Bless His Heart!

Today Blake went to the cardiologist for his 3-year check up. A little late, but it took several months just to get the appointment! They checked his blood pressure, pulses and did an echocardiogram. The physician looked at me and said "consider Blake's heart condition cured." Yeah! What a blessing! There are so many children with and without Down Syndrome who have to have multiple heart surgeries, so I feel very lucky and appreciate everything the wonderful physicians, nurses and surgeons did for us at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

The cardiologist mentioned that some recent studies have shown SOME individuals with Down Syndrome that had the same condition as Blake develop a different heart problem during their adolescent years. So, he recommended a follow-up in 10 years, which I think is amazing! He said Blake is able to do anything he wants without any limitations and does not require antibiotics for visits to the dentists. It sure is wonderful to be able to think of Blake's congenital heart defect in this light rather than how we were feeling at this time in 2006...his surgery was on July 6th of that year. As for now, I am celebrating this great news!

Ladies' Man

Most of you are aware that 5th graders are lined up on the sidewalk along the carpool line at Blake's elementary school to greet and/or help kids to class. The same select boys and girls do this every morning, so they all know who Blake is and have been getting to know him. I had to share with you that for the past week or so girls have been fighting over who will get to walk Blake from the car to class. Apparently he is quite the ladies' man...

P is for Progress

Since Blake started public school shortly after his third birthday in February I have been in awe at the new skills he displays every single day. I thought I would take a moment to brag a little because I am such a proud mommy! Here are some of his recent accomplishments...

• Recognizes and verbalizes letters B, D, E, I, K, and O
• Semi-sings the alphabet with me. The best is at the end when he belts out "ME!" when you sing "next time won't you sing with..."
• Recognizes his name in print
• "Singing" along to songs on C.D.'s and videos (e.g., inserts words/sounds at the correct time or anticipates them and says them right before)
• Recognizes and verbalizes colors Blue, Green & Red
• Counts from 1 to 7
• Verbalizes his teacher's name, Mrs. Ruthie
• The most EXCITING thing! He has increased the words he says from around 10 when he started public school to over 30 now! And I feel like he says something new every day!

It still amazes me to drop him off in the carpool line and see him walk in with a 5th grade friend. He gets so excited when I tell him it is time to go to school. He will usually say "cool," then "Ms. Ruthie" (his teacher) and runs to the door to leave. We are SO blessed to have such a great situation right now...a great and supportive teacher, administration and school. I hope everyday he gets to return to the same school and situation next year. Thanks for allowing me to brag :)

18 Months!

Dane will be 18 months old tomorrow, April 30th! He has grown and changed so much since turning one year old last October. He is definitely a boy on the move and a boy with a mind of his own. Dane prefers things to go his way on his terms, which unfortunately leads to tantrums since that can rarely happen. He is also a very sweet and loving boy, and his giggles are contagious. If Dane could have it his way he would be outside or going various places in Greenville all of the time! He has a great time going to his Mother's Morning Out program, to play dates, on walks at the park strolling with his buddies (and mommy's buddies, too!), and to all of the great happenings in and around Greenville.

Dane has discovered his new love of climbing...as you can see in the picture above. He climbs on top of the coffee table, in and out of chairs, and has now figured out that he can pull a pillow off of the couch and put on the floor to use as a "step stool" onto the couch. He loves redecorating for me. I never know where I will find a picture frame or really any of my decorative things. He also loves to encourage me to bake by bringing out all of the muffin tins and cookie sheets on a daily basis. Dane is feeding himself with a fork and a spoon, and REALLY opposes any assistance. He is doing great with all of his motor skills - details are not necessary. He chats all of the time and now likes to say "Banana" as soon as we walk through the produce area of the grocery store.

I guess the best thing continues to be his relationship with Blake. It is just amazing to watch them bond and play. I was yelling at Dane yesterday (which was very warranted!) and Blake walked over to him and patted him on his back to comfort him. Aside from the pushing, biting, yelling and fighting, they have a great friendship. They are both teaching each other a lot of great things, and I look forward to watching them get closer.

So...happy 18-months, Dane! We are on the downhill slope to the lovely 2's :)

We Have Grass!

Today was such a great day for me. I FINALLY got to mow the yard! I haven't mowed since being pregnant with Blake, and I used to be the sole mower in our household. I just love working outside in the yard. I can thank my Dad for teaching me to have an appreciation for a beautiful lawn and for reminding that it comes with A LOT of hard work and sweat! I guess I can also thank him for being a perfectionist when it comes to yard work and for being picky when others (i.e., Matt) pitch in to help or do it instead of me.

Today was also exciting because we have grass! And a lot of it! Matt rented an aerator several weeks ago and seeded and fertilized. We proceeded to water the lawn 2 hours each day and also got lucky with some nice soaking rains, and let the grass grow almost up to my knees. Even though I had to bag the grass and empty the bag EACH pass, it was so worth it to see our lawn began to become lush and beautiful! I also had time to plants flowers and herbs. So...I had to include a few photos. And I got the dog in a picture instead of the always photographed kiddos!

It's about time...Pictures from our trip to Hilton Head Island & Savannah

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Shiny New Ear Tubes!

Well, I don't really know if they are shiny, but Blake has a new pair of ear tubes! Surgery was a success this morning and Blake was quite the champ. After handing him off to a nurse, I peeled a banana for Dane then went downstairs to get a cup of coffee. When I came back upstairs, I didn't even get the chance to sit down because they called our name to go to recovery. It went so fast and it was so nice that they did not intubate him, but only gave him some gas through a mask. He woke up well - had only a slight vagal episode - and was dancing to Sesame Street music in the car on the way home. Sure is amazing how well kids can tolerate surgery! He acts like nothing ever happened!