about it. I knew that a "barky cough" was a sign of Croup but we have never experienced it before. And to be honest with you, I thought Croup was a young baby thing. Not something that a 3 year old could have.
I called the pediatricians office to see if maybe I should go into Urgent Care, since it was a Sunday. He said he would come into the office and meet me at 11. But, he had one question. How's her breathing? Is she struggling at all? I said, well, yes, a little bit. He immediately told me we needed to take her to the E.R.......it couldn't wait until 11am.
Okay, now I am freaking out a little. And I feel like the world's. worst. mother!!! How did I not know how serious it was? And here I was that morning, debating whether she would be able to go to a friend's birthday party or not.
So.....we went to the ER. They gave her a steroid treatment and off we went back home. Her "barky" cough has gone away and now has been replaced with a wet, horrible cough. You know, one of those kinds that the moment you lay down, you cough over and over and can't stop.
The frustrating thing is that her fever is just not going away. Finally today it is a little lower......around 100. For 5 days, though, it was around 102. I took her back to the doctor on day 4 because I thought fever's were supposed to go away after 3 days.
They tested her for strep and the flu. Both negative. Took her blood work.....thinking that maybe she is starting to get pneumonia or some other bacterial infection. Blood work all good. I guess we just got ourselves a very nasty viral infection that is taking it's sweet ole' time going away.
I feel so bad for her. Her eyes have this gray look, not her usual sparkly blue. And she is so lethargic. I am not a parent that uses the t.v. as a babysitter.....but these last few days, she has watched more movies than I can count. Anytime I have tried to get her to play, she does for a few minutes but then gets very tired and almost bored. And she is so cranky and winey.
I am hoping that she is feeling better tomorrow morning, as her school is having it's Halloween party. She would be so upset if she had to miss it. :(
Woodbine House is a publishing company that specializes in books for people with disabilities. I have purchased many books from them since Madi's birth.
Some of my top favorites are:
~ Gifts
~ Gifts 2
~ I can, can you?
~ Early Communication Skills for Children with Down syndrome
~ Fine Motor Skills for Children with Down syndrome
~ Gross Motor Skills for Children with Down syndrome
~ Helping Children with Down syndrome Communicate Better
~ Babies with Down syndrome: A New Parent's Guide
~ My friend Isabelle
For the month of October, in honor of Down syndrome Awareness month....all books related to Down syndrome are 20% off!!
So, hurry on to www.woodbinehouse.com and pick up the latest books on Down syndrome!
Here's 21 random facts about little mis' Taylor too! We can't leave her out!!
1. Taylor's diet consists mainly of cheese. Mac' and cheese, grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, cheesy eggs......anything with cheese on it.
2. And if she can't have cheese, she wants gummies.
3. Taylor dresses up like a princess or dancer at least once a day.
4. The rest of the time, she runs around the house with just her panties. Why am I telling you this? Because, I have a difficult time getting pictures of the two girls together with clothes on Taylor. This explains alot of the bare-skinned photos of her.
5. Taylor adores her baby sister.......sometimes a little too much. She wants to lay on her, hug her too hard and sometimes just won't leave her alone.
6. Taylor is destined to be a therapist. I swear, she knows all the therapy moves we do with Madi and can repeat them with her just as well, if not better. She is Madi's biggest cheerleader!!!
7. If Taylor is not a therapist, then she is going to be in theatre or something.......watch the video!
8. Taylor is the size of a 4 year old. Even though she just turned 3.......everyone thinks she is 4, sometimes 5. She is in the 95% for both her height and weight.
9. Taylor's favorite color is pink.
10. I am scared about what she is going to be like at 13......when she is crabby and moody, I see glimpses of what she is going to be like hitting puberty and hormone changes and it scares the bejeezes out of me!!
11. Taylor is so used to saying "Miss K" or "Miss S" for her teachers names at school that she calls everyone "Miss". So, I am Miss Momma and Mark is Miss Daddy. She doesn't quite get the concept that boys are not Miss.
12. Taylor LOVES to swing! She can literally swing for an hour straight if you let her!
13. Taylor loves playing "Monster". We take turns being the "monster" and chase each other around. This is another thing that she could do for an hour straight.
14. Taylor LOVES amusement parks! She totally takes after me when it comes to this. She loves all the spinning rides and the higher and crazier the ride is, she loves it even more!
15. She is very sensitive to people's emotions. She can tell if you are having a bad day and she asks, "Are you sad today?"
