Love

I love this sweet little boy so so much.

Travieso

Liam now stands up in his highchair. It is a clip on high chair to the table but we put a regular chair underneath it for him to rest his feet on. A couple of days ago we were developing core and leg strength by sitting up down up down up down and he was pulling himself up a lot. That night he rested his feet on the chair underneath his highchair and stood up. Mi travieso! We are so attuned to every little thing in Liam's development that it is especially exciting when he does little things that we can laugh about and say "oh you're going to get into so much trouble with that!"
With Lupe I remember feeling in no hurry to have her crawling and walking because I knew that when she did and was able to get around on her own she would be able to get into lots of trouble. With Liam life will be busier and more tiring when he can do those things but we want them to happen so badly!
BTW, he also blew a kiss at grandma and Lupe this week for the first time! Coqueto! That's my guy!

Play therapy

September 29.
Here are a few shots of Liam playing with one of his therapists
Yesterday Liam blew a kiss at lupe and grandma for the first time!

Grateful

I am sitting in bed. The kids are asleep. Feeling so blessed by the utter bounty in my life. Looking at Lupe sleeping here next to me...she is so unbelievably gorgeous.
And Liam. I still get caught up in worry wondering if I am doing enough and still the occasional "Why me? Why him?", but really, LIFE IS AWESO
E.
We live near family. We have friends. we live in a gorgeous city with perfect weather. We can walk downtown. We live within our means and are doing good. We are surrounded by love.

Good morning!

I wake up to see his face THAT close. Hard to be mad about all the times I woke up through the night.
He laughs. He tries to kiss me. He looks back at his sister who is watching. And he gets even closer.

Tracking our progress

Yesterday was a great day. Something very satisfying about seeing all those check marks Now it's the next day and 1:30 in the afternoon and we've done almost nada! Liam patiently accompanied us in the stroller for two hours(!) while we hit up a neighborhood garage sale. Looking for good CAUSE AND EFFECT toys: all in the name if Liam's therapy!

Art after dark

We went diwntown tonight after dinner and were at a store looking at kids art and a woman was studying Liam for a minute. Then she said, "he's very cute. I used to work with special ed". And it was an interesting moment. It made me think: was it necessary to even mention that? But then I said, "Oh thanks! Yeah, he has Downs.". And then I wondered, was it necessary to say that?
It's the first time a stranger in public has brought it up. Earlier today I was thinking about how we're starting Parent Participation next week and wondering if I will mention T21 from the get go so people aren't wondering. I was thinking of even saying that the other parents could feel free to ask me questions. I myself didn't know anyone with DS until Liam was born.
What would you do?

Lupita's little worlds

This is Lupe's every day. She sets up her toys in every corner or surface of the house. Recently she likes to group them by size or type or color. I wonder what she would do if we had no furniture to set up her scenes on?
I want to remember this so that when she is older and has developed some amazing talent for something I can look back at her early childhood and remind her of how she used to play.
It's like a friend of Pedro's, when they were little he used to find dead lizards or rats and cut them open to see what they looked like inside. Can you guess? That's right, he is now a surgeon.