This year with spring break being so much later, it was MUCH needed for all of us. The week leading up to break, our kids were having a harder time waking up each morning and were exhibiting some behaviors that were not as typical for such a prolonged period of time. On Friday morning, they were so happy to be able to stay in their pajamas (as was I) and not have to rush anywhere.
Our first event to start our break was an egg hung at a friend's house. The kids were so excited and had a great time with their friends.
On Saturday, we celebrated Colin's 10th birthday with dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants and cake back at the house before heading over to a friend's house to decorate eggs.
On Easter morning, the Easter bunny dropped off our eggs at a different house, so we went to find them there before hosting family back at our house for Easter dinner.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day so we spent a lot of time outside.
Colin had such a great day on Monday celebrating his birthday with a few friends from his class. He had a blast dancing the night away!
I had so many adventures planned for the week in addition to a few things I wanted to accomplish, but as with any best laid plans, it doesn't always work out the way you want it to. There were parts of our week spent hanging around at home or running around doing errands...
We took a quick trip to the beach...
After Colin got his braces on, we had to play the days by ear based on how he was feeling but we still managed to visit Barnegat Lighthouse...
squeeze in some playdates...
...and finish up the week with Colin's track practice and Kailey's soccer practice and game.
The week went fast but was filled with lots of memories. I'm sorry to see it end!
There was a lot on my mind leading up to and subsequently following Colin's 10th birthday. This year was extra sentimental for me but mostly because I can't help but notice how much we have all changed. In the beginning, we were focused so much on milestones and helping him achieve them in addition to the things that he wasn't quite able to do yet. In the middle, there were challenges associated with Colin being a toddler and then transitioning into elementary school where we were fighting for an inclusive education. And at the end of this decade, I can't help but notice that things are pretty much "normal" now around here. I didn't really want to link his birthday post with everything else, so this post is focusing on Colin being 10!
As a 10 year old, Colin is pretty typical! He loves all things sports, enjoys reading, and loves singing/acting to some of his favorite tunes/musicals (he currently loves Aladdin and Mamma Mia!), and also loves video games.
He's ready to perform "One Jump Ahead" for the Talent Show!
He's so excited to start golf lessons!
He's participating in Special Olympics Track this season!
His balance is still a work in progress but he's always willing to try to keep up with everyone else. We recently visited the skatepark and I was so surprised to see him stick with it for as long as he did. He is always willing to try and that's one thing I love about him.
He is so polite and confident; he will walk right into a room up to friends or strangers and shake hands to say hi. He asks how they are doing and is genuinely interested in what they have to say. However, along with being a typical 10 year old comes pretty typical behaviors as well. For the past few months, Colin has been trying out some words or phrases that he has picked up on. In all honesty, to hear him say these things at times makes it difficult to stay serious and not laugh. It is a work in progress and a lot of consistency to remind him that it is not appropriate to say some of these things. Some of my favorite phrases have been...
Me giving a direction.
"That's crap!"
Me reprimanding.
"Well, it is!"
Me giving a direction.
"I don't like you right now!"
"Colin, that's not a very nice thing to say to me."
"Well, I said it under my breath."
Me giving a direction.
"I'm not happy with you right now and you're mean!"
Me making a comment.
"Well, you make me very frustrated!"
A long time ago, someone said to me that kids like Colin don't always have the filter of knowing when it's appropriate to say things out loud and when to "mumble them under their breath". Although I don't always like his responses to me, I've actually started trying to teach him that if he's frustrated, he needs to say things quietly to himself so that he can't be heard. He almost always will come and apologize and tell me he loves me when he knows I am not happy with something he has said.
In terms of his education, he is having another phenomenal year. We are so lucky that Colin has such a dedicated team that is working so hard to ensure his success. He loves school and I think that is because he is feels so happy and comfortable there; that only is possible because he is such a valued member of his community. He works really hard at school and at home and we are so proud of him!
There are 2 health issues we are dealing with at the moment. Over the summer, we found out that Colin was iron deficient on the verge of being anemic. We had difficulty giving him the iron supplement and so he took it sporadically. However, about a month or so ago, we took him for a blood draw and found his numbers hadn't rebounded that well and so we have really been pushing it hard with him and are finding he's been significantly better with it (it is part of our nighttime "meds" routine now). The smell of it is terrible so I know it isn't easy to take!
The other newest health issue is the fact Colin just got braces. We were referred to the orthodontist by our dentist because the adult teeth that are growing in are not growing in correctly (teeth issues are common with people with DS). After our initial eval, we realized that one of his front adult upper teeth goes behind the bottom teeth when he chews so he's actually biting into the tooth each time. We took him on Wednesday to have the braces put on for a morning appointment. He went right into the chair, had his teeth cleaned but then I think went into sensory overload when the doctor started working and started crying. We gave him some space but we couldn't "get him back" so the doctor suggested we come back later when it was quieter in the office. We spent the day practicing using special "tools" (a straw as a spit sucker and a tool from Kailey's bracelet making kit) to practice putting the braces on. When we got back later, everyone gave him the space and time he needed and eventually he got into the chair and with a little help from Mamma Mia! on my phone, we got the braces put on. We were very thankful to the team who were very patient and accommodating. Unfortunately, we are now dealing with big sores in his mouth and as expected with him and his sensory issues in his mouth, he's not letting us put the wax on or treat the sores. I feel terrible for him and hope things improve soon!
In thinking about what I wanted to say for this post, there are obviously things that are specific to Colin and where he is at developmentally right now, but that really is true for each of our kids. They all have things that are more challenging than others and I think Chris and I have gotten to a point now where it's all just our "normal". In some ways, things we deal with the other kids are more challenging than what we deal with with Colin!
