Down Syndrome

There are so many things that have been on my mind lately, but one in particular is Down Syndrome.  Although we live our life as normal as possible without letting a disability define our family, it still crosses my mind at least once every day.  I know that I am going to have a hard time articulating exactly what I am feeling, but there are so many different things that make me think about it.  Sometimes, I will admit, it's not always positive because I think about the challenges we Colin faces and sometimes I wonder if they are because he has Down Syndrome.  Sometimes it crosses my mind because of a comment someone makes to us or about Colin.  However, most of the time it crosses my mind because I am so thankful that Down Syndrome has been brought into my life.  I am so thankful for so many things because Colin and his extra chromosome are such a part of our lives.  There are days that I just feel like I am bursting with thanks for what I have...

We have also been bursting with life...and a lot of it.  Things have been rather hectic around here lately as we are filled with therapy sessions, doctor's appointments, school, work, second jobs, classes, etc.  I am anxiously counting down my days (4 school days) until spring break so that we can all try and slow down a bit.  

I am so amazed at how much Kailey changes every day lately.  She is really starting to figure out language and communicate exactly what she wants and needs at any given moment.  It's also really neat watching her pick up on things so quickly.  

 Today, we spent some time with my grandparents who came down with my parents for their "Christmas" present.  One of the things my parents do for both sets of my grandparents as a Christmas present is drive them down to visit and then we all go out to eat at our favorite restaurant.  It's nice for everyone as it is far to drive on their own and then we can all spend time together (one of those things that I am thankful for...).  Colin seemed hungry today and ate all of this cottage cheese, a pudding and THIS HUGE bowl of ice cream (of which he ate every single bite!).  Both kids were so good and it was fun!

We all came back to our house to play for a little bit.  One thing that my Grandfather (Poppy) has always done is sing songs back from his days in WWII.  Colin just absolutely loves his singing and any time he starts he just crawls right up and snuggles in.  

A group shot of my kids with their Great-Grandparents...how funny is Kailey's face?

The kids were entertaining us on the fireplace.  They were so cute (one of the few times they have been playing "nicely" lately as Colin just loves pulling Kailey's hair!).

What makes me laugh about this next video is the fact that Kailey is just dishing back what he always does to her...and yet, he looks at her like, "did you just touch me?".  

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We also went and celebrated our friends Ryan and Logan's birthdays today and had a lot of fun!  One of these days we will get Colin and Logan smiling together at the same time!

Even more shocking?  Colin actually ate parts of the pizza all by himself without me even asking if he wanted it!  Of course, we got some for dinner and he wanted nothing to do with it, but hey, it was better than nothing!

What a fun and tiring day!!