Giggles

Last night we were having a lot of fun together...Colin was laughing at what I was doing which in turn, made me laugh at him laughing!

Chris got this fun video...

[Please don't mind my scary voice in this video...I was having fun!]

Proud

This little boy...

made me so proud...

to be his mommy

yesterday at the grocery store...

Simply because, he is who he is.

Let Me Do it!

Apparently, I wasn't feeding Colin his dinner fast enough last night. He grabbed the spoon from my hand and even though I kept it on there, he kept putting the food in his mouth over and over again. He was even putting the spoon in the food, making sure he got some, and then guiding it to his mouth!

(I know this one is really poor quality. I will try to do better with the real video camera!)

End of Summer

There is something magical about the beach....warm sand between your toes, waves rolling onto shore in the background, and feeling the sun on your body. I have known this since I was 2 months old when my parents first started bringing me to the beach.

I am now 29 years old and have never missed a summer where I felt this...

My parents have 29 years worth of family pictures on the beach that continued to grow as they had more children. Our classic picture always became us lined up on the beach, in birth order, facing forwards and then facing backwards. We always had our traditions surrounding our 1st day at the beach with breakfast and pictures...(wish I had some of those classics to show you!) However, they looked much like these (just a lot smaller!)

When Chris and I met almost 7 years ago, we spent a lot of time on the beach in one of the most beautiful months...September. As someone who only spent time there in the summer when the towns were swarming with people, I could never imagine how desolate it must be without people around. That all changed when I lived there for my first offseason. I can assure you that there is a beauty in that month unlike what you would find in the summer months.

What my parents, siblings and I have always enjoyed together, started to become the same kinds of traditions that I started to share with my own family.

This very spot where Chris and I are standing with Colin is the very spot that Chris proposed to me and where we started our life together....

Last summer was a little tough with Colin and the beach because he was so young that there were many things that bothered him, including the wind. However, this year, I can honestly say that he has become a little beach baby! He enjoyed the sand and the sun and his toys and by the last day, he even enjoyed the ocean! (It was always a little bit intimidating to him...he never cried, but seemed nervous. However, on our last day at the beach, he actually enjoyed the waves washing up on his feet and laughed and yelled and had a fun time!)

The end of our summer is always difficult, especially for my mom and I. To bid farewell, they took us to a very nice dinner at a restaurant on the water. Colin loved his linguini and was such a good boy!

Afterwards, we headed to the boardwalk to try out some rides for Colin. I've been so excited to do this all summer...Unfortunately, it was a little overstimulating for him with all of the people and sounds, so I don't think he enjoyed it as much as I thought he was going to. However, he still gave us a few smiles...


It's always tough on the last day saying goodbye after a great summer together...But as the sun sets on another beautiful summer, we know that there are many great things ahead...and there's always next summer!

Oral Motor Skill?

Tonight at dinner, we gave Colin his leftover linguini from our night out with Nana and Grandad the other night (more on that later...). I started to notice that if he got a longer string of linguini in his mouth, it seemed as though he was "sucking" it in.

Do you think this is a good oral motor skill? I would have to say yes and it makes me giggle...

So Proud!

Colin had a great week of therapy this week. Unfortunately, I missed each session because I was working, but in some ways, I almost think it was better because he had gotten to be pretty clingy lately when the therapists would show up. Fortunately, thanks to technology, I got some great videos and pictures from Daddy and Nana and Grandad.

Colin worked really hard during his two sessions of physical therapy this week and has a LOT to show for it!

He worked on short sitting and then pulling to stand to get objects...

Being on his hands and knees, which he doesn't usually tolerate...

and standing!

...but...guess what Colin started doing today!?!?!

ARMY CRAWLING!!!!!!!!!!!! As I'm sure most of you can understand, this makes us feel so proud and emotional and extremely happy. Yep, with time, our little boy started to show us what he could do when he was ready.

OH Colin...how we love you so!

Inspirational Article

The NJ list-serv that I am on for parents who have a child with Down Syndrome, sent out this article today and I think it's beautiful. If you get a second, please read...

Click here to read the article...

Hosting at our New Home

Despite the fact we moved in over a month ago now, we haven't had many hosting opportunities at the new house because we have been spending so much time at the beach. However, a few weeks ago, we had Chris' family over for our 1st big meal around our new dining room table.

We started with some apps and relaxing out back on our patio. Colin kept busy in his chair with his activity table.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Maureen...

Aunt Beth and Uncle Jason...

Aunt Maureen and Colin practicing the "O" sound...

Snuggling with Uncle Brian...

We had a yummy dinner and dessert and then Colin was showing off his moves by standing on his legs and dancing to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

We look forward to many more hosting opportunities in our new house!

