Lots to Be Thankful For!

Happy Thanksgiving!



Before I begin this post, I have to send you to another blog to put you in the thanksgiving spirit.  A woman, who I only know from a distance in my online Down syndrome community, has put together a beautiful, beautiful tribute to our children for Thanksgiving.  It will remind you what Thanksgiving, and being thankful, is really about!  (And yes, Ty is included, as well!)    Here it is:   Thankful For You

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm thankful for this year...mainly because I've been asked on more than one occasion recently!  It's got me thinking about how much has changed in the past 365 days, and how far we have come.  Ty has grown into a strong, healthy, vivacious little toddler, and things are good...like really, really good.  In particular, this year I am thankful for...

* Ty's health.  This exact week last year Ty was hospitalized for bronchiolitis.  Since that time, he has not had one incident where he had trouble breathing...not one.  We are so fortunate that he continues to grow strong and healthy.

* The milestones Ty has reached in just 12 months.  Last year he wasn't yet sitting; this year he is nearly walking.  Last year he spit out his turkey baby food; this year he will eat the entire meal, all by himself.  Last year he had just started babbling; this year he has 30+ words in his vocabulary (spoken and signed), and uses them appropriately.  It's just been amazing watching him learn.

* Our families, who have been more than supportive this year, from moving to a new house, to offering free babysitting services, to celebrating all of Ty's accomplishments. It helps a lot!


* My fabulous husband.  Eric keeps me from stressing too much, and makes me smile. He's the perfect partner for me to be going through life with.

* The opportunity to stay home with Ty every day.  It's not always easy financially to be a stay at home mom, but man is it worth it.  No one could pay me to miss another minute of Ty's toddlerhood.

* The Down syndrome community.  From playgroups that we attend, to large online communities, I have met people around the world who are sharing in this same journey.  We have made some wonderful friends, who I can't imagine not having in our lives now.


* My friends.  Not many adults can say they are still close with their childhood friends.  I am so fortunate to have numerous friends who I have known for 15-20 years, who know me well, and are always there.  And of course the friends who I haven't known quite as long, but are just as supportive.  I'm so, so lucky to have all of them!

* My friend Stephanie.  She is one of the above-mentioned friends, but has become my pregnancy buddy and mom buddy in recent years.  I am thankful for our frequent walks and talks, our sons' friendship, and the little girl who she is about to bring into the world!  It gives me a bit of sanity having her so close! :-)

* Our new house.  Exactly a year ago this month, we bought our little ranch in the town where I grew up.  We are finally settled, happy, and comfortable in our new location. 

* New days.  Even though therapies and medical appointments can get tough, Ty's bright smile and energy always remind me that it's a new day, and there's something to celebrate.  It's a good attitude to go through life with!


And of course, I can't end this post without sharing Ty's list as well.  He openly shows what it is that he loves, and it's easy to see how much he is grateful for every day!

* Mom, Dad, Toby, and Nick (our dogs, his "brothers")
* His family...grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
* Strawberries and graham crackers
* Music...ohhh he's SO grateful for music!
* Words
* Books
* A wonderful therapist who doesn't give up on him! 

So thank you for reading, thank you for supporting Ty, and thank you for being in our lives!  Happy Thanksgiving!  What are YOU thankful for????     

Weekend Recap

I promised to post some new pictures today, so I figured an update would be appropriate as well! 



His new "funny face" that he makes, and laughs about, probably 30 times a day!

We had a nice 3-day weekend, which was filled with exploring the house, family, and making messes!  Ty's new-found independence keeps me on my toes constantly these days.  In turn, I have a new-found appreciation for baby gates and safety latches!  Ty and I had a quieter day at home together on Friday, as we did PT in the morning, and I got some cleaning done around the house.  One of Ty's new favorite activities is "helping" to load and unload the dishwasher, which involves him climbing on top of the open door and pulling plates off of the rack.  Surprisingly, this has been the ultimate motivator to get him to crawl on his hands and knees finally! 

