Picture Monday!!!
We've had a photography business for the past 2 years, and about 99.9% of the pictures are taken by my wonderful husband. Well, this past week I decided to try it out for myself, with of course the best model in the world, my son Jaemen. It was really fun, I experimented with light, aperture, blah blah etc...I took these right behind my house at our school park. I had soooooo much fun. I think I found what I want to do...I want to do children's photography!!!! I'm going to have 1 assignment a week from my husband. So, if you're looking for some pictures of your kids give me a call, I would love to try some things out on other peoples kids. My kids are getting sick of us constantly pointing the camera in their faces...haha So, enjoy my little angels pictures!

Help bring Addison home from Russia!

The Mom Crowd is hosting a very exciting raffle for my very good friend, Bethany. Her family is in the process of adopting a little girl from Russia who has Down syndrome and they just found out they will be traveling on Monday to meet their sweet angel!!

As most of you know, adoptions are very expensive. We are hoping that this raffle will help raise funds to help with their substantial adoption costs. Please take the time to pop over and see all the wonderful items being raffled off. Click here to see all the goodies. Not only will you be helping bring an orphaned child home but you'll be in the running for some pretty cool stuff for just $5!!

My baby's a star!

Parenting.com is doing a special about children with Down Syndrome for the month of Oct. for DS awearness month!!! And my baby's a star...lol check out the link, he's about 10th in line, check out all these cute babies...I could just kiss them all day! I think Jaemen was about 10 months old when this picture was taken...

http://www.parenting.com/gallery/Baby/A-Special-Joy-5-Babies-With-Down-Syndrome/

Updates :)

Well, it seems Jayvier's stomach problems are a result of constipation and a lack of fiber!!! They did blood work to see if his white blood count was elevated which would mean possible appendicitis. That was normal...they also did two other blood workups for the liver and they came back in normal range so he just has a big liver! Just like his big head!!! :) Praise God!!!

We also did his sleep study last night, boy is this kid a big baby! First I had to threaten to sit on him on Wednesday when he got his blood drawn! I told him his little brother gets it done everyother month so there was no reason for him to cry!! I swear!!! AHHHH Then last night at the sleep study they had a cannula in his C-flex (like a C-Pap for his sleep apnea) so they could measure his carbonmonoxide and he freaked out! That poor tech! I thought he was going to kill him, so finally I told Jay if you don't just deal with it you're grounded! That seemed to work, so hopefully they got the readings they needed and we'll be getting his oxygen here soon!! Maybe after 12 years of not sleeping and waking up 9-14 times an hour he'll get some good sleep!!! I just can't imagine what that's like!

Well, I have a migraine ( I think from all this stress this week) so I'm going to get off the computer and go rest!

Thanks everyone for praying for my kid!

Jay's stomach

We just got home from the afterhours clinic and they said Jay is all backed up and gassy! YUCK...But the problem is that the Dr. found that his liver is a little enlarged. This could be from the ADD med's he's on or it could be hereditary or another problem. So, we've called his regular Ped to find out if they need to run any tests. Pray with us that it's nothing. I can't help but going to a bad place when it comes to my kids. I always think the worst, so pray it's nothing at all just a little enlarged from the meds! He's also going off his ADD meds as they found he has Sleep Apnea and 50% of the kids with ADD have sleeping disorders, not ADD!!!. He's getting his C-pap machine on Thursday night so hopefully this will clear up all of his problems!

Thanks for the prayers!

What a Monday

Monday's usually are pretty busy for me and today was no different. I went to Jaemen's therapy appointment and got the results of his last assessment. He seems to be doing good in most areas. They put him at 33 months for receptive speech and 24 months for expressive. I was totally shocked that they put him so far in advance for his receptive. I mean it seems like he's "getting it" more lately. He follows 2 step commands, knows about 4 letters, 2 colors and is responding to questions with yes or NOOOOO answers. :) But that really only puts him behind like 6 months on receptive...so, YEAH JAEMEN!!! As far as expressive....(sigh) he sure does express himself it's just usually with a scream or jaemen jargon...lol He is mimicking so much more which is so cool to hear. I just love hearing his little voice. Today his word was house...and he just kept saying it over and over....houuuuse, it was so adorable! We have some flash cards that he loves, so he's been having a good time with those. As far as potty training, well, that's another story. He understands it, but has NO interest anymore! I'm kinda bummed I didn't push it a little more when he was interested. I figure I'll give him a few weeks off then try it again! Wish me luck!

