Top 14 of 2014 :)

It's time for one of my favorite yearly traditions.  I sit down with my favorite drink (lately - orange juice), and listen to my favorite music (lately - this), and pick out my favorite photos from the year.

This year left me slightly disappointed.  It's been quite the year, folks.  Moving into a new house, an exhausting first trimester with an almost-kindergartener pulling me in every direction, and lots of other things in between.  

Which means that my camera spent most of the year in it's cozy bag.  Poor camera.  

But, I was able to find 14 pictures from 2014 that made me feel all the feels when I skimmed through them.  So here they are, in chronological order, with my thoughts on each one :) Some even have a blog post linked to the photo, if your coffee is extra hot and you're looking for something to do :)

{1}

A date night with my favorite, favorite person in the whole wide world.

Let's do more of these, mmmkay? Spending time with you is my favorite pastime.

Can I say 'favorite' any more than I already have?  You're my favorite.

{2}

A little boy, getting acquainted with his new lake, just down the road from his new house.  

Post Link HERE :)

Little did we know that all summer long, he would beg and plead for us to walk him to this special, quiet spot.  He'd even make a trip by himself...because he's so sneaky like that.

(Thankfully, he was dragging a garden hoe behind him, and we happened to have the windows open that day - otherwise, we would have never even known that he was running down the road. Parents of the year!)

{3}

Mommy's little helper.

The set up in our kitchen is perfect for a little boy who always likes to be in on the action.  Until the mixer comes out.  Then he's happy being anywhere but the kitchen.  I love this little smile - like he thinks he's really getting away with something stinkerish.

{4}

A little boy's (and proud dad's) first baseball game.

Post Link HERE :)

It was a season of trying new things - and Carter loved every second.  Baseball is definitely his sport - he loves watching it (and even asks for it now, in December), but playing it brought his love to a whole different level.

{5}

Goodbye '5' - Hello '6'!

Post Link HERE :)

Possibly one of my favorite Carter photos of all time.  I think you can see why.

{6}

Some exciting news from the Big Brother!

Post Link HERE :)

He has no idea of what's coming, does he?  But he's awfully cute, anyway.  We took these pictures quick before heading to a church event, and it was next to impossible to keep our lips zipped about the secret photos that we had just taken.

Which makes me think: one of the most exciting parts of the first trimester?  Having a super special, super big, super fun secret that only you and your 'favorite person in the whole world' know.

{7}

Happy little vacationing family.

Post Link HERE :)

Taken just after sharing the baby news with Jake's family in Saint Germain.  Carter's genuine, silly smile just knocks my socks off.

{8}

Summer Boating - Carter's favorite pastime.

Look at that cheesy grin.  He's a summer boy, for sure.

{9}

Last day before Kindergarten. Sniff.

Post Link HERE :)

Obviously, Carter helped himself to pretzels this day.  Which is part of what I love about this picture. It celebrates his growing independence.  He was able to get his own bowl, find the pretzels, pour them into his bowl which was waiting for him on the couch, and then put the pretzels away.  All while mom was in the bathroom :)

{10}

Happy 30th Birthday :)

Post Link HERE :)

My twenties were good and full and nearly perfect.  What will my thirties hold?

{11}

It's a girl!

Post Link HERE :)

Horrible picture - perfect memory.  Loved sharing this moment with you, Jaker.

{12}

A nice shot from our messy, complicated, life-filled Christmas Tree Day.

Post Link HERE :)

It wasn't a perfect day - and actually, most days aren't perfect.  But we're learning, right?

{13}

Family photo snuggles :)

I'm no dummy - I know that a time is coming soon when this little boy will be a big boy.  Snuggles like this will become few and far-between, until one day, when I suddenly say "I can't remember the last time I actually held Carter...".

So for now, I pick him up whenever I can.  I'm taking full advantage.

{14}

Carter's special visitor :)

Post Link HERE :)

"Hiiiii, Santa! Ho, ho, ho - baaaary kikiss!"