Fun Times

Colin and I were missing Daddy last night because he was unfortunately working, but we had a nice relaxing evening and a quiet dinner together of raviolis and cauliflower. Colin's improvements in the feeding area have been so nice to see and although he is not quite self-feeding yet, he is showing some emerging skills that give us hope it's not too far behind.

One of those skills is playing with the food on his tray. He likes to use his index finger on his left hand and push the food all over the tray. He will pick it up with a whole hand, and then throw it over the side so that he can see it fall to the ground. I am not discouraging this (yet) because since he isn't putting the food to his mouth, I don't want to tell him no, and then backtrack from where we are right now. The other skill involves using utensils. Colin's new speech therapist told us that Colin should always be holding his own utensil so that he gets used to the feeling of holding something and eating. He enjoys "feeding" us, and has been making attempts to put the utensil into the food and pulling it out. It's funny because he doesn't have control over the pulling out motion yet so it often results in food being unintentially flung somewhere. He has even made a few attempts to put the utensil in his mouth after food was placed on it.

We are very proud of him because we see him grasp new skills daily, no matter how small they are.

One of those skills involves the use of this pop-up toy that Colin received for Christmas last year. He has always liked watching the animals pop up, but until recently, wasn't sure how to navigate the buttons and switches to make them pop on his own. He finally got the hang of the push button, and is working on the other animals. Even more so, he loves to shut the animals and wave "bye-bye!".

Here is a video of Colin playing with this toy (sorry about the quality, it's from my cell phone)...I love how at the end, he waves bye-bye after he shuts the animal.



Colin's personality is also emerging on a daily basis and I can just see that he is going to follow in his daddy's footsteps and enjoy to see people laugh at the things he does. Here, he is playing between my legs and popping up on his extended arms (another new skill we enjoy seeing) to see me.

Love

You know what's funny? I spent all night last night thinking of this post and what I was going to write about. I've been a little frustrated lately with Colin's gross motor development, so I was going to write about those frustrations and where we are stuck at right now.

But, a couple of things have happened since I started thinking about that negative post.

Last night, when Colin and I got back to our house, I went to unbuckle his straps of the car seat and then lift him out, when he just turned to me with the kissy face. I kissed him and he gave me the biggest smile. I got all teary eyed and my heart just melted. In that moment, it just didn't matter.

Sure, I am frustrated, but it's only because I know that Colin is so close. He shows many signs of almost crawling and almost sitting up but hasn't quite accomplished those skills yet. Colin is such an observor (a nosey parker if you will) and he is just so content in his little area playing with his toys.

I also know that there are a couple of things holding him back, one of them being the teeth that are so close to popping through. He now has one, and it looks like one more is coming in on top and potentially one on the bottom. He hasn't been the happiest, and I know it's because of that. Who feels like physically doing much when they don't feel well?

Tonight, I got on the floor with him and 3 cell phones (mine and both of my parents'). I put them out in front of him, and he started using his arms to try and pull himself across the floor. I let him reach and grab the phone when he got close and then started all over again. He even started using his legs a little bit.

And you know what, it didn't matter that he hasn't quite accomplished it yet. What he did for me tonight shows me what he has been doing all along...working hard. It's natural for me to get frustrated because I'm his Mommy and I only want him to be able to go for what he wants.

But, the little love bug that he is, reminded me last night and again today. He's still trying and working hard...he just hasn't gotten there yet.

He will. And that's all that matters.

Visit to the ENT

Last week we had our follow-up visit to the ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) doctor. We saw him 6 weeks ago for the initial evaluation (where things went pretty well) and he wanted to see Colin back to check the fluidity of his ear drums again (particiularly his left) and to review all of his previous tests that were done (general hearing [OAE] and the BAER [Brainsteam Auditory Evoked Response]). Unfortunately, the BAER test results never made it to the office, so he still needs to review those.

We were very happy because the tests that were done in his office showed that both ear drums were very fluid (moved well during sound conduction) and there was no fluid buildup behind them. He explained that when the sound hits the ear drum, we want to see a triangle type symbol with the point at the type to show that things are moving normally. I also asked about the tendency for children with Down Syndrome to have enlarged adenoids, and he told me that without any signs or symptoms at this time, we don't need to worry about this. He also used this longer metal tool with what looked like an eye hook on the end to pull out the build up of ear wax that was in Colin's ear. He said that while it may not have looked like a lot (it did to me!), it was a lot for a little boy with smaller ear canals. You could tell that Colin noticed a difference because he would put his hands on his ears while hearing louder sounds for the rest of that day.

At this present time, we just need to continue to monitor this and follow-up again with him in 3 months for more hearing tests.

If you would like more information on the BAER test, you can click this link for some easy reading.

Colin just prior to getting called back.

Sitting like a big boy in the chair.

Days 3 and 4 of Vacation!

On Sunday of our trip we headed to Plymouth, MA to meet up with Kelly, Landon, Scott, Mason, and Elijah.

