A New Springtime

Down Syndrome = Flexiblity

Besides being so loving and cute, Malcolm has other gifts and talents, he is extremely flexible! Children with Down Syndrome usually are quite limber due to hypotonia.

I can't get enough of him grabbing his feet and pulling them all the way up to his shoulders. These are the things that make our family laugh and smile throughout the day!

If I could do this  maybe my mouth might not get me into so much trouble (lol).

Sister is trying to learn his techniques...

but decides she would rather do her own thing!

Malcolm Boy, Malcolm Boy What Do You Hear?

Last week Malcolm had his first appointment for a  more in depth hearing test. At six months kids with Down Syndrome get this done because they can be more susceptible to hearing loss due to upper respiratory infections and ear infections. Malcolm has been " congested" since birth, he always sounds like he has a lot of mucus. The suction bulb is in constant use.

                                      
Children with DS tend to have smaller ears and ear canals. Aren't his cute? Malcolm responds well to our voices and he loves to engage in conversations with us. He is very vocal. He mummbles,coos and babbles just like any other six month old.

Our appointment was at the Clark School for Hearing and Speech and I was impressed with the professionalism and care they showed to Malcolm.

The grounds were beautiful and we are so blessed to have these facilities not far from home. My older son who is 11 went with us and got to sit with the audiologist as she performed some tests. He was also a big help to me and made a wonderful impression with his charitable behavior.

                                                                                                                                          

When we returned home the kids and I discussed what took place at the appointment. We talked about the parts of the ear, vibrations and sound waves.
 
Having a child  with DS is such an opportunity  for all of us to learn something new each day.  It is a great experience and helps me to practice my Catholic faith by  trying to serve Malcolm and my family better.

My Lil' Charlie Brown

Yesterday was my DH's birthday and this called to mind how much he is a gift to me and our family.

I want to thank him for giving me the most precious gift of my children. We have many birthdays to celebrate in our home because of the love we have shared over the years. I am not just speaking of physical love but a love that comes from understanding sacrifice and commitment. Each time a new life came into the world through us we shared something that grew and continues to grow!

Joe has given our latest blessing, Malcolm, a new nickname. He sometimes refers to him as Charlie Brown because of this:

They both have that lil' swirl of hair on the back of their head.

Malcolm has Down Syndrome as most of you already know. I used to be afraid  of the thought of any of my children having DS  but now that I have experienced it the fear has turned into joy.

This lil' boy has so much personality, he loves to engage in social interaction and  is so happy to be loved and to return it to all of us. From the moment he began to nurse he was trooper. Because of his low muscle tone ( hypotonia) it took more effort for him to latch on but we worked hard as a team and made an immediate connection and everything else fell into place.

The whole family has benefited from Malcolm's life and his Down Syndrome. Every single person has some kind of "syndrome" in one way or another.  Love is the only perfection and we truly love our lil' Charlie Brown and all of our other lil' characters (especially the one peeking into the picture!)

October/ Down Syndrome Awareness Month

                                                               

                                                     

I am so blessed to be able to speak on behalf of people who have Down Syndrome! At the blog, "Unringing the Bell", there are many others who are doing the same thing by posting each day of October about the special people in their lives who have DS. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and this is one way we are be to share our blessings.

Today, Max was sharing a book with Malcolm. Baby boy is 6months old and already interested in books!

The love he and his siblings share makes my heart swell and almost burst at times!

They have so much to share with him without any inhabitions. It is so natural to them to pick him up and spoil him with hugs and kisses. He learns right along with the rest of us as we explore each day in our homeschooling.

 

Angry Bird Makes Happy Boy

The boys have been into the game, "Angry Bird" lately.  They have been winning the stuffed animals out of the claw machines at the grocery store. Being so generous they have been sharing them with baby Malcolm and he seems to enjoy exploring them.

Although Malcolm has Down Syndrome it doesn't hinder him from getting in on the current trends or  the current intrests of the other kids in the house. As a matter of fact he makes all of our endevours even more interesting.