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It's fun to think about what next year's photos might look like.  Hopefully my camera will spend less time tucked away this year, and more time capturing all the good stuff that lies ahead.

If you'd like to see my 'Favorite Photo' Posts from past years, click the links below:
2012
2013

 :)

Happy New Year!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Good stuff behind, better stuff ahead!

{Merry Christmas}

Merry Christmas, sweet reader.  

This is Christmas.

"For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called 

Wonderful counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1-9-14

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

2 Corinthians 9:15

Truly He taught us to love one another - 

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother - 

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we - 

Let all within us praise His holy name!

Fall on your knees

Oh hear the angel voices

Oh night divine

Oh night when Christ was born

One Thing I Know For Sure: "For God so loved the world..."

Hello, Third Trimester!

We made it two-thirds of the way.  Which kind of sounds like I didn't expect to make it two-thirds of the way.  Which isn't the case.  But for someone who has wanted to have a baby for as long as I can remember, it's just downright weird to think that this is actually happening.  It's just...wild.

I feel little lady's hiccups at least once every other day.  Her kicks are getting stronger, although not painful.  Her head is down and she's in position for this 'birth' thing that her mama keeps telling her about. I've still only gained 8 pounds - but now that I'm in my third trimester, that number should spike up between now and D-Day! My belly is changing shape - although I still just think it looks like I'm extra chubby.  Especially with my winter coat on.  I'm sure people think I'm just a large lady who needs to use the bathroom (thanks to the obvious waddle, which is worse when I'm tired out) :)

19 Weeks (left) & 28 Weeks (right)

Our little lady is quite the sass, though.  She knows when her daddy puts his hand on her, and she immediately stops kicking.  Stinker.

We're all registered for our prenatal classes.  

The crib was set up this weekend.

I've got my nose in several 'how to push out a baby' books.

We've got our name picked out.  I think.  It starts with an - ha...just kidding! Not telling :)

You guys - we're having a baby.

We even had two whole days of practice as a family of four.  Granted, it wasn't our baby.  And she was a happy 9 month old instead of a screaming newborn.  But we were so curious to see how the soon-to-be Big Brother would do with a little lady in the house.

Working on setting up Baby Sister's crib - both kiddos were very 'helpful' :)

We saw so many good things.  I won't say that Carter loved her, but he absolutely tolerated her - and by the end of the second day, I'm pretty sure she was growing on him.  He pretended to feed her his ice cream after dinner from across the table....which is kind of like 'love', in Carter's world.  

Let's just forget about the fact that the next day when he saw her in church with her mommy & daddy, he made sure to tell us "No baby" :)

We found it so interesting that when little lady fussed, Carter went right to his room and shut the door.  He didn't want to hear it.  He definitely didn't like it.  At first, this made me sad.  It made me wonder what a screaming baby meant in his former, orphanage life.  It obviously triggered something in him, and he just wanted to get away.

The more I thought about it, though, I realized that this is probably a very good thing for Carter to understand.  He has an 'out'.  If it's just too much for him, there's nothing wrong with him sneaking off to his room for some quiet play time.  In fact, I can't really think of a better response for him to have.  He understands his limits, and he knows that he has a safe and quiet place to go when he needs a break.  

All good stuff.  

When 'nice baby' (as Carter calls her, when he's not saying 'no baby') left, I think Jake and I both felt relief.  It's going to be fine.  It will take some adjusting, for sure.  But just like we got into our groove when Carter came to our family, we'll get into our groove when Little Sister comes, too.

We talked about it the next day, and I admitted that before 'nice baby' came, I was a little nervous about what life would look like in 3 months.  Jake and I work well together.  We are in-sync 98% of the time.  We know each other - we help each other - we affirm each other.  And we also know our little guy.  We understand him and his quirks.  We can see what he needs before he needs it.  

What I'm saying is that we're like a well-oiled machine.  And now the well-oiled machine that we've worked so hard to perfect is being dismantled and will need to be rebuilt.  

That's a little daunting.

But after this weekend, we realized that it will be okay.  We're in this together.  And we'll just rock it. 