Ty and his "I can do it myself!" attitude...I wonder where he gets it?!?!

       

On Saturday, we had a visit from Ty's Lala and Poppi (Eric's parents), as they brought us Eric's Grandma's hutch, to go with her dining room table that we also have.  I absolutely love it.  It has a little family history, and that antiquey-wood smell.  Plus, I finally have a place to store my china that I swear I'll use someday! :)

We had a nice afternoon of playing and shopping, and then we went out to a wonderful kid-free dinner while Ty's Nanny kept him company.  Thanks to everyone for all the help that day!



Our new hutch!



And today was just another lazy day.  Ty spent a good part of the morning crawling from room to room, hitting objects with his hockey stick, and pulling up to stand wherever he could.  This boy spends 75% of his time on his feet now, but rarely walks by himself.  He's more than ready to walk...I'm just waiting for the day when he has the confidence to let go and take off!  



Playing with his noise machine is one of his guilty pleasures!



Licking his bowl clean...after his fork could no longer scrape the mashed potatoes off the bowl, he resorted to the next best thing...his tongue!

   

Clearly, our "lazy" weekends are never lazy with this little guy!  Always an adventure!

20 Months!

Wow, my baby is 20 MONTHS OLD!  I always looked at the "baby 20's" as being the "big kids"...the ones who could do all the fun stuff, got into trouble, and had raging personalities.  I guess my Ty-guy gets to join that club today! 

19 months has been a fun one.  This was the month when Ty took his first steps!  It was such a proud moment, and one that we had been looking forward to for quite a while.  Since, then, I've often been asked, "So, is Ty walking all over the place now?"  Sorry to disappoint, but we are definitely not there yet!  To put it in perspective, in a matter of 1 month, Ty learned to walk with his hands held, walk with a push toy, cruise along the couch, stand independently, and take those first independent steps...in ONE MONTH!  That's a whole lot of "new" for a little guy!  At this point, his record has been 4 consecutive independent steps - but they're good steps.  They're not the "flying with my feet under me until I fall" steps; he can take one, maintain his balance, take another, maintain his balance, and another, and another, until he is done and decides to lunge or sit.  Basically, he has all of the necessary skills, but none of the necessary confidence.  But in reality, who can learn a life-changing new skill, master it, and feel confident to use it consistently in a matter of a month?  Definitely not me!  So in the meantime, Ty pulls to stand anywhere he can find (his new favorite, and my new least favorite is pulling up on the knobs of his dresser), and lets go often to practice taking some steps.  It's a process...much like everything else he has learned to do...but I have total and complete confidence that he will get there in his own time!

Those fabulous first steps...in case you missed it! :)

My other favorite change this month has been Ty's ability to absorb language - both spoken and signed - like a sponge.  I can throw a word at him, and he can repeat it back to me using the sounds that he knows.  It's truly amazing.  The same is true for sign language.  He now looks to my hand when I say a word, knowing that some hand gesture is associated with that word.  More often than not, he will attempt to mimic the gesture too, which just blows me away.  My absolute favorite has been the interest he has had in the alphabet.  One of his musical toys has a button that plays the "ABC's", which I often sign along with.  Recently, I've noticed Ty's hand bending and waving in the air along with the song, just like I do.  He definitely does not associate a particular hand motion with a letter yet, but I just love watching him try!  Ty is one curious little guy!

Signing "apple"...cutest sign ever...but when he calls it an "appa", now that's even cuter!!

When we are not working on walking and talking (which I feel like we do often...unintentionally!), our days are just laid-back, and plain old fun.  If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now - I LOVE being home with Ty every day!  It was a decision I will not regret.  I love being in tune with his schedule each day, I love noticing the new things he is doing, and I love being the one who he sees when he wakes up from his nap.  He's already growing up so quickly...he'll be in preschool in a little over a year!...I can't imagine missing another minute of his "baby stage".

Five o'clock blackberry shadow...what else do you do with leftover blackberry juice?!

