Just don't rock the boat....

I have had several inquiries recently asking how I am doing. My lack of blogging has annoyed some people (sorry mom) and worried others. Since the last time I took a big, unannounced blogging break was during the DARK TIME it is a fair concern.

Actually, things are fine. Better than fine, they are awesome. They are doing so well that I have to pinch myself to believe it. In fact, I think that was half the problem. I have been on such an even keel I don't want to do ANYTHING to mess that up. It is like my life is a ship that is packed to the absolute top and we are cruising along at top speed. Everything is fine unless someone upsets the balance. Is that to vague of an analogy? I guess what I am trying to say was that trying to do extra things like blogging, reading or taking a shower (kidding, kind of) puts me off my game.

But, since my baby is almost one (next month, don't remind me..I can't stand it) it is time to re shift the boat. Derek even bought me a laptop so I could update this site regularly while I am in my car or waiting at doctor appointments. I will put up a bunch of pictures to show the relatives that my children are not just alive, but growing and thriving and hope that will buy me some mercy.

I am back.

This girl is HEAVEN. I absolutely cannot get enough of her. There will be lots of Gracie posts soon. Recently what I can't get over is how much like Lulu she is, except the whole "scratching her head with her own foot" thing. She continues to delight the children with her party tricks.


Miss N is a little girl now, there is no toddler left. She is walking, running and talking (heaven help us can she talk). When I see this picture I am struck by how beautiful she is (and how awesome my braids were....). Nosi is still globally delayed, but spends most of her time acting like a 2 1/2 year old. We are also seeing more and more of ...

... this face. Good times ahead.


This guy? Not much has changed. He continues to be charming and funny and is getting less destructive by the day. We are not sending him to Kindergarten this year (he is right on the cusp) so he has another year in preschool to refine his stand up act and practice all the funny faces to make his teacher crazy. Lucky her!

Lauren is too grown up for me. She chooses her own clothes, has opinions about her hair and is generally a great helper and sister. I was looking at pictures of her the other day and realized that my tiny girl is gone. I didn't even notice that the new big girl Lulu had replaced her. Gulp.

There is a tidbit. I am working on some more posts. I am also going to start posting about the progress of Miss Gracie. I have talked to some parents who also have children with Down Syndrome and we were saying how there are only a few blogs that really give people some concrete insight into what it is like to raise our kids. We need these kinds of blogs, not for everyone, but for every family that finds out prenatally that their child has Down Syndrome and is trying to figure out what to do. Or, for the family that finds out at birth and feels overwhelmed with understanding just how exactly their lives are going to change. There needs to be more places where they can see what the developmental delays entail, how the therapies work in the context of family life. Mostly I just hope to show any one who reads here that having a child with Down Syndrome is both the biggest deal in the world and no big deal all at the same time. So many of these pregnancies are terminated and I just think that if people KNEW how easy it is to parent and love these kids, they would have just that much more information to add to their decision basis.

We are off to do something fun this weekend. What are your plans?