Car Seat Question

This is a question for my friends who have children with Ds. What kind of guidelines have you been told as to when you can turn your child's car seat forward facing? I know with a typical child we normally turn them around at one year old. But I am assuming that with the low muscle tone most of our kiddos have, it would be older for them. I just haven't found a clear cut answer so I thought I would ask you guys for your advice. I know it is so much more fun for them to be forward facing but I want Ella to be safe. Thanks for your help.

Mini Vacation

My aunt and uncle were down in SoCal visiting from Oregon. My uncle had a family reunion up in Big Bear (our local mountains) so the girls and I decided to take a drive up so we could see them. Unfortunately daddy had to work so he couldn't join us. Originially we were planning on just driving up for the day but when I went online to get the address to the hotel they were staying in, I thought it would be fun for us to get a room and stay overnight. www.marinaresort.com So, we packed up a month's worth of things for an overnight stay. We were right on the lake and it was just so relaxing to simply hang out. We even got to partake in some of the yummy "reunion" grub. The older girls were able to walk out the door of our room and literally take about 50 steps and either be in the lake or in the pool. As usual, Ella enjoyed just being outdoors. There was this great overhang on the porch of our room so we had constant shade so I just rolled Ella's pack-n-play out the door and she hung out there. That way everyone that walked by could stop and talk to her (which she loved). Although I am starting to notice that she is getting a little separation anxiety. When people she doesn't know well or at all want to hold her, she instantly turns to look for me and gets a little nervous. I am going to try to put captions by all the photos but I have a hard time with this photo posting...they always move all over the page when I try to type by them. Hopefully it works!!

Look at this cool ball my aunt made Ella. She is an amazing sewer and it was perfect for Ella to grab on to. Maybe I should have her make some to sell????

The girls with Aunt Judy and Uncle Denny. The big girls were worried about bees and so wouldn't stand there very long

The three who weren't so worried about all the bees flying around..."they won't bother you if you don't bother them"

Me and Ella with my Aunt Judy

Ella thinking about why I just set her in the dirt/sand.

"I guess I will just play with it"

Abbey and Emma hanging out on the dock.

My three girls posing in front of the lake

On the edge of the mountain!!

One final stop on our way down the mountain to get one more scenery photo.

Wordless Wednesday

First Summer Swim

Well, it finally has warmed up enough to hit the pool. Now don't get me wrong, I am not overly anxious for the hot weather because I know it will be around long enough...but the kids have been anxious to swim. Ella really enjoyed her new floatie and thankfully big sister Emma was kind enough to pull her around in the pool so I didn't have to get in yet as I am a wimp if the water isn't warm!!! Plus, I really am not looking forward to putting on a bathing suit this summer!!

Getting ready on my personalized beach towel

Floating around with sissy

Wondering where sissy went?

Awww...free from my floatie!!!

All done!!!

Look What I Can Do!!!

I can stand up!!!






Just kidding.....my butt is actually leaning against the step but doesn't it look like I am standing? My mom was trying to take a picture of me sitting on the step and I just kind of straightened my legs and stood up. I thought it was the funniest thing EVER to be standing up!!! Here is what I was suppose to be doing.

Food

I think I have mentioned before that Ella has no interest in eating any form of solid food. She will take a bite or two and then makes a sour face and wants NO MORE!! I admit that I haven't been the most persistent in continuing to try to make her eat but I would occasionally try and still have the same results. I have been pushing for the regional center to provide her with an OT. I need someone to show me techniques for teaching her to eat as I know nothing about it. I finally got approval but getting someone to my house is a whole other ball game. They said we could bring her into the clinic (an hour away) for her initial eval. Next available appointment......Mid-July!!! Hence, I will be looking in to using our personal health insurance to get us started earlier. Thankfully, the OT I spoke to on the phone when making the appointment gave me a few hints for getting her started on being interested in food. She told me to just put some food (anything pureed, or just yogurt) on her tray with no expectations that she will do anything besides make a mess!! For anyone who knows me, this was hard. I really struggled with her getting food all over her seat, her hair etc. But I had to let it go for the greater good!! So these are some pics of our first attempt. She played with it some, even stuck her hand in her mouth once and was shocked by the new taste of her hand. She still made the pucker face. And of course....she HAD to stick her hands in her hair....YUCK!!!!

Just for Fun

I swear this child reads everything she can get her hands on :)

Ella's Shadow

Here is Ella playing with her shadow which she does every chance she gets. Please excuse the talking in the background. Look how close Ella is getting to crawling. Little stinker, I know she can do it but just still refuses.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Relief For Now

We just got back a little bit ago from Ella's doctor appointment with the oncologist. Of course my heart was racing all morning. While in the exam room waiting for the doctor, I had asked the nurse which doctor was working in the clinic today and she said so and so. A few minutes later, the oncologist who oversees Ella's case walked in and our hearts just dropped because we thought this meant bad news. But luckily, he just happened to be around and wanted to come in and check on her. He said that her platelet count had dropped some (91 for those of you who understand the numbers) but everything else looked great in her blood including the fact that there were no blasts (bad cells) and we would just continue to watch her monthly. She weighed in at a whopping 21 lbs 11 oz and was extremely healthy......great news. So now I will just relax for the next month!! Below is a picture of Ella and daddy on our way to lunch after her doctor appointment. Notice the bow in her hand that is suppose to be in her hair. Sorry the quality is not so good but it is from my cell phone.

Pigtails, Questions and Prayers

Ella got her first set of pigtails today. Her Auntie decided she needed to try them. There were better pictures of her smiling, but you couldn't see the pigtails well enough. I guess every picture can't be of her smiling :)





I have a question......how have most of you learned signs to teach your kiddos??? I figured that it was about time I started to think about this and didn't know if there is some great video that you have all used or what. I would appreciate any input on this. Also...how do you post a video from One True Media onto your blog. I have the video all set up on the site but when I got to get the code and then copy and paste it on my page...it just shows up as the link, it doesn't show the actual video. Any hints on this???

Finally, tomorrow, Ella goes back to the oncologist for a follow up on her blood work. Please pray that her platelets are still in the normal range and that they don't see any blasts (bad cells) in her blood!!!

A Quote and Some Funny Pics

I was going through my scrapbook stuff the other day and found a bunch of quotes that have been sitting in there for a couple of years. This one just seems so perfect for how we need to think of life with our little ones.


"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments"........Rose Kennedy


These are some pics of Ella playing with her cousin,Ethan

Psyching up the competition!

The battle is on!!!

Victory is mine!!!

Wordless Wednesday

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