3-21-12

We had a nice time celebrating World Down Syndrome Day yesterday.  We were at the Roseville Tavern in Lancaster with the group Celebrating Down Syndrome.  Traci Taylor was there with WINK 103 (radio station).  They were taking a lot of pictures.  I know that Raymond was in some of them.  I'll keep checking back to see when they post them on their website and try to find the ones with our little man.   

Raymond has been such a mama's-boy lately.

Many of the Lancaster Police Department officers were there volunteering their time as waiters.  I thought that was great!  They also brought two police horses for the kids to see.

Lily LOVED them!!!

Raymond was exciting to see them too.  He kept pointing at the brown horse.

Isabella got to go for a ride : )

(The building in the picture behind Isabella and the police officer is the kids dentist office.)

We also won a basketball with one of the raffle tickets we bought.  Raymond and Lily are having a blast rolling it all over the living room this morning.  Lots of giggling!

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Today is World Down Syndrome Day!!!

We will be celebrating tonight with a new Down Syndrome group we came across in Lancaster.  Since we are in between both this group and the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center, we thought we would be active with both.

This one's for you little man!

Longwood Gardens

I took the kids to Longwood Gardens yesterday.  It was beautiful outside!!!

I loaded Raymond and Lily into the wagon and off we went.

 Isabella wanted to go to the children's garden first.

 Once we got there, I let Raymond and Lily get out and play too.  All three of them were so cute!

 Raymond didn't want to walk down the steps.  He was crawling down backwards.  After a while, and some encouragement, he started to walk down.

 The garden's theme was orchid extravaganza.  There were gorgeous orchids everywhere.

Raymond was doing the happy dance when we got to the children's area in the conservatory.  He loves the fountains.

Lily had lots of fun too!

Raymond wouldn't smile for the camera because he was still upset with me for taking him away from the water. 

Isabella also took a ride in the wagon.

It was a wonderful day!

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

The Oregon Dairy

The weather was so nice today.  Isabella had a dentist appointment and I wanted to go to Oregon Dairy afterwards.  They have a very nice playground and last time we went it was raining.  So as soon as we pulled in the parking lot Isabella was asking if we could play.  We both had the same idea.

The silo has a slide in it!

 Raymond and Lily both had fun swinging : )

Raymond LOVED this little bridge.  He kept saying, "Ready. Set. GO!!!" then running across it.

While we were there, Isabella was playing with another little girl named Bella.  She was thrilled they "kinda" had the same name.

Afterwards we went inside and bought a couple of goodies to bring home.

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love, 



We're On The Mend

Hi all!

Everyone seems to be feeling better.  Raymond is still up and down but I think he's over the worst of it.  He's still looking thin and trying to catch up on sleep.

I found Raymond curled up on our bed sleeping the other day.  I watched him walk into the room and then didn't hear anything.  That's normally (in our house at least) not a good sign.  When I went to check on him he was already asleep...in less then 2 minutes!

When he's awake...he's a happy camper!

He's trying to get as much snuggle time with everyone as possible. 

(He and Lily were feeling better and making a mess and having fun!) 

We went to the Promenade Shops the other day to meet Daddy after he was done working.  The ice cream shop was having a read along. 

Raymond kept saying, "Cow!"

(We were at Maggie Moo's Ice Cream Shop)

I was glad Raymond was sitting at the far end of the table and not closer to the kid in the cow costume.  He probably would have knocked his cow-head off. 

Lily enjoyed her ice cream too!!!

On Wednesday and Thursday the weather was SO nice.  I had all the windows in the house open.  Wednesday I took the kids over to the museum and we walked around the gardens for awhile.  Lily and Raymond sat in the wagon I bought with some of their birthday money.

Lily and Raymond kept waving at everyone and everything!  They loved their new wagon!

We saw little signs of spring everywhere : )

We also saw this guy.  It's hard to see in the picture, but he has a dog in a sling on his back.  Isabella thought that was silly!

~My Sweet Girls~

The Monday after Easter I'm taking the kids and driving to North Carolina to visit my mom and step-dad.  We will also be headed to Florida to visit my great-aunt in Sebring.  My mom is going to go along on that leg of the trip.  I've started to make a list of things to take along.  I'm very good at packing and rarely forget anything.  I was really hoping to have my mom watch Raymond and Lily for the day so I could take Isabella to Disney World one day.  She's at the age were she's really into the Princesses.  Then, I looked up the prices.  Holy cow!!!  For the two of us to get in (not including the water park) and to park the car would cost $330!  That is crazy!!!  I was so disappointed.  We just can't afford that.  I know Isabella would have the best time but it's going to have to wait.  Honestly, I don't know if we'll ever be able to take the kids there.  It's just going to get more and more expensive.  Luckily for us, Daddy is REALLY good at finding fun, free things to do.  The most important thing is being together...no matter what you're doing.   

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,