One Thing I Know For Sure: 28 weeks down, 12ish more to go!

A Special Visitor :)

Last week, Carter had a special visitor show up at his house.  We had been debating if this was the year.  Even though Carter loves the idea of Santa, would he flip his lid when Santa actually rings his doorbell?  Would we ruin him forever?  Or is he the big boy kindergartener that we think he is?

Shortly before bed, the doorbell rang.  Carter knew.

"SANTA!"

We'll never know how he knew, but he did.

Let me start by saying that in my family, Santa is a THING (yes, all caps).  Santa has been visiting our family Christmas gatherings since I was itty-bitty.

In fact, I found the following photos of myself and Jolly Old Saint Nick in the basement just now.  I searched for about 3.7 seconds.  If I had looked longer, I could have found at least 12 more pictures from other years.

Santa loves our family that much.

We are a very well-behaved family, therefore, we know Santa on a personal level.

:)

We love Jesus a whole lot, we read the Christmas story every year as a big family, and we know that HE is the real reason we celebrate.  But still, there's Santa.  There's always been Santa.

Since becoming parents, Jake and I have been torn.  We never really thought we'd be Santa people.  Because how does Jesus compete with someone who delivers fun presents and rides a sleigh driven by reindeer?  How can we ever find the balance between this little Santa thing, and the Savior of the world?

And then.

And then we had a little boy whose eyes light up every time he sees Santa in a book or on a show.  And we remember our wide-eyed wonder at this happy, kind, jolly man and how he helped to make our childhoods so very special.

So we threw our hands up and decided that it's okay.  We emphasize Jesus and the nativity.  Because that's what it's really about.

But this Santa guy is special, too.

If our kids can just learn love from our Christmas traditions, then I'd say we did it right.  What's love?  It's giving without expecting anything in return.

I'd say Jesus and Santa both have that figured out.

Maybe 20 years from now, we'll wish we had done things differently.  Or maybe we'll look back on all these special, treasured memories and be so grateful for each one - which all happen to reflect our own childhood Christmas wonder.

So for now - we'll thank the Lord for his indescribable gift of his one and only Son.

And we'll throw in a 'Ho, ho, ho' every now and then.  Because this is the way we're choosing.  We're doing it our way.  And stop shaking your head at me, because we don't have to agree on everything.

:)

The visit was a smashing success - Carter loved his stuffed elephant (elephants - his latest obsession), colors for his bath, and activity/coloring desk (coloring - his other new obsession).

But most of all, Carter loved Santa.  And Carter's mommy and daddy loved Santa, too.

As Carter would say "HO, HO, HOOO - baaaaaary kik-kis!"

One Thing I Know For Sure: So grateful Santa's knee held out for a quick visit :) Love you, Santa!

It's That Time!

I've secretly been listening to Christmas music for several weeks while Jake has been at work.  I've always prided myself on waiting until after Thanksgiving.  This year, I just couldn't wait.  Maybe it's the new life in my belly, or the new house, or the wide-eyed kindergartener who is so full of wonder.

No matter - there was no waiting, this year!

The day after Thanksgiving, we bundled up and headed out to cut down our Christmas tree.  Possibly my favorite tradition of the whole year.

It was cold.  Dang cold.  But it's Wisconsin, after all.  So we've just learned to suck it up and deal with it.

We saw a tree we liked almost right away, but had to walk around for 45 minutes to make sure there wasn't something better.

There wasn't.

It was cold.  My body wasn't prepared for all this walking in boots and snow and snow pants.  Carter's mittens were wet from dragging them in the snow.

This special tradition was turning into a crapstorm.

We went back to the first tree we saw, and guess what we did?!  We cut it down.  Forty five minutes of senseless walking in the cold.  But, memories!  And, traditions!  At this point, we didn't really care.

"Let's just get the heck out of here. Mmmkay?"

So, Jake got down on the snowy ground and started sawing.  And sawing.  And sawing.  Nothing was happening.

More sawing.  Some tree-pushing.  More sawing.  And then - 'snap'.

