31 for 21 Day 3: Camp Shriver

This summer, Colin and Kailey had a really unique opportunity to participate in Camp Shriver, a 2 week unified developmental camp for kids with and without disabilities at Special Olympics New Jersey. The camp was held for 4 days each week from 1-4pm and the kids had such a great time. We were so happy with the experience they got from participating and can't wait for them to do it again next year.

Each day the kids arrived, there was a schedule up on the board that outlined the activities for the day. The activities were varied and included main sports like soccer and basketball but also other activities like yoga, gymnastics, and other non sport specific games.

There were volunteers of various age groups and I found that both Colin and Kailey attached themselves to many of these volunteers. They were so great with all of the kids and we were so thankful for all they did to ensure the kids had a great time.

If you live in the area and this sounds like something your kids might be interested in doing, I highly recommend it to you.

31 for 21 Day 2: Meet Colin (Again)!

It wouldn't be the beginning of Down Syndrome Awareness Month without the re-introduction to Colin, the first star of this blog. He was born just over 7 years ago in April and we were not expecting nor had we planned for the surprise he brought at his birth. We can vividly remember sitting there together wondering how we were going to move forward because of all of the ways we thought our life was going to change. Instead, this perfect little person has taught us things about life that we had been missing before his arrival and would never have learned if it weren't for him.  

Colin is a 7 year old little boy who attends a regular 1st grade class at our local elementary school. He loves all things sports and currently takes Karate, dance lessons (ballet and tap together), and plays rec soccer. In addition, he is an active member of his Sunday School and youth group programs at our church as well as participates in various Special Olympics programs at different times of the year. He loves to sing, dance and act out and enjoys playing with his superhero figurines. He will choose a sporting event like soccer on TV over any other show.

His favorite meal to this day is STILL cottage cheese with strawberries however, his menu also includes yogurts, pudding, cheese sticks, bananas, ice cream (vanilla and chocolate), various types of noodles with red sauce, pancakes, pizza, Perdue chicken nuggets, apple sauce, occasionally eggs, and fruit snacks. He is very curious about food and although he is not ready to try most things, he will intently watch whoever is eating something he is interested in very closely.

This summer was a big period of growth for Colin in many ways both literally and figuratively. He has matured so much, especially now that he is able to communicate better and in more complete sentences. He will tell us with his words when he is angry or frustrated and has so much more self control that he has had in the past. While we never would have considered him a "runner", he was often apt to head off in any direction if there was something that caught his eye or a thought that crossed his mind. We always had to anticipate what could happen next. However this summer, we were a lot more relaxed and trusting of him because he very rarely did this and if he did, he was able to quickly be redirected. He is also one of the most polite people I know and uses his manners most of the time.

While he still struggles socially to fully carry on a conversation in certain situations, he also has come so far in that this has been a big area of improvement for him. He needs less prompting from us in many of his social interactions and is more interested to carry on his conversations for longer periods of time.

There is absolutely no doubt that Colin loves his family. He is so sweet and caring and can often be found giving hugs and kisses to any of us at any given time. His interactions with his siblings are very typical as they can all be the best of friends or the worst of enemies. He just loves with all of his heart...

It is also important to re-introduce Colin's sister Kailey and brother Cody as they are also stars to this blog. They are considered your "typical" children compared to Colin but in our household, they all have their own specialness to them.

Kailey is 5 years old and currently attends Kindergarten in the same elementary school as Colin. She is very much a girl both in her interests and in her personality. She is the boss of the siblings and if things don't go the way she wants them to, you know about it through her actions. She loves clothes, baby dolls, jewelry and nail polish. She dances in the same ballet and tap class that Colin is in and also plays rec soccer. She currently loves school but we mostly hear about the social piece from her when she's asked how her day was. She's incredibly helpful and independent and a great eater. She can also be a bit obsessed about TV if we're not too careful.

Cody is the baby and just turned 2 years old. He's fiercely independent and MUST do all things in the same way Colin and Kailey do (and this is incredibly challenging). He's got a very funny personality and is doing many things developmentally much earlier than Colin or even Kailey were doing. He is slowly potty training himself (which is awesome) and loves Paw Patrol. He's our worst sleeper out of the bunch but things are slowly improving in that area. He has certainly brought a whole new spunk to our family!