16. Taylor has 13 stuffed animals that sleep on her bed with her each and every single night.
17. She is going through this phase where she thinks that she is a baby again. She insists upon sitting in the swing that Madi sometimes sits in.
18. Taylor is going to be a princess this year for Halloween......imagine that! :) This next picture is her 3 years ago......her 1st halloween.
19. Taylor is a rough and tumble kind of girl. She likes to wear pretty dresses all the time but she's not afraid to roll in the mud in that dress, too!
20. She makes us laugh with the comments that come out of her mouth!
21. She has gotten so grown up this last 6 months. I don't even feel like she is the same little girl! Compare the two pictures......6 months apart.
I have been horrible the last couple of days about sticking to the 31 for 21.....
.......but, I have some valid excuses! On Thursday, our computer was broke and I wasn't even able to log onto the internet. And yesterday, little miss Taylor started to get sick and it ended up being croup. I had to take her to the ER this morning to get a steroid treatment so that she could breathe a little easier.
Part of my problem is that I wait until the end of the day to do a post and then something happens and there goes the day with no blog post. Okay.....enough with the excuses.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Madi was starting to army crawl a little bit. When she started doing it, I thought "Oh, if we just focus on this, in a week or so, she will have mastered it and be going all around like a speed demon!" Well, was I ever wrong! I'm still learning how this whole "low muscle tone and weaker muscles" thing works. We have been working on the army crawling like crazy and she is doing so much better.....but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
And, you know what.....that's okay!! I am just so crazy proud of how well she IS doing! I see just how hard she has to work to move that short little distance that she does go and my heart swells with pride to see her working so hard! She gets so excited when you yell and cheer for her.....she will do whatever she has to do to repeat it!
Here's a little clip of her army crawling......
She doesn't really go too far nor very fast.....but, I am just so proud of her! She is doing awesome!!!
It's Blog Hop Day!! In honor of the 21st chromosome our kiddos share, fellow bloggers have joined a Blog Hop on the 21st day of Down syndrome Awareness month! Please go here to visit the blogs of the others involved in the hop.
So, in honor of the 21st chromosome my daughter is sporting.....I want to share 21 random facts about Madi and the ways our lives have changed since she has come into our life.
1. The girl loves to eat! Ice cream is her favorite!!
2. She loves her big sister! And vice versa. You can see the adoration in each other's eyes when they look at each other.
3. Madi is a really easy baby. The majority of the time she is very happy and best of all....she sleeps through the night!
4. This trip to Holland with Madi is far much better than I would have ever imagined! I don't even think about Italy with her anymore.
5. We have met some amazing new friends because they are sporting an extra chromosome like Madi.
6. We have also gotten rid of some people that we "thought" were friends but because Madi has that extra chromosome, they are just "too uncomfortable".
7. Madi is teaching me to have patience. And I must say, this is a work in progress! I am a person that is hardwired to want to see results NOW! :)
8. I have "met" some amazing people and their families through this whole blogging experience. Even though I have never met most of these people, in person, I feel like I already know them! (It would be fun to have a conference/reunion of just bloggers from the Down syndrome community!!!)
9. I have become "at peace" with some personal things that I have struggled with for a long time. Madi has helped me do this by showing to me what is truly important in life.
10. Madi is a snuggler. I love the way her body just melts into yours.
11. Madi has the most amazing eyes!
12. Madi has been congested since the day she was born! Her nasal passages are just so small!! Poor thing!
13. I am learning to become an advocate......something I have never had to do before.
14. I see people differently. I'm not as judgmental as I used to be.
15. Madi loves to swing!
16. Madi really couldn't see us the 1st couple of months. We always felt like she couldn't see us and was staring right through us.......sure enough she was. Her vision has improved but she is far sighted.
17. So far, the size of her ear drums are fairly typical. Hopefully, that will mean she won't have all the ear infections our kiddos are prone to getting.
18. Madi is still on oxygen at night. We do a sleep study in a couple of weeks. Probably will find out she has to be on it for a couple of years due to sleep apnea. :(
19. Madi has grandparents that LOVE her to pieces!!
20. I wouldn't change the Ds for nothing! Do I want her to struggle.....no. But, I wouldn't change the Down syndrome.
21. Last but not least.........Madi's smiles literally transform the room!!!
I apologize for being late to get out a post.......as I said earlier, our computer was down and then I had a couple of appts. this afternoon.
