Halloween….pirate style!

We had a great Halloween this year!  For the first time Bennett actually participated-he went up to neighbor's doors and said "trick treat" and "thank you" and tried his best to keep up with his sisters!  I was so proud of him because in years past he's gotten so overwhelmed and just wanted to be held, refusing to walk up to doors etc.  

The kids were pirates this year and I happen to think they made the cutest pirates ever!!!...

  

The morning of Halloween the girls were up bright and early anticipating all the candy coming their way!

I got to go with Bennett and watch him parade around with his classmates at school-so cute!

How cute is he??!!;)

Until next year!

October wrap up...

So this month is almost over and while I've been raising awareness for my sweet boy on facebook and instagram, I haven't been on the blog so I wanted to post some of my favorites….

As this month comes to an end I think the main thing I would want others to learn from Down syndrome awareness month is acceptance. For me, it's not about telling you Bennett has Down syndrome, we all know that. Or all the nitty gritty facts about DS (although all are important and interesting). I just want others to know that while individuals with Down syndrome are a little different, they are still human beings that have hearts, and feelings and just like everyone else, they want to be loved and valued. Just like the rest of us they want friends to laugh with and learn from. People with Down syndrome can accomplish great things but they need others to believe that. Accepting them into society and welcoming their differences is what it's about. Besides, life is better with friends;)

The Down syndrome Creed.

Please take the words "retard" or "retarded" out of your vocabulary. This word is extremely offensive. One day my son may feel the hurt of this word but he doesn't have to if we spread the word to end the word.

Buddy walking and raising awareness with his cousin- Go "Bennett's Brigade"!

Bennett's sisters don't see Down syndrome in their brother. They know he has it but to them, he's just their little brother. They love to play with him but they also get annoyed when he takes their things. And although I sometimes worry that they'll resent him when they get older, I also can't help but think that their love for him will only grow stronger. Love doesn't count chromosomes.

A study of 1520 children ages 7 to 16 found that those who regularly interacted with people with disabilities generally had better attitudes toward people with special needs. They were less fearful of them, too, and more empathetic.

One of the biggest things I've learned about raising a child with special needs is patience. Bennett does things in his own time and in his own way. And just because he has Down syndrome doesn't mean he's just like other kids with DS. He's an individual that clearly marches to the beat of his own drum;).

October...

As Bennett gets older I find it less important for me to tell others about the nitty gritty facts of Down syndrome.  I think what I really want for people to understand is that Bennett is a little boy first.  I know  most people probably see Down syndrome as soon as they see him but I want it to stop right there.  I want people to realize that what he was born with doesn't define him and that it doesn't limit what he can do.  I want others to know that we simply want acceptance for our son.  We want him treated like everyone else.  If people would open their eyes and see past the differences they would welcome a whole new level of joy into their lives.

Decorating Updates….

Well first off, it's been a long time!  I've been busy like we all are but I thought I'd share some of my decorating projects.  It's very hard for me to tackle just one project at a time because there are sooo many things I want to do and I get side tracked but for my latest project, I stayed focused;)

Painting stripes in the dining room….

Here is the dining room as it was when we first moved in..

 Here it is after my first update...

 I painted the ceiling and chandelier, made curtains, took down blinds and put up bamboo shades.  

And now the stripes.  I really like it!

Here are some things I still need to do, although I did add something on either side of the mirror recently and I'm satisfied with it for now.

Was this easy?  Not really.  Do I have a tutorial?  No.  Ha!  I'm too impulsive for tutorials!  I forget to take  before pics and then pics along the way.  I just dive into projects because I usually have no idea if they'll work or look good so there's no tutorial.  But there are plenty on pinterest;)  My mom helped me measure and then I used a level, a pencil and tape-that was the hard part.  The rest was easy;)

So I'm very happy with how it turned out as this is one of the first rooms you see when you walk in the house.  It's fun yet still sophisticated I think.

Another project I did quite a while ago but never got around to putting it on here is a little update in the kitchen.

I am wanting to do a MAJOR project in the kitchen but I'm just waiting for the right time.  Until then I did this….

