Adventure Is Out There

So I was saying how three years old are curious...yeah Reagan showed that today.  She packed this day pretty full of adventures!  And some first time experiences.  Remember making leaf rubbings?  Grammy showed Reagan how...she was so cute feeling the leaf under the paper to see where to put her Crayon.

 "Mommy, Mommy, pish, pish" ...and she tried to "feed" them some leaves too.

 More "pish" and figuring out how fun it is to stick your face in the railings.

 It may be October but drive out to Whitewater and you can pretend its still summer for a couple of hours.

 "wah-er Mommy, wah-er"

Big sisters found a gopher snake and Reagan in her innocent curiosity tried to pinch its head.

 Oh look I'm a BIG girl now leading my horse out to saddle up.

Yep,  there is pretty much nothing better than watching little ones take such joy in Creation and exploring it.  Lovely Sunday....and now I'm exhausted lol.

Mommy's little "ep"er

I have a confession to make.  I love the age 3.  And I've missed it with Clarisse and Cadence being 6 and almost 5.  I love the creativity and imagination and exploration that three year olds possess in abundance.  And the fact that they love to "help" with everything...of course making the task take three times as long as doing it yourself but who can say no to a sweet little face saying "mommy help?"

 So mommy is of course thrilled to have a three year old again!

 Because despite her tiny size and lack of clear speech there is no denying this girl is THREE!

And she wants to "ep" with everything that we do...which today was quite a long list of chores.

 She wants us to know that she is a big girl who knows how to do everything her sister do.

 And heaven help us if we try to leave her out...she straight up won't let us.

No excuse me while I go re-fold all the laundry. :)

What she says and what she means

Speech is an area where Reagan is still significantly delayed.  Not as much as she was six months ago when she only said a half-dozen words, but still quite delayed.  We have learned quickly that this does not equate with her comprehension or desire to communicate being delayed.  She imitates really well and loves to use sign too so her vocabulary is growing daily and this results in some rather hilarious exchanges.  When she wants something and doesn't know how to say it she comes to me... "mommy, mommy...dis" and points or pulls me over to show me what she needs.  She loves her books and will sit for very long periods of time "reading" and shoving the book under my nose to show me..."mommy, goggie", or "mommy, bird"  or "mommy, dis, dis, dis".

 She says things to intentionally make us laugh...in the pool a couple of weeks ago it was "mommy, mommy, mommy", what baby...with very deliberate sign coordination, "mommy...want...more..cookie!".  I told her she was a silly girl so she did it over and over and over again cracking up each time to get us all to laugh at her.  Yeah, she gets it.  While finishing up a ride on her "orse" the other day she wanted to continue so she, again combining garbled word with very deliberate signs, said "more...ride".

The thing is she doesn't know the sign for ride....so she made one up.  Somehow I don't think this delay is going to last.  In the meantime the constant refrain of "mommy, mommy, mommy" trailing me around the house is music to my ears even while it drives me batty after a while.  After all I waited for 2 1/2 years to hear her say mommy...I can't really complain about a little overuse after all that hard work right?

They said she wouldn't....

Walk until she was two....and yet at 16 months old she stood up and walked across the room.  And she hasn't looked back since.  Its funny because Reagan seems to be held back more by her small size than her extra chromosome.  I hate to think what she would get into if she were any taller since she already figures out how to pull chairs around the house (and on top of her boo for black eyes) to reach the "coc-let" or "coookees".  And as for other things her sisters can do...well we just minitureize it for her.

  This girl can really get going now.  And she insists on wearing her helmet (also when she is riding her "orse"...more on that later!)  Check out the spontaneous "I love you" she throws me when she sees the camera. 

 But you know, she won't be able to....be held back by anything!

Sharing the Love

One of the things I love about having Reagan in our lives is how it inspires my older two girls.  It is so touching to see Clarisse and Cadence talk about advocating for their little sister.  Of course they don't call it advocating, they call it Down syndrome awareness and they love to share it.

 As soon as they realized it was October they asked if we would make "Down syndrome bracelets and bows" again to share with their friends.  And of course we are.  Want to sport some blue and yellow and show and share some Reagan Love?

 Give us a shout and we'll fix you up with a bracelet, ring, necklace, bow, ribbon...

That time of year...again.

The time of year when we celebrate the wonderful uniqueness that is this precious little girl along with all of her peers who share her extra chromosome.

It has been three years since we were introduced to what that tiny little extra bit of DNA is all about and now I wonder how in the world we got along without it. 

It has been 11 months since I have written anything here.  Why?  Because I wonder if I have anything to say that better writers aren't saying already.  But as I look at this sparkle that is my daughter and think about what she inspires in those she comes in contact with I realize that it really isn't anything I have to say that is of value here.  

It is her.  What she is and what she inspires in others is worth spreading around.  So I will again dedicate the month of October to sharing Reagan and what Down syndrome is all about...or maybe what it isn't all about.

Happy Down syndrome awareness month!

Why I'm Still Not Afraid (31 for 21 post 31)

I posted last year on Halloween about why I'm not afraid for Reagan's future because I know there will always be people in her life who care about her and look after her.  About her friend who set aside his own trick-or-treat basket to make sure she wasn't left out.  Well in the last year that friendship (amazing but yes, my 2 year old has a deep and lasting friendship with a 9 year old)  has become very important to both of them.  Olin loves to get Reagan from Sunday school every week and play with her after church.  He helps her keep up with the big kids and (most important to Reagan) shares his hats with her. ;)  He has moved from simply being her protector to being her teacher, so this year instead of simply making sure she was carried to the door for trick-or-treating, he showed her how to play each of the games at the carnival.  

Isn't she the cutest little pixie you've ever seen?

Olin carefully helped her sit on the table and showed her how to make the frog jump.

Gotta admit on this one Reagan was much more interested in the ducks than the candy...which is saying something once she figured out she was getting chocolate from all these people. :)

Olin demonstrating how to throw the ball and make it stick on the wall.....

...and Reagan is no dummy, she figured it was easier just to go up and stick it on.

Note...Reagan was scared of the bounce house when Grammy took her to it,  but if her buddy Olin was going to go with her she was all smiles!  Sorry Grammy.

And look who came with us this year...the cutest little bee.  Now with family and friends like that not only surrounding Reagan with love and care, but also teaching her and guiding her,  how can I be scared?

Whew....made through all 31 posts!  A little less Down syndrome this year and a little more normal life, but that is good.  Now we are off to a weekend of wedding stuff...back with cute pictures next week!