“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” -Scott Hamilton

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." - Scott Hamilton
Showing posts with label EPDSC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPDSC. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Sweet Maya!

Last week we went to visit my friend Ann in Delaware and meet her baby, Maya. She is a real cutie. Isabella was thrilled. She's a baby nut!



We bought her that cute little hat in this picture (and matching booties that you can't see).


It was really nice outside so we decided to go for a walk.



Raymond LOVES Isabella!



On Saturday we went to see the Macungie Minstrelaires with Grammy and Aunt Theresa. It was a show to benefit the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center. Raymond had a good time movin' and groovin' to the music!



It was good it was dark in there because Lily wanted nurse almost the entire time! When she wasn't eating she was trying to get Aunt Theresa.



Raymond and Jessica



On Monday we went for Raymond's anesthesia consultation for his surgery next week. After three hours, we got the green light. So lets hope Raymond stays healthy between now and then. Later this week he has a cardiology appointment and GI appointment. I'll let you know how those go.

Until Next Time!



Lots of Love,

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

EPDSC

Click on the link to watch a video feature from WFMZ. It's about Down Syndrome Awareness Month and the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center (EPDSC). Our good friend Ann Marie is featured.




Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,


Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bounce into Spring!

On Friday night we went to the Active Learning Center in Allentown for an event with the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center. The center had bouncers and a ball room that the kids all really enjoyed.


Raymond and I were having so much fun in the ball room!




Then I got into the bouncer with Raymond. I can't remember the last time I was in a bouncer. Raymond was a little unsure at first but he got over his fear in about 10 seconds.











Then everyone ate pizza...



Nate and his Daddy


Owen and Isabella

(I love Owen - he's just the cutest thing)




Tory was singing and dancing with Raymond. He couldn't take his eyes off her. We joked that Raymond has a new girlfriend!



Then Isabella hit the ball room!


Our entire family had such a nice time. We are so grateful to have the center which allows us to stay connected with other families who are also blessed with Down Syndrome : )


On another subject, Isabella made me pipe-cleaner roses today. She said it was for my anniversary. What a sweet girl! She did a great job all by herself!


Until Next Time!


Lots of Love,


Saturday, March 5, 2011

Growing So Fast!

Hi Everyone!
Lily was three weeks old yesterday! Wow! Where did that time go? She is doing so fantastic. At her doctor's appointment on Tuesday, the doctor was thrilled with how she is doing. When Lily was born she weighed 8lbs 2ozs. When we left the hospital she was 7lbs. 6ozs. At her very first doctor's appointment she weighed 7lbs. 14ozs. On Tuesday she was 9 pounds 4 ounces! She's always eating...which is a good thing. Yes, I nurse her. I nursed Isabella until she was 18 months old and donated breast milk the entire time. I weaned her at 18 months because Chris and I wanted to have another baby and we knew it would be a little harder to conceive if she was still nursing. So Isabella and I went to visit my friend Nikki when she still lived in Kentucky. A vacation, in my opinion, is the best way to wean a baby. I was able to distract her from nursing with no problem.

I've had a lot of people email me asking about Lily's delivery. I didn't know people were so interested. So I'll share a little of it. No, I wasn't afraid that Lily would have Down Syndrome. The odds were so slim. I was however a little worried that my pregnancy would hit 30 weeks and my body would say, okay, time to get this baby out! Thankfully, that didn't happen. Lily was born via C-section. This was my third C-section and I knew it was coming. I opted not to have a natural birth with Raymond and Lily. I was fearful of the complications one can have with natural birth after having a C-section. I must say, I wasn't disappointed not to be in labor or hours. All I had to do was show up at my scheduled time and lay there while someone else did all the hard work. Easy if you ask me! I was up an walking around a few hours later. I had Lily on Friday and went home on Sunday. It's been a blast ever since. Once when I was pregnant with Raymond, I was watching a birthing show on TLC. The featured couple was having their fourth baby. I remember the husband said having baby number two was the hardest. After that, it's pretty easy. I doubted his fatherly wisdom at the time. Our second birth obviously didn't go as we expected. Even with all the complications, once we got Raymond home, I thought it was going to be much harder then it was. I was remembering the father from TLC. It was, well, easy. He just fit right in. Now with Lily, I feel the same way. I thought I might have a hard time dividing my time between three children but I don't. Maybe the TLC dad was partially right. Adding baby number three has been a breeze. All three kids are great!!! We are truly blessed!!! (And yes, as crazy as it might sound to some, I'd have another one.)