As far as Hailey, she got her cute little glasses this weekend! OMG she is so freakin adorable I can hardly keep from kissing her sweet little face! She looks just like my sister-in-law Apelles! She had solo practice with Jennifer this weekend and it's getting cleaner and cleaner. I know she will rock it for her competition in Nov!

We had Jay's soccer quarter-finals this weekend! Boy was that stressful! 3-2 us in overtime!!!!! We had some issues with a few things but now, hopefully everything is worked out and Jay can feel like he's adequate enough to play with these boys. He's an amazing defense man but, since they moved him up a year ago, his confidence has been shattered by some of the boys. This team is extremely competitive and sometimes Jay has a hard time understanding that. He's ready to work his hardest this weekend to win and move on to the finals! That would mean that Jay's team is ranked in the top 4 teams in the state! And if he wins Sunday he will be ranked either 1 or 2...hopefully 1!!!! This is the first time that a team has EVER made it this far from his club, so if you remember pray for safety, confidence and a win if that's God's will for Jay's team on Sunday!

We went over to our friends Shellie and Brad's house this weekend to watch a UFC fight, but unfortunately for Shellie, Mr. Chuck Leddell lost which was very sad! :)

I'll try to get pics up of Hailey in her new glasses..

Until next time!

WEll, that was my crazy life this weekend!!

Jaemen's eye appointment...

So, today we took Jaemen into the dr. for an eye appointment. As my child somehow lost a pair of glasses and the other pair are currently getting smashed on Powers Blvd. from him throwing them out the window...ahhhhhhh Anyways, we got in there and much to our surprise Jaemen was behaving himself, for about the first 1/2 hour...YEAH!! Well, then the eye exam started...and they asked me does he know his letters? Does he know his colors? Does he know his shapes? HUMPH...NO, NO he doesn't---HELLO! It was completely obvious that these people have never worked with a child with DS...So, I look at the girl and say "nope sorry!" she says Oh Oh that's ok we'll figure something else out! Then the Dr. starts the process of looking in his eyes, and asks Jaemen to look at the letters on the board...ahhhh HELLO?!?!?!?! He can't even talk how do you think he will tell you what letters are on the board!!!!!????? Sometimes these things just hit you...WOW, he's so behind...I mean I know he's behind and all but some days I see it and some days I don't. Today, I saw it and it hit me like right hook to the jaw! I guess it was just one of those surreal moments for me...it's ok though, I gotta say he's going to look like a stud in his new specs!!!

We did get his lab work back and his thyroid is acting normal, he's a little low on his TSH but not low enough to up his meds! And he starts on Prevacid tomorrow for a heital hernia! Hopefully soon he'll start eating and drinking! Man would that make my life easier!

As far as the other kids, Hailey has dance this week and is working really hard on her solo! And Jay got to try out a friends half-pipe thingy in his backyard, so he was stoked! Also, Jay's soccer team also made it to the quarter-finals for State Cup. Which apparently is a big deal, so good job son! We're off to Denver this weekend for another soccer game! GO NIKE!!!!

A few myths about individuals with Down Syndrome

Below are tips for the proper use of language for ‘Down syndrome’. The National Down Syndrome Society and the National Down Syndrome Congress encourages all media to use the below language:

· Down vs. Down’s. NDSS and NDSC use the preferred spelling, Down syndrome, rather than Down’s syndrome. While Down syndrome is listed in many dictionaries with both popular spellings (with or without an apostrophe s), the preferred usage in the United States is Down syndrome. This is because an “apostrophe s” connotes ownership or possession. Down syndrome is named for the English physician John Langdon Down, who characterized the condition, but did not have it. The AP Stylebook recommends using “Down syndrome” as well.

· People with Down syndrome should always be referred to as people first. Instead of “a Down syndrome child,” it should be “a child with Down syndrome.” Also avoid “Down’s child” and describing the condition as “Down’s,” as in, “He has Down’s.”