I added a fun design to the back of the cabinets!  Before I go into this, here is the first update I did…

 I simply painted the back of the cabinet.  

For the fun design, do I have a tutorial?  No;)  But it's so simple and all I did was get foam board from Michaels, measured and cut it to fit and then hot glued fabric on it!  So it can come out if chevron goes out of style…but let's hope it doesn't;).

I just made sure I got the fabric on there really tight so there were no bubbles.  

I also painted the entire kitchen a nice shade of grey (it was brown, like the dining room), called Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore-love it!  But that was just a small part of my master plan;)  I've been obsessed with a white kitchen for about 5 years now.  Every house we've moved into has been nice but didn't have my white kitchen.  I've researched how to paint cabinets for 2 years, and I have quotes on getting it done professionally.  I'm leaning towards doing it myself but I need to find the right time, a little more courage, and a whole lot of energy.

This is my dream for this kitchen, along with changing the black appliances to stainless steel as well as the faucet- oh and of course I'd love a farm house sink but let's not go overboard!  One of these days I will have that post on here, don't know when but I'm determined;)

One more small change although it didn't take any work, was changing the dark oriental rug in the family room to a much lighter, totally different style rug...

Here's a very old before with the old rug...

Ahh, so much better with a lighter rug!  

So anyways, that's all for now.  I'd like to tackle the bedrooms next but the kitchen project is always in the back of my mind, along with the bonus room, future mudroom and office...so who knows what I'll do next!

Bennett reading….

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We've been working very hard on our sight words and reading sentences!  It's a little hard to understand his speech but he gets them all right and he's up to reading 35 words now!  So proud of my little man!  

Bennett reading 9/13

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Happy 13th Anniversary!

Married for 13, dating for 17!  Happy Anniversary Michael!  I love you!!!

Happy Heart Day!

4 years ago today Bennett had open heart surgery to repair his tiny heart.  The scar is fading over time but we never forget how thankful we are!  We love you B!!!

Is it football season yet??

Well no but it will be very soon!  So I thought I'd share my "gameday scarves" with you….

Penn State

University of Kansas

Obviously many of the scarves could go with other teams not listed.  The scarves are $22 and $3 for shipping up to two scarves.  These slip over your head but don't wrap, they are shorter and are the perfect length as soon as you put it on, no fuss!  

Here's an example of how they look on a human;)...

If you'd like to order one please email me (mikeadge@gmail.com).  If there are colors for your team you're looking for, just ask and I can see what I can come up with.  I accept paypal for payment.  Oh and these make really cute gifts too! 

You can never have too many scarves!

Bennett Reading!

So I posted a short clip on facebook of Bennett reading.  I wanted to share a slightly extended version to show the progression of matching words, names to pictures etc.  I am so pleased with how it's going and even more thrilled that Bennett actually LOVES doing this!  He loves his "matching" as he calls it.

In the last few days I've added short sentences like "My name is Bennett" "I am 4"(I know, should have used "four" but I'm also trying to see if he recognizes numbers too).  He has picked this up within a day, recognizing these sight words with no problem.

The book I've been using was recommended by a my friend Ria (Ria is sooo good with stuff like this and her Matthew is doing fantastic because of it).  Here's the book….

As Ria recommended I went straight to chapter 8 and it's working!

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So here's the thing, (why this is so exciting to us)  you're told your baby has Down syndrome...you think the worst.  Trust me, you do at first.  So to see your child with Down syndrome start to read at the age of 4 is pretty darn exciting.  It just is.  It shows us that he can indeed learn (because when you get that diagnosis you pretty much feel like your child will never learn because you're in shock and that's all you can think about-my child will do nothing).  

And then to see him get excited about learning, well that's just the icing on the cake for me.  Bennett loves praise and loves getting "high fives" and "good job!".  I love that about him!

I hope this continues and I hope by the time he's ready for kindergarten he's reading right along with his peers.

Do I work harder in terms of education with Bennett than I did with my girls?  Yes.  And I always will have to.  But that's just how it is and I'm okay with that.  

