Two Girls and Ethan: February 2011

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

…one year and a half

Here we are.

A whole year and a half, as time speeds by at a rate too fast for my taste.

My little man continues to thrive as he continues to light up my world.

This little boy has forced me to grow in ways I never knew I had to grow. I was twenty something that hot August day he made his way into this world, I was most certain at that moment that I was as mature as I could get.

Little did I know…. how much I would mature. How much more my heart could possibly ever love, how my perception of people and life would be completely enriched and enhanced.

Here we are A WHOLE YEAR and A HALF. Life only continues to blossom into this beautiful rare flower. Full of colors and splendors not known to the rest of the world. It’s almost like a secret treasure.

Without a doubt I know that I was meant to be his mother and he was meant to be my son.

I can, and I have, spent a whole day lost in his angelic soul, as I watch him sleep and play. He looks up at me, and I feel a spark in my heart. If ever, my heart stopped beating a moment too soon, I am sure one look from him would bring me back to life.

He is everything I thought a boy should be, but more than I thought my son would ever be. I am ashamed to admit that I underestimated everything he would ever be. But thankful for the truth and thankful for everything that he is, and everything that he is not as well.

I laugh a lot. Not just at the comical things in life. I laugh at those people, professionals and strangers that said my son would be less.

He is everything and more. And he will continue to prove them wrong.

…one year and a half.

Feels like yesterday. Feels like a lifetime.

May God continue to bless us in our amazing journey.

My boy… full of all of the “boyness” in the world… Down syndrome or not.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Daddy’s Many Skills

What can I say, I am a lucky gal. I am blessed to be married to a man that can pretty much handle any problem that arises at home. Daddy…Jack of all trades. He is my personal mechanic, carpenter, painter, welder, as well as my own Iron Chef… and I only have to repay him in KISSES. MUAH MUAH!!

And another trade he has picked up is…… Ethan’s barber! YES. I said it. Good thing the kid is… A KID!

The Kid looks GORGEOUS!

(Sunday play time -eating leaves, picking flowers and being silly.)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Happy LOVE Day

Valentine’s Day had to have its own post!

I LOVE my kids… day in, day out, Valentine’s Day or not! But Valentine’s Day gives me another reason to shower them kids with unnecessary gifts…

So as a gift from both mommy and daddy, all three kids received these SUPER ~~ANNOYING~~ CUTE dolls, that sing in the most SUPER ~~ANNOYING~~ CUTE voices.

..”you… YOU got what I need.. and you say he’s just a friend, and you say he’s just a friend…Oh baby….” -oh yeah… can you picture it.

But the girls loved them and Ethan cannot get enough of them and in the end, that is always what matters. Their happiness over our sanity.

And someone has developed an ego… He climbed the coffee table to get a good luck at himself as he brushed his hair…

And the end result was FABULOUS!

MUAH! Kisses!

Daddies and their sons

We had a beautiful Valentine’s weekend… with great friends, great family, great kids, all weekend long. Full of love and happy moments… to tell you the truth, most weekends, or should I say most days are full of love and happy moments.

The weather WAS PERFECT after a previous weekend with cabin fever due to the ICE COLD weather. We took the munchkins to the zoo on Sunday after church.

I “bumped” into a man with his three teenage sons.. one of which had Ds… ok I admit it, I have stalker-ish tendencies when it comes to people with Ds, especially BOYS of all ages. And ESPECIALLY boys and their DADS! I love to see the interaction of dads and sons. It’s a beautiful look into the future of what life holds for this daddy and son.

When we first found out our baby I was carrying would be a boy, although we didn’t really care about the sex of the baby, I was extremely excited to have a boy. My husband was the only boy out of 3 kids. I know he longed for that boy since before our hearts ever met.

The day we found out that Ethan might have Ds, I feared that Daddy wouldn't want to be part of our lives, that that little boy he dreamt of all his life was taken away and he rather just be gone (and to a certain extent, something like that almost did happen). A big part of me knew that Ethan would be born with Ds. We never really spoke about it, we just knew we were going to have this baby and love him, regardless. After confirming that Ethan did have Ds, I knew I would love Ethan with all my might no matter what, but I feared even more… would daddy love Ethan with all his might?

Answer: Daddy loves that boy with all his might, it moves mountains.

Yet sometimes I wonder what Daddy really feels about the future.

So to see fathers with their sons just warm my heart. And I know I will be ok… that Ethan will be ok and Daddy will be ok.

When I “bumped” into him I asked, “is that your son?”, he answered, “all three are my sons”… I was pushing Ethan in his Lowes buggy, I turned him around, and showed off my little ham “does his little face look familiar?” in my proud momma voice.

I am not sure if he really knew what to say, I know I took him by surprise… he smiled and said “..it has been a real adventure raising him...”

“I am sure it has been, I am also sure it has been rewarding as well, it has been for us...”

He said, “yes, definitely rewarding… and I am able to do things with him that I haven’t been able to do with my other boys…”

All I know is Daddy is anxiously waiting for the adventures to continue. Seeing him Ethan, I am reassured that he is loving every second of being daddy to him. And I can guarantee you he hasn’t been robbed of the experience of raising a boy.

Bestest of friends...

Our first time at the zoo since Ethan has been walking..

Can I have one mom?

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Man Who Loved Clowns -book review

The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood

This story is about a young girl, Delrita who lives with her parents and uncle Punky (mom’s brother) who has Down syndrome. I had mixed feelings about this book, especially at the beginning. It was very obvious that this story had taken place quite a few years back. Considering this book came out in the 90’s life for an individual with Ds is completely different now days.

I was first disappointed at how Punky was perceived, a man with the mind of a child, his physical traits, the fact that he didn’t attend school, all sounded so stereotypical. I quickly became discouraged yet I continued to read the book.

Delrita deeply loves her uncle and yet deeply embarrassed by him as well. She thinks the best way to protect her uncle (and herself) is by living an isolated life. Invisible. Half way through the book a major incident happens and both Punky’s and Delrita’s lives are forced to change. Life changes for the better, briefly, followed by yet another devastating incident.

The book does teach us that sometimes it us who hold back our loved ones with a disability and it us that underestimates them when they are capable of many great things.

-Thank you DSAH for lending us the book from your library! Gabby had been searching for it for a while since it was recommended by a wonderful waitress at Joes Crab Shack. She has definitely enjoyed the read as well. This is a 4^th-6^th grade type of book, but a book I would definitely recommend to everyone.