Isabella and I made mermaid magnets. We molded them, waited for them to dry, then Isabella got busy painting. The magnets didn't stay on the backs very well so I have to glue them on today for her (we used self-stick magnet tape the first time). She's my crafty girl!


Since Raymond is cruising everywhere, we keep the doors in the hallway closed. He stays out of trouble that way! : ) In this picture he's sitting outside of Isabella's room because he knows she's in there. He was banging on the door like a crazy man until she opened it and let him in.
Friday was a nice day outside so I decided to load everyone in the car, including Sadie, and go to the Daniel Boone Homestead. It's such a nice place to walk around. I took a plastic zip-lock bag and Isabella filled it with things from our "nature walk".




Lily and Raymond were riding in our new triple stroller. It's considered a triple because there is a seat with a lap belt that pulls out in the back for Isabella to sit on.


Raymond has been having a lot of trouble with seizures again. We are hoping he just outgrew his dose of medicine. His neurologist has increased the amount but it takes almost a week for it to take full effect. I hope it helps because the seizures are very intense. Much more so then before. Yesterday we got the delivery of Raymond's medical equipment. His new car seat is huge! Chris put it in the car and Raymond loves facing forward now. His new stroller is going to be a big help too. It has an IV pole and a bracket to hold his oxygen tank. They actually forgot to order the oxygen tank holder but said it should be here within two weeks. It's a $5,000.00 stroller. Yikes! Some people's car's didn't even cost that much.
This morning Lily and I went to the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center's Membership Meeting. Chris and I decided it would be better if Raymond stayed home because of the seizure problem. We are used to seeing him have seizures but it can be pretty upsetting to others. I'm on the Buddy Walk Committee again. Hopefully I can count on everyone's support again this year! : )

Until Next Time!
Lots of Love,

Monday, December 13, 2010

EPDSC Holiday Party

At preschool on Thursday, Isabella participated in the Santa's Secret Workshop. She was very excited to pick out gifts all by herself and wrap them. She needed to buy gifts for 11 people and one for herself. When I asked her who she wanted to buy for she made a long list! She was so excited when I picked her up. I told her not to tell me what she choose for anyone because I wanted to be surprised too. Well, this sneaky girl told me what she picked out for Daddy without telling me directly what it was. Cleaver! So then I clarified my previous statement to her by adding that I didn't need any hints either. After Christmas, if I remember, I'll tell you what she said. Since Chris reads the blog, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

This weekend we went to the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center's Holiday Party at the Allentown Brew Works. We had been looking forward to it. We saw most of these families at the Buddy Walk in September but the kids have all seemed to get so big since then. There were also a lot of new members with tiny little babies. All cuties!!! It was a lot of fun!

Morgan, 9 months

Raymond was playing with a spoon up close and personal with Daddy

Santa even stopped by!

Santa even brought a gift for everyone

Tanner, 10 weeks

Meet Sara. In February of 2009, Sara was diagnosed with Leukemia. We have a special bond with her family because of our similar circumstances. Sara has a different type of Leukemia then Raymond but we still understand the ups and downs that each other's families go through. At 6, her little body has had a rough time with the chemotherapy. Sara looked like she was feeling much better just since the Buddy Walk in September. Her mom was telling me that she is doing fantastic! She sees her oncologist just a few days before Raymond sees his. So I'm sure we'll be hearing how that went soon after.

Sara was sitting in the chair that Santa had been in. She was pretending she was Santa. I shot a short video. I wasn't able to get it to flip upright. One day I'll figure it out. Sorry! Turn your volume up and get ready to strain your neck.

Over the last few days I also made a few things. I've been wanting another zip-front robe but they are so expensive. Easily $60-$70. I really didn't want to spend that much on one. I had some fleece fabric I bought awhile ago for a good price. There was enough of it for a robe. I made myself the robe and Isabella wanted me to make her a matching robe. I didn't have enough of the fleece to make her a robe so I made her pajama bottoms instead. With the tiny leftover scraps, I made her doll a set too. I just need to get her a sleep shirt to go with the bottoms. Here we are. That's a lot of flowers!!! : )

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Erica