Responsibility

Blake got his first library card this weekend! There is so much excitement in first-time responsibility, and proudly displaying your signature :)

An Interactive Field Trip!

Today, Blake's class went to The Children's Museum of the Upstate for a field trip! In order for him to go he had to have a parent chaperone. Enter me...and two siblings for 4 hours in wide open spaces in an overstimulating environment. Although quite the exhausting challenge, everyone had a great time. The museum is a wonderful learning tool (albeit way overpriced) and multisensory experience that is typically talked about days after going. Blake even demonstrated dinosaur eating habits in front of his class during a presentation by the museum...see third picture down where he is holding two different dinosaurs (a carnivore & herbivore) and wearing a dinosaur on his head :) The other pictures include Blake go up and down using a pulley system, playing in the water activities and listening to different sounds of music.

7 Months

Blair is constantly on the move now, so you can see picture taking is becoming a challenge! As well as hat and bow wearing. She is not in agreement that these accessories make the outfit, but I will continue to work on that :) I am starting to see what is in our future with this little girl. She is a busy little bee grabbing for everything and wants to be into everything. Oh how life will change in a few months! Blair is quite the eater and is quickly outgrowing her 9 months clothes. No teeth yet which isn't a suprise since the boys were also late to get teeth. She is still breastfeeding enjoying bottles only with Daddy, and loves her homemade baby food. Her well visit is tomorrow, so we will see how much this on-the-move little girl has grown! Happy 7-month baby girl!

*I should point out this post is 5 days late. She was 7 months old on the 10th, same day as Blake's birthday. I obviously had trouble celebrating two things on time ;)

Culture Shock

I know, we have lived in South Carolina for a little over three and a half years now, but I still have moments of culture shock and the realization that I will never truly fit in here in the South. Most of the time I go along with life feeling (or pretending) like this is home and enjoying myself, or I just grin and bear it. Then there are days like today. Blair and I had several places to go, and for some reason each and every place a random lady had to talk with and interact with her. Or should I say him. Why is it that if your baby girl is not all dolled up in a dress or have something printed on her clothing that screams girl that she is a he? Blair had on a plain PINK onesie with plain cotton gray pants and PINK booties. Appropriate attire for an infant...comfortable, easy to move in (quite important when you are a baby learning to move about) and cozy without fear of ruining it with spit-up. She did have a PINK bow in her hair, but after several attempts of eating it I surrendered.

So, after each lady complemented me on how cute "he" is, I proceeded to say "Yes, SHE is sweet, it is so fun to finally have a GIRL." No apologies, aha moments, or "oops, sorry for calling her a boy." Just ignoring me and moving on. Maybe they were muttering something under their breath as they walked silently away about me needing to put her in a dress. Perhaps Carter's, Gap, Old Navy and other comfy infant clothing makers have perks in the Midwest and not here. Or maybe this isn't a Southern thing at all? I'm not sure, but I think I will continue to experience culture shock in some way or another until the day we move. Or maybe I am just having a bad day...

Six!

Blake turned 6 years old last Friday, February 10th! The past six years has certainly brought us joys, challenges, tears, laughs, and many more emotions (as I am sure any child brings!). Blake has really blossomed this year as a Kindergartener. Aside from just overall maturity, Blake has learned so much this past year...he has begun to read, can write his name, is speaking in sentences, is doing simple math, can ride a bicycle with training wheels, and is now sporting new glasses! He continues to make strides at school and private therapies, and continues to bring us joy and wonderful bear hugs at home. We celebrated in style with his two favorite foods...cake and pizza. My Mom and Aunt made the much-appreicated trip to Greenville to share Blake's birthday and enjoy Frodo's pizza and Blake's custom ordered "vanilla cake" made my Mommy. We truly are grateful they could be here and are thankful for his friends who wished him a happy birthday in fun gifts and sweet cards. Our celebration will come to a close in a few weeks at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, one of Blake's favorite places. We are so excited to see what this year brings for Blake!

Validation

Blake and Dane are 20 months apart. On purpose. I am sure a lot of people thought we were crazy and possibly still do, but our thinking was to have a built-in peer role model and friend for Blake (and what turns out to be for Dane, too). As Dane got older we saw the truth in this by watching them interact and Blake imitating important developmental milestones, mostly in speech and language. As difficult as it was having them close together in the beginning, each month of their lives together has proven to be well worth it.

Something surprising has happened this year in Kindergarten that has led to even more validation in our decision to have the boys close together. Very early in his life Blake showed great interest in letters, which quickly led to phonics and now reading. Yes, reading. His abilities to learn sight words has impressed us beyond belief. Dane has always shown a desire to learn, do and help with what Blake is learning. This year it has been for reading, which Dane is now doing, too. Thankfully Blake has an amazing teacher that provides nightly at-home reading activities that both boys are eager to do each night (plus additional homework 2-3 nights per week...Kindergarten is demanding!). So, the surprising validation is opposite of what we ever expected. Blake is helping Dane to learn and reach milestones, and as a parent it has been a wonderful experience to watch. There is nothing better than watching your children read for the first time.

Crazy thing is, when Blake was born I said "I just want him to be able to communicate and read." I remember saying that shortly after he was born and when we knew his diagnosis of Down syndrome. Well, he is able to do both and continues to make great progress in both areas. Looks like we need a new goal...