Myles Turns Four!

Happy Birthday Myles-Man! Four years ago today you made me a mama and taught me what it truly means to unconditionally love another. Your early days wrought with medical concerns seem like a lifetime ago and I often need to remind myself of how hard you have worked to be the little boy you are today. You are a fighter, a "soldier" as your name means, and we are proud of you.

For those that think all people with Down syndrome are easygoing, compliant, and always happy...well, they haven't met you little stinker! It's true you understand love, acceptance, and compassion beyond your years, but you are also stubborn and persistent (kind of like your daddy!). We butt heads over miscommunications and disagree about who should be in control, but even in these frustrating moments I find myself appreciating your sometimes hard-headed personality. You stick up for yourself and find creative ways to communicate your wants, needs, and feelings.

Your sister and soon-to-be little brother are so lucky to have you to look up to. You are an amazing big brother and I know you will always be looking out for them. You let Sydney have her way when something is not important to you, but negotiate with her when it is. You take turns and include her in all of your play. In the mornings you are so excited to see Sydney that you very often make your way to her room and wake her up well before she is ready. Anytime you hear her crying on the monitor you sign "baby cry" and say "me help" running toward the stairs to get her from her crib.

You are definitely our early riser, typically awake by 5:15 in the morning (this is killing your parents by the way). You don't need much time to adjust to the day and start your shenanigans first thing in the morning. The other week you were up before the sun as usual, so I decided to take an early morning shower. Daddy was awake with you in our bed when you made a dash for the kitchen. By the time he got there a mere few minutes later you had climbed onto the counter, dumped three remotes into a vase of water and flowers, and had stuck four knives in the toaster! (Daddy didn't tell me about the knives until later that day, smart choice Daddy.) This constant activity of yours keeps us going all day long and leaves me exhausted each night. You don't actually do many things to intentionally be "naughty," but you are busy, busy, busy, and still learning to control your impulses. I laugh when we go to friend's houses and they tell me there is nothing you can harm or get into when they see how closely I follow you, HA! I must not have shared with them the time about a month ago when you managed to throw about a dozen toys onto the roof when I was cleaning the windows with the screens off. I only turned my head for a minute! You are sneaky.

Your speech is coming along, and although I know I always mention it is slow progress, you are working very hard. You have several single words, and just this summer have started to try to combine words. You have said, "Where are you, Daddy?" "I did it." and "I got you." Often these phrases are only understood by those who know you best, and I'm sure you are saying a lot more that I cannot make out yet. I'm confident that someday we will look back at videos of you learning to talk and hear clearly what you were trying to say because of how proficient your speech will become. At least this is the goal we're all striving for. Your struggle with speech is the hardest thing for me right now and my greatest desire is for you to be able to express yourself in a way that everyone can understand. I see how frustrating it is for you, and in turn it is very frustrating and sad for me. We have good days and harder days, but your persistence keeps us motivated to stay patient and work hard for you.

I'm looking forward to what is already your fifth year of life and am so blessed to be your mama. Don't let anybody underestimate you little boy, you have amazing things to offer this world.

Splish Splash Birthday Bash

This past weekend we celebrated the kids' birthdays with a pool party! Despite some clouds and a few raindrops, the kids had fun swimming while the weather held out, and a good time eating a picnic dinner and cupcakes while playing inside after the rain came. We were able to use the pool and clubhouse in my parent's neighborhood where our family thoroughly enjoys swimming in the summer. A handful of our little friends and their parents joined us for the afternoon, and we are grateful for their presence in the celebration of our precious kiddos. I had fun planning the party with both Gilby and my mom, which turned out pretty cute, especially considering we didn't even decide to have a party until about 2 weeks before. Some photos from our day...

We continued the celebration the following day by opening family gifts. Neither kid quite understands the concept of their birthday yet, but they sure understand presents! Sydney of course got a couple of new babies, and I now have to read her nightly stories with 5 babies on my lap instead of the usual 2. The one she's holding in our family picture above she calls "yellow baby." I have no idea why. Myles is loving all of his new toys, especially his tool box, and little Toy Story and Sesame Street figurines. For a long while now he has been really into little pretend people and loves to move them from place to place and pretend play with them, so a whole new set of characters was in order.

Happy birthday sweet kiddos! You are loved.

Washington DC

Gilby and I spent this past weekend in Washington DC for the National Down Syndrome Congress' Annual Convention. Although we were both there for work, and spent most of the weekend in conference activities, we did sneak away for a bit of sight seeing.

After arriving Thursday afternoon we took a short subway ride to the Smithsonian and walked around most of the major monuments and memorials on the National Mall. Despite sweating so much (!) in the hot, humid weather, it was really fun to actually take a leisurely stroll with my husband and be able to take in the sights without constantly managing kids. We made our way past the White House and to Old Ebbit Grill, which had been recommended to us by a few people. After a long, but yummy dinner that didn't end until about 10:30, we realized it was pouring rain outside. Earlier I had been so proud of myself having actually taken the time to look at the weather and pack an umbrella for the trip, but I guess it wasn't so smart to leave it in the hotel room! We ran the few blocks back to the metro station and took a very wet trip back to the hotel.

Friday we actually slept in a bit (it's all relative when you have a kiddo that is almost always up by 5:15 AM!), had breakfast a few blocks from our hotel, and walked around the neighborhoods some before I spent the afternoon and evening in a meeting. Gilby took advantage of his free time and took a run around town to see more of the sights.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much spent at the conference, which was equally as fun, educational, and inspirational. We went last year as well, and it was just as great this year to hear all of the talks from the self advocates (adults with Down syndrome), and connect with other parents and professionals.

A HUGE thank you to my parents for staying with the kids over the weekend. It was an amazing break for Gilby and I to have a few days away and come back refreshed to care for our busy toddlers. The kids had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa, who took them to gym class, farmer's market, the park, and the swimming pool. When we got home Sunday night both kids started running around crazy doing somersaults and a "happy dance" as Sydney called it after Gilby suggested the name for their wildness. It's great to be missed...