Our saw broke.  Thankfully the family nearby had a saws-all.  It saws-all.  Saws-all to the rescue.

We finally got the tree loaded on to the top of the car.  (You know, the one we could have cut down after five minutes of looking around).  We tied it down good and tight.  Off we went, home! 

And then, a mile down the road, we realized it wasn't really tied down all that tight.  It was sliding off our car.  We tried to laugh, but it was hard.  So we pulled over, and tried to fix it.

Carter is yelling from the back "Nooo! No! Home! Carter's house!".  He didn't like that we were stopped - he didn't care that the tree was slipping and sliding and would soon be in the middle of the road.  

We got it fixed, only to stop again a mile or two later.  Eventually we made it home, and just as we pulled into the driveway - laughter.  It's okay.  It's just - life.  Life is messy and funny and sometimes hard.  

But we're learning.  Actually, I suspect we'll spend our whole lives learning.  

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That night, as the tree defrosted and dripped off in the garage, we did the only thing you really can do after such a messy day.

We ate chips.  And salsa.  And lots of rice.  And fajitas.  And drank coke (or chocolate milk, if you're in kindergarten). 

And we laughed.  We laughed so much.  

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The tree is up, and even though the cutting down part was messy - the putting up part was perfect.  

Our sweet boy was mystified by the lights and was so eager to help.  After he went to bed for the night, Jake and I pulled out all the ornaments and got to work.

We cried a little bit.  Because some ornaments can't be unwrapped without shedding a few tears.

Like this one.

Confused? Click HERE. 

And some remind us of people who aren't here anymore, and maybe we are still learning lessons from those people.

Others remind us of pets who aren't here any more, and maybe their floppy lips and perky ears left great big holes in our hearts.

A few ornaments fill us up with all good feelings and each time we look at them we can't help but rejoice and be thankful.

So it's Christmas.  And this is where we are.  Remembering, rejoicing, and learning.

Always learning.

Merry Christmas, friend.

One Thing I Know For Sure: It's the most wonderful time of the year :)

This, That, & The Other Thing.

It's been a little quiet here lately.  Want to know what I've been up to?!

I know at least one reader does.  I'm always surprised when I get comments from people that I don't know in real life.  I forget that actual people read my blog.  So to that sweet, dedicated, concerned reader who I don't even know - here is the answer to your question:


Pink or Blue?! from Ashley Gibson on Vimeo.

:)

We will be welcoming a little sister into our family in March.  Carter has been working so hard on saying 'sister'.  Last night was the first time that it actually sounded like 'sister' and not 'bloddyter'.  I don't even know.  I'm pretty sure he's got 'baby girl' down pat, so at least we've got that to fall back on.

Carter has also been helping us pick out sister's name.  I don't know why, but it's important to me that he can at least kind-of say her name.  Maybe because if he can kind-of say it now, there's a good chance he will be able to say it really well in a year or two.  Maybe because there's so much that he can't say right now - I want his sister's name to be something he can say, and say confidently.

We've been cleaning out the office-turned-nursery, which has me kicking myself.  When we moved in back in March, I had a gut feeling that we should just leave the room empty.  I knew deep inside that it would be a bedroom soon...but guess what?!  We filled it with junk, anyway!  Stupid.  Always trust your instincts.

So I suppose you could say I've been nesting.  Or at least planning out my nesting.  With lists.  Lots of lists.  I will soon need a list to keep track of all my lists.  Which is, essentially, Pinterest.  Amiright?

My list currently looks like this:
Organize office in master bedroom
Set up crib (never too early, people!)
Decorate nursery
Wash windows (for some reason, this seems like something I should do before her big arrival)
Build kitchen table (this is on Jake's list - it should be done by Thanksgiving!)
Buy kitchen chairs (there's nothing more satisfying than crossing something off a list)
Organize Carter's closet (again, this just seems like a good idea)
Organize the basement (this keeps moving farther and farther to the bottom of my list.  Soon it will just be crossed off, purely for satisfaction's sake.  And I will put it on my 'Summer To-Do List')
Make info binder for whoever will be with Carter while baby sister is being pushed out
Pack hospital bag (I've got time, but it deserves to be on the list)
Arrange for baby to kick when Jake is around, so he can feel her

So that's it.  My month, in a nutshell.