Everything is going to be harder with him but I've always believed hard work pays off… 

We're so proud of you Bennett!!    

A long overdue update….

Good grief it's been a month since my last post!  And I've missed so many WWIW's!;)  We've been busy around here lately so I'll update you with what's been going on….

Bennett finished up his first year of preschool and I couldn't be happier with where he is and how he's done.  He has grown up so much this past year (both physically and emotionally), and although I still feel like he's tiny everyone always tells me how tall he's getting.  Makes me laugh because he's still super tiny compared to his typically developing peers;).

He's talking so much more, eating great, starting to read-I'll have to share this soon-it's very basic reading but it's reading none the less and it's a start.  He understands so much more and way more than we sometimes give him credit for.

Mike and I went to Puerto Rico with his company and had a great time!  My mom and Mike's parents held down the fort and did an awesome job!  I was so nervous to leave them because I've never left all of them for a week but they were fine and it was nice to take a vacation without the kids for once!!

Bennett participated in his first vacation bible school last week and I was so happy that he could be with the 4-5 year olds instead of the nursery.  I made sure he had extra help in his class (I was volunteer coordinator;)) and the girls that helped in there were absolute angels.  So thankful for them!  And Bennett totally surprised me the last night with standing up with everyone and performing.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Here's a video of him performing the last night of vbs….

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The girls finished up second grade and kindergarten a few days ago!  They have done wonderful this year and really are good students.  They love learning and being with their friends.  Hope this continues!  Here they are ready for the last pep rally of the year…

Summer swim team is half way through and I am so proud of Ainsley and Harper for working so hard every day!  I watch them and honestly don't know how I ever did it for 16 years.  They are way better than I was at their age and it's fun to see them get excited about learning how to dive, learning new strokes and even win some of their heats;).  Ainsley is super competitive (not sure where she gets that from;)) but she doesn't realize "practice makes perfect"  and with swimming, unfortunately there needs to be lots of practice!!

Bennett had a rough start to the swim season due to a nasty cold but he's loving the water again and is a little too comfortable with it if you asked me.  But I am glad he loves the pool and hopefully some day he can be on the swim team too!

Since the girls are tracked out for July we're headed to my mom's house for some good family time as well as a beach trip to Myrtle Beach!

After all the vacations we're going to try these with lil' man…

Yikes!!  Wish me luck!

That's all for now.  I'll be back with more WIWW's and hopefully some decorating updates as well!

Happy Birthday to Bennett!!

May 22nd is a good day….

Happy Birthday Bennett!!!  4 years ago you changed our hearts and opened our eyes.  We are so incredibly thankful for your sweet soul!!  Loving you to the moon and back just doesn't describe our love for you!!!  Here's to many, many more birthdays with you!

6 years….

To our sweet Harper who turns 6 today:  You say it like it is, you're spiritually wise beyond your years and you make us laugh every day!  Happy Birthday Harper Elise!!  We love you!!!

Easter...

Can't believe Easter has come and gone!  This year it was much colder than it should have been so we missed out on all the egg hunts because I refuse to have my kids run around in the rain and in winter coats hunting for eggs;)  But Saturday before Easter the sun was out and we decided to have our own egg hunt in the back yard….

Bennett wasn't too much into hunting, he just loves slides and it's "Weeee, slide!"  over and over.  We seriously need a real swing set for this kid!

The girls had fun hunting though! I love how they can adapt to things and didn't care that we didn't go to some big egg hunt with millions of other kids.

Well what's cuter than a little boy in seersuckers and a bow tie?  Yep, that's how we do it in the South;)

Can you believe this boy will be 4 soon!!??

The rain held off while we went to church and I got a few pics but none with all three, Bennett did not want to cooperate!

Having fun with daddy after church!  

Hope everyone had a great Easter!  I think we're all looking forward to some warmer weather after this long winter!

A day to celebrate...

3/21….today is World Down Syndrome Day!! {it's also Throwback Thursday;)} 3/21 to symbolize a third copy of the 21st chromosome in people with Down syndrome. Because that extra chromosome makes this world extraordinary! We love you Bennett and all your awesome friends!!!