31 for 21 Day 1: The Good Life

Welcome back to our blog for the annual 31 for 21 challenge in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness month! The goal of this month is to spend 31 days blogging about Colin and the fact he has Down Syndrome as well as to spread awareness and acceptance. In all honesty, this challenge becomes more difficult as the years pass because for the most part, our life really is quite "normal". However, there are some things that we feel are pretty unique to our family because of what Colin's extra chromosome has brought with it. Most especially, we also feel it's important to spend this time showing that Colin really does live the "good life" and we are so proud of him and how far he has come in his 7 years of life. We hope our blog is shared as an example that those with Down Syndrome have meaningful, enriched and fulfilling lives and that they are valuable members of society. In Colin's case, we fight so hard to show that he has every right to be included alongside his typical peers in all aspects of his life. We will spend some time over the next 30 days highlighting Colin's life. We hope you enjoy this time with us!

Happy Birthday Cody!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our little man Cody! He is such an adventuresome, independent, determined and "mostly" happy little boy and we are so thankful for all of the ways that he completes our family! He has changed so much recently with how much he is doing and saying and he makes us laugh all of the time! We love you so much Cody!

1st Day of School

Today was our first day back to school and to our normal routines again and I think overall the day went as smoothly as it could go. For Colin and Kailey, we had prepared for this day for awhile by talking about it a lot. Colin is dependent on and feels most comfortable when he knows what is coming next and what to anticipate. To help with our morning routine and transition, I created a visual schedule for both Colin and Kailey so they knew what Chris and I expected of them when they got up in the morning. They both followed them really well and enjoyed taking the cards off (they are velcroed on) as they completed each task.

Cody, on the other hand, struggled a bit more. I don't think he was quite ready to get up (he had been up at 5 and we got him back asleep in our bed) but with all the chaos in getting ready, he woke up as well. It took him awhile before he would even crack a smile but once we got him going, he slowly came around a bit.  

Kailey was the most excited and she couldn't wait to get walking to the bus stop and head to school. I could tell that Colin was happy and ready to go, but he also had his "nervous face" (his lips get tight and he almost looks like he's going to cry) and was especially irritable at times (more when the rest of us weren't doing things EXACTLY how he wanted us to).

We  made sure we had everyone organized earlier than needed so that we could take some pictures outside and get to the bus stop with plenty of time. The bus stop is a new routine for us so we also had to do some talking about this as well.

We were really happy with the bus driver as she was really nice and had remembered seeing Colin in the past. She helped ease our worries with Colin's transition (which went great!). We had a whole plan in place that included the kids sitting together and that didn't happen either way which also meant that both Colin and Kailey were comfortable with that. We are also incredibly lucky this year because one of our neighbors and friends from church will be getting Colin and Kailey off of the bus every day so now they will just be able to be home and relax until I get home every day. It is such a nice relief to have that opportunity for them!

We are happy with our first day and all were exhausted so hoping for a continuation through the rest of the week! 

Back to School

Tonight I am ending my 2 month break from blogging on the eve of our first day back to school and to our normal routines. For as much as we all enjoyed our summer, this structure is necessary for everyone. We had lots and lots of adventures, spent a lot of time at the beach, and grew (physically and metaphorically) in many ways. I am excited to see what this year is going to bring everyone and how they are all going to continue to change.

Colin has done so much growing this summer and has really matured a lot. He has really impressed us with how well he listened and complied with most tasks. Things that were always super challenging like cleaning up around the house,  getting dressed, handing over the ipad, etc. have really gone pretty smoothly. That's not to say there haven't been "moments", but those were also handled differently than they had been in the past. While we still always have to anticipate "what's next", I feel that I have been able to relax a tiny bit because for the most part, he's just been so good. We had a tutor for him this summer so I feel as though it took away some of the stress and worry that always accompanies the feeling of "are we doing enough?". He has really made progress and so we are thankful for the teacher that worked with him.