Our little dancing fool

His interests this month include:  exploring nostrils, reading books (when has he not liked books?!), standing, opening his dresser drawers and pulling out clothes...while standing...and then pinching fingers, dancing, cars, animal pictures, and stacking blocks (or shapes, or whatever else he can find to build a tower with).
His dis-interests this month include:  naps (that has not been a fun battle), oatmeal, diaper changes, less-frequent baths (due to his alligator-like winter skin), and medicine (for his ongoing ear infections).  If these don't describe a typical almost-two-year-old, I don't know what does!  He's such a blast to be around every day, though!

With that, I'll leave you with some pictures of our big boy!



Favorite toy of the month - new play hut! (Thanks, Eric and Evelyn!!!)



And discovering the faces that can be made against mesh...

Happy 20 months, Ty Ty!!!!

Halloween Fun

We celebrated Halloween today...yes on November 6th...see "Winter Preview" post below! :-)  Celebrating Halloween a week late has its benefits though.  We bought nearly 300 pieces of candy, 40 goodie bags, and a candy bowl for less than $10...thank you Walmart clearance aisle!!!  

Luckily, we saved our pumpkin that Ty's Nanny grew in her garden, and carved our jack-o-lantern in the afternoon.  Last year, Ty was only 7 months old, and sat on the sidelines while we carved pumpkins.  This year, he was able to sit at the table and join in the action.  He was not a fan of the pumpkin "guts" that we passed his way, but he quickly made a game out of throwing them on the floor.

He was much more interested in the actual finished product.  Sticking his fingers in people's noses and mouths is a recent favorite activity, so he had no trouble exploring the holes in the pumpkin's face!

Right before trick-or-treating began, he dressed up in his puppy costume and managed not to throw a fit while I tried to take some pictures!  Again, I was thinking back to last year when he could not yet sit, and I had to prop him against an ottoman to take a picture of him in his costume.  It's amazing what a difference a year makes!

We only trick-or-treated at 3 houses (his Nanny's, Grandpa's, and old babysitter's houses), but it was plenty!  He was more than happy to whip off the costume and play with our leftover candy instead!

I imagine next year will be much more action-packed, as we chase a 2 1/2 year old up the street, and try to keep the candy out of his mouth!  This year, I just got to enjoy watching him become aware of the holiday for the first time, and that was a lot of fun for me.  Happy belated Halloween!  

Winter Preview

What a week!  Winter gave a sneak peek to New England this past week...at the end of October, nonetheless...and dumped nearly a foot of snow on the fall foliage, jack-o-lanterns, and mums that were waiting for Halloween. 

As predicted, the weight of the wet snow on top of the leaves that had not yet fallen, knocked power out to much of New England.  Of course we weren't one bit prepared.  When Hurricane Irene was rolling into town, we packed our freezer with ice, loaded up on water and canned goods, and were pretty much ready to live like Little House on the Prarie for a month.  Of course then, we didn't even lose our satellite cable, nevermind our power.  So this time, we highly doubted we would lose power, but bought 6 cans of food and 2 gallons of water...just in case.  By 6:00am on Sunday morning...just 4 hours after our power went out...we realized we might be in over our heads!  We had no wood to start a fire in our fireplace, used half a gallon of water to make coffee, tea and cereal (thank goodness for gas stoves!), and our cars were buried under cement-like snow.

After digging ourselves out of the snow, we made it to the store to buy some firewood, and sat huddled around the fireplace all day (which we learned does not give off heat), as our thermostat dropped dramatically, and we got very bored.

So, at 4:00pm that afternoon, we packed up and headed for my mom's house, where there was at least a generator to provide heat and running water (thanks, mom!).  We packed a day's worth of clothes, expecting to go home the next day.  But of course, one day turned into two, and two turned into three, and then four...and on lucky number day 5, we finally got the call that we were back in business!  I really, really, really hope that this was not a preview of the winter to come! 

Anyway, since Halloween was postponed due to the blackout across town, we will be carving our pumpkin and dressing up this weekend instead...so stay tuned!