You can check that post out here if you didn't get to read it the 1st time. We had such a great time with them and also had the opportunity to spend some time in a very pretty location. We had some great views of the water and had so much fun while we were there.

After a fun visit, we got back in the car and headed to our hotel in Cambridge, just outside of Boston. We had a great view from our room and Colin was sure to let us know that he approved.

Once I stuck him in front of the window, he started talking very loudy and flailing his arms as if he was having a very loud conversation with someone. After we were settled and Colin had his dinner, we decided to head into Boston to Quincy Market for a light dinner and walking around/shopping.

Colin was all ready to go in his Red Sox shirt. While we should have learned from our mini golfing experience, we thought that if it got late, Colin would just sleep in his stroller after having his bottle. Well, funny story...

We get on the subway headed in the right direction. However, the subway actually starts going in the opposite direction from where we want to go. Ugh. So we go a few stops, and then decide to get off to get on the train heading back in the direction we want to go. Fine and dandy. We get BACK on and head in the direction back towards our stop. We get to our stop and we are happy because now we know we will head the direction we want to go. Except, the train goes back in the opposite direction again!! After we loudy voice our concerns to each other, some guy across from us tells us that there is construction on the tracks and we should have taken a shuttle.

Double ugh. So we get back off the train at the next stop, but now, in order to head in the direction we want to go, we would have to go back out, buy a ticket and go back in on the side of the platform we want to be. Since that seemed like more of a hassle, we decide to walk. Mind you, one subway stop is a lot further away when you decide to WALK.

When we asked Colin where we were, he didn't know.

We walked very briskly to get back and find our hotel. However, there was only ONE place for us to eat at near our hotel...so we headed there for a quick bite to eat. Colin thought it was ok if he stayed up a bit later, but you can tell that both Mommy and Colin were tired.

The next day we woke up early so that we could do a big treat for Daddy...visit Fenway Park, home of his beloved Red Sox!

Colin wore his "little Monstah" shirt for the occassion.

We had a lot of fun and you could tell that Daddy was so happy to be there!

To wrap up our trip, we finally made it to Quincy Market where we had a yummy lunch! Colin ate his fruit smoothie like a champ!

Of course we had a great time on the trip getting to go to places we have never been to before, but more importantly, we had a great time just being together...

Day II of Vacation!

Saturday morning we woke up and headed out for a nice family breakfast at a local eatery. Colin was chatting it up with our neighbors at the table next to us and got a nice big surprise...


a Mickey Mouse pancake!!

Of course, the thing was gigantic for a little boy like Colin, but he did his best and ate as much as he could! After breakfast we spent a few hours at the Craigville beach, which we were told was the most popular beach in Hyannis. (I'm not actually sure it was IN Hyannis, but only 7 minutes from our hotel.) It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun!


As per usual, Colin was very intent on eating the sand, so it was a challenge to let him play and explore without ingesting too much.

It is our tradition since our honeymoon to write our name in a heart, in the sand with the location of the beach and take a picture with it. Unfortunately, it was hard to see the writing in the sand, but Colin did the honors and took a picture to mark our vacation to Cape Cod.

It was a little breezy on the beach and although we had a cover-up for Colin, he was begging for something a little more. Daddy's t-shirt! Once he had it on, he thought it was the funniest thing! Once Colin started getting sleepy, we attempted to help him nap on the beach, but he is just too darn nosey to lay down and close his eyes. He needs to know what's going on at all times. After a few hours, we headed back to the hotel where Colin took a nice long nap and we relaxed prior to dinner. We headed out to another great restaurant, Spanky's Clam Shack! It had a beautiful view of the harbor!

I ordered a lobster despite my lack of skills in taking them apart, but fortunately it was a lazy man's lobster so most of it was cracked and ready to go. Colin was very interested in what I was eating and let me tell you, it was delicious!

After dinner, we took a stroll around the harbor and looked at all of the pretty scenery. It was exactly what I pictured Cape Cod to look like.

Later on, we had this grand idea to go and get some ice cream (which we all love) and play some miniature golf. You know that line from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts says "Big mistake, huge mistake!" to the woman who originially turned her away from shopping in her store? Well, that's how we felt about the miniature golfing. We had this perfect plan where Colin would drink his bottle and then fall asleep as we walked the course and played. You know, a little Mommy and Daddy "night out".

However, the stroller had to be abandoned after the 1st hole because the course was not meant to push a stroller through it (which we learned a little bit late!)! So, we had to carry our immobile child through the course while we played. It meant, taking breaks on the bench...

and even on the green too...I love this picture because I truly think it was how Colin felt by the end...why did you take me here at my bed time! I swear Colin, we had good intentions since your so good at sleeping on the go!

Despite the fact it was the quickest game of mini golf I have ever played, we still had a great time together...