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!!!