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Enough about baby.  Let's talk about Carter.

October and November are big months for us.  We do lots of reflecting and celebrating and crying and rejoicing and remembering.

We met Anton on October 7.  He became Carter Benjamin on October 24th.  We took him from the orphanage for good on November 9th.  And he came home - right where he belongs - on November 15th.

Six weeks filled with big emotions and all the feelings that one can possibly feel.  We watch old orphanage videos, and read his special life book.  This year he was able to verbalize some things that he's never been able to in the past.  Whether he remembers or understands is unknown - but we'll keep sharing with him.  Because it's his story.  And we are his only connection to his past.

And as we reflect on his past, we also see so many good things happening in the here & now.  Just yesterday, Carter's teacher sent me a photo that made me cry.  Hormonal?!  Maybe!

And these were taken at our field trip to The Little Farmer back in October.  I never blogged about it, although I fully intended to.  I wish you could have seen all these kids.

I think Carter gave 328 high-fives during our four hours there.  And they aren't given out of pity or obligation.

And then this, from his trip to the firehouse:

See where he is?  See who he's surrounded by?  This all makes my heart so happy.

The other kids really, truly WANT to know Carter.  They want to spend time with him at recess.  Does he do things that most Kindergarteners and First Graders don't do?!  Absolutely!  But they are part of an open, caring family-classroom.  The other kids know they can ask questions about Carter, and why he does what he does.  Education!  Advocacy!  It's all so very good.

We are so grateful for Carter's school - his team - his classmates.  Three years ago, I never envisioned Kindergarten being this good.  I think I was even fearful of it.  Everything felt so safe and cozy and protected in the Early Childhood setting.  I just couldn't imagine our sweet little guy moving on to the great big Kindergarten family.

While it's not perfect, and we're always working through little kinks, we couldn't be happier.  Carter is totally rocking this Kindergarten thing.  Duh!  I should have known.  He always, always, always surprises us.

Carter CAN!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Now you're all caught up.  And I need to go make another list - "Hosting Thanksgiving - 2014" :) If you don't hear from me for a while, now you know why!

My Pregnant Head.

"How are you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm awesome!"

"Any nasty pregnancy symptoms?"
"Nope! Feeling great!"

I sort of lie sometimes.  Because if I told people about my weird symptoms, I'm pretty sure they'd think I'm nuts.

I didn't have any of the dreaded morning sickness, so I feel like I really can't complain about anything.  But my mouth! My face! My head! You guys, it's been rough.

Thankfully, I've been seeing an amazing chiropractor who has helped me with my jaw issues.  That's all fixed up, and I'm so relieved.  But my mouth! My head! What the what?!

I'm not sure if I should blame hormones, or expanding blood vessels, or stress, or who-knows-what.  But some days, I don't even want to open my mouth to say words.

So I take Tylenol when I can.  And I use ice packs.  And every single morning at 2:30a when the Tylenol wears off, I whine my way to the bathroom to take another dose before I wake up too much.  Sometimes I take a shower and brush my teeth, because it helps.  Which is psychological, I know.  Then I come back to bed and lay there for hours.  And I think about things like wiggly teeth and sight words and nursery decor and why is this Tylenol not kicking in? And should I just get up and start my day?

So that's fun.

There's so much I want to be doing right now.  Cleaning out the office, which will soon be a nursery.  Finishing odd jobs around the house before baby arrives (or before I get too enormous to do odd jobs).  But I just can't do those things when I'm massaging my temples all day and laying with ice packs on my face.

At this point, you're probably all ready to send me meals and offer to clean.  Don't!  Really.  If you're going to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Jake.  He asks me a question, and sometimes my answer is "Ijusswantsomeorangejuice...".

And he's like "What did you just say?".  So I repeat myself - because, how can you not understand me?!

