Field Trip

Aiden had his kindergarten field trip today and I have been hearing about this trip for approximately 2 weeks now.  Even this morning when I was telling the boys it was time to get out of the shower, Aiden's response was... "I don't mind getting out of the shower today because it is my field trip."  Well... ok then.  Yep, he had been counting down the days/hours and today had finally arrived. 
Ryan was able to go with him on his field trip (yes... I am a bit jealous!) so I got some pictures.  I got 2 of Aiden...


I think the horse was blowing in his ear.

and I got about 6 pictures of these little things...

Cute puppies!  I am starting to wonder if I will find a surprise when I get home.  I better not have any more four legged friends at the house but they are adorable.  We just aren't quite ready to add to our family yet and when we are... I want to have a say in our newest addition.
I can't wait to hear all about Aiden's special day!
 

Sleepy Girl...

Little Miss Priss has been sleeping like a champ and has even tried to sleep in the last few days.  I would love for her to try and sleep in on the days I can actually sleep in too.  I am in need of some sleep.

Love these little piggies!

For some reason, Isabelle doesn't take naps at daycare so she likes to go to sleep really early at night. I on the other hand, miss her so I want to play and do her therapy exercises. Some nights, she wins but most nights... Mommy wins.
She is learning so much and progressing each day. I am excited to see what she will do next.

Jealous much??

Isabelle and I were having some bonding time last night and I look over to see Daddy doing this...

I think he was a little jealous of our girl time! 

The huge ruler in the background...  craft project #4= epic fail!  I love Pinterest but I am learning very quickly that just because I think something looks easy... it isn't for this crafty challenged individual.  At least there are 2 sides so I can attempt one more time. 

I did however make these for our foyer...

I am not completely sold on the look just yet but it is slowly growing on me.  We haven't had anything in our foyer since we moved in so it is adjustment but I do like the pop of color.

Family fun...

Saturday, we started our morning off with baseball (of course!) and it was hot! 

After Ethan's game we raced home to get ready for a birthday party.  After the gifts, we headed to the neighborhood pool so the kids could swim.  Isabelle was a little jealous so she and I put on our swimsuits and jumped in too.  She looked much cuter than I did!  We quickly discovered she loves to be in the water.  She splashed and laughed and would have been perfectly ok with staying in all day.

In order to get all the kids out of the pool they were bribed with a pinata.  Ethan is now banned from ever coming in contact with a pinata again.  This is the second pinata in 2 weeks that he has destroyed and by destroyed... I don't mean breaking it to get the candy out.  The first one, he hit it so hard that it broke off from the string and then this one he hit it so hard that he broke the stick.  He has out grown the pinata stage!
After the party, we headed out to do a little shopping for Daddy. 
Can you tell the kids were a little bored?!?

It is hard being this cool!

Rolling...

Isabelle has been busy these last few days.  I can no longer put her on her blanket and expect her to stay put and I love it!  Sister is rolling all over the place.  She prefers to be close to the action.

Whatcha doing?!?

Or glued to her brother's hip...

  I love to watch the kids interact.  She kept trying to roll just a little closer to him and he would lean down and kiss her forehead every now and then.  These boys are in trouble... she has them wrapped around her little finger!

Or Isabelle likes to mess up Mommy's folding...

Now just to teach her how to refold after she is finished.

Why did I just say that??

I found myself in an awkward situation last week.  I was asked if I had pictures of Isabelle (doesn't sound awkward right??).  This person didn't know anything about Isabelle.  I pulled out my cellphone and I found myself saying before I even showed her the pictures, now Isabelle has Down Syndrome.  What?!?  As I was saying the words, I was trying to stuff them back in my mouth and as soon as they left my mouth, I was thinking...why did I just say that?? 

It was almost as if I was so afraid of her response to seeing a picture of Isabelle that I felt I needed to prepare her.  Prepare her for what... seeing a beautiful baby?  It is so important to me that Isabelle isn't defined by Down Syndrome but here I am trying to "soften the blow" and let someone know before they even meet/see her that she has DS.
I was very ashamed of my reaction but with every situation...I learn and hopefully I grow. 
Sister is beautiful just as she is and I am proud of her.  I see things in me that I know I need to work on and situations like these remind me that Isabelle is helping me grow as a person.  Sometimes there are growing pains but I will become stronger and more confident as a person and her mother with time.  

My little water baby

Milestone...

Isabelle is sitting!!  She has been doing great the last few days.  She has been sitting up like a big girl.  Although, she was still losing her balance pretty easily until today.  Sister has figured it out!
Check her out...

I walked into daycare this afternoon and she was sitting all by herself like a big girl.  I left with happy tears.  I have been waiting for this milestone for quite some time and it was worth the wait!  I can't wait to see what she begins to conquer next.
*I just realized the volume no longer works on my video.  I will work on that and repost.

Easter weekend...

We had a fun and busy Easter weekend.  We had 4 egg hunts, a picnic and Easter brunch.  Somewhere in between those, we found a little time to rest and clean house. 
Saturday, we started with our annual church Easter egg dash.  We were excited because Ryan was able to attend his first egg hunt with us this year.  It was a beautiful day and the kids were excited to start finding eggs.  Isabelle started first.  I sat her in the grass near some eggs but she was more interested in the grass.

