Action Shots

2 days of a few action shots..Parker has been doing forward rolls for months now, it is hysterical to watch him with the girls as they tumble around the house! He is such an imitator, tries to keep up with the other kids no matter how crazy. Yes, his neck is fine, he knows how to "tuck and roll." The other picture is a football pose, he's saying "hike" Guess having football and baseball on in the background has left its mark!!

Wordless Wednesday..sort of..

Meet Parker, our "jack in the box.." I'm proud to say Parker has the same affinity for my shoes that Taylor did at this age...he continues to be in to absolutely everything. This week we have slammed our fingers into the shower door and the kitchen drawers, hoping to hang on to his fingernails, even with child proofed drawers they still slam pretty well! Life is good, we are blessed...celebrated Madeline's 8th birthday this weekend..time flies, seems like yesterday when she was born....bet you can't guess the theme..Minnie Mouse gymnastics party...I of course am getting younger by the day..HA!

Support DS treatment and be entered to win a trip to Costa Rica!!

It is that time of year!!  Not only is it Down syndrome awareness month, but time for our annual Changing Minds Fountation golf tourney!  Changing Minds Foundation is a non-profit organization which offers treatment for many of the symptoms and problems of Down syndrome.  We are having a golf fundraiser on October 28th in Houston, TX.  I know many of you are thinking:

I don't golf........
I don't live in Houston, TX.........
How can I help?

Well, you can participate in a Golf Ball Drop and a chance to win an all expense paid trip for 2 to the Four Seasons Resort in Costa Rico at Papagayo. Purchase as many golf balls as you’d like for $25 each. We’ll assign a number to each golf ball purchased and on the day of the golf tournament all balls will be dropped from a helicopter hovering over the driving range. The first ball to land in the designated hole (or closest to the pin) wins the trip. The Ball Drop is limited to 2,000 balls and the last day to purchase golf balls is October 27th, 2011. We’re a 501c 3 charitable organization so your donation is tax deductible.

To purchase golf balls and see a video of an actual Ball Drop go to:

http://www.changingmindsfoundation.org/golf_tournament.html

Donations will go to education and continued research and treatment of individuals with Down Syndrome.  We’re in the home stretch  and truly need your support.  We have 2000 balls to sell and have only sold 150, so please consider making a donation to this worthy cause. 
Who knows.....you might win the trip !!!!
Trip includes:  4 nights at the Four Seasons Resort, Costa Rica at Papagayo, airfare and transfers for two people,  2 rounds of golf at their Arnold Palmer golf course - it is an Audubon Sanctuary filled with monkeys, parrots and native trees of Costa Rica, as well as $500 spending cash.

DO IT FOR PARKER!  How can you resist his cuteness?  :) Don't you know chairs and couches are for jumping???

Jon's worms...

I had the chance to meet Jon this summer and learn first hand about his research...amazing stuff!  He will be speaking again this month in Austin as well.

http://www.dsrtf.org/document.doc?id=49

31 for 21 - Day 1..and no, I won't make 31 posts...

I'll never make 31 for 21 as evidenced by my lack of posting these days, but...I feel it IS important to be a part of "31 for 21!"  DS awareness month is October and our hope is that we can continue to encourage each other in our journey and meet new friends along this path of life!  A life full of richness and blessing!  Yes, it can be difficult, yes, it can seem unfair at times, but what 2 years has brought to our family has made us stronger and God's grace has been so evident!  Parker is a "typical" 2 year old, he's "in" to everything, never slows for a minute and is gaining new skills daily.  His vocabulary is up to about 40-45 understandable words (and a constant conversation all day long we don't always understand, but we shake our head and talk back smiling all the while). This week his new words are "grandpa" "keys,"and  "baseball"  very important at our house!  We are working on reading sight words and contemplating math next.  My Mom bought the dreaded "potty seat" although I must admit we haven't started that process just yet.  I've potty trained 3 kids already, not in a huge rush to start with #4..I'm secretly hoping that preschool will get him started, LOL. Parker has mastered the SRJ "horns and flutes" to everyone's dismay and can frequently be found directing the animals like the "pied piper"  25 blows sounded like a huge accomplishment when we first started, let's just say now the whistles just get louder...we are perfectly content with 5-10 blows...the party horns and harmonica type whistle are so shrill, not sure if those are meant to torture families?  Hard to capture him being still these days (unless he's sleeping), he's running everywhere, new favorite is walking on the curb like a balance beam outside..he thinks "chase" is the best game ever...anytime you are looking for a running buddy come on over! 

Lots of exciting research on the horizon, hoping this year during DS awareness month we can make a push to join together and fund some of these research dollars needed to help our kids.  They deserve to have the same freedoms and independence we all enjoy! Dancing and playing flute, oh so FUN!!!

Be blessed!