Baseball and Birthday Fun

Mike's birthday was Friday..also the night of the District Champ playoff game for Taylor's team. It was a great night, the boys clinched the title, celebrations all around! Now 3 more weeks of practice and they advance to Sectional play in Huffman starting July 16th. Guess God wants us to be distracted...play if they win all games doesn't end until the night of the 19th..night before surgery...and Huffman is far enough way that the boys will have to stay out of town for the weekend...it was a perfect gift for Mike and Taylor..they have been working so hard!

So, the one night out for Mike and I turned into family night out (the girls are missing their Dad terribly) and "Birthday Fun" at home. So cute, the girls made stations for us to rotate to for the birthday..hopscotch, cheer, swimming, dance, and eating cake..the house looked like a tornado went off, but what else is new? Mallory was in a cake decorating camp last week and made a hamburger cake for Dad, but it was too pretty to eat, so we had ice cream cake! Tonight was dinner at home on the grill, I miss the easy Sunday nights as a family. It was a great weekend for all!

Blessings!

Lara

Just call me ... Speedy..

well, we've moved from indifferent to highly motivated I'd say. it doesn't take much (or any) coaxing these days. Parker is on the move, still commando, but notice the legs are up, here's hoping all 4's is right behind. Note to self...the underbed box storing all the scrapbooks supplies for kids baby books should be organized and stored better before laying on floor to take video...and yes, I know treadmills are off limits for babies :)

Baseball, Baseball, and More Baseball!

The last few days have been all about baseball and swimming (what else is new you ask?) Taylor's team is in the heat of All Star play. We are 3-0, playing again tomorrow night. The Red Raiders fan club is happy to support the team..even if the littlest team member does so from home (or when he's snuck out by his Dad when his unsuspecting Mom is at home resting...) So, for all you baseball fans that got a quick glance at my boy...thank you for looking from a far :)

Yesterday was the beginning of 30 day countdown...I find myself at night thinking of what that first evening will be like...knowing all I will want to do is hold my baby in my arms...my prayer (among a million other things) is he will move from ICU quickly so I can hold him close. I'm practicing stroking his arms and face pretending he is in recovery "mode" he seems to like it, but I know he prefers the neck snuggle!! He knows "hug" and when prompted he is happy to oblige. I remind myself, only a moment in time, God will be holding him close when we can't!

Did I metion Parker likes to pull hair and hairbows? He and Madeline have such fun together. She can get the biggest belly laughs out of Parker...does one good to hear them play..even the worst day melts away when you watch the two of them together laughing and screaming back and forth at each other!

Just another day

just another day of crawling boot camp at our house...in between therapy, running siblings back and forth to camp, swim practice and baseball we cross crawl 40, yes, 40 times a day! We all have tougher knees than we used to..don't be surprised if you come visit and we are all down on all fours like animals! This week we talked to the nutritionist and guess what? Our mostly healthy eating still needs some major modifications. I am now more familiar with goat's milk, seeds (hemp, flax, pumpkin, you name it..) than I ever thought possible. I am now on the search for a vitamix and a champion juicer. Children with DS are prone to celiac disease, thyroid issues, and a host of other vitamin deficiencies, so we are committed to food that makes Parker "fit for life." It does make a difference, dairy despite doing a number in the intestinal track can thicken mucus secretions which in turn causes ear issues and/or worse..articulation issues for speech. I never was a big fan of cow's milk anyways. Good thing my other kids aren't big milk drinkers, LOL. The goat's milk is an acquired taste. I need more hours in the day to spend time researching all this stuff, forgive me if your call or email goes unanswered, keeping up is becoming a difficult task these days! We have started the countdown for surgery, so Parker is sequestered (as best we can) and quarantine has begun. The thought of postponing any longer(as much as I want to forget the whole thing) brings me to the brink of a nervous breakdown... On a high note, Taylor's All Star team won their first game, 12-0. Go Red Raiders!

Pull UP!

I am in the middle of cleaning clothes out of kid's closets (we all know this is my weakness) to start my ebay listings (do I really have time for this?) and Parker was helping me playing with his toys. We practice pulling up and playing with toys while kneeling. Parker has always been good with bearing weight on his legs and actually enjoys standing. His issue is his abs/obliques (isn't it for all of us?), not enough core stabilization I suppose. I just happened to have my camera handy and he pulled up on my storage box! he actually grabbed the toy and stood for a minute. He clapped his hands and toppled over, LOL. So funny to watch him try to untangle the legs! He is actually standing on his own in the pic holding the keys!

Yesterday

was an anniversary of sorts..one year ago, on June 10th(one day after our oldest son's birthday) we got the news that Parker did indeed have DS. Yesterday didn't comsume me, it was busy (what else is new?) and while I thought about the year throughout the day I felt a sense of peace. Very different than I felt last year. Not a single tear was shed. A major improvement. I still have fears. Lately my fear is that this last year was the easiest (how can that be possible?) and that now things get more difficult. I find myself studying people as we are out in public. I wonder, "do they know?" when they comment on Parker and how precious he is..will they start to treat us "differently" when he gets older and his DS is more obvious? What I keep coming back to is that God is faithful and God has a plan. I am learning that people will watch our reactions and based on our responses they will act accordingly. I know there will be up days and down days, but please remind me of that when I fall short and wallow in self-pity. Or as I say to a friend, please "kick my butt" when the pity party starts. Mike and I will continue to praise God for the gift of Parker's life, celebrate his life, and enjoy the journey, looking for the things that God is revealing to us in Parker's life!

Blessings!

Lara

Success!

FINALLY some progress!! This is video from Saturday, I waited to publish in case it was a "fluke", but now Parker will creep/crawl across the floor. Still working on all 4's crawling, but thankful for this milestone! Forgive the cheesy voice...love the faces and grunts he makes working HARD! I credit this accomplishment to NACD crawl boot camp, a fantastic new OT, a dedicated Grandma that works Parker out when I can't stand to do it "one more time" and most importantly LOTS of prayer!

ETA: for some reason blogger doesn't like my video..let's try this again with a shorter clip. Forgive the messy house and the ironing :)