Colin will be starting in a regular first grade class with the same para as last year and the same special education teacher he had 2 years ago. Although this is where we want him, this placement is because he is currently in "stay put" as we await our trial that will begin in October (we have 4 court dates set). Last year was really such a great and positive year that we are cautiously optimistic that this will be the same. We really feel that last year "set the tone" in the sense that inclusion can be successful for him in his homeschool so we are hoping that his teachers going forward embrace him in their classrooms the same way his Kindergarten teacher last year did. New this year will be his transition to the regular public transport bus; he will now have a bus stop with Kailey and they will be riding together. After his success last year, we believe that this placement is the best one for him to reach his potential. We have learned to take each day one step at a time though as this is a fluid process and is ever changing.

Kailey is so ready for her transition to Kindergarten. In all honesty, this summer has been the most difficult with her because she has just been so emotional and in a lot of respects, not as compliant as she had been in the past. We think a lot of this is due to the transition taking place but it has been hard learning how to handle all of this appropriately. I also think that in her mind, she's growing up faster than her physical age of 5 so this has been tough for her. However, she has also really grown and matured a lot. She is so helpful with Cody and is really gentle and loving with him. She often takes on a "Mommy" role with him which is sometimes met with resistance (Mr. Independent). She will be starting Kindergarten in the same school that Colin currently attends on the same bus. To say she is excited is an understatement and we know that she is absolutely going to soar this year.

And lastly, there's Cody. He has been physically exhausting this summer because he is 100% all boy. He feels it is absolutely necessary to keep up with and do everything that Colin and Kailey are doing. He has a great personality and is always making us laugh but we have spent a lot of time working through typical toddler behaviors. We are currently dealing with difficulties in getting him to bed but we are REALLY hoping this will all get worked out with the onset of school. He will be returning to the daycare he was at last year with the same teacher he ended with. I think he's going to have a harder time than anyone but I also know that he will get there, no matter how long it takes.  

Here's to a great school year for the 2016-2017 year!

An End and A Beginning

I dusted off the keys tonight to write an overdue blog post that has been on my mind since the ending of school but I was never quite able to sit down and write it out. The ending of this school year was incredibly emotional for me for many reasons because it came off of a year that really went incredibly well.

On the last day of school, I sobbed as Colin's bus pulled away for the last time this year much in the same way as I did on the first day albeit for much different reasons. The beginning of the year brought with it so much fear because of how the previous year had ended but with the end of this year I felt so much joy because of how grateful I was that Colin had such a dedicated general education teacher, special education teacher and paraprofessional who worked so hard, evidenced by Colin's great progress this year.

I was also emotional as Kailey's time at a daycare we have truly loved also came to an end now that she is headed to Kindergarten next year (although we are grateful Cody will still be there!). Her year ended with a graduation show that was wonderful and on her last day, I also sobbed as I was thankful for all that her teachers have done to allow her to grow in so many ways. Between Kailey and Colin this year, I have felt that all of those that played a part in affecting their lives this year did all they could and made a huge impact. It was sad to see it all end for that very reason.

Our transition to summer, despite being incredibly excited for it to start, was very challenging as we all had difficulty adjusting to a far less scheduled and routine day to day existence. We are starting to get into a groove right now but it has taken some time. I still see the impact on Colin as he asks an incredible amount of times each day "where are we going?". I think this change so far has been the hardest on him.

There have been so many incredible things that have happened so far this summer that I can't wait to talk about in future blog posts but one thing that sort of "knocked us down" a bit was our court appearance this past week on behalf of Colin and his placement for 1st grade at a settlement conference. Despite a year in which Colin has made incredible progress, we are still facing a district who believes children like Colin should be educated in a much more restrictive setting than the one he has been in for the past 2 years. After hearing comments from both attorneys, the judge decided that a settlement would not be reached and that we would need to have a trial in order for another judge to make a decision. As I reflected back on a year in photos and videos in preparation for what lies ahead, I couldn't help but  be grateful for all of the ways in which Colin has grown this year much because of where he has spent his time being educated. Much as we do all year, we are continuing day by day.