Here comes Santa Claus!

Every year The Down syndrome Development Council (The DDC), our local Down syndrome parent support group, hosts a Christmas party for our members.  We always have lots of food and goodies and crafts for the kids.... but we know the kids are all just waiting for the big guy to show up with his bag full of presents.

This was the second time Sam and Andrew got to visit with Santa this year.  The first meeting was at Sam's school and this was the report that followed:

Andrew:  Mom I think it is so cool that Sam's teacher is 
                 REALLY Mrs. Claus.

Me:  huh?


Andrew:  Ya, Mom.  I saw Santa drive away in a car with Sam's teacher!

Sam is particularly excited about Santa this year.  He was grinning from ear to ear.  Andrew made several crafts for Santa and presented them to him before whispering his list into Santa's ear.  You will notice that Sean is MIA.  Eventually, Santa was able to lure him close enough to receive his gift but there was absolutely no way Sean was going to sit on Santa's lap.  Sean's "snatch and grab" was much too fast to catch on film.  Maybe next year.

Andrew and Sam with Mr. St. Nick himself at the DDC Christmas party.  

the Poncho Project is growing...

I am so excited to see the Poncho Project grow beyond anything I imagined and to know that there will be so many kids that will benefit from the efforts of everyone involved.  So far I have sent out several poncho kits across the country to people who wanted to start up a poncho project to benefit their own local children's hospital.  Some have been touched by a child with special needs, some are parents or grandparents, some are just kind souls who just want to give something back and put a smile on child's face.

One of these poncho kits landed in the hands of my friend Sandy C.  She and some students from the Association of Clinical Lab Sciences at Ferris State University have been busy bees over the past several months working to raise funds and collect donations to make their poncho project a reality.

I am so excited to report that they have made over 40 ponchos and pillowcases/purses that they will be delivering to the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids this week!!!  I applaud their efforts to bring a bit of joy to others.  Thank you all so much.  It sure looks like they had a lot of fun but they will have even more fun when they see the looks on the kids faces!  

OMG... YOU GUYS ROCK!!!  Keep up the good work :)

Happy 7th Birthday Sam!

Today my chromosomally enhanced wonder boy turns 7... I cannot believe it.  You don't have to think about it very long to realize just how far he has come in these past 7 years... today truly is a day to celebrate!  To get a brief overview of how Sam got to where he is today... slow and steady wins the race!

From this 12/17/02... (Sam was 6 days old, 14 inches long and barely holding on to 2 pounds)

To this... 12/11/09 (Sam is 7 years old, 45" tall and 54 pounds)

We are so very proud of how far he has come and are excited to see all the places he will go.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy... I hope the world can truly see just how wonderful you are!

The Pink Glove Dance

This is great!  Check out the 

The Pink Glove Dance 

and support Breast Cancer awareness!

EIGHT...OMG...EIGHT!!!

It was a crazy birthday weekend for Andrew, who will turn 8 on the 24th.  8... EIGHT... OMG where has the time gone???  I cannot believe that he is 8!  The big 8  also marks the beginning of several changes that will be in store over the next year.  Andrew has informed us for some time now, that once he turned 8, he would eat more vegetables, keep his room clean without being asked and would be old enough to keep a tarantula or boa constrictor as a pet!  Although my fingers are crossed and my hopes are high, I am not going to hold my breath waiting for all the "I will do that when I am 8, Mom" promises but there is one thing that I am certain of... and it involves pets of the big, hairy and dangerous variety.  (Sorry, Buddy)  So we look forward to celebrating Andrew's EIGHT IS GREAT year.

Andrew had a sleep over with some friends and it was loud and crazy and lots of fun.  The boys played Wii and hyper-dash, built legos/bionicles, watched Star Trek and a Bionicles movie,  devoured pizza and ice cream cake and got grossed-out eating Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans .... vomit, sardine, rotten egg, dirt, earthworm, soap, black pepper, buttered popcorn, cinnamon, grass, blueberry, ear wax, booger and buttered toast to name a few.  They also ate cotton candy gum that turned their mouth's bright blue!  Yes, pictures will follow soon!

We are excited to celebrate this very special day.  Nov. 24th at 7:35am will mark 8 years that Andrew decided to arrive 5 weeks early, while we were visiting family in another state, and forever change our lives for the better.  Andrew is one amazing kid and an incredible big brother... we are truly blessed.  Below are a few pics of Andrew throughout the past 8 amazing years (birthday pics to follow).

Happy Birthday... Andrew!  We BIG LOVE YOU!

Wordless WISH Wednesday

A bike for Sam

Taking a brief pause between yet another Make-A-Wish post, I felt that this is a very note worthy sidestep. We have been on a search for a special needs bike for Sam. Every time we go to the park, Sam tries to hijack some kids' bike. Of course he does not have the balance, coordination, motor planning or other basic skills needed to sit on a bike without support not to mention actually ride a bike.

However, today I stand corrected.

We have been looking to get him a Discovery Bike by Freedom Concepts. This bike is like the "Cadillac" of special needs bikes and with all the bells and whistles also comes a very large price tag (but seriously... doesn't EVERY THING for special needs kids cost 5x more than it does for the general population???) but it is exactly what Sam needs. So we are in the process of working with our insurance to see if they will help us out with this $3,900.00 adaptive mobility device (if you want insurance to cover it you gotta know the lingo). So far so good *** please keep your fingers crossed***

So I found The Bike Rack , home of Creative Mobility and to my absolute joy I found that they are located in St. Charles IL... about an hour away. Check out the "hallmark heroes" video about Hal and the work they are doing over at the Bike Rack...but have your tissues ready. I had a long conversation with Hal Honeyman over the phone and made arrangements to meet with him and actually put Sam on a Discovery Bike to see if this was indeed the bike for him.

**kleenex warning

So we drive up and my excitement mounts as I see a variety of special needs bikes on display both outside and inside the show room. A few minutes later Sam is on a bike... wait.... SAM IS RIDING A BIKE.... he is actually riding this bike in the parking lot. At this point I am squealing and jumping up and down and I think I actually briefly reached an octave that only wild dogs could hear. Yes, Sam was actually riding this bike all by himself. Thankfully the Discovery Bike has a rear breaking and steering system that allows us to control him a bit and help him learn to navigate. I LOVE THIS BIKE, I LOVE HAL HONEYMAN AND I LOVE THE BIKE RACK!

We hope to hear back soon from our insurance. They requested more information and I am giving them more than they will know what to do with to support my efforts.