Hope everyone had a great Blog Hop day!
I apologize for the lack of post for yesterday and this brief one right now.......my computer has been down for the last day. I just got it back up and running but now I have an appointment to run to.
When I get back I will give a great Blog Hop post for the day!!!!
Today I was at Target and as I was walking through the aisles in the shoes section, this mother was getting upset with her typical child (who was about 7-8 yrs. old) and said to her, "Stop talking like a retard."
Really?!?!
I know that some of you fellow momma's are going to be upset with me......but I could not stop and correct her. I was so appalled by what she said and I KNOW that what I would have had to say would not have been very nice. For those of you that know me very well, you know that I am not able to say something nicely but be steaming inside. I pretty much wear my emotions on my sleeve.
So, at that very moment, even though it would have been a good lesson for the daughter that was standing there, I didn't think it was appropriate to "lay" into that mom. Because I know that I would not have been too kind about it.
People.........stop using the "R" word!!!
Stop making excuses that you don't mean it in "that" way! I KNOW that you mean it "that" way because I have said it myself and I meant it in "that" way.
I am not going to act all "holier than thou" and pretend that I have not used the "r" word. I use to.......that was until I gave birth to my gorgeous baby girl with Down syndrome. I really didn't think about the word being offensive to others until Madi was born. And part of that is because I had no one that brought it to my attention. If someone had stopped me and corrected me about what I said, I definitely would have thought about it in the future.
So, this is me bringing it to someone else's attention........stop using the "r" word!!!
It is offensive to my daughter........and when you mess with my daughter.....momma bear comes out in full force! So Beware!!!
Here is a great video about the "r" word. (Need to pause the music at the bottom to hear it)
A couple of months ago I woke up to the news story about a young woman with Ds being sexually assaulted by a stranger while she worked at the ARC Thrift store in Denver. The man who assaulted her was never found, despite several monetary rewards that were offered.
Today, I first heard the news about 3 adults that imprisoned 4 mentally disabled person's in a basement to gain access to their Social Security checks. One of the victims met their attackers through an online dating service.
Seriously......what is this world coming to!
I don't get this! I know that there are sick people in the world....but preying on the ones who are least able to defend themselves or may be more easily manipulated......I just don't get it!
A statistic that I have seen states that 85% of women with disabilities will be abused multiple times in the lifetime. 85%? WOW.....that is frightening!
That flat out makes me want to never let Madi out of my sight. Forget the whole wanting her to live independently in the future! I'm not letting her out into that scary screwed up world!!!
Okay......that's the irrational side of me. I KNOW that I CAN"T do that......but that definitely is my first response. I know that I have to try and prepare her for every possible situation and to be able to defend herself. And I'm not just talking about Madi, this needs to be done for Taylor too. But, how do you do that? It seems like the morale of people these days just sinks lower and lower and how can you possibly prepare someone from this type of cruel and sick behavior?!?
I swear, sometimes I just want to take my family and run away and hide in the mountains or something and never have to worry about the sickness of society. Again, this is the irrational side of me.
It's just that some days all the craziness of the world seems so overwhelming to me and I just want to do whatever I can to shield my girls from it. I know that I need to be informed about the world's events and the news is the way to receive it.....but I feel better about everything when I go through a stretch that I don't open a newspaper nor turn on the t.v. for several days at a time. How does that phrase go........Ignorance is Bliss.
There really is no warm and fuzzy way to finish up this post.....so, I will leave it at that. I usually try to always include at least 1 picture in every post.....but this topic does not deserve the presence of a picture.
Two weekends ago, some of my family came into town for our 3rd Annual Broncos Game!! My uncle is able to get tickets through work every year for a Broncos game and I must say that this year the seats topped it all! We were in the box suites for the game! All I can say is......WOW!!! I could get used to that!
Even though the girls didn't go to the game......they were dressed in Broncos spirit!
Practicing those cheerleading moves!
We all were dressed in our Broncos gear.....except, Mark, of course......he is a Vikings fan. BOO!!!
My mom and dad
Every year we ride in "fashion" in a limo to the game! This year was no exception!!
The girls in the limo!
Okay.......can you say AMAZING SEATS!?!?!
The half time performance of the game was a little moving for me. It was a celebration of breast cancer survivor's.......which, of course, hits a little too close to home.
Yes, I know, this post had nothing to do with Down syndrome and was really just a bunch of pictures from the game......but, it was an awesome day and I just had to share it!!
