A Beach in Tulum at Dusk

First Stop...COBA

Coba is the tallest Mayan pyramid in the Yucatan and we all climbed it....well, everyone except for Joaquin. But he made it up about 4 steps!!



This thing was TALL and steep and VERY scary.


It took about 3 miles hiking in the jungle to get to the pyramid and the boys were all troopers.





As soon as we got there, Diego started climbing all by himself. I yelled to Hector to go after him after a German couple looked at me like I was crazy and said "Wow, he's brave." I realized then how DANGEROUS the thing was. So Hector went up after him and Mateo followed right behind.

Now, anyone who knows me also knows that I am NOT a nervous parent. I'm pretty easy going and usually remain calm even when faced with potentially dangerous situations. But this pyramid had me sweating. There I was at the base of the pyramid clinging to Joaquin in his carrier and I was literally praying out loud to God to keep the boys safe as they fearlessly climbed to the top. I was SO nervous.



But...they made it! And they made it down. Hector said it was the scariest thing he's ever done with the boys. Diego was thrilled and Mateo was totally cool with it. Mateo is usually my very cautious little guy but he really tackled the climb with absolutely no fear. Amazing!



When Diego said he wanted to go again, I said I've got to do this. I've got to tackle my fear. I have the BIGGEST fear of heights. As I climbed I didn't look up or down. I just stayed as close as possible to the rocks, keeping my center or gravity as close as possible to the stones (I must have looked ridiculous) and eventually I made it. The view from the top was worth it all...nothing but miles and miles and miles of untouched jungle. Gorgeous! I'm so glad I did it.

A Mexican Holiday

We spent 12 amazing and beautiful days in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Playa is about 40 minutes south of Cancun on the Caribbean Sea...the clearest aqua blue water that you have ever seen! It was a wonderful vacation for our whole family and we were able to celebrate both Christmas and New Year's there. It was the perfect time to take Joaquin. He is the best traveler in the bunch. He spent his time crawling everywhere, standing up and cruising around different obstacles, playing in the waves and the sand and overall just LOVING the sunshine and the beach.


I plan on sharing different parts of our trip in the next few posts so I can share with you our adventure. And BOY, what an adventure it was!

Our Christmas Tree Angel

This Christmas I decided to get involved in the Christmas Angel Tree Project at Reece's Rainbow and I hope to make it an annual tradition.

I chose to sponsor Sofia. I absolutely fell in love with this little girl who is in an orphanage in the Ukraine. Her birthday is February 21, 2008. She is almost the same exact age as Joaquin. She is beautiful and I have to say that I can't stop thinking about her. I have always wanted a little girl and the name Sofia was going to be Diego's name if he had been a girl. I sent in a donation and received a beautiful porcelain ornament with her picture on it.


If and when our financial situation should change and afford us a bigger home (or at least one with two bathrooms) and just a bit more cushion to help with the additional costs, I would most definitely look into adopting a child from Reece's Rainbow. I am so inspired by my blogging friends who have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Reece's Rainbow. They know the absolute joy and honor it is to raise a child with Down syndrome. I so wish I could bring Sofia home and it pains me to think it isn't possible at this time.

Happy New Year sweet Sofia. I hope your forever family finds you as soon as possible! We send you our love and will always think of you at Christmas time when we put your ornament on our tree.

Precious

A must see movie.

A very intense and difficult movie.

I am at a loss for words on how to describe this movie so I will direct you to a wonderful review on The Feminist Spectator.

And how does this relate to my blog and my journey with Joaquin? Well, I had no idea myself until a scene with "Little Mongo" appeared and took my breath away.

An excerpt from The Feminist Spectator's blog:

Precious’s first baby by her father has Down syndrome and has been banished, by Mary, to live with Mary’s mother. Mary, who can’t stand the sight of her, calls the baby “Mongo,” short for “Mongoloid.” The sweet girl is friendly and affectionate, cheerful and placid. When Mary’s mother, wary and suspicious of her own daughter, brings the little girl to their Harlem apartment in anticipation of a city social worker’s visit, the three-year-old’s non-discriminating, innocent affect throws into even sharper relief the cruelty in which Precious lives.

Innocent, non-discriminating, friendly, affectionate, cheerful, placid. Words l love to hear associated with children with Down syndrome. Words I've found to be so true.

All I can really say is, go see this movie. It will move you.

Litmus Test

I seriously think that Joaquin could be the ultimate litmus test for whether or not a person is truly good or capable of true joy and love.

Case in point...going through the airport with Joaquin in the stroller waving hello and blowing kisses to ABSOLUTELY everyone. And he does this with absolute abandon and at the same time is so genuine about it. Watching people's response to this type of open affection was truly remarkable. I felt like I was the director of some social experiment. People either completely "got it" and were just as open with their affection back to him or people just looked with confusion or disbelief. I really feel bad for the latter.

It was so refreshing to see people give the love back to Joaquin or just to see that their day was made brighter by the smile of a child. Even young children were touched by his enthusiasm. On the other hand, it was so sad to see some people who were so inside themselves or so downtrodden that they were not able to embrace or even acknowledge this sweet boy giving them love.

All I can really say is that it was a joy to be a passenger on Joaquin's love train through the airport.

Christmas Card 2009

To all my blogging friends who are now my extended family, here is our Christmas card this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!