The boys were so excited to let me know that he was quite entertained by the soft, big-eyed ackward looking creatures! He has even tried using them as teethers.

Angry birds make baby boy very happy...

and I can't think of a better use for them.

Fruit of the Womb

This is my crew these days! Time goes by and things are constantly changing. Even though I still have six at home there is still a void left from the two that are no longer home. The world of independence calls but a mother's heart always beckons to nuture each one of them still. They are the fruit of her womb.

My first born girl is starting to change and blossom into such a young lady. She has a very soft and sensitive heart and I love her dearly. I am enjoying seeing my little girl grow and become a  little lady.

One of a kind and she knows it, this one is the apple of daddy's eye! He loves all his children but there is a soft spot for her.

You can pick your fruit but you can't pick your sister. I hope these two stay close as they get older, they do a lot together and get along quite well.

This bunch is a blessing!  I have such wonderful children and we have such awesome friends; I hope they all know how much I care for them.

The apples don't fall far from the tree as you can see. There were so many on the ground due to all of the rain we had but that didn't stop all of us from enjoying the orchard. We trecked through the mud and the mushy apples. My good friend and her kids  are such an inspiration and encouragement to me.

The Seed Must Die A resurrection cannot occur without a death.A new life cannot begin until the old life is buried with Him.“Truly, truly I say to you, except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit” (John 12:24) The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:9). “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24). Christ must increase but i must decrease (John 3:30). He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live for themselves, but for Him which died for them and rose again.” (II Corinthians 5:15).To live is Christ and to die is gain – Philippians 1:21

Busy, Crazy, Wonderful

 Life has been so busy lately and I haven't had time to sit down to post. Soccer seasonis upon us and we ( DH and I ) are trying to keep our heads above water while running kids back and forth to practices and games.  We have five of our kids on five different soccer teams, a college team,  one on j.v., two traveling suburban teams and one rec. league player with the toddler and baby in tow! Last year when the season ended  I needed a soccer detox.

Homeschool has also been in full swing now for five weeks. We are starting tofall back into the routine of the three H's, hygiene, housework and homeschool. I try to get the kids to think of our day in this order and each one has a chart with their daily duties listed on it. We have been using parts of the Simply Charlotte Mason lesson plan for 6th grade this year. In the morning the kiddos have their individual subjects by grade level and after lunch I usually read the living books to them all while they work on copywork or an entry into their nature notebooks.

Fridays the kids take their spelling tests and we do poetry but this year we are also reserving Fridays for field trips. We have gone on three so far with our friends, another wonderful homeschooled family. This post and the next two will be about the places we visited so far. Our first adventure was:

The Great Falls Discovery Center

 
The Discovery Center was a wonderful place in Montague, MA that tells about what habitats one would encounter while traveling down the Connecticut River.

 
The grounds were beautifully landscaped and the weather was a delight. The center was well planned and designed, making a self-guided tour easy to understand and enjoyable.

                                 This sign explained the  different habitats along the watershed: beach, grassland, marshland and woodland.

 
This wonderful lady explained to us what we would discover at the center. She showed us this great relief map of the 400 mile CT River and said it would take an actual six days to paddle down the whole thing but here we would get to experience  a mock trip in about 20 minutes.

 
Here is the first display that gives a timeline of the river.

 

                   Directly across from the first display is an exhibit that teaches  about the the Barrier Beach, it describes the importance of the beach and how it protects the inlands by taking the brunt of storms that come off of the ocean. I had never really given the beachfront any thought from that angle before. 

 
We proceeded on through a few other areas and near the end came to this great scene. The kids did a scavenger hunt that was given to us at the start and they were able to spot many of the animals and  name them as we went along.

                                  A table was set up to educate the kids about River Otters. There was a skull ,a puppet, some pictures,a cast footprint and some questions and answers. It was a fantastic way to engage the kids into learning.

 
On completing our tour we went outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. There is nothing like some informal soccer playing with friends!

 
While the bigger kids were getting their game on,

 
the younger two were doing this...

 
                       and this!

It's been busy, it's been crazy, but it's been wonderful.