· Down syndrome is a condition or a syndrome, not a disease.

· People “have” Down syndrome, they do not “suffer from” it and are not “afflicted by” it.

· It is clinically acceptable to say “mental retardation,” but you may want to use the more socially acceptable “cognitive disability” or “cognitive impairment.”


Down Syndrome Myths and Truths

Myth: Down syndrome is a rare genetic disorder.
Truth: Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring genetic condition. One in every 733 live births is a child with Down syndrome, representing approximately 5,000 births per year in the United States alone. Today, more than 400,000 people in the United States have Down syndrome.

Myth: People with Down syndrome have a short life span.
Truth: Life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent years, with the average life expectancy approaching that of peers without Down syndrome.

Myth: Most children with Down syndrome are born to older parents.
Truth: Most children with Down syndrome are born to women younger than 35-years-old simply because younger women have more children. However, the incidence of births of children with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother.

Myth: People with Down syndrome are severely “retarded.”
Truth: Most people with Down syndrome have IQs that fall in the mild to moderate range of intellectual disability (formerly known as “retardation”). Children with Down syndrome fully participate in public and private educational programs. Educators and researchers are still discovering the full educational potential of people with Down syndrome.

Myth: Most people with Down syndrome are institutionalized.
Truth: Today people with Down syndrome live at home with their families and are active participants in the educational, vocational, social, and recreational activities of the community. They are integrated into the regular education system and take part in sports, camping, music, art programs and all the other activities of their communities. People with Down syndrome are valued members of their families and their communities, contributing to society in a variety of ways.

Myth: Parents will not find community support in bringing up their child with Down syndrome.
Truth: In almost every community of the United States there are parent support groups and other community organizations directly involved in providing services to families of individuals with Down syndrome.

Myth: Children with Down syndrome must be placed in segregated special education programs.
Truth: Children with Down syndrome have been included in regular academic classrooms in schools across the country. In some instances they are integrated into specific courses, while in other situations students are fully included in the regular classroom for all subjects. The current trend in education is for full inclusion in the social and educational life of the community. Increasingly, individuals with Down syndrome graduate from high school with regular diplomas, participate in post-secondary academic and college experiences and, in some cases, receive college degrees.

Myth: Adults with Down syndrome are unemployable.
Truth: Businesses are seeking young adults with Down syndrome for a variety of positions. They are being employed in small- and medium-sized offices: by banks, corporations, nursing homes, hotels and restaurants. They work in the music and entertainment industry, in clerical positions, childcare, the sports field and in the computer industry. People with Down syndrome bring to their jobs enthusiasm, reliability and dedication.

Myth: People with Down syndrome are always happy.
Truth: People with Down syndrome have feelings just like everyone else in the population. They experience the full range of emotions. They respond to positive expressions of friendship and they are hurt and upset by inconsiderate behavior.

Myth: Adults with Down syndrome are unable to form close interpersonal relationships leading to marriage.
Truth: People with Down syndrome date, socialize, form ongoing relationships and marry.

Myth: Down syndrome can never be cured.
Truth: Research on Down syndrome is making great strides in identifying the genes on chromosome 21 that cause the characteristics of Down syndrome. Scientists now feel strongly that it will be possible to improve, correct or prevent many of the problems associated with Down syndrome in the future.



For more information visit: www.ndss.org or www.ndsccenter.org

I have never been so excited about politics in my life!!!!

For the last few months I've gone back and forth about my decision on who would get my vote come Nov. And I'm so excited that McCain has asked Palin as his running mate! I think she can and will crush some of those statements being said about her being a working mom, I think she will also show the world that choosing life over abortion is always the answer!

One of the main reasons I have chosen to go the route of McCain/Palin is because of this horrific part of legislation that Obama has decided to back..check out this link, it hurts my heart!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIdbYjmbFzo

For some of you that don't know Gov. Palin has a son who has Down Syndrome. She knew prenatally that her son would have an extra chromosome and she decided in spite of this that she would continue her pregnancy. She didn't hide the fact that her son has DS. She has embraced it and loves her son and thinks of him as a perfect son.

So, Gov. Palin...YOU have made me decide that you are and will be the best VP this country has ever seen! Thankyou so much!