Bennett at one year;)

And I just loved this (taken from my friend Aimee)...

Today (3/21 for three copies of the 21st chromosome) we're not spreading awareness that Down syndrome exists. We're spreading awareness that Bennett and other people with Down syndrome are more alike than they are different. That they are capable, intelligent, able, fun, and caring. That, by including them in society, in our classrooms, and in our workplaces all of our lives are a little bit better, a little brighter. And if we really pay attention, they will teach us just as much as we teach them. Down syndrome ISN'T scary, it's just a little different. Every day I am thankful that we were blessed to be just a little bit different.

Also, check out this video and help support my friend's effort!

My Thoughts On Inclusion...

So I think I said awhile back I would explain why I chose the preschool Bennett attends.  It's a very small school with I believe 25 students.  All of the children have special needs.  I'd say 90% of them have Down syndrome.  Why did I choose a school like this?  Well, I put a lot (I mean A LOT) of thought into it.  In the end I knew I needed a place that I was certain Bennett was loved-that was my number one priority.  He is so tiny, like the size of most 18 month olds, only he's 3 and I needed to know he wasn't going to get run over and left in a corner to just "play".  But then I also wanted a place that really focused on communication because that's one of the biggest challenges for a person like Bennett as he gets older-speech.  

Believe me, I talked to many people and at times was almost convinced that Bennett needed to be around typically developing kids, not kids with special needs because how would he ever learn?  Well now I know that's just crazy.  Don't get my wrong I do think he needs to be around peers his age that are typically developing but I also think he can learn just as much if not more at the school he's at.  

What really attracted me to this school was all the technology they were using with the children like ipads and smart boards as well as PEC communication and sign language.  When I first visited the school and walked into the 3 year old class I was amazed at what I saw.  These tiny little children, most of them had Down syndrome, participating in music therapy, sitting and singing happily and then how routined they were when it was time to move on to the next thing.  Bennett fit right in and loved every minute of it.  I could just feel the love from every single person I met.

And what I really love is how they expect so much out of these kids.  They expect them to carry their huge back packs all the way to class, they expect them to hang their bags and coats up.  They expect them to sit and listen and participate.  They want these kids to learn to be independent, they don't let them slack off.  So there's order, there's education and there's love.  Monday-Friday, all day.  I have no doubt Bennett is right where he needs to be.  

Happy as can be!

No description needed;)  

The updates from his teachers…oh how I love the updates!!  This school knows how important the little milestones are and how they're actually not little for these kids, they're huge!  I love how they get that!

Yep, eating real food!  Huge, HUGE accomplishment for him.  No one has EVER been able to get Bennet to eat real (solid) food until he started this school.  Now he picks up food and puts it in his mouth, eats everything we eat, drinks from a cup like a big boy…I never thought I'd see the day.  So, so pleased with what they've done for him in the feeding department!

I just love seeing him participate in regular school activities, following directions, having fun…I couldn't ask for more!  

Now as far as inclusion down the road in elementary school, do I want that?  Of course I do!  What I really want is for Bennett to go to his sister's school and have a full time aide but I know that is so far fetched in our county.  It doesn't mean I won't try but on the other hand I am willing to see how he does in a setting that may be more suitable for him if an aide can't/won't be provided.  If I don't think his needs are met and that he's not getting enough time with typically developing kids, well then if it's in God's will I'll pull him out and we'll try a private school setting where I hear inclusion is more accepted, at least where we live.  

But when it comes down to it, I feel this small school he's at is going to prepare him for elementary school.  So for now, I guess we don't do inclusion, other than church, the gym and just being around his sisters but I really don't think it's all that necessary right now.  Not when he's learning his shapes, colors, letters, so many more words, etc. right along with his classmates.  He's learned SO MUCH this school year and I'm thrilled with his progress.  It's just what has worked for our family.  I know many others feel differently about the topic.  And that might be what is best for their family.

But you know when something is right and this is definitely right.  We take it day by day.  And today Bennett is happy and he's thriving.  So today this is right where we need to be.