And he's like "Are you mad at me about something?" and I'm like "Nomyfacehuurrrts....".

He's the best.  He rubs my temples until his fingers are sore and almost bleedy (not really).  He asks if I want anything from the store before he comes home (just cherry 7up, please!).  He calls to check on me.  He tells me that he wishes there was something he could do, and he really means it.  You guys, I got a good one.  

So the next time you see me, and you ask "How are you, pregnant mama?!" - I will probably say "I'm doing great...couldn't be better!".  And it might be the truth....or it might not be :) 

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When are you due?!

March 9th! Which means I'm 20 weeks pregnant - halfway-ish there! My maternity clothes are getting lots of use these days :) If I wear regular clothes, I still just look extra-pudgy.  Or like I just gobbled up a whole pizza.  But in maternity clothes, it's pretty obvious :) In fact, one of Carter's nurses at the doctors office told me I looked 'tiny' for being this far along.  In my entire life, I've never - ever - ever - ever been called 'tiny' :)

Will you find out the gender?!

YES! In one week! Yes, we'll share it. This is the first tiny-baby on both sides of our family, so we know people are eager to buy cutsie blankets and things :) And I'm eager to set up the nursery and do all those fun nest-y things!

Are you doing any fun baby projects?!

I've got a couple easy sewing projects once we find out the gender.  And I'm working on a baby book (through iPhoto) every couple weeks.  I add things like names that we've been talking about, belly pictures, what/how the baby is growing during that week, and other pregnancy facts & stories. I'm also taking a few belly shots every so often.  Not, like, shots of liquor off my belly. But photos of my growing belly.  Which doesn't seem to be growing that much to me.

13 weeks vs. 19 weeks

I had a hard time choosing how I would take these belly shots.  I know myself.  I know that I'm not going to get dolled up every week to take a photo of adorable (or frumptastic) me, in front of a chalkboard.  I'm just not.  So I saw this silhouette picture somewhere, and thought it was perfect.  I don't have to do my hair or makeup - I can wear leggings and a tshirt - and I can do it whenever I feel like doing it.  So there.  Take that, Pinterest.  

Will you share the name?!

Nope! We are horrible, aren't we :)  So far, the names we like aren't all that common.  We just hate the idea of sharing our names, and having people say "That's HORRIBLE!" or "WHY would you name your baby that?!?".  It would probably sway our decision, and I want to pick a name that WE love.  We also know that if people see our baby in the hospital or sometime after birth, they will probably have the decency to keep their lips zipped about their opinion of our baby's name.  So the name will be a secret.  Which is kind of fun.  We (and everyone else) knew everything there was to know about Carter.  We even had a picture!  There were no surprises.  This time, we'd like to do things a little differently.

What does Carter think?!

It's hard to say.  He definitely talks about the baby.  Whether he actually understands that there is a baby in my belly is debatable :) I sometimes wonder if IIIII even understand what's going on! HA!  He will touch my belly, though, and say "Babyyyy!" or he'll say "Mom, dad, baby!".  Eventually we'll start preparing him for baby's arrival by using a dolly.  Honestly, we think Carter will be an awesome big brother.  He loves to help us, and I'm sure he'll love to help us with the baby.  

What gender are you hoping for?

We couldn't care less.  A boy would be so fun - two little boys.  Brothers.  I love the idea of brothers.  They would have a special bond, for sure.  And a girl would be so precious.  A boy and a girl.  Every little girl needs a big brother to look out for her.  I've always wanted to have a boy and a girl.  Truly, we don't care.  We're just thrilled to find out! 

Any other cravings or symptoms?

Well, my chin hairs are growing like weeds.  I just can't even.  If you want to really feel bad for me about something, feel bad for me about my chin hairs.  I haven't had any true I-need-this-right-now cravings.  But I do eat lots of cereal and orange juice.  I am also into peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  And pears.  Lots of pears.  Thankfully, a friend brought over a whole bag just this last Wednesday!  My usual desires for things like creamy pasta and comfort foods have only gotten stronger.  But I think I do a good job of balancing everything with lots of fruits and veggies (raw green beans!).  If my Grannie is reading this, and would like to make me the orange/grapefruit citrus salad, I'd be very grateful :) I've had a hankering for it several times over the past few weeks, but I hate the mess I make peeling & separating all those citrus fruits! I've had a few nights of nighttime leg cramps - but now they seem to have stopped.  Let's all hope that's the end of that! 