Nana and Izzy

Do I want this leaf or the egg??  The leaf won out!

Then it was the boys turn to find some eggs.  They are actually not hidden so it is purely a race to see how many you can get.  Ethan ran and tripped over a girl's trash bag (yep, a trash bag... no typo here.  Who needs a basket when you can use a trash bag!)  and dumped her eggs so he lost out on time since he was polite and helped her out.  He wasn't happy about it but it made me proud.

Then there was a little play time:

Having fun is hard work!

After we ate, we went on a boat ride. 

Isabelle isn't sure about this life jacket.  It definitely doesn't match her outfit.

After the boat ride we headed home to rest up before our next cook out/ egg hunt. 

Isabelle learned to say Mom in sign language! just kidding!... she is just trying to find her mouth so she can suck her thumb.

She is however sitting up all by herself!  She still gets tired or attempts to pull her feet up to her mouth and loses her balance but overall she is doing great!

On Sunday, we all went to church and then headed over to Nana and Papas for brunch and egg hunting. 

Where are you going Izzy?

Isabelle is finally bigger than someone.  Her new cousin Owen.

How about a kick to the face to welcome you to the family?!?

2 pretty girls- Isabelle and Mikayla

Someone got something extra special in their basket.

Taking a snack break

Who decided to hide an egg way up there??

Ryan and baby Owen

Afterwards we headed over to the Holt's for their egg hunt with the kids.  Then it was home for naps and cleaning.

Sleepy babies

School Program

Aiden had his first Kindergarten program and he was so excited.  We raced home to get him changed into his green outfit and transform him into a frog. 

Can you see him?!?  Well, we couldn't either.  We were sitting on the last row in the auditorium.  He is in the green section on the left hand side.  If I squinted really hard, I could find him and he sure looked cute up there singing his little heart out.

Here he is with his class.  Still can't see him that great but if you look really hard he is the boy with the dark green shirt tucked in.  (I made him tuck in his shirt because we noticed a nice stain on his shirt from the rehearsals.)

Reading and Learning...

I pre-ordered the book, Bloom by Kelle Hampton, back in March and it finally arrived in the mail. I was actually excited to read this book. I had been given a few books regarding DS while pregnant or right after I had Isabelle and to be honest, they are collecting dust. Trust me… I tried to sit and read them but I haven’t been quite ready yet. I am not sure what makes this book different for me but it just is.
I was introduced to Kelle Hampton’s blog while I was pregnant and we had just gotten word that Isabelle has DS. I began with Nella’s birth story and I just laid there and cried for hours. I enjoy reading Kelle Hampton’s blog because 1) she is a great photographer (To be honest, sometimes I skip the words and just look at the pictures) and 2) I find her writing to be light and funny. Although, sometimes I do leave her blog feeling a little less of a mother because I have to work outside of the home and I can’t spend every moment with my children making special memories. I realize everyone’s life and situation is different but we can always make the most of the time we have with our kids. My parents both worked outside the home and I think I turned out pretty good!

I finally was able to pick up the book once the kids were asleep. I crawled into bed and started reading. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. I was just reading the prologue and my book is now stained with tears… lots of tears. I thought, Dear Lord, I am not even to the first chapter. Will I be able to get through this?!? The prologue was full of such raw emotions. The emotions she felt learning of Nella’s DS diagnosis at birth. Our situations are different in that Kelle had a birth diagnosis and I had a prenatal diagnosis. She went through her emotions after meeting her daughter where as I went through my emotions during my pregnancy (last 4 months) and then again after Isabelle’s birth. While our situations are different, the emotions are so similar. I felt like I was reading the words I have had stuck in my head for so long and have been afraid to release.  Those words on the pages were so similar to my words/thoughts (although written much better!).

I am amazed by how quick she went from devastation to just pure love for her new baby. This lady took the bull by the horns/ put on her big girl panties/ turned lemons into lemonade and just moves on.

I have allowed the world’s stereotype of DS cloud my views and my mind. When we were told that Isabelle more than likely has DS (80% chance) among other things, the doctor kept saying- I am so sorry. I didn’t know anyone -child or adult- that had DS so my initial thoughts were of the stereotypical DS adult. I was scared and angry. I didn’t want this for my baby or our family.
It would always rub me wrong when someone would tell me that God sends special babies to special people. I know people didn’t know what to say to us but that wasn’t something I wanted to hear at the time. God thinks everyone is special so why would he pick me over someone else. I am learning that yes, God does know what he is doing and he knew that we needed Isabelle, just as she is, in our lives. I am learning about my insecurities and being forced to deal with those. I have always worried about what others thought and I am slowing realizing that others opinions of me or my family will not break me.  When someone stares at Izzy a little longer than I think is necessary, it is only because she is so beautiful.  Isabelle is perfect just the way she is and we are blessed to have her in our lives.  My children will learn how to accept others and be more compassionate simply because they already love Isabelle regardless of her DS. 

My children have shown me what true unconditional love means.  We all have grown so much because Isabelle is a part of our family.  I can't say I am no longer scared for what our future may hold but now I am also excited.

Big brother has something new...

Glasses!!  He looks handsome although, I have to glance at him a few times because he looks so different. He now has braces and glasses but he looks much cooler than I did at his age.  Thankfully, he won't be getting a perm any time soon or I would be having some nightmare flashbacks!