So Far So Good!

Here is Joaquin moments before surgery. He was in SUCH a good mood and as charming as ever. FULL of grins and giggles. Surgery went smooth and quick. Both eyes were done and now we let it heal and wait and see how successful it was. They sent him home without any special medication and no patches or guards so I'm a nervous wreck about it. The only precaution is for 2 weeks we need to keep him away from playground sand and putting his head underwater. His eyes are really swollen, sensitive and totally red. I can barely look at his eyes without it totally hurting me and making my stomach turn. We know that this was a procedure totally recommended by his doctor/eye surgeon and that there are many benefits to doing it but there is a teeny tiny part of me that feels like I am messing with my boy and his beautiful eyes. They are one of my most favorite things about him. His beautiful eyes are the windows to his soul and I just don't want to do anything to hurt him or those precious peepers. I can't tell yet if the surgery worked. They look pretty good but it's really deceiving with all the red on the eye. We will know in 6 weeks. We have a quick post op appointment tomorrow morning and then in six weeks we go back to evaluate the results.

Thank you everyone in blogging land, text, facebook, phone and in person for being so supportive. We love you all. Now back to snuggling my boy and helping him heal!

Eye Surgery on Monday

Joaquin is scheduled to have eye surgery on Monday and check in is at 6:15am at UC Davis Medical Center. We are hoping and praying that the surgery to correct his strabismus is successful and that he has no complications and that this will be the only surgery for his eyes that he'll ever need.

We welcome prayers and good thoughts leading up to the surgery and on the day of surgery! We hope he heals quickly and that his eyes are straight therefore giving him better depth perception. We have every confidence in his eye doctor/surgeon. It is an outpatient procedure and he will be able to participate immediately in all his activities except for playgrounds with sand and underwater activities for 2 weeks.

PRAYING all goes well!

Bring Kirill HOME!

Be a part of something BIG....be a part of HISTORY!

BRING KIRILL HOME!

Happy World Down Syndrome Day! 3-21-11

All these beautiful children I am happy to know and love...the babes of the Sacramento Area Sisterhood. This is a preview to a DSIA 2012 Calendar fundraiser and photos were taken by the talented team at Benton Photography. Enjoy! 

Celebrate that special extra chromosome!

Bee-utiful!

Photo taken by my friend and photographer Michelle Marrone

My Favorite Face

Photo taken by Michelle Marrone (dear friend and photographer)

This face and this smile makes my world. This is Joaquin in his true form...giving love. Oh how blessed we are to have him in our lives.

Our Little School Boy

Joaquin has been in preschool now for a little less than a month and I thought I would share an update. He is THRIVING in school and I don't know if it's his age now or his going to school or what it is but he is soaking up the world around him. He is obsessed with letters, numbers, picture cards, manipulative puzzles, throwing/catching/kicking balls, and anything musical.

He will recite the ABC's on his own with very little to no prompting. He grabs magnetic letters off the fridge and 8 out of 10 times he accurately identifies the letter. He wants to count things all the time. He LOVES books and asks to read books more than any other activity. He is using scissors on his own. He is potty training. He is exploding with his language. He is so HAPPY.

He now asks for the bus when he wakes up and wants to put his backpack on and get out the door to wait for the big yellow school bus. He gets on and just SMILES now. He loves it. We blow kisses to each other and it's the cutest, sweetest goodbye I have ever experienced with any of my children.

I have no doubt that this is the absolute BEST thing for Joaquin. I'm so grateful for our school system and for the teachers and for the therapists, friends, and family that have helped prepare Joaquin for this next BIG step in his growth and development and independence.

I found out today that he is starting OT and PT at school every week in addition to the ST he gets twice a week and all of these therapies will be "pushed in" to the classroom setting. Our team would like to do another IEP in May to prepare and revise his plan for the Fall. Joaquin will be starting full immersion preschool this Fall with all the other incoming neighborhood 3 year olds two days a week at our home school down the street. On the other days, he will continue to take the bus to attend his Special Day Program where he will receive all his intensive therapies to continue to help him thrive in "typical" preschool. So all in all, I feel like I've hit the lottery with this team of teachers and therapists and professionals. They care....they really truly care and love my child. We are so blessed. I'm going to stay positive and believe that there is every chance that our experience will continue to be positive. I know it's a long and difficult and challenging road ahead but I feel like we've got a terrific start!