It was fun watching Colin celebrate his birthday the other night with his friends from school. I love watching him with them and I love seeing how much they support him and love him for who he is. We truly are lucky to be where we are with Colin in this place, in this town, in this moment with him. Here's to 10 years of loving a truly special little guy!
Today is Colin's 10th birthday and I am having a really hard time wrapping my brain around that! I can't believe that this perfect little human has blessed our lives for 10 years! Colin has changed so much in the last year and we are so proud of all of the amazing things he has been able to accomplish. God knew Colin was a perfect fit for our family and he was perfectly placed with us.
Happy birthday to Colin! We love you so much and we are so thankful for you!
I was in the midst of getting ready for World Down Syndrome Day earlier today with Colin when I opened the folder in his backpack and came across the Educational Evaluation report we consented to a few months back. As I read through the report, I couldn't help but reflect how far I have come in this journey from where we started. In the past, I would have cried over the actual results over the test and admittedly I did cry today. I cried, however, because I was proud of what he was able to accomplish. I cried the most over comments like "...was friendly and spoke respectfully", "...completing to the best of his abilities", "...appeared confident in his skills and responded well to positive feedback". No longer are we the parents who are stunned and scared at a diagnosis we thought we didn't deserve (how it pains me to even say that out loud). We are not the parents who cry over reports that show weaknesses (not that it's always easy to read over those reports, but we have a different feeling on them now). We are parents who are so proud to say that Colin is our son, Colin has Down Syndrome, and we are so thankful for this gift he brought to our lives. He is amazing!
World Down Syndrome Day is held on March 21st (3/21) to represent the three copies of the 21st chromosome that individuals with Down Syndrome have (instead of a pair of chromosomes). People all over the world wear bright, colorful, mismatched, crazy socks to represent chromosomes, and the ways in which those chromosomes make all of us unique and special.
Our family will be celebrating tomorrow by rocking our socks but we will not only be celebrating Colin, but also, the friends, family, classmates, teachers, coaches, instructors, and community members that support Colin by demonstrating acceptance and inclusion for everyone!
We are so thankful for Colin and are so incredibly proud of him for the progress that he makes daily to be the best little boy he can be. We will celebrate diversity, acceptance, inclusion, and most especially LOVE on World Down Syndrome day. Let's see you Rock your Socks!
Today our beautiful little girl is turning 8! We are so incredibly proud of the kind, caring, ambitious, hard working, fun loving, and special young lady she is becoming! I feel like she has changed in so many significant ways this year but most especially, in taking on the role of "big sister" to both of her brothers. She is helpful and supportive, patient and loving, and cares to always do what is right. She works so hard in school and the activities she participates in. We love watching her take on new challenges. We can't wait to see what this year will bring for her. We love you Kailey!
Chris, Colin and I experienced a pretty defining moment in our lives last week when we found out that Colin and his paraprofessional, Mrs. N had been nominated and selected as Brick Township Heroes at the 5th Annual Hero Awards. They were nominated by their school principal as a "dynamic duo" because of the ways in which they complement each other. We were so grateful that all of their hard work over the past few years was acknowledged and that we were able to honor BOTH of them that night.
Ironically, the following image happened to pop up in my memories on Facebook around the same time of the awards night which was posted not long after we had come off of a very frustrating IEP meeting in our continued fight for an inclusive education for Colin.
We could only hope at that time that this would ring true for all of us, especially as we truly believed in our hearts that this was best for Colin. We were fighting an administration at that time that did not believe a child like Colin could be educated in a general education classroom. When Colin repeated Kindergarten after our first time in court, Mrs. N was placed with Colin and she, along with his teachers that year, were our "game changers". We knew immediately that Mrs. N was the perfect fit because she was, and continues to, push him to be as independent as possible while learning alongside his "typical" peers. She knows and understands him which means that when he leaves us, we know that the expectations we have for him are followed through at school as well. We have so much love and respect for Mrs. N. because she works so hard to ensure Colin's continued success at school.
As we have learned, the only way an inclusive education will work is when a school community embraces the philosophy that any child can be successful in a general education classroom when given the right tools. Despite the struggles in the very beginning, and thanks to many wonderful and dedicated students/friends and staff, Colin's education had spiraled to become something I could only have prayed it would become. I LOVE our school community and the people in it; I love the "game changers" who believed that Colin has a rightful place in their classrooms, who nurture his gifts, and have allowed him to be as successful as he is. My heart bursts with gratitude that my child with Down Syndrome has a rightful place learning alongside his typical peers, that he has made meaningful friendships, and has found a community of people that only want what is best for him.
The night was an amazing night and I was so happy to be there to celebrate ALL of the heroes that were nominated and selected as heroes. It was important for Colin, Kailey and Cody to be there to see what wonderful things all of the nominees did for their community. Colin and Mrs. N had several staff members come out to see them receive their award; I can't tell you enough what an impact Colin's team this year has had on him.
Going into the night, Colin decided on his own that he wanted to write an acceptance speech. He was the only one that spoke and he told me what to write and I typed it up for him. He practiced and was ready to go once his name was called. There were several things that stand out to me about that moment; one was that he took Mrs. N's arm to escort her up and two, that he felt it was important to thank her for "being the best". I also love that he was concentrating so much on reading his speech that I think he was practicing while he was up there receiving his award!
For Chris and I, this night was such a reward for the journey we have all been on. We have all come so far from where started; it makes this all feel that much more rewarding. Colin's school community is the "beautiful destination" we had hoped for and that is because of the dedicated, hard working, and LOVING staff and students that fill those walls. I wish there were words to truly explain what is on our hearts. Colin is the person he is today because of his team behind him.
...Mrs. N, you truly are a hero. You are the game changer. You push him to be an independent learner and you push him to be the best he can possibly be. I wish thank you was enough! We love you!
