On Sunday, my "best" girlfriends threw a very intimate and beautiful shower for Sofia. It was a lovely afternoon and Sofia was a little movie star! She lights up a room when she enters it. The cool crisp mimosas were delicious on this warm September day and the company was perfect. Thank you Michelle and Katie and all our guests for honoring our little birdie and showering her with love.
Living life one day at a time as a family of six...3 busy and bouncy boys and 1 Ukrainian princess. Our third son Joaquin was our unexpected blessing who came to us with a little something extra called Down syndrome and inspired us to adopt Sofia an orphan we fell in love with through Reece's Rainbow. We hope that our story will help open people's eyes to the beauty and gift that ALL children are. We are all more alike than different!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Birthday Bubbles & Music
Here is Sofia at her buddy Sheridan's birthday party last month. She LOVES music and people and birthdays and bubbles and she has a sense of wonder about EVERYTHING. And then I remember it's because EVERYTHING is new to her!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Those Eyes...Again!
So....I'm needing my blogging family and friends to help me out a bit. Am I being overly sensitive? I think so...
I've noticed lately that I'm a bit more sensitive when people strike a "funny" face for photos and more often than not people love to cross their eyes and stick out their tongue to make this face. I realize lately that the face is somewhat the face of a person with Down syndrome or any other brain injured person. Joaquin obviously has a strabismus so his eyes are crossed most of the time and occasionally his tongue rests on his lower lip when he is overly tired or relaxed.
I realize people...adults and children...mean absolutely no harm in making this face but when I see the crossed eyes I just cringe a tiny bit thinking they are making fun of themselves and looking "silly" or "dumb" but they are doing this by making their face resemble the face of someone with a strabismus. Do you think this goes back to the whole "retard" thing....looking and acting "retarded" to poke fun at oneself.
Just a random thought for the day. Silly I know but just sharing some of the thoughts that I have. It's not like I expect people to stop crossing their eyes when they make a face for the camera or for fun, it's not that. It's just I wonder where that ever came from or started from. I've grown to love and adore my boy's little crossed eyes but yes, we will be doing the surgery to straighten them later this year and we'll see how successful the surgery is for cosmetic and medical reasons. Will having straight eyes help Joaquin to be more mainstreamed and less made fun of in the future? I don't know. Will it help people see beyond his disability if he doesn't "appear" to have DS or doesn't have the strabismus? I don't know. Does it bother me? I don't know. Will this bother Joaquin someday? I don't know.
I think I'm just having one of those overly sensitive days. I'll get over it...
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sasha HAS A Family-UPDATED!!!!
HIS FAMILY FOUND HIM!
Follow his journey home here! CONGRATS to the Hagler family! You are about to win the adoption lottery jackpot of love and cuteness with Sasha :)!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Tears Are Flowing...It's a Good Thing!
Little Miss Sofia had her tear duct surgery today and all went well. The doctor was able to probe both ducts and balloon one side but not the other but they feel that surgery was successful and that all should be flowing well now!
She charmed all the nurses and doctors in the children's surgery center and did really well during the surgery and coming out of anesthesia. She seemed to recover quickly in the morning but had a little relapse in the afternoon with some vomiting of fluids. She was more cranky than she's ever been today as well, poor little girl. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel like herself again.
Thank goodness for our healthy girl. And if she should need to cry (and we hope that she doesn't too often), she can now cry with tears and all!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Down Syndrome in the Movies!
The opportunities and possibilities for people with Down syndrome continue to increase. Here is an article and movie trailer where Evan Sneider, an actor who has DS, is one of the main characters. It looks like it's an intense drama, looking forward to seeing it!
Girlfriend
Girlfriend
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tropical Storm Joaquin
Joaquin is like a walking hurricane these days...into everything. He is so BUSY and so CURIOUS and so full of MISCHIEF! I've been trying so hard to keep up with our house (since we are still trying to sell it!) and every time I clean up one room, I go into the next and it's like a tornado hit. It happens all. day. long.
He is so inquisitive and wants to explore every inch of his environment and that's wonderful...it's just impossible to keep up with him!
Here he is getting caught in the act of something...
He is so inquisitive and wants to explore every inch of his environment and that's wonderful...it's just impossible to keep up with him!
Here he is getting caught in the act of something...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Before & After
We are a few weeks shy of having Sofia home with us now for three months and I can't get over how much she has transformed. She is such a happy and healthy little baby. We love her more and more each day and she is becoming more and more our little girl. The boys continue to love on her and play with her (Joaquin sometimes a bit too much...as evidenced by a few love "bites") but all in all she fits in so perfectly with our family. Look how far she's come!
Before...bruised, pale, chapped skin.
After...clear, soft, illuminated skin.
Before...nothing to call her own, dressed in layers of clothing, not able to feel her own body.
After...a closet full of lovely clothes especially given to her or handed down to her, dressed like the princess that she is.
Before...very little tone, poor coloring, overfed and no variety of foods for her body.
After...lots of friends and a big family.
Before...sad and sorrowful eyes.
After...eyes full of wonder!
Before...stuck indoors almost all her life.
After...soaking up some California sunshine!
After...a face filled with joy!
Before...a hidden beauty with lots of love just waiting for someone to share it with.
After...a glowing, radiant beam of light! Photo taken today at the opthamologist's office.
Before...bruised, pale, chapped skin.
Before...nothing to call her own, dressed in layers of clothing, not able to feel her own body.
After...a closet full of lovely clothes especially given to her or handed down to her, dressed like the princess that she is.
After...brighter skin, more alert, better tone, proper body weight.
Before...all alone, no friends, no family.
Before...sad and sorrowful eyes.
After...eyes full of wonder!
Before...stuck indoors almost all her life.
After...soaking up some California sunshine!
Before...a face without much hope.
Before...a hidden beauty with lots of love just waiting for someone to share it with.
After...a glowing, radiant beam of light! Photo taken today at the opthamologist's office.
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