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...