Easter Celebration

We had a really enjoyable Easter this year. We didn't celebrate the traditional way this year. We had my brother Sean and his family come up from Baldwin. My mom was in town to watch Jocelyn earlier in the week so she stayed for the weekend. And, we had Alex's parents come over. We decided to have the first BBQ of the season. We had good hamburgers and hot dogs and Alex even smoked some meat. The weather also cooperated that day was well. We decided to dye Easter eggs outside. Olive and Jude did a great job coloring the eggs. Jocelyn just wanted to make a mess. It had been forever since I had dyed eggs so it was definitely an enjoyable activity that brought back so many memories. After the eggs dried, Jude hid the eggs in the backyard for Jocelyn and Olive to find. Olive did an amazing job finding the eggs. Her basket became so heavy she had a hard time carrying them all. Jocelyn and Oma also went out to find the eggs. She did a good job of finding the eggs too. However, once she picked them up, she liked to throw them as far as she could. Good thing they were hard boiled. That evening we had fun laughing and catching up with everyone. The kids had a great time running around and having fun.

Random Happenings

For the past month, we have not had that many exciting events happening. However, we have had a lot of fun hanging out and spending time with family and friends. Since the weather has been nice, we have been going for a lot of walks and going to park. Jocelyn really enjoys the stroller rides and listening to my music (I'm assuming:-) ). She has always been a dare devil and liked swinging. So, naturally, I thought she would enjoy slides. Not so much. She isn't very sure about them yet. I think over time she will come around. Alex has also started his softball season so we have been going to some of those games. She is such a good little cheer leader. Here are some random pictures we have taken recently.

World Down Syndrome Day... 3/21

This past Sunday was World Down Syndrome Day. 3/21 (3 of the 21st chromosome) The Down Syndrome Guild hosted an event at Crown Center. They had lots of fun activities for kids along with a play area. Jocelyn played a little with some of the kids but mostly I think she was in a little awe with all the people and things going on. They had booths for different youth and adult groups that are available in KC. They had a few adults who have Down syndrome give talks about their lives and accomplishments. It was very inspiring to hear them talk. There was a booth set up for a line of glasses that is made especially for kids with Down syndrome called Erin's World. I really enjoyed talking to the lady about the different glasses. Children's Mercy, where Jocelyn's doctor's office is, now carries this line. I am excited to get to try them on later on this week. As Jocelyn gets older and grows, it is apparent the difficulties kids with Ds have in fitting glasses. Between their wider faces and flat bridge of their noses, getting glasses to fit well can be challenging. We had a great time at the festival. Jocelyn received many compliments on how adorable she is. We are definitely looking forward to next years events.

In addition to the World Down Syndrome Day, John C. McGinley has an organization about stopping the use of the "r word." In case you didn't know, John C. McGinley is a parent of a child who had Down Syndrome. He is an actor has been in a number of roles but is most famous as Dr. Cox in Scrubs. I urge everyone to log onto this website and sign up for the pledge to SPREAD THE WORD TO STOP THE WORD!

Spring Break

A couple of weeks ago, Jocelyn and I went back to Hays for a few days to visit family. My brother Sean and his kids Jude and Olive rode back with us. Both Alex and Malindi had to work. We had a great time playing all day long and staying up late partying. My aunt Jen and uncle Gus came back with their two girls, Kate and Emma. It was a great weekend and with not much going on so we were able to relax and hang out with everyone. Jocelyn is very close to walking. So for now, she is a crawling machine. She is so fast as well. When she wants to go somewhere, she gets on it. My parents have a circle around the stairs that is between the hall way, dinning room and kitchen. The kids love to run around and scream. Jocelyn did her best trying to keep up with Olive and the other kiddos. It is going to be crazy once she is running around with them. We thought it was wild this past weekend; I'm not sure that we have seen anything yet.

Other than our trip, we have just been hanging out at home and in Baldwin at Sean and Malindi's house. Jocelyn is still trying to get over a cold that has been lingering around for about 3 weeks now. Hopefully she will be kicking it soon.

This week we are set to go back to the eye doctor for a check up and to order new glasses. They will probably take about a week or so to get in so I will post new pictures when we get them.

Big Up Date

Yes, it has been quite a while since I have last posted. We have had quite a few adventures since the beginning of the year. First of all, Jocelyn continues to grow like a weed. She had her 15th month well child check. She remains in the 92% in height and 85% in weight on a typical kid's growth chart. As long as she continues with her height greater than her weight, we will be heading in the right direction. She received some more shots which she did just fine. We go back in April for her 18th month check up and then will be pushed back to 24 months. Since Jocelyn is doing so well with her health and development, we are going to fore go the Down Syndrome Clinic this year. Our pediatrician is very knowledgeable in the development and health concerns that come along with down syndrome. This way, we can save a open space for another child who may benefit from it more. We are going back to the ENT in a few weeks for her check up on her tubes. It has been 8 months since her surgery and this is about the time that they may fall out. We will have to see what happens. More than likely, she will need to have them redone at some point. We also go back in March for another eye check up. We will be getting new glasses at that time as well. Big girl glasses! I will post some pictures once we get them.

Jocelyn has been able to crawl since she was about 7-8 months old but chose to army crawl most of the time. Now that she has developed more strength and coordination, she is a crawling machine. And fast too! She is still cruising along all the furniture but is becoming more brave and starting to try to stand on her own. She has stood without support a few times for a few seconds. Any day I know we will just look over and see her just walking down the hall.

We have been pretty lucky this winter in the fact that Jocelyn has not been sick much. She has had her occasional colds but nothing too serious. Most of her problems have been with the giant molars and other teeth that are popping through. She has had a few fevers and cranky days. Hopefully now that a few have broken through, the rest won't be so bad.

We are continuing to work with our therapist weekly. She sees a PT weekly for the month of February while our OT is out on vacation. We are still working with our Speech therapist every other week. Jocelyn is making great strides in her speech therapy. She can point to dog, ball, and baby. She is now saying "uh oh" which is so adorable. She understands the context of the word so she sometimes intentionally throws things off her high chair just to say "uh oh." It is really amazing how much progress she makes every week. There is always some new to tell her therapist. It is hard to believe that she is already 16 months old.