Happy Easter!

We had a very relaxing and nice Easter this year. We started the day with church, which was a great way to focus our day around why we celebrate Easter. We came home for a little egg hunt and then let Ryker nap before going to my parent's house. While Ryker was napping, I was getting our stuff ready to go when Sydney said to me, "Mom, I just want to help you with all the things." She was really excited about the day and so sweet. My parents spoiled the kiddos with another egg hunt and gifts. They were thrilled! We had a yummy meal and nice walk in the gorgeous weather. I am so thankful for our family, our faith, and such a great day together.

Checking out their new gifts.

 Grandma made a bunny cake for the occasion!

 Little brother might be feeling a little smothered...

Grateful for my sweet girl.

 

The weekend escaped us and we didn't get to our egg dying until Easter night.

Happy Easter!

A Busy Saturday

Family Fun Day! We spent this past Saturday morning at an egg hunt put on by a high school Key Club for families involved with Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association. Afterward, we drove straight to Fort Collins to attend a CSU softball game where another RMDSA event was being held. There was a picnic lunch, bounce house, crafts for this kids, and a chance to meet the team after the game. It was a gorgeous spring day and we had lots of family fun!

Ryker

A few new things Ryker is doing that I don't want to forget -

• First sentence - Just in the past few days Ryker has started to say "I see a _____." His first sentence! He'll stand at the back door and say, "I see a bunny." Or, "I see a cat," (because the same pregnant cat keeps hanging out in our backyard!). He will fill it in with pretty much anything he knows. Cute!
• Counting - The other night I was counting Ryker's toes as we were getting ready for bed. After I said one and two, he chimed in, "three, four." I was shocked! I'm sure they do a lot of counting at school and it's starting to pay off. If I get him started, he'll do one or two numbers in a row up to five. Not sure he really knows what it means, but he's pretty proud of himself!
• Body parts - Ryker is learning to say and identify lots of body parts, and he loves to practice by pointing to mine and then his. Some he knows include head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, and belly.

Our little boy is growing up so quickly. He's definitely not a baby anymore!

In this photo he was watching two older boys throw a baseball back and forth. He stood there perfectly still for some time just mesmerized. Ryker loves balls - baseballs, basketballs, soccer balls - he just wants to get out there and play!

Brother and Sister

I am posting this simply because I love this photo. We were at an ENT appointment a few weeks ago, which was one of many appointments Myles had in a short amount of time. With three kids, I often have no choice but to bring all of them along, and on this particular day the doctor was running really behind, making it a long wait for all of us. This photo very genuinely and innocently represents the precious relationship between Myles and Sydney. Sydney knows that some things, like talking, are hard for Myles, and that he has a lot of extra appointments, but I'm not sure how much she truly understands yet, or if it even matters. They are good buddies, play well together, have fun, watch out for each other, defend one another (especially when one is in trouble with us), and celebrate their successes together. In many ways, Sydney is like an older sister to Myles, but in a protective way, and not as though she's in charge of him. She respects him and cares about his opinion. She shares stories with him, and asks him questions, and although he often doesn't have the words to answer, she will keep at it until she understands what he's communicating. She's so patient with him, often more so than I. Myles is a great big brother too and she is lucky to have him. I am thankful for these two and what they are teaching each other.

A visit to the North Dakota Schaefers.

Last week, Sydney and I joined my parents on a road trip to North Dakota to visit my brother and his family. Ben and Chelsa welcomed a new baby boy, Jairus Liam, in February, and this was our first trip to meet him. We arrived Saturday evening and stayed until midday on Wednesday. Chelsa and Jy had to go out of town for an appointment prior to our arrival, and unfortunately had a last minute change in travel plans and couldn't get home until Tuesday evening. We missed seeing them and cuddling the baby sooner, but it was a good chance to spend lots of time with the other two. Ben and my dad were both working most of the day on Monday and Tuesday, so my mom and I were able to watch the others.

The town was having their grand opening weekend of a new rec center, which is really big and nice, and includes an indoor pool with water slides and a lazy river. We were really excited to spend time there with the kids, but so was the entire rest of the town, making it really busy! We tried to go swimming three times, but were only successful once due to the pool being over capacity. Fortunately, the rec center also has an indoor playground, so the kids were still happy. It was a cold and snowy weekend, so we were thankful for somewhere to go indoors to run off some energy!

Aubrey and Sydney hit it off right away and had a great time playing. They are only 9 months apart and are into a lot of the same things right now. They of course had some squabbles as 3 and 4-year-olds will, but spent most of the time having fun.

Bottom right photo: Sydney and Aubrey were having a very serious (and hilarious) conversation about whether they should ask Brodie if they could use one of his toys. It seemed like morally, they felt like asking him first was the right thing to do, but were weighing that against the fact that he might say no, and then they wouldn't get to play with the toy at all. Pretty cute.

 Grandma brought matching Frozen pajamas for the girls, which they were thrilled about. We heard a lot of, "I'm Elsa." "No, I'm Elsa, you're Ana."

 Here they are playing at the indoor playground. Shortly after this photo was taken, I heard Sydney say, "Aubrey, I love you." To which Aubrey responded, "I love you too." 

It wasn't all about the girls, though. Sydney had fun with Brodie too. He's just six months older than Ryker and I think she related to him like she does her brothers.

 

We did take a break from trying to swim at the rec center and also spent some time at the library! It may not sound very exciting, but my mom and I were both grateful for unplanned time to spend with Aubrey and Brodie. Being that we don't see them very often, and when we do it's usually packed with family activities, this was a good chance for everyone to connect more.

 

When Chelsa and Jy returned home we were all excited to hold the baby!

 Sydney loves babies!

My brother's beautiful family - Aubrey 4.5, Brodie almost 2, Jairus 5 weeks

Sydney and I missed our boys while we were gone. A huge thank you to Gilby for manning the fort while I was away with our "easiest" kiddo. They did great and had some fun of their own.

Little Hearts Fashion Show

On Friday, Myles was part of a fashion show at the annual Little Hearts Fundraiser. The event, held at the Denver Air and Space Museum, raises money to benefit patients and their families served by the cardiology department at Children's Hospital Colorado. All of the kiddos in the fashion show are heart patients and most have had open heart surgeries similar to Myles. We are so grateful for the care Myles has received by some of the world's top cardiologists, and were thrilled for him to participate.

I wasn't sure how he would do as it was a bit of an overwhelming venue and event, but he did awesome! I had put together a social story of what to expect, which really helped keep him focused, and although he was really tired (from getting up at 4:30AM as he's known to do sometimes!), he had a lot of fun.

Myles was escorted by Dr. Hickey, the developmental pediatrician for the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children's Hospital Colorado. As the social worker for this clinic, I have the privilege of working with Dr. Hickey every week, and have the utmost respect for him, his knowledge of all things pediatric and Down syndrome, and his genuine care and compassion for the families we work with.

 (Firefighters were some of the other escorts.)

 

   

After the morning rehearsal, and before the fundraiser started, Thunder, the Broncos horse came to take photos with the kids! 

Myles' new Spider Man shoes were the highlight of the outfit for him!

Myles is an amazing kiddo who has been through so much in his short life. I can't imagine how different things would be without him or the experiences he's brought us to. I know he has made me a better mom for his siblings (and him), and strengthened our marriage and family in ways that are hard for me to articulate. I am so grateful for this little boy.