Have you felt any kicking?!

I felt the first kicks around 17 weeks, just one time.  Then a little over a week later, I felt it again during church.  And I haven't really felt it since.  But I've been a little crampy/achy (from all the stretching and growing going on), so I'm wondering if I'm just feeling that so much and not really feeling the kicks.  

So.  That's that.  You now know everything there is to know.

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I've got to say - I wrote most of this post over a week ago.  A few days ago, my mouth pain and headaches totally eased up and I feel like a million bucks.  I'm really, really, really hoping that I'm finally entering into the 'honeymoon' period of pregnancy where things are totally peachy, and I'm still not too big or too tired to feel good.

Bring on the second half!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Omigosh - I'm pregnant!

Down syndrome Awareness Month

October is Down syndrome Awareness Month.

I can honestly say that I celebrate Down syndrome almost every single day.  From Carter's beautifully perfect almond eyes, to his sweet turned-up nose, all the way down to his wide feet and big adorable gap between his first two toes, his inquisitive nature, his sunny disposition (spattered with bouts of stubbornness and defiance) - I love Down syndrome.

Because I love Carter.  And Carter's Down syndrome can't be separated from who Carter is.

If the two things could be separated, I would keep them together.

In fact, Carter's Down syndrome is what brought him to our family.  If he was born with 46 chromosomes instead of 47 - he'd be living with his first mom & dad in Kyiv, Ukraine.

I'm grateful for Down syndrome.

It's no secret that Carter has some unique needs.  Lots of things have made Carter who he is - over three years of orphanage life, hyperactivity and impulsivity that are currently through the flippin' roof, life on the spectrum...and Down syndrome.

Of all the things I listed, Down syndrome is the least of our concerns and the easiest of his special needs.

In fact, I think Down syndrome is pretty beautiful.

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Let's just cut to the chase (because my brain is tired from two surgical procedures for our little buddy on Monday, limited sleep from being a concerned mommy, and having a busy bee at home every day this week).  During Down syndrome Awareness Month - here's what I want you to know:

+Different is good.  Yes, Carter is different.  You will see he is 'different' the moment you lay eyes on him at the grocery store, or while he's walking down the school hallway.  And that's okay.  Actually, it's good.  Different is good, and we need those people in our circles who think differently - learn differently - play differently - grow differently - and approach things differently.

+Don't be afraid.  When you see someone with a special need, just treat them like you would treat anyone else.  Smile, genuinely.  Say hi, if it's appropriate.  Or ask how their day is going.  If they can't answer you, it's okay.  They'll be glad that you took the time to ask.

+Educate yourself.  I'm not going to take the time to go through myths and facts about Down syndrome because you can find them all over the internet.  Here are a few sites that I like:
Down syndrome Facts from the NDSS
Down syndrome Myths from DsA-OC
Here's a fact - people with Down syndrome are people.  Here's another one - they deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity.  Pretty simple, isn't it?

That's it.  If you can grasp those three simple things, then I'd say this month will be a success.

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In honor of Down syndrome Awareness Month my girl Juli, and I, put together this video.  We asked the principal at our boys' elementary school if they would show it to the students sometime this month. I half expected them to say that while the video is a great idea, there are only 3 boys in the elementary school with Down syndrome...and you want us to show the video to all the students?!

I was so wrong.  Our efforts were applauded, and they sent the video out to each elementary teacher, asking them to show it when it's convenient for their particular class.

Oh yeah, they are showing it to the school board, as well.

We're awfully grateful.

Different is good!



That's all I have to say.  So reach out.  Don't be afraid.

Down syndrome is beautiful.

One Thing I Know For Sure: Their ability is stronger than their disability!