Choo Choo!!

Happy "Hawoween" from Adam & Levi! Have a great & safe time!

Fun Times with Therapy

I have bronchitis & it isn't getting better! I went to the doctor last Wed. & went to an urgent treatment center on Sunday b/c I was feeling worse instead of better. The urgent care doctor put me on a stronger antibiotic and wrote a prescription for Prednisone to use if I didn't feel better in a few days. I started taking that today hoping that it will calm the swelling & inflammation in my airways and ears. Not fun. Yet life keeps going, and for that I am thankful. I am glad I have these boys to keep my busy. Distractions are always good when I'm feeling bad.

Today we had a special therapy session at a day care center in a nearby town. Levi got to spend some time on a platform swing to work on his core, and the boys had a blast playing. Here's a little video of our time there...

(The song is "They Are the Roses" performed by Acapella.)

Here are some pics from today. I am so glad Adam can be a part of therapy sessions, too, especially when they are something extra special, like today.



When we got home, we got a call from the girls at the pharmacy. They invited Adam up for doughnuts.
Being a pharmacy-frequent-flyer-family has it's privileges.

We carved pumpkins the other night.




We made "Cloud-Doh" (8 cups of flour & 1 cup baby oil).


And we are working on Adam's Halloween costume. Can you guess what he wants to be?

This & That

This is the Buddy Walk Update I've been wanting to give to you...
Levi's Team raised $5,318 this year and we had 67 registered walkers on our team. It was a fantastic day. A big thanks to all of you that supported us. The Buddy Walk is all about celebrating people with Down syndrome and what makes it meaningful is having our family and friends there.




That is my newly decorated entryway. I have been bit by the Pinterest bug have really been inspired to create and design lately! Check out my boards by clicking here.

This is the photo gallery I put together with cheapo frames from Walmart that I painted white & distressed with sandpaper. (Photos by Kristin Tatem)



This is a cool picture Wes took of Adam through a paper towel tube.



That is the Thomas the Train that Adam & I made from cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls. Behind it is the tunnel we made from a diaper box. We got him a book of Thomas crafts for his birthday and we have enjoyed doing the projects together. The other night he told Wes, "This is so up-siding!" (He doesn't get excited, he gets "up-sided!") When he saw the bricks I painted on the tunnel, he told me, "That's a great job, Mommy!"

This is the shirt I designed for Down syndrome awareness. I sold sweatshirts and T-shirts at the Buddy Walk. All the profits went to DSACK. I was so happy with how popular they were! I sold around 30 that day and took orders for several more! Want one? T's are $15 and sweatshirts are $20. Plus shipping.


I have bronchitis, which is no fun at all, but I've been trucking along and trying to enjoy the week. Of course, last night I was up until 4:30am. First I couldn't sleep, then I was super congested, then Levi woke up & I couldn't get him back to sleep. I am so thankful for Wes letting me sleep in, but I feel worse today than I have all week. Hopefully a lazy Saturday will do me some good.

Pittsburgh, PA

We took another family road trip this weekend. I worked in Pittsburgh Saturday.
After the seminar, Saturday, we drove to downtown Pittsburgh. This is the bridge we took to get there.



"The strip" is a wonderland of typography and architecture. I really enjoyed the feast for my eyes. I could've stayed hours taking pictures.




I loved this little pizzeria and wish I had a picture of the guy flipping pizza dough above his head. Very impressive.


Fun times with the fam. I am thankful.

Fall Fun & Tuesday Tidbit

We had a fun morning with friends that enjoyed the beautiful weather with us. I'm glad we had such a nice morning. Levi was as grumpy as all get out when his physical therapist arrived & we discovered that the fever he had at 2:30am was back. We drove an hour out to the doctor's office & found out that he has another sinus infection. Yuk.











Mr. Potato Head Pumpkins:

Tonight, I realized there was no toilet paper in the front bathroom a little too late. Adam was happy to help. I could see he had some paper in his hand while he stood in the hallway, but he only tore off a tiny piece. When I asked for more, he tore more off what was in the hall. When I walked out, I saw what he was holding on to.

I said that wasn't what I had in mind, and he said, "Okay, I'll take care of that!"
Hmmmpphh!

And now for my Tuesday Tidbit :)

This weekend, someone was asking me about Down syndrome, and after I explained that Levi has an extra 21st chromosome in every cell of his body and that it happened when the first cell divided at conception, she asked, "So you didn't do anything to cause it?"

Since October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, here are some things you may not know about Down syndrome:

1. Over 80% of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under the age of 35, and the average age of a mother of an infant with Down syndrome is 28 years.

2. While Down syndrome is genetic in that it involves an extra chromosome 21, it is not usually hereditary in the conventional sense. That is, Down syndrome is not inherited; it does not "run in families." Down syndrome is usually the result of a random event that occurs during the formation of reproductive cells (eggs and sperm).

3. Down Syndrome is named after Dr. John Langdon Down, an English physician who first described the characteristic features of Down Syndrome in 1866. "Down syndrome" is used, as opposed to "Down's Syndrome", because it was named after Dr. Down.


Resources:
About Down syndrome. Retrieved from: http://www.dsaoc.org/aboutdown.html

Fergus, K. (2011). Myths, misconceptions and facts about Down syndrome. Retrieved from: http://downsyndrome.about.com/od/downsyndromesupport/a/mtyhs_ro.htm

Viewfinder

This waiver stuff is really draining me. I FINALLY talked to my case manager after a multitude of phone calls (some of which were not-so-nice). We will be meeting late next week. I have plenty of other things to take care of besides being on my phone all day trying to get this mess figured out. It irritates me to no end that this process has been so difficult.

I scan the area around me and find a sea of items that are not where they belong. I have stepped over unpacked suitcases more times than I'd like to admit today. I am sitting on the edge of the office chair because I don't know where I want to put the items that are behind me at the moment.

Tonight I just needed a minute to drop everything and see life through my camera lens. I can crop out the things I don't want to see. I can put the faces of these little boys in focus. I can let extra light into my lens to illuminate the shadows. I can even edit the pictures to easily fix my mistakes. If only life were so easy.


Levi chillin' on the front porch

Enjoying the first batch of raked up leaves


Beautiful sky, beautiful boy

And silly boy




Levi wanted to play with the diapers under Adam's bed, so we kept turning him away from them and made him work to get what he wanted. Here he is doing his thing. I love it when he yells at Abigail (who is the one who turned him away